Fear Not!

(Genesis 15:1) "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield;”

Fear is part of life and yet it needn’t be! So long as we apply the Word of God to our lives, when we believe in Him it will be well with our souls, trials will be ostensible and yet fear will be kept at bay so long as we learn to trust the words of God! If God says something, it will come to pass. Period! There is no supposition with God’s will. Guess work never enters the equation! If He has settled something in His heart and mind it will happen. It is pointless hoping against the inevitable. You have more chance of winning the Lotto than wishing against the Word of God. People have tried and they will continue to stab and disprove God’s Word, the Bible. But they will always fail as it is an impossible task! Why do you think that the Bible is the greatest seller of all times? It holds the keys to eternal life and the answers needed for the trials of life are found in the good book. It is a guide for all willing to put their trust in it. In fact this is what the Apostle John has to say about the “Word of God”; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)

And yet there are many families that have a Bible on their bookshelves gathering dust. That will help no one; it’s like going to a gunfight with no bullets in the magazine and an unloaded chamber! We must pick it up and read and then read some more. Even if you are amongst the sceptics, do not take the word of other people, you pick up the bible and read it, make up your own mind. Do not be like the ostrich, burying your head in the sand saying all will be well when surrounded by predators. That is the way of the fool!

We all make mistakes and who hasn’t blundered in one form or another, there was only ever one man who made no mistakes and He is the “Word of God”, the Lord Jesus Christ, became a man and lived a perfect life without sin, paying the price for sinners so that they could go free! “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 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 1:12-14)

  

How was it that I received faith to believe that God is who He says He is? Through the Word of God! Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. It was a miraculous miracle! I have failed many tests along the way, hypocrisy playing its part in my life, but only so far and no further is now my cry! Thank God for His mercies that is never ending! The Word of God (Jesus) is faithful, trust in Him we must!

Abram was a man that showed favour to men and no greater favour can a man show his friend than point them to the Word of God, for when they find it, it will free them from the clutches of death and destruction. There is no greater power on heaven or earth than the Word of God! It was the Word of God that created the universe, God speaks and it happens. It is up to the individual to trust God at His Word!

Regardless of what seems to be our lot in life, when we learn to trust God at His Word it will be well with our souls. Even when ours worlds begin to fall around us, if we can trust the Word of God we would have begun to learn the lessons of life which will prepare us for the life to come.

Here is a good example which the Apostle Paul teaches us about believing God at His Word; “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) – Regardless of the throes of life and what appears to be happening when we take verses like these and appropriate then into daily living, it proves that we walk by faith and it will equip us to face the onslaught, come what may.

Considering that it was the Apostle Pauls testimony that played a part in him penning those words; “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one--I am talking like a madman--with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” (2Corinthians 11:23-30)

Paul was a man that should have been afraid but because he trusted His God, fear had very little hold on his life, HE TRUSTED THE WORD OF GOD! We must also follow suite! May God give us the resolve to find grace to appropriate His Word to our lives especially when the chips are down! Glory to God alone forever and ever, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

  

A world that is passing away...

(1 Corinthians 7: 31) “…for the present form of this world is passing away.”

How many of us really live believing this verse as our veracity? To some degree every Christian and even some from other philosophies live lives that reflect that truth but very few breathe that existence as if nothing else actually matters. Sadly we have been swallowed up with the bustle of life and yet while we have breath we have hope and it is still possible to rectify our wrongs. Today is the day of salvation and we have all been afforded the opportunity to make straight that which has become crooked. Charles Spurgeon had this to say about our Christian struggles; “find the Lord where you lost Him”, in other words go back to the place in your life where that light that once burned bight and clear and search high and low until He is found. Did you lose Him to a particular sin, if so then repent, was He lost to money or some other trickery that has taken pre-eminence. It is no use sweeping that under the carpet it must get dealt with. We all have some areas in our lives that need attention. The beauty of this thought is God is for us, He is on our side and will be quick to come to our rescue where needed, all that is needed from us is to cry out unto Him. What a glorious God we serve, praise His name!

Regardless of how we may have blundered He is slow to anger and quick to forgive! What other philosophy has this mercy attached to it?    

We have the truth and it is time for us to strip away so many mundane things in our lives, I suppose life with all its trapping has taken care of our eyes becoming dull. Sadly we place a greater emphasis on earthly things and the future. The further we venture into the throes of life the greater our anxieties become. The older we get the more we worry about retirement and provision for it. The younger we are the more we are driven to conquer our world and get ahead in life; a trapping which takes our eyes off the fact that this world is passing away. When asked about the life to come we are all quick to acknowledge our hope but how many of us actually live life helping others understand the truth of eternity. We buy, we sell we build our own empires regardless of the size of it, we live as if there is no tomorrow.

The men and woman of faith referred to in the bible lived very different lives and God was pleased with them, in fact he was so pleased with them that He got a man to mention them in the canon of scripture. The writer of Hebrews had this to say; “And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-- who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated-- of whom the world was not worthy--wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:32-38)

May God help us uncover all that takes our eyes off Him!

Signing off

Tyrone 

Worship

I love to sing gospel songs as I go about my business. Songs like, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever, I will SING!” Mankind is obligated to worship God but for some that is not their reality, however manhood has a need to devote themselves to someone or something, it is part of our design. We all adore something!

Some worship money while others are obsessed with themselves, and the list is endless. There are many different forms of worship, even the atheist is obsessed in worshipping his own persuasion and makes a point of letting those around him know that he is an agnostic. So many opinions and yet each gravitate to their own form of worship, but be assured all worship in one form or another.

Why do we have the need for worship? Because God has created us with that desire to be quenched! A parched mouth requires water to quench its thirst, so too, humans need to adore something, that craving must eventually be satisfied! I find this thought reasonably fascinating and yet rather wonderful!  Take an engineer; he designs a foundation with a particular purpose, his design must be able to comfortably support the weight above it, no differently in principle to God with man. God requires and expects us to worship Him! Do you recall the demise of man, they no longer worshiped or honoured Him as God; “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools…” (Romans 1:21-22) – Therefore it is only the fool who refuses to worship God!

Satan has had his role in skewing the worship of many and it all started in the Garden of Eden where he deceived Eve into believing a lie; the birth of sin, which is no longer an infant but rather a fierce beast which has distorted mankind’s worship. Although it is obvious that through creation God’s power is clearly seen, so all of mankind is without excuse; “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

It is imperative that we honour God for who He is, He demands that from His creation and another word for this would be WORSHIP! WE must learn to worship God for He is worthy of worship! Take this truth away from someone and you will see that worship enters another realm as something or someone else gets the worship. But as for me and my house we will by the grace of God give our God due benevolence and worship Him from the rising of the sun to the setting of the same. Having said that and wanting that to be true with all my heart, life still looks to distract us from our objective, GOD FIRST!        

Many Christians sing songs, it is a form of praise and it is part of worship and every true born again Christian will sing songs to their God. It depicts their appreciation for His mercy in their lives. What hinders our worship? The trial of life! But it has been designed to increase our worship. The harder the trial the sweeter the worship, when we begin to understand the journey that has been set before us. The trials of life shaping us for our roles in eternity! That must remain in the forefront of our minds and it will eventually run its course. Everything in the process of time has a beginning and an end, pass the test and reap the reward. Fail it and do it all over again while we live but once we breathe our last that is it, no more chances to put things right. That’s it! Heaven or hell for all eternity!

It is only the fool who refuses to worship something else other than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the great I AM, He had no beginning nor will He ever have an end and He has lavished His love on mankind by sending His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to pay a debt that was not His own but ours. God’s love on show for all as His Son died in our place and paid the price for our sin. What will you do with that sacrifice? Will you reject it and continue to worship whatever you feel is of utmost importance to you at the expense of honouring God through worship and reject His offer of salvation and remain amongst the fools or will you fall to your knees and cry out to Him, repenting of the error of your ways and honouring God as the only true God? My prayer is that the latter will be your testimony.

To God the ever wise God be glory now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone      

Distractions

Life is filled with so many distractions; although we know part of the theory on how we ort to walk in the Spirit, which keeps our eyes fixed on the goal, there will always be something that looks to justifiably distract. I believe this is why the Word of God doesn’t go into “physco-babble” when it comes to walking in the light as opposed to succumbing to the traps of darkness! Formulas are not learnt and then applied to arrive at the correct result. The orators of scripture very seldom go into details concerning the “how-to”. That is a technique of the flesh, be weary of it. Christians will need to learn to trust God as we learn to walk by faith!

The Bible is full of instructions, it is true and full of light and we need to heed the full council of the scriptures. It reveals the character of God. Easier said than done if we walk in the flesh, but doable when we walk in the Spirit! There is no darkness in the Spirit of God, just as there is no light in the flesh! Can this statement be proved? This is our problem; we see our tainted flesh as good! Even after salvation, this thought continually haunts us all. As soon as we put trust in anything besides the Lord Jesus we have failed! This reality really rocks our independence.

Let me ask a question; who needed to free us from the separation of God? The Lord Jesus! He alone accomplished that amazing act of love, reconciling sinners back to God. Those who were once enemies of the cross are now God’s allies. Light was sent from heaven to the earth, born through the womb of a virgin and there the Lord subjected himself to the will of his Father, laying down his eternal authority, exposing himself to the laws of the flesh; he ate, he grew and he lived without ever yielding to sin. Light shattering the shackles of darkness! Hence this statement; “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)

We are taught; “in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” (Romans 8:4-9)

Therefore when true Christianity begins, when we are born again, something miraculous happens. We receive the Spirit of God; He takes up residence in us. This is what differentiates the Christian from the unbeliever. Unless the Spirit of God dwells in you, even if you claim to be a Christian you do not belong to God, period!

Light and darkness does not share the same cosmos. It can’t! And yet we find a continuous war within our souls, at times we see the light so brilliantly it is almost blinding and then at times we feel so alone and afraid as darkness lures us into its trap and ensnares us; times when personal sin is easily understood by the believer; these are the stints when walking in the flesh are highlighted and easily understood as works of the flesh. But what of the epochs when we believe what we are doing is walking in the light when in fact we are walking in darkness. It is these subtleties that we must guard against. We have been given clear instructions not to walk in the flesh, which would imply that it can become our reality, it is feasible! The confrontation then rages on; there is a difference between the ally and the enemy, my concern is when we as Christians see the enemy as our partner. In other words; when we see the works of the flesh as a helper who gets us to walk in the Spirit, we have been hoodwinked.

The only time our judgments become clouded is when we forget to put God first! Independence is an enemy and not our friend. May this certainty become our actuality! “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1John 1:6-7) – If we see blatant sin in our lives or in the lives of others, it is easy to acknowledge the darkness of it. However if we look to justify our self-worth as an add-on we still walk in darkness. Let us not be fooled by the trickery of the evil one when it comes to this. Our total dependency must start and end with the finished work of Calvary; just as we trusted our God for salvation, so too must we trust Him to get us home as we learn not to rely on our own independence. These are very murky waters and it may well be time for chlorination.

Let us remember our first love, the Lord Jesus and let us begin to do the first works, like we did when newly saved and it will be well with our souls! Forget what you think you know, but like newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that we may grow by it and peradventure our great God will have compassion upon our unbelief as He shows us the error of our ways. We need only approach His throne in a spirit of humility and belief that He will supply all our needs to these areas of our lives and it shall be done, praise His name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

God first from the rising of the sun to the rising of the same, one day at a time!

Signing off

Tyrone       

   

  

Overcoming distraction!

What causes a man to become distracted? Our lives have many disturbances, but let’s rather than singling out certain instabilities, let us reasonably go to the root of what diverts our attention from the task at hand. It was a dream last night that helped me understand this a little clearer and then on consideration of God’s Word the way has now been illuminated. We must always receive confirmation from the Word of God!   

Without going into the detail of the dream which was full of confusion, the point I am able to hone in on is this; when we lose our way we end up making mistakes. This is when we are at our weakest!

Key an address into a GPS and see how often it takes you on a roundabout way and now with so many closed roads and boomed areas due to the crime in South Africa, we may often ended up at a road that has been sealed with a fence and then have had to start all over again to reach the required destination. Life is very similar! It is when we lose our way that we find we end up making mistakes.

The journey for the Christian is no different; if we stay on course, if we remained focused with the task at hand we will never lose our way and we will not be trapped by the distractions of life. GOD FIRST in our daily activities keeps us focused, therefore that must be our first point of call when we open our eyes every morning. We must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and it will be well with our souls. Again I realize that it is not difficult to remain focused if we remain true to that call.

We have been bought with a miraculous price and our Saviour the Lord Jesus has done all the work; it is up to us to remain faithful to His finished work. Grace is on offer for every true child of God to enable us to get through the trials of life and we must tackle it one day at a time. If we try and bite off more than we can chew, this is when the water becomes a little murky and we end up losing our way.

We must trust the written Word of God and it will be well with our souls. We needn’t reinvent any other process to help us along our journey.  Faith in our God demands that loyalty!

Here then is David’s formula and we must learn to imitate his example; firstly we must lift up our souls to the Lord, all this means is we must wake up and cry to God as our foot touches the floor. We must then declare our trust in Him, knowing that we will not be put to shame regardless of the enemies exult on us. Praying for God to teach us His ways and asking Him to lead us in His truth as we depend upon His grace throughout the day. Instead of me breaking up psalm 25 let us learn from it…

“Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD! Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me. Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.” (Psalms 25:6-22)

In Conclusion whatever our troubles may be we know that we have a God who cares for us, therefore lets us remember to remain humble before him. He is for us and not against us. He is greater than any difficulty we may ever encounter and our faith in Him will keep us safe; come what may!

Signing off

Tyrone  

   

Teach me your ways O God!

(Psalms 25:5)  “Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation…”

My son asked me “what does it mean to lay your life down for the Lord?” He is at the age where his whole life lies before him. Questions like studying and career is obviously in the forefront of his mind and he wants to make the right choice. I confess this was a question I struggled with for many years but as time has progressed and years have begun to tick away, this is now a lot clearer. It is in fact not a difficult question to answer. Simply put, we must put Him first in every area of our lives! Money, food and shelter must be a spinoff of our commitment to Him and not the other way round. Nothing in our lives should be given pre-eminence over our dedication to Him. Our natural minds like to find justification to put the Lord on the back banner, we use education and work commitments to justify our actions but they are no more than trappings from the evil one! This world is full of what we like to deem as justifiable actions. Even our family commitments must revolve around His will for our lives!

We no longer have rights as it were, we have been bought at a great price! “For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1Corinthians 6:20) – When we use terminology like, “God will understand”, we have been deceived! Faith demands our sole dependency upon the finished work of the cross. This is the lesson David teaches us in his psalm. Anything outside of “God first” is destructive and will only ever leave us unsatisfied and stagnant in our spiritual growth. Many questions will probe away at our minds, looking to justify our independence, do not give them any place but rather let us learn to trust our God for our daily needs; He knows what we need, far better than we ever could!

In principle we must act like the disciples and not like the rich young ruler. Simon Bar-Jonah was a fisherman and busy casting nets into the sea, for he was a fisherman. Jesus called out to him; “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." The recorded response is the lesson; “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Matthew 4:20) – If anything in our lives forces us to take supremacy over God’s call for our lives we are in danger of this as we look to hang onto the trappings of life. “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."” (Mark 10:21) – For this man money was his life, for others it may be something else, but, we are to understand David’s encouragement in this psalm, if we have learnt anything, we must understand that God must take pre-eminence in every area of our lives. Have I arrived? Most certainly not, but I can say with assurance that I have resolve by the grace of God to learn to put my trust in him even more as I see the day of His soon return inching closer.

Let us lock hands as we encourage each other to trust our great Saviour as we learn to shed our own independence like a snake sheds its skin. More of Jesus and less of my selfish wants is my cry, receive my cry my great God and Father. Please help me lose my selfish character. I also pray for all who confess Jesus as Lord of their lives, make this truth clear to us all. Glorify your name for you alone are worthy of all praise, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

     

At the feet of Jesus!

We face so many different daily decisions and yet how often are we disappointed with our antiphon. It happened to me yesterday, I lent some of my tools out for the fitting of the new shop and in order to keep tabs on them, I didn’t want my tools to go missing, so I went to collect them. When I was asked to leave them at the shop for more work needed to be done, my impulse response was, “I am going to use them today”, and it was a lie! I had no intention of using them but I wanted to keep them safe for I was afraid that they may be stolen by the staff. I hadn’t planned my answer, I hadn’t intended to lie, it happened without any arrangement; proof that the “old man” if given an opportunity will always rear his head if cornered.

To some this may be classed as a small sin, a white lie, but in God’s eyes sin is iniquity and it is tainted with darkness, it represents the characteristics of the enemy who has already been defeated through the broken body and shed blood of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ! We must learn to put on the mind of Christ in every area of our lives, seeking out God’s grace to achieve this bringing Him glory with our example in the hope of influencing others as they examine themselves in the light of our testimonies.

Having said that I am reminded of these verses; “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"-- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." (James 4:11-15) – However our lives must be filled with self-reflection, not filled with accusations; we must not be distracted by those around us that we feel should behaved differently. It takes our eyes off ourselves and distracts us from serving God the way we ort too. Be on guard for you adversary, the devil is always looking to distract the child of God!

I am so thankful for times like these, were God the Holy Spirit leads and guides me into God’s truth. Were He helps me trim the sail of truth and gets my thoughts steered in the right direction.

A few days back someone posted a question on Facebook and it read; “where is your happiest place on earth”? It made reference to a holiday destination, my reflex response was this; “at the feet of Jesus”! The more I think about this, the more I realise how accurate it is, there will never be a better place for us to travel. And the beauty of this statement is that as Christians we can always foldaway to that destination. He has afforded us this privilege! Praise His name!

If you are troubled, travel to the feet of Jesus, sit there for a while and listen to the flowing water of that calm stream, lend an ear to the leaves rustling in the gentle breeze and before long you will hear a small still voice whisper into to your ear and it will be well with your soul! The feet of Jesus is a place of peace and tranquillity, you need only resolve in faith to venture there and He will settle you; “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Philippians 4:19-20)   

Signing off

Tyrone    

       

Faith towards God

(Matthew 8:11) “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”

There is a drum that I have been beating, a particular tune that by the grace of God is becoming my reality and how I love that melody. The harmony is full of faith, with not even a hint of independence and it is teaching me volumes. Tomes of God’s grace oozes from its lyrics and I love it so! Its title, “faith towards God”!

Many schooled Christians teach us that we need a balance with our application in faith toward God. They are wrong! That concept in itself will only ever result in us flying the flag of independence! - “Faith And”! – Remember what Abraham did to help God with His promise, he slept with Hagar. It only ever brought him heartache! He was compelled to banish his son!  

The sooner we learn to follow in our forefathers footsteps, in our application with faith, the happier our existence on earth will be. Note, I did not say the richer we would be! If we think with our carnal minds we will always remain in the camp of the old man’s domain. We will be glued to the floor unable to move into the room of freedom, a lounge filled with the grace of God!

If you find that your past has anchored you to the floor of carnality, you needn’t trouble yourself with all the opinionated voices that fly across that room. Block your ears, settle your mind and then believe God in accordance with His Word and apply your faith to His promises and see how easily that which had once been set in stone no longer latches you to trappings of worldly sorrow, which will only ever produce death. Forgiveness comes from God but we must trust Him to forgive, and then once forgiven we will be fit for the Masters use! And then when we hear those words, “go and sin no more” we will be equipped to find grace in time of need.  

First faith and then we will be set free to serve Him in the demesne of faith and grace. Not the other way around, that is independence!

There is a table prepare for the faithful, and it radiates hope for the Christian. There will be a table furnished with the kingdoms delights and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be on the guest role. The Lord Jesus chose to speak of this upcoming event when a gentile proved his faith in Him. The promise of God was to Abraham and his seed, the Jewish nation was called and not the Gentiles! However we as gentiles have responded in faith toward God and we too will be part of that celebration, just as long as we remain faithful! The Lord Jesus made reference to this feast when He witnessed the faith of a Roman soldier, he was not Jewish! The brilliance of God’s plan in action! The Only ever wise God covering ever base that needs wrapping in accordance with His perfect will! I am learning to love God’s techniques as I begin to catch glimpses of His genius. Imagine when we see Him as He is, in all His splendour, WOW what a day that is going to be!

Let us learn from Roman soldier’s example…

“I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; let it be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment.” (Matthew 8:11-13) – We see no independence from his side; apart from making every effort to stand before Jesus. That may well have been a tiresome journey; nevertheless he arrived at the feet of Jesus! He placed his faith in the Lord Jesus’ ability to heal and no one, nor any other program or philosophy. And we must learn to follow suite in every of our lives. The sooner we relinquish our independence the happier we will be.

Let go and let God…

Signing off

Tyrone    

  

        

God works ALL things out for our good

Theoretically when I am placed under any form of pressure, I am cognizant that it is for my benefit. God’s Word is very clear on this! Let’s face it, who enjoys being tested? The first person my mind runs to when the pressure is on is Job! As I sit at my desk in the very early hours of the morning due to sleep eluding me, I find myself pondering my predicament and I grasp that I am nothing like Job! Sadly our characters are worlds apart! Thankfully we do share the same favour from God and without that reality in my life I would be of all men most miserable. But that has nothing to do with my accomplishments, Jesus Christ the Lord has afforded me that opportunity, praise His name!

Job was a man of his eon that was like no other, he stood head and shoulders above the rest, but not the way we would deem someone to be cool as it were. He was not one of the boys, but he was God’s man for the hour. God singled him out to glorify His own name. Great honour befalls such a person, needless to say that with that rectitude great affliction will follow. A person cannot expect to be blessed of God if He is not willing to walk the talk! “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22)

This was Job’s CV; “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” (Job 1:1) – I am nothing like Job, but I most certainly long to be more like him in character, he was a man who feared God and “turned away from evil”. This is a massive declaration from God about His character, he “turned away from evil”! How often do I turn from evil? When I strip this down to it core, how much tolerance of that which is wicked do I allow in my life? I may understand what I should avoid in principle, but how much of that do I put into practice? Far too little I would suggest! God forgive me!

Now without yesterday’s event unfolding the way they did, I know I would still be fast asleep and not pondering these life changing thoughts. Like I said it is one thing to pen something, and even if what was said was accurate, it is quite another entity altogether when it becomes that individual’s reality. Will we pass the test? Job most certainly did but not without a lot of inner turmoil! But God brought him through his trail, more blessed on the other side. Go read it for yourself if you think life is treating you unfairly.

Now for some perspective, the trial of my faith is but a fraction of what Job was called to face and yet it presses hard, it looks to rob me of my faith in Christ. Many questions flash through my mind; five steps forward and thirty backwards, WHY? It is not important to find the exact answer, all I need learn is that God is for me and not against me and that these verses must be believe through the most difficult of times; “And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:27-28)

When I step back and view my current survival from a distance, I want to laugh at the trivia of it all, so small and almost trifling in comparison to so many other men and woman of the faith, those who have carried God’s banner through their lives. However when I step back into my little world it is my actuality that needs conquering and not theirs. I Thank God for His grace and that He care for me. I may not like my current position, sadly I may even mumble under my breath at times but I am convinced that it will be worth it all, come what may! Whether we, through our own folly bring about God’s chastisement into our lives or God conveys it for some other reason, I know this, it is good for me and it will ultimately bring Him glory! I now need no more explanation, if God is for me all I need to do is look for His grace to settle me wherever I find myself. I must learn to be constant in flying that flag for today, tomorrow and up until I breathe my last breath.

Signing off

Tyrone       

    

Grace and Faith

The Christians salvation hinges on the grace of God, which is ultimately His free gift to mankind, however without faith it is impossible to please Him! How does one then reconcile these two truths? The grace of God which speaks of unmerited favour and then faith towards God, an act from us, believing in that which is unseen to the naked eye; at first glance there would seem to be a contradiction, firstly a free gift is never earned, if it was earned we could then justify that gift and claim it as netted. A wage for something earned! Religion drives people to earn their salvation; the bible calls this “dead works”. In other words we do something that catches God’s eye and because we now please Him He is compelled to accept us. It speaks of our own independence to please God. This type of mentality will only ever drive you from God and not toward Him. Woe to religious organizations that teach these falsehoods. We can never earn our salvation, it is impossible for mankind to find favour from God outside of the finished work of Calvary. Jesus Christ alone has accomplished this!   

Our human natures are so far removed from the character of God, that even our best attempts to do what is right in the sight of God is seen as “filthy rags” (unimpressive before God). This may be hard to comprehend, but accurate according to the canon of scripture…

“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it--the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (Romans 3:20-25)

Take solace in this fact, because God is perfect in every area of His life, He will always do the right thing. This thought brings me great comfort. How often have I wrestled with what I should do and then not been totally persuaded that what I was doing was the best thing for all. It is not so with God! Even when we see calamity in our lives and throughout the world, it is the very best thing for us (Christians) because God is the author and the finisher of all things; He will have the final say! Now faith demands that we put our trust in Him, devoid of questions filled with doubt. Our lives should have proved this truth by now. Look back on what God has brought you through and praise His name. Are we learning to appropriate His techniques before our selfish wants? When selfishness has run its course, it will only ever bring emptiness. Of that I am persuaded! This is the lesson that ever Christian must learn to appropriate in their lives, and we will only ever achieve this by the grace of God! Believing God at His Word!

Salvation is a free gift of God and it can never be earned, so stop trying to earn His favour for it! The Lord Jesus Christ has received all the merit for that accomplishment and God the Father has exalted Him and will never ever promote anyone else. It is essential for us to learn to find favour from God in every area of our lives. How do we achieve this? By faith! Faith oozes from that “free gift” and it is a process; we must grow from strength to strength in our dependency on His abilities and not our own independence.

God does not help those who help themselves, that is a lie and you will not find that penned in scripture! We believe God for our daily sustenance in every area of our lives. The sooner we relinquish our independence, the quicker we will find peace with God! Why? Because God rewards those who diligently seek Him! Independence drives us from God but dependency drives us toward Him. Faith demands dependency in that which is unseen (God) and He rewards those who have learnt to operate within that realm. Not faith in faith! That would be a mistake but faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all His promises!  

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)   

Do we want to please God? Then we must operate in the realm of faith!

Therefore independence is the enemy and faith in our God the confederate!

Signing off

Tyrone

Because He cares for you

(1Peter 5:7) “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

Grief is dealt with in different ways; needless to say it is an emotion that is not often welcomed with open arms. However it does teach us many valuable lessons! It exposes our heart, allowing us to gaze into those hidden crevices that normally remain concealed.

The mistake I have seen many Christians make is this, because they cannot settle a concept in their minds that does not mean it isn’t true. If God’s Word declares a truth we must learn to accept and receive it even if our minds scream, “it can’t be so”!

Grief exposes our actual position before a holy God! It’s not as if God is ever caught off guard that will never happen. He is all knowing and sovereign, He is not bound by time! All that means for our confused minds is this, He know the beginning from the end and the end from the beginning. If this was not true, we wouldn’t have verses like these penned in the canon of scripture; “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. (Ephesians 1:4-5) – Observe; He chose us (believers or the Apostles if you prefer in the context of this verse) in him (Christ) before the foundation of the world. Paul is writing this letter and according to historical facts this was about 4000 years after creation and yet reference is made to a time before that! If you are honest with the text there is no getting around the facts that God had planned this way back then and it was only now coming to fruition. God had already seen it happen, how? He is not governed by time! The closest I suppose our minds can get to conceive this truth is time travel although this concept is also linked to time. God has the capability of making a declaration about something in the future and witnessing it happen in the present. He is sovereign – He self-governs the future in accordance with His will! God’s perfect love now working His plan out the way He intended. When God wills something it comes to pass, period!

We also will things to happen in our lives; we say we will do this today and that tomorrow; hope drives our intention. Needless to say, how often have your plans fallen flat and not played out the way you had hoped?

When it comes to grief in our lives I can with assurance say, we do not hope for grief nor have we willed it for our lives! However, it is the great equalizer and it often brings perspective to our existence. It humbles us and teaches us our dependence upon our God! Take the arrival of a new born baby, there is normally great excitement within the camp, a mother decks out a room with paint and trinkets just the way she visualizes her happy gurgles little home. Then the unthinkable happens, tragedy strikes and baby is born with Down syndrome. All the preconceived thoughts of what could have been suddenly smashed. Who would ever wish that on anybody? But a reality of life! It is in these times of our lives where our faith is tested and we see what sort of faith we really own.

There have been many great examples through scripture that teach us how to respond to tragedy. I recall the account of Stephen, a man stoned by the masses for his commitment to Christ and in the throes of death he found it upon his heart to pray to God for the forgiveness of his perpetrators. A phenomenal declaration of his faith in God! Wow! His example blows my mind and yet is gets me to praise God for it. Mission accomplished!

Regardless of the trial of life, the Apostle Peter gives us this insight and it is beautiful when we latch onto it with both hands. Regardless of the trials of life, we have all been subjected to the tests of life. But do we all have this hope? “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1Peter 5:7) – Music to my ears! Thank you Father God for taking the “time out of your day” to care for me, WOW! When this hits home for the Christian it is a beautiful actuality. I am just so thankful that God would care to bother with someone as complex and frivolous as me and yet that is exactly what He does. Our great Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ has afforded the Christian that privilege; praise His name now and forever more, Amen!

With that thought in our minds let us conquer the day by the grace of God for His glory.

Signing off

Tyrone

        

                                                                                                          

New Beginnings

New beginnings… it is that time again, the beginning of a New Year where New Year’s resolutions are high on the agendas of most; regardless of how hard the past year has been there is great anticipation even in my own mind, with hope leading the way in anticipation that God will step in and help me with so many pressing areas of my life. A job with steady income would be sincerely appreciated; time and resolve to serve with a greater diligence; growing from strength to strength in sanctification; being a beacon of light to a world that is ensnared by darkness; useful pliable clay in my Master’s hands! These are just some of my expectations that I do not only believe will come to fruition but am induced that by the grace of God they will happen. Faith drives me to believe God for the arrival of His spiritual fruits of salvation to become evident in my life and I see buds beginning to sprout. Faith compels me to have hope in my God, praise His name now and forever more, Amen!

We must understand the need for separation in our lives for this to become our reality. Let God our Heavenly Father teach us His ways so that once we have perceived what must be done to achieve obedience in our daily walks we can call upon His grace to follow His perfect example.

Let us consider; “in the beginning”, God in His perfect brilliance created the heavens and the earth and right there “in the beginning” He called forth light! Here then is the lesson; He would not let light and darkness coexist, “God separated the light from the darkness”. There was time allotment to both the light and the darkness; “God call the light Day and the darkness he called Night”. There was distinct separation! It is not as if we have day and night happening at the same time. Imagine standing in your garden at midday and half your garden would be in direct sunlight and the other half in total darkness with blotches of light and darkness for twenty-four hours. It is not the way God chose to do it, why? Because He is perfect in everything He does!

From the beginning He has taught us that light and darkness are enemies, He is the Father of Lights and Satan is the father of darkness. Light speaks of life whilst darkness depicts death, lies, and everything that opposes God who is light! The same principle exists for us at salvation, we do not experience “re-birth” but we are born again. We were all born through water; our natural birth was of a carnal nature with seeds full of sin bearing fruit engulfed in darkness. But for those who are born again, our spiritual beginning was all new; the old man isn’t patched up, but is reckoned dead. That is why we are “born again” in newness of life. Psychology can only ever do patch work, because it can and will only ever be able to operate in the natural realm. It is not so with God, because He is spiritual He gives us a brand new beginning at salvation; “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2Corinthians 5:16-17) – We are now creatures of the light and we belong to the only true God!

Therefore we must understand that we can no longer have our feet in both the light and the darkness at the same time. Just as God separated the light form the darkness we too must learn to follow suite. People-pleasers and fence-sitters are not good examples of who God is and what He has done for us. I am convinced that if we want God’s blessing in our lives we must understand the realm in which he works and that is the separation of light from darkness. Let us flee from the darkness, there is no such thing as a white lie!

This then is my prayer for our lives: that we will find His grace and resolve to appropriate the separation of the light from the darkness with our daily activities. Faith demands this of us; we must believe our God to work out His blessing in our lives. Remember He is for us and not against us! Sometimes we forget this truth; “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:10) – Let us learn to trust our God and Father and all because of what Christ achieved on our behalf, praise His name, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone  

    

   

The end of another year!

“A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalms 51:17) 

Another year comes to an end so let me reflect on my highs and lows of 2014…

My consideration must revolve around my spiritual walk throughout the year and my relationship with my great King. Let me examine the areas of my struggles and I will endeavour to do it honestly. Has there been any progress in my daily sanctification? The days of allowing skewed perceptions about my commitment in every area of my life should be long gone, but are they? I understand that my heart is deceitfully wicked as it always looks to justify certain bad influences in my life. However I have the mind of Christ so with God’s help I pray that He will expose the rot that needs rectifying.

A good place to start would be Galatians chapter 5; “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”(Galatians 5:19-21): - As I read through the list I realize one thing, without the finished work of the cross in my life I would be in serious trouble. I have failed in many areas of my life throughout this year. I may not openly practice sorcery per say, but even if I bow down to anything acknowledging its priority higher that my great God at any given time, I am guilty as charged! I do not consciously make it a habit to go out of my way to practice many on the list but my “body of death” will look for any excuse to permit certain behavioural patterns and when stripped down can only ever be classed as sin. My mind instinctively looks to repel all on the list for I have the mind of Christ but only when I am focused and sold out for God’s will in my life, only then can I conclude that I am walking in the Spirit. A good test for me would be selflessness as opposed to selfishness. Am I placing other people’s needs before my own? Simple!

How successfully have I walked in obedience throughout the year and how diligently have I looked for the grace of God to walk in the Spirit? I suppose it is an impossible question to answer with absolute honesty. God Knows! What then am I thankful for? I am thankful for the grace of God, that which He has afforded me throughout the year, for sins forgiven when I have failed to find the His grace to overcome, for food and shelter for my family, even though I have been jobless for a long time now. For His faithfulness even when I was unfaithful. These are just some actualities that have been very precious to me.

How about all the continuous struggles, the areas where I find I am not as successful as I would like to be? They do disappoint, it does hinder my walk with the Lord and I hate how they nag away at my conscience and yet I am thankful for the harassment; it reminds me of Christ enduring sacrifice and how great He is. Having said that, the battle rages on, while I have breath, I have this hope and even in the struggling area of my life which consistently rob me of my joy, I know that I have the opportunity to conquer bringing glory to my God. Even with these disappointments they teach me to look for grace in times of need. It drives me to cry out to my God! I confess I am not always victorious, but one day I shall be like my glorious Saviour and so I press on in His strength. I must remember that prayer is of great assistance for the saint, it is part of my armour, so please help me be more astute in these weak areas of my life Father God, make me ever more like our great Saviour, your beloved Son. Help me continue to grow from strength to strength in the areas that bring glory to your name and help me die daily in the quarters that look to rob me from walking in obedience, I pray. Help all who call upon the name of Jesus as I know you shall, Amen!

This is my prayer for all your children’s ongoing sanctification; “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalms 51:10-17)

On this last day of the year 2014 and into 2015 may we all carried with us a banner that shouts “our hope and assurance is founded upon our Rock, your Son, even Jesus Christ our Lord and King” - "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"” (John 7:37-38)   

  

It is the rivers of living water that I resolve to search out, help all your children find this to be their desire for 2015, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

The amazement of magic

Amazement can sometimes leave us gob-smacked, we see something unfold before our very eyes and many varying emotions kick in. Many of you may have heard or seen the new kid on the block, “Dynamo Magician Impossible”. He performs acts that are humanly impossible to grasp. He gets a kick out of leaving his audience in astonishment, he performs his magic and when his spectators are trying to figure it out he disappears off into the distance. Our mind has been designed to settle any given situation we witness, but with these types of unexplained events it leaves the brain scrambling for answers. I am no longer amazed at what I witness but rather excited from a different perspective. I use the Word of God to help me figure out what is going on!

Did you know that there is an allotted time given to Satan to make war against the saints on earth, it is part of God’s sovereign plan. Think of life as if it is a play and God is the director, in chapter six and scene sixty-six Satan has the lead role but only for a short time. This scene is not far off! Why do you think magicians like Dynamo are involved in changing the perceptions of people’s reality? It was no different in the days of Moses! Except that today these types of marvels are seen throughout the world, television has made sure of that.

Many of his tricks mimic that which the Lord Jesus achieved whilst on earth.

Jesus walked on water; - “But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."” (Matthew 14:26-27) – Dynamo walked on the Thames – Jesus fed the hungry with fish- Dynamo fed the hungry in Khyalisha with fish from an empty bucket. Now many sceptics today question these events and interpret it with altered explanations; the water Thames event is explained away with structures under the water. Their minds can only ever accept a natural explanation because it settles their understanding. I am convinced that most of these types of people can only reason in the natural realm, it is what makes sense to them. Far too many unknowns are needed to arrive at their conclusions.

But what if another dimension was involved in accomplishing that event?

As Christians we are aware of the natural and the spiritual realms and they have not been subjected to the same rules. An angel is a spiritual being and unseen to the natural eye. God has ordained this order. I can obviously prove this from scripture; “There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another.” (1Corinthians 15:40) – Everything that has been naturally created is within our grasp, that which has been spiritually created is outside the grasp of our natural faculties. Just because we cannot see something it does not mean that it doesn’t exist, we know it does! Christianity depends on the unseen; “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) – If this is our reality why do we struggle to believe that the enemy, Satan hasn’t been afforded the use of lying signs and wonders to deceive the nations? Did you not know that the world will ultimately believe a lie? “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false.” (2Thessolonians 2:9-11) – I need for us to understand that if something is false that does not mean it isn’t a reality, in other words a lying sign and wonder does not mean that what one witnesses hasn’t actually happened. What is does mean, is that it may be used to deceive someone into believing a lie.      

   

Life is all about conditioning and there are many players that play their part in that conditioning. The Christian has our great God, the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth; He is for us, thank you Father God for Jesus our great Redeemer. But as for the unbeliever they will be taken by Satan’s power and his lying signs and wonders will lead them into that which is false! Many organizations have been and will continue play their part in the the world conditioning, Hollywood a key player and now we see magicians coming to the fore, playing their share no differently to the time of Pharaoh and Moses; “So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.” (Exodus 7:10-12) – For us to try and explain away this text that the magician’s staffs did not change into snakes would be erroneous error. The text is clear! God is Sovereign and He allowed it. This happened prior to His judgment and I believe He is allowing it to happen again prior to His eminent judgement; a sentence that is coming upon the world that will be far worse than that in the days of Moses. The further mankind moves from God’s ordinances the more He allows them to be swallowed up by their own folly.

Here then is what is just over the horizon; “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” (Matthew 24:21-22)

I agree with Ray Comfort, we must earnestly pray for a revival, God is perfect in grace and we depend on his perfection to be gracious prior to His judgments. Father God be merciful I pray; stir up your saints both great and small, throughout the world to be instruments in your loving hands. Whatever you may need us to do in laying down our lives, give us the grace and resolve to accomplish whatever you have purposed; I humbly beseech you to glorify your name, for you alone are worthy of all glory.

Let us therefore make every second count as we lay down our lives for those still lost to these truths, let us preach the gospel with conviction in the hope that God may still save some and rescue those who have wondered off into the wilderness.

Signing off

Tyrone

     

Preparing our minds for action

Prayer powerfully working in conjunction with faith is appreciated by all but not witnessed by many.

There is so much I have seemed to have missed along my Christian pilgrimage because of the distractions life has thrown at me, or rather the stupidity of engaging in those diversions. The regrets of life can haunt us but the sooner we move past them the better; who doesn’t have some regrets? There are many things in hindsight that we could have done differently; I know this to be true for my life! How do I take something that has looked to destroy me along my journey and turn it into something positive? These are the type of questions we should be asking ourselves as another year closes in. The Apostle Peter teaches us these truths; “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile.” (1Peter 1:13-17) – When I read these verses I realise how I have failed dismally in so many areas of my life. Now what? Well, by the grace of God we no longer wallow in the mire, we dust the dirt from our knees, we disinfect the grazes and we press on in faith looking to Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith to restore that which once burn bright and clear. Regardless of your standing in Christ, there is room for all of us to be less selfish as we lay down our lives for one another.

Are you committed as you once were? There must have been a time in your life after salvation that it was obvious to all that something had happen, the patterns of your behaviour different to what it was once prior to salvation. We must diligently wrestle with our God in humility, but with a confident resolve to right our wrongs. We must beseech our God to put straight that which has been made crooked through the throes of life. For it will be worth it all, we will eventually receive our reward, eternity in the presents of our God and King. We have understood the hope we have in our Saviour and our lives must begin to mirror Him more today than it did yesterday.

There will be an obvious distinction separating the goats from the sheep and it will be the trial of our faith that will make this evident. The wannabe Christian will be exposed as the pressures of life begin to increase and it will surge from hereon in. We are now living in exciting times, even creation is beginning to groan a little louder, have you notice? Tolerance for Christianity even in democratic governments begins to wane; it is no longer fashionable to be rigid about our belief in one God; tolerance for other religions is high on the agenda of many governments. Gone are the days where a person can stand up proclaiming this truth in government schools; “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) – As Christians we must remain dogmatic on this truth, even if it costs us our lives; in so doing our hope will be obviously noticed by all and peradventure God may save some through our example.

Forgive me for using this example again but I can think of no better experience to illustrate a point; I recall my “JL” training at Infantry School, how the corporals pushed us and just when you thought it was over they pushed some more, our bodies taken to a level of enervation, but somehow our minds carried us threw. It was hard to understand at the time, but in retrospection I am thankful for my military experience it taught me many valuable lessons. It was a preparation for what was to come. Christianity is no different in principle, we may not understand the trail of life at the time, but it is for our benefit and before long we will give praise to our God on what were the most trying times of our life. This is the testimony of the saints who have gone before. The key to remaining focused is our HOPE! What kept me going in the infantry school? I knew if I got through what they threw at me I would eventually qualify as a platoon sergeant. I had a hope! The difference now is we no longer have to rely on our own abilities; it is the grace of God that will get us home! Nevertheless it is our HOPE which will keep us focused! Our Saviour has overcome this world we need now only rest in His victory, praise His name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

As we move into the New Year lets us find focus in these three words; faith, hope and love. Faith in our God and not our own independence; Hope in the promise for the faithful, heaven and all it splendour, with love driving everything we do as we lay down our lives for one another.

Signing off

Tyrone