The meaning of life...

(Revelation 21:7) “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

Counting the cost to the Christian calling is something we all need to consider if we are to become effective for Christ. For us to become operational in the building of God’s Kingdom we must see our eternal reward as the ultimate goal of our existence. We must learn to appropriate this verse to our daily gaits; “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3:8)

The summons from the only true and living God must dictate the way we live from here on in. I realise that this will only ever become apparent when we understand that call; when we are persuaded that it is God who has called; regardless of our blunders throughout our lives, if and when God calls will we obediently respond to His voice. For when we understand that this is the reason we were born, then it will be well with our souls. Society teaches us to believe in ourselves but God commissions all to believe in Him; “For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." (Romans 10:11)  

When an athlete trains it is a painful process but they endure their training so that they may be crowned champion. Their goal is very specific and it is no different for the Christian we must learn to lay our lives down so that we too may one day reap our reward, which is to hear Gods approval when we enter the gates of the New Jerusalem. There is a grand event coming known to us in scripture as the “marriage feast of the Lamb”, a wedding ceremony. It is very dress specific and only those adorned with the correct garments will be allowed to partake. It is a celebration reserved for the bride of Christ and only those who have their names written in the Book of Life will be allowed to attend. The invitations have been carefully selected and have not been penned with ink but with a quill dipped in blood of the Lord Jesus. Those selected for this great event must make Him their prized possession. In order for this to happen we must learn to walk by faith and place all our dependency upon the Words of God, THE BIBLE! As it is the treasure map to that beautiful occasion in a glorious land. Study and then study some more. Be sure of that which has been charted out and leave nothing to chance. If you have doubts to whether you will eventually make it into that magnificent land do not rest until you hear the voice of God speaking clearly to you! It is one thing to know that God exists but quite another to be personally known by Him. Are you convinced that you are on that guest register? Are you at liberty to converse with Him? Are you sure that you have been invited? These are questions that you need to be answered with total assurance.

Examine your own hearts…   

What is it that drives you? Money, lust, the pride of life, power; the list is endless or is it the hope that one day you will hear God speak these words directly to you? “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” If this is not your motivation to life then I would suggest that you rally around those who have that as their ultimate goal and spend as much time with them as humanly possible. This is where we will be able to buy the oil for our lanterns that will be needed when our bridegroom returns to take us home. Without oil in our lanterns we will miss out and that is something we can all ill afford for it will have eternal consequences. After now establishing that as imperatively important; what must ring the loudest is that we’ve been saved from a place of total devastation, we were doomed for destruction from the time we took our first breath. “BUT GOD”!

Here is an allegory that should help us understand the intention I wish to highlight…

A group of people gathered with eager anticipation as a young woman deep in the throes of labour, works her way painfully through the process of her brutal labour pains, in spite of the anguish she now faced and with a clad-iron resolve she was determined to follow through with a natural birth. Whilst her parents linger in the cold dull passageway of the labour ward in the deep south of Johannesburg, and as the father had lived through the Second World War a thought flashes vividly through his mind, “hospitals always have death written all over their walls”, and then the reality of what was happening kicked in, “but not this time!” his thoughts had now become vocal causing his wife to turned to him, “What”? “Never mind” he muttered, how could he bring up death when they expected life? As this was a very happy juncture. There were endless opportunities for this new bundle of joy. The man was filled with glee and was to soon be a granddad! But not yet for there were still many uncertainties, would his daughter and the unborn child come through without any complication? Therefore he continued to pace up and down with great intent hoping that all would be well with the apple of his eye for she was but a young lass, barely seventeen. It was an anxious moment and yet it was compressed by excitement. “Is it a boy or a girl”? An exciting thought all had already considered, wanting to be the one who could gloat and say I told you it would be a boy.

Then it happened, they heard it, a babies cry. It was rather comical as they simultaneously look at each other and laying aside the hospital policies, instantaneously they all rushed into the room to examine the miracle. Maybe this baby boy would be the next president or the next greatest prodigy with a golf club in his hand. The potential endless and full of promise! Words like “cute” and “he is beautiful, he looks just like you” travelled from person to person filling the room with chatter, the overtones of joy fanned across the room bringing smiles to all. And then something outside of the norm happened God allows them to look into the future as He commanded time to travel forward. Their joy suddenly turns to shattered heartache; a horror filled vision now became their reality and they were all privy to it; death, misery and total darkness engulfed with unquenchable flames awaited not only this little newborn baby but all of mankind and God in His mercy had shown it to them.

The reality of it was that all of mankind has been condemned already. We all stand guilty before a Holy God and Hell with all its fury is our destination. It is mankind’s lot in life. Try as we may to build Arks like in the movie 2012 or as we rally together as one united nation, trying with paramount resolve to avoid the inevitable, the destruction of this planet as we know it, which will eventually happen. The same fate awaits us all. An eternity of horror personified! They had seen it and there was no denying it for God had shown it to them.  

The joy that filled that delivery room was now filled with regret and the remorse of this accidental conception, conceived outside of the bounds of wedlock was now forgotten. Although they were practising Catholics and they had done everything in their power to conceal their sin removing the ridicule that would come upon the family if it became public knowledge had now dissipated as there were far more pressing issues on hand. If only this little boy had never been born was the thought of consensus and then it dawned on then, but what about us? Doomed for eternity! It was no longer an idea that some jarhead had shouted from a street corner; “repent for the end is near”! God had revealed the truth to them and they had seen the end, they now understood the ramifications! They had grasped it for God had shown it to them! As they limply made their way back to the vehicles they had arrived in. The drive back to their homes was filled with silence and remorse for they were all devastated by the reality of it all, once so oblivious to the secrets of hell but now “eyes wide open” to what was just over the horizon. “Stop the car”, the father demanded on the fringe on the highway, it was a perfect position, the car had come to rest in a blind spot, and he thought that they might be lucky enough to be taken out of their misery and be steamrolled by a passing truck. What was a man to do? What is a father to do? Climbing out of the car the man began to frantically pace up and down with strides of hopelessness; he then looked up and saw a humongous clump of sand that had been sifted from a gold mine shaft and with his gaze locked onto it he called out to it, “KILL ME”! He had finally understood that he was “condemned already” and there was nothing he could do to save himself or his family nor his newborn grandson. It was a hopeless situation!

“CONDEMNED ALREADY” was and is the state of mankind and will remain their lot in life if they do not respond to the only lifeline available…

Pay very careful attention as it may just help you understand the magnitude of your predicament and rescue you from it. The Apostle John a spokesperson on behalf of God; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob penned these words a long time ago; “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:18) 

How on earth did mankind arrive here? Here was a man who had now understood his fate, he was in total despair, crying to a hill to fall on him and snuff the life from him. And then it happen, God mercifully took pity on him and took him back to the beginning to help him understand…

He now stood in the midst of a beautiful garden surrounded by absolute tranquillity, a vast contrast to his previous vision, perfection personified with harmonic melody from all its wildlife wafting on the back of a gentle breeze bringing great comfort to him and those in the garden. “Is this how it all started” he thought? He knew it to be true. At first he grappled with the contrasting visions and if this is how it began why does it end with such destruction? Walking through paradise he passed a lion lying down next to a lamb, they seemed extremely content with their surrounding and there was no aggression evident. His stride then came to an abrupt halt and he saw a woman conversing with a serpent, a creature that he was unfamiliar with, it looked like a snake but it stood upright on its legs, it hissed with a choral lyric to its voice, he could now hear what was being said, “Did God actually say?” the serpent whispered.  And then it dawned on him what was about to happen. “Stop he shouted, get away from him”! But she was oblivious to his cries and continued to peer deeper into his trickery unaware of the deception that was about to take place. If only she knew what she was actually doing, dooming my new born grandson to an eternity of total hopelessness, “wake up you foolish woman”, he shouted even louder this time, but to no avail, the lure had worked and she was now lapping up every word. Satan had ensnared her and there was no escape, he had won and defied God! That day he won a fight but he will never win the battle, praise God!

Mr Harry Casual (the man) finally understood that it was because of this event that all of mankind have been doomed. Our great grandmother to the power of who knows the actual number, God Knows, I most certainly don’t! It was all her doing! But what of our great grandfather, he wasn’t deceived and yet he followed in the sin of his wife. As selfish as his decision may well have been the reality of it all is the pair of them doomed all of mankind to fall under Gods condemnation. Happy-go-lucky (the man) then saw God commission two cherubim’s, angels like creature with flaming swords commanding them to guard the tree of life, forbidding sinful intent to eat from it. Death had now been their sentence, their foolishness had eternal consequences and their eternity with God had been snatched from them; resulting in God banishing them form paradise as they knew it. The penalties were dismal! For the first time they saw thorns sprout out amongst the flower reminding them of their folly.

As he stood at the foot of that mound of that Sand Hill just off the highway the man having seen the end and the beginning of time finally understood why all of mankind had been doomed. The prize of God’s creation, mankind had rejected Him and yielded to the voice of another created being, the serpent that is the devil. It finally made sense! The sin of one man had blinded all to the realities of life and the bigger picture with the warriors of hell keeping us all from the truth. Driving us to be engulfed with daily activities and giving very little thought to the hereafter! Sending us into a spiral filled with our own opinions and with zero recognition for the creator of the heavens and the earth. Flip, dissect, analyse, or do what you want with the reality of the truth and we must all eventually arrive at the same conclusion; we all justly deserve what is coming, JUDGEMENT! Some will still cry, “That is unfair”, but it is what it is! He knew it to be true for God had shown it to him!

It was then that the man contemplated running into the oncoming traffic, for what else was a man to do? But before he could actioned that thought a voice from heaven shouted, “STOP!” God then took him into a time of Roman rule and he saw a man crucified to a cross with the onlookers jeering at him, “if you are God save yourself” they mocked; whilst others curse insults at him and spat upon him. It was here that the love of God became apparent to Mr Potentially Hopeful (the man); God’s love had compelled Him to provide a lifeline for mankind; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) – A love inconceivable to our characters and yet God punished His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ the Lord was disciplined on behalf of sinners, WOW! In other words Mr Thankful (the man) finally understood that although he was the sinner, someone who was without sin had paid the price for his sin. His mind now flashed to all the other religions of the world and the little he knew of them helped him finally understand that they could not help him as God hates sin and will deal with it and no one will escape His judgement. If we are tried for our sin and found guilty of breaching even one of the smallest of God laws we will face His punishment. Hell will be our eternal destination.

Why do we need to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Because he alone paid the penalty for sinners and forgives all who repent of their sin and believe on His finished work; He paid the fine and that now frees us of our sin. The fine has been paid and it has satisfied God. “Jesus in my Place”! But never forget that Jesus Christ the Lord spilt his own blood so that we could go free and escape the looming devastation that awaits the devil and his angels.

Therefore reject the offer on hand and you will end up in that devastating place it is as simple as that. This is the end for those who reject God’s free grace offer, please pay very careful attention to it and do not be swayed by the foolish opinions that those professing to be wise present with no factual evidence. Some say that we are part of the cycle of evolution and that our genealogy started with the ape-man; think it through it, use your God given brain, if that be true, why have we not found millions if not billions of those fossils? The answer is obvious, it is a LIE! Here is the end of the story for those who reject this glorious God given offer; “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15) – Therefore it is clear that there is a book with registered names in it known as the “book of life” and the only way any individual can avoid the upcoming fate is if their name is recorded in it and the only way for this to happen is by repenting and accepting the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice on behalf of your sin. It is as simple as that!

 

What will you do with the mercy that God has offered you?

“For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)

I beg you call upon Him and repent…    

Signing off

Tyrone    

                 

"Path-Finder"

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)  

Doubt can leave a man wanting and leave him with great regret, “if only” and “what if” the equivalent of any unwanted plague. Even the world has derived a saying that confirms this, “he who hesitates is lost”! Trust on the other hand is the frontrunner, when applied correctly. Humility must be the leader of our lives and it most certainly needs to be coupled with trust. Therefore we must learn to rely (trust) on the Lord our God with all our hearts, but notice that the mind is included under the banner of the heart; “and do not lean on your own understanding”. Note – “In all our ways acknowledge Him”, which if written differently as I understand it means, commit to our God with our hearts, our inner beings and do not give your minds a pass. How do we give our minds a pass? Read on! Our entire beings must be devoted to God and only then will the promise of this verse be realized. Which is, “and he will make straight your paths.” This is an assumption that I can equivocally make without any fear of erring on the side of error. I have notice that not many commit to this verse correctly. It is easy to say we will trust our God, if so why then do we always let our minds dictate to any difficult dilemma. When we are tried we often refer to our own resourcefulness to rectify whatever is required. We are not lead by the Spirit of God in these instances but it is obvious that we rely on our independence. We say one thing but it is obvious we are committed to self and not to God. Fill in the blanks, examine if what I say has any bearing on the decisions you make throughout the day. Faith demands all of our commitment and not only selected compartments of our lives and it must be founded on the pillar of humility. When the chips are down this is when we are truly tested. Gauging faith with accuracy comes from the trials of life and not from cozy comforts.      

Here are some examples to prove my point…

Let us look at twelve men that turned the world on it hinges, the twelve apostles and what constituted their commitment to the Christian faith as we know it today. Obviously without the work of Gods Spirit this would have resulted in disaster, but if and when God speaks and we find obedience to His voice, Wow! The world will become our oyster and the possibilities to glorify God through our endeavours will become endless. Let us pay careful attention to their lives and learn from them.

It is not a difficult point to establish when thought through with intent; historically the scripture verifies this point over and over again. There are multitudes of examples throughout the covers of the Bible for us to understand the call for the Christian. And the more effective we look to be, the easier the application. Trust in our God with humble intent must become our focus and tackling one day at a time; trying to handle too much at once will smother us. Pay attention; "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34) - There must be less dependency upon ourselves with a greater commitment to our reliance upon God’s provision if we are to learn what it means to walk by faith; this solicitation must be driven by faith for it to become effective. Doubt on the other hand is the greatest of all enemies.

When God rescued the Jews from slavery out of the land of Egypt what was their greatest downfall? They grumbled! Unbelief prohibited them from entering the Promised Land. God had committed Himself to a people and proved His allegiance to them with many mighty signs and wonders, He evidenced that He was a God of His Word! It is not as if God needs to prove anything, HE IS GOD and He answers to no one! But understanding our weakness, the feebleness of our flesh and because of His love, “God is Love”! He proved His commitment though many spectacular miracles. And yet at the core of their hearts they remained uninfluenced. True faith is far more effective than any sign, this is a lesson we all need to learn. My prayer is that my God would teach me to trust Him above anything else in my life and I am thankful that He is in the throes of this lesson. I am persuaded that through it all His promise will become my reality, which is to make straight that which is crooked in my life, Hallelujah and Amen!

I realize that I am a work in progress and that there is still much needed for me to become effective with God’s call upon my life. As I examine the weakness that continues to plague me with doubt looking for any opportune moment to rear its head but then I am reminded that it is the work of the Spirit who has it in His power to achieve whatever He chooses. Here is a verse that helps me align my thinking and I am able to draw great comfort from it as it washes the qualm away. “If God is for us who can come against us; “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39) 

This must become our daily mindset for us to reach our end game, heaven and all its glory where Jesus Christ shall lead us as Supreme King and God will be our Father and we shall be his sons, Wow! I want that more than life itself, do you? There is a price to pay, a relinquishing of self - whilst trusting in our God.

Here is a typical effective response that will be fruitful…

“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Matthew 4:18-20) – I do not see any if’s and but’s and the reason for this is there weren’t any! Do you understand the author’s intent? Doubt is nowhere to be seen in this verse. Please note these where simple fishermen, Christ did not go to Herod’s Court to select accomplished candidates to follow him. The world teaches us that only the mighty and the noble will conquer but that is not how God has chosen to glorify His name through varying individuals; “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;” (1Corinthians 1:26-37) – The reason for this is a simple one, less of self and more of Gods abundant grace revealing itself in and through the common man.        

Here is an example that did not pan out favourably; “And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth." When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."” (Luke 18:18-25) -There is a false message that is preached from many a pulpit and it revolves around wealth, it is demonic and we must repel it with all we have. The more we gather in the world the greater the temptation will be to hold onto it. The instruction to Christians is clear and simple; “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” (1Timonthy 6:8-9)

It is the raging storms and the tempestuous winds of life which we experience that proves God’s benediction to us, but take comfort from this verse; “After that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” (1Peter 5:10)

   

Blessing to all who confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone  

  

      

    

"Regulars not Seculars"

“God’s children need to be regulars and not seculars”. The lessons of life are obviously driving this truth home and to say that our bad choices do not teach us many valuable lessons in my opinion would not be sound council. It is often the hard knocks of life that eventually lead us to the still waters of God’s abundant grace. I am no novice when it comes to bad choices along my Christian Journey. I am not alone! We have recorded accounts of others that have also lived to regret their choices but through it all have come out on the other side victoriously with their God having the final say in their lives and glorifying His name. If God be for us who can be against us? This does not suggest that there won’t be blows from the enemy, you can count on that! Our God has phenomenal resolve; in fact it is perfect. Every aspect of God’s character is unadulterated. HE IS PERFECT! As children of God we can depend upon Him in every area of our lives, especially in the areas we struggle the most.

The Apostle Paul suffered intense bodily harm for the sake of the gospel; he never suffered as a result of his own folly, or so it would seem when we examine the accounts of his life through scripture. Sure, prior to salvation we are all very foolish and he was no different. God took drastic measures to bring his misguided zeal to an abrupt halt. He was struck from his horse on the way to Damascus and then blinded for days. But after coming to an understanding of the call of God upon his life there seemed to be no slip-up, God knows! Sadly not many of us can claim to have lived like Paul. What is a man to do? Christianity is all about a pursuit of holiness becoming part of our daily lives.

“Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.” (Proverbs 25:26) – This was Paul’s testimony; “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1Corinthians 9:27) – This is the streak we should all strive for! But sadly there are not many Pauls, God knows! 

For us who propagate the glorious gospel message and then find ourselves back where we once were, in the “Slough of Despond” or “the Pigs Pen”, with comments from the onlookers  like; “you see a leopard cannot change its spots” which at times can bring great reproach to our intent with God’s gospel message. This should not be our charge, but what if we have erred in this area of our lives? I know I have!

Do we now curl up into a ball and suffocate? Nay! We take the errors of our ways very seriously, confess our sin before God and ask Him to renew a right spirit in us and once restoration takes place we then get on with the task at hand, which is to be deliberate with the gospel.

What if we seem to make the same mistake over and over? We must continue to confess our sin before our God; we must never yield to it as those who have been defeated, as those without an everlasting hope. There will come a time in a true believer's life when God will give us the victory, once the lesson is learnt we will then be able to move on not having to repent of the same sin over and over again; The Apostle Paul teaches us this priceless truth, pay attention; “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (2Corinthians 7:10) –This verse does not highlight repentance per say, but the intent to find victory for our mistakes is the driving force behind this instruction. It prepares us for true repentance which when it has run its course will result with a true harmony as we sing the victor’s song, “Jesus in my place”. To remain secular is unacceptable; we must become patrons of God’s grace in every area of our lives. We must not excuse our sin as the norm. We must deal with this reality every day until we move from this life into the next.

 

Paul was very deliberate with the call God had placed on his life in spite of the fierce persecution he faced. Are we? Am I?

It is an obvious deduction that if a Christian’s sin is exposed it will silence him. The enemy’s objective is to silence the gospel. Why? Because even he knows that it is the power of God unto salvation. God has chosen the gospel as a means whereby some have and will continue to be saved. It is through the foolishness of preaching where this miracle develops. Words are uttered and then ears receive what has been declared and then the light-switch to the true meaning of life comes on. It is obvious that not all will respond favourably to this life changing message. The more accurate we are with the gospel message the better the results will be. The power does not resonate with the preacher but with God the Holy Spirit. He has been commissioned to save sinners from certain destruction. This however does not give us licence to water down a seeker friendly gospel as this will only invite confusion. We must never stoop to a secular level to win the lost. The Apostle Paul was extremely accurate with his deliberation and we too must learn to be exact with the gospel message. The pursuit of holiness for our lives must become our mission. God sent His son to save sinners and therefore sin in a person’s life must be the focal point. Sin must not be swept under the carpet, God sent his Son to save sinners and not the self-righteous. When sin is overlooked it causes more damage than good.

Having established this truth, what about our failures along the way? Sadly they do count against what we have to say but I would suggest only for a season. How so? God has a phenomenal capacity to forgive even those who have blundered terribly. He has it in His power to restore that which the cankerworm has destroyed. God alone has the power to forgive or condemn. Obviously we have a responsibility to seek forgiveness from those whom we have offended. This is obvious from scripture but ultimately when we sin we offend God! David is quick to teach us this lesson when he erred with Bathsheba; “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” (Psalms 51:3-4)    

Can I back what I have suggested from scripture? Let us look at some examples…

Samson was a Nazarite from birth and at times the Spirit of God moved upon him mightily proving that God was with him. And yet he made many blunders throughout his lifetime but he eventually came to his senses and God’s abundant grace is evident in his death; “And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." Then he bowed with all his strength and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.” (Judges 16:30) – The writer of Hebrews commends him for his faith and commitment to his God. Many might have suggested that he never made it if it weren’t for the penning of his name in the book of Hebrews; “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—“ (Hebrews 11:32)  - And then there was King David, “a man after God’s own heart”, and in order to hide his turpitude, he fell into a spiral of sin but when he came to his senses God mercifully produced an offspring from his repentance that is a direct descendant of the Lord Jesus, Solomon was born to Bathsheba; “and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.” (Matthew 1:6)

Do not wallow in self-pity, pray that God would expose every area in our lives that needs rectifying and then through prayer and repentance let us seek his abundant grace to find victory, which in turn will end up bringing glory to Him and Him alone.

Signing off

Tyrone       

   

Money and the love of it...

(1Timothy 6:6-10) “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

Addiction is a very power surge in a person’s life that drives them to make unwise decisions. But there are many subtle cravings that drive our characters and one of these addictions is the will to become rich. I have been privy to this craving along life’s journey but until we understand the teaching from God’s Word on the subject we will continue with this error in our lives. The Lord Jesus taught on the subject and so does the Apostle Paul. We must be motivated by finding God’s will for our lives and thankfully He is patient with His subjects and teaches us this valuable lesson. The text is very explicit, so let us break it down.

From the outset the overarching drive for all must be to find contentment with what we have in Christ. As soon as we move into the sphere of greed in any form we have taken the wrong turn and our lives will be filled with strife.

We are born with nothing and therefore we will also leave with nothing. Material wealth will only ever feed our realities on earth. Our flesh is driven by the passions of sin and therefore when we nurture it to the point of obsession we are caught up into a spiral of suffering. The text is very clear on this; “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” We pretend that if we become rich we will help those in need when in fact we become even more self-centred. If we can learn to be driven by the will to find contentment with godliness in our lives we shall find certainty in the fact that God will supply all our necessities and we will be able to understand the difference been our needs and wants. God first, and the will to appropriate His righteousness as our first point of call will become the overarching factor to our lives. When this has been realised and becomes part of our daily makeups only then will it be well with our souls.

Christianity is a call upon our lives that is the worst trade in this world; it is filled with sacrifice and self-denial but the best calling in the world for it has eternal benefits; whereas the will to be rich drives a person to set goals and hopes for this life with no thought for eternity. It is a narrow minded approach and it will certainly be short lived.

The Lord Jesus suffered tremendous pain on behalf of the sins of mankind; now imagine if he took the easy out, where would that leave us? Doomed for destruction! But He was driven by a far deeper reality and that was to fulfil the will of His Father which resulted in eternal reward. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father awaiting the judgement of mankind, where every knee will bow to Him and confess Him as Lord. For those who have rejected his council will be driven to their knees with a rod of iron. How I long for the day when my Saviour will be exalted and recognized by all.

All a man needs for this world is enough to carry him through it unto the end, no more is actually needed. “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” Get the point as it is very explicit. I know our minds will now begin to gallop as it yearns to exploit any wiggle room, but there is none. The sooner we can be settled in this area of our lives the happier we will be.

Faith is the catalyst which must drive our hope which is an eternal hope. “You will know a tree by its fruit”. This is a reference to distinguish between true and false Christianity. We often only make reference to the obvious sinful behaviour witnessed in our lives, like drunkenness, fornication and the like but hankering after money is often given a pass. If that be true we have erred and repentance is required.

All of God’s council is for the believer’s benefit and we must welcome all that is taught. 

My prayer for all who claim God’s free gift of salvation is that we take what is taught seriously in our lives as it will be profitable when applied.

God my Father please help us see the wood from the trees in the more subtle areas of our lives so that your name would be glorified when we face the onslaught of the enemy, to the ever wise God, may His name be glorified now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone  

    

Dreams...

The brilliance of God, He is the Almighty! My prayer this morning was for wisdom and yet if we are to understand the truth as it exists we need to co-exist with the reality of it (truth) in its entirety. Let the Holy Spirit lead us in some meaningful thought. Some have asked “how certain are you that there is life after death?” The atheist reaches into the depths of his unbelief as he endeavours to gainsay his conscience, as it annoys away at his intellect. “Can a leopard change its spots”? God has created all from the same substance; we all come from the seed of Adam, the first man. The Gentile bleeds no differently to the Jew. The same substance runs through our veins. We can relate to another realm, dreams are a part of our reality and they live only when we sleep. Visions have happened for some but not for many; however the sceptic may have just cause to doubt its authenticity because they are not privy to them. My friends, we have all had dreams that were so vivid that they almost scared us to the point of reality and then our eyes opened and the dream dissolved into a distant memory which is soon forgotten, until our next sleep.

I want us to contemplate this topic, dreams (“a sequence of images that appear involuntarily to the mind of somebody who is sleeping, often a mixture of real and imaginary characters, places, and events”). We have all been created with the capacity to dream and if you have never had a dream ignore what I have to say, if not, I pray that it will heighten a concept that you have kept at bay, the topic is life after death! You may ask, “What does the one have to do with the other”? It is just another clue that helps cement the reality of life after death. All of life’s indications point us towards Christ, even our dreams often teach us that we need saving. It is an awareness that teaches us about another realm, the life of that which is unseen. There are many sects and cults in today’s world that believe that angels exist but not that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. Why? The answer is always the same; we all come from the same substance. Our conscience drives us to question what happens when we die and we all have somewhere along life’s journey asked ourselves that question. It is part of our makeup.

Let’s explore a scenario; if a student had a question that needed answering what would they need to do in order to find the answer? They would need to ask someone with the answer to the question, and unless the question was asked they would remain in the dark. God has promised that if you ask the right question you shall find the correct solution; "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8) – The truth be told, unless you ask with sincerity you will never come to the realisation of what is true. It will take a miracle to understand, it needs God’s intervention to heighten your understanding, but we need to be searching out the answer for that to happen.   

    

God has chosen to reveal Himself to a world encapsulated with both the seen and the unseen worlds. The carnal and spiritual realm exists for all. We live in the reality of the natural but often think about the existence of that which is unseen to the naked eye; the spiritual world is part of our makeup. We have all been cut from the same cloth. We have been blessed or cursed depending upon how we view it by the minds of brilliant men throughout history. Did you know that regardless of how brilliant a person may appear, if that individual concludes that there is no God, all it proves is that they are UNINFORMED AND HAVE BEEN DECEIVED! Before I become a condemning voice in a world on a path of destruction, I am reminded that I too was amongst that number prior to salvation. Therefore while a person breathes, regardless of their current understanding, there is determined hope through our prayers that God may reveal Himself to them. Be bold with your witness; be deliberate for that is the will of God for our lives.

The world is latching onto a lie that seems to be making headway at a rapid pace, which is; “good things happen to good people”! It is deceit like a compass that has lost its magnetic power; it points you north when in fact you are travelling south and you are none the wiser until it’s too late to turn around, death will have the final say, and then the judgement!

Ask yourself the question, why am I blogging? I do not get paid for it. It takes effort and requires time. Some of my reasoning is selfishness; it feeds my hope as it allows me to examine my own heart. But that is not the only reason, my prayer is for someone to read something penned, have their lives changed and in turn end up in God’s army as one of His soldiers. Only God has it in His power to save us from certain condemnation and yet He has chosen the Word, through the foolishness of preaching to save some.

In a very small capacity that is why I blog, I am hopeful that God would be gracious and use something I have penned in order that someone may live in Him. Society will make every effort to keep us from finding Him. This is why I speak out against the systems of this world.

Signing off

Tyrone       

Extremes

Extremes often mold our characters when they shouldn’t if our energies are misplaced. Sin and the hold it once had on our lives is an extreme that drives us from God. It is the pinnacle of self-destruction personified and prior to our relationship with Christ it certainly ruled our lives.

Fellowship is one of God’s great gifts to the struggling pilgrim and without it we would stand alone. I spent last night with a great friend but sadly circumstances have somehow had a way of separating what was once an unbreakable friendship. Not that our friendship is a thing of the past, but we certainly do not spend time together around God’s word like we once did. Fellowship is different to friendship; friendship is when two people support one another through the throws of life and use any means possible to further that relationship whereas fellowship is a tool used around the Lord Jesus Christ. It carries far greater substance than friendship. We must make every effort to cherish these types of companionships. It edifies us around God’s Word revealing His character; the only character worth pursuing if we are to understand the meaning of life. It feeds our faith which in turn drives our hope.

Fellowship always drives us to find the answers of life in and through the Word of God. It is God salve to give us sight especially when life seems difficult. It is God’s way of succoring us and helping us in our time of need.

Sin is what keeps a man from God, unless it eventually brings us to our senses and results with us falling to our knees and calling out for forgiveness. King David learnt this valuable lesson the hard way, God took His son from him, however the debauchery that once left him speechless is what God used to bring him to his senses. It is no different for every one of us. We must understand that the extremities of sin are an enemy of God and revenge needs to be taken against what once kept us from our communion with Him through Christ.

Consider the brilliance of God; here was a man drawn away by his own lust to the detriment of those closest to Him and yet God chose to use Solomon, David’s son, which was the result of gross sin to be a part of the genealogy of Christ. Fascinating!  Along life’s journey we make many bad choices in life and we then bear the brunt of those decisions. However God is not bound by them, and He often shows his brilliance through a man’s foolish actions. It is only God who has it in His ability to accomplish such genius.

Let us consider the story I have referred to…

King David had everything at his fingertips and yet He was drawn away by his own sin. He saw a woman bathing from his rooftop while those closest to him were at war fighting for his kingdom. David saw a beautiful naked woman causing him to enquire after her, which in turn resulted in an unlawful sexual union leaving the woman with child. To cover up his sin he had one of his friends, a great warrior with amazing scruples when it came to the loyalty of those he went into battle with, and instead of confessing his transgression David had the man killed. And we learn from scripture that David was a man after God’s own heart; how can that be? We need to explore a little deeper if we are to learn from his blunder and then apply the same principles to our slip-ups. I speak for those who have already understood the call of God upon their lives. At this time in David’s life he had learnt to walk by faith and call upon his God for assistance when the need arose. He had killed lions, bears and even the giant Goliath in the name and power of his God. And yet He now blundered terribly, on the surface of it, it was a travesty; no differently to the caricatures of my life, with so many bad choices along the way. However the story does not end here, praise the name of Jesus now and forever more, God’s brilliance comes to the rescue. Sin had separated David from fellowship with God, but once his error had been visualized it brought about a change of heart with repentance soon to follow. If we willfully continue in sin that grace may abound we haven’t understood a thing about the call of God on our lives. But when we realize our sin as an action against Gods love in our lives it will bring about change. God in His brilliance is the only wise God who can turn those situations around exposing His brilliance and in turn enable the Apostle Paul to make a statement like this to bring glory to the only wise God; “but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1Corinthians 1:25-26) – The point is this; only God has the aptitude to use a man’s folly into bringing glory to His name. Repentance is the catalyst used to accomplish this.

Signing off

Tyrone   

   

Repentance is a hard pill to swallow

Repentance is a hard pill to swallow, especially when we believe that we are good enough and will be able to stand before a Holy God expecting His acceptance on our own virtue; the self-righteous looking to be justified and have their sin excused on the evidences of their own merit; “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” (Romans 3:23-24) – Salvation cannot be earned, it is a gift. But when a gift is given it is up to the individual to graciously accept the gift or refuse it. And then once we have it, what will we do with HIM?  Will we store the talent that accompanies salvation in a cupboard showing very little interest or will we cherish it by placing our new found reality on our prized mantelpiece for all to see? The degree of our appreciation will become evident.  

Let us now consider some deeper thoughts on our characters; every one of our lives has been filled with sinful behaviour; let me remind you that just a single breech of God’s law leaves us as offenders, tainted and unworthy to enter His world. An example that may be helpful, can oil and water actually mix? You can put them into the same bowl but they will always separate. Sin and Righteousness has the same result if put into the same sphere unless a binding agent helps them unite, they will always be detached. Jesus is that binding agent!  Why, what qualifies him but disqualifies us? It is easy to give an accurate answer to this question, but will it be believed? Only by some! He lived a sinless life! He never breached God’s law thus making him worthy to come face to face with Jehovah, the great “I AM”, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The bible is clear on our condition and has ruled everyone under the curse of sin; its spell needs to be broken. It is a simple phenomenon to understand but without God’s intervention it will continue to elude the gainsayer.

I have the HIV virus; it did at one time totally control my body and in 2001 almost brought me to the point of death. I needed some assistance, hence anti-retrievals did the required job and today I still breathe the air from this world. Once death finally kicks in we all move into another reality, the sphere of the spiritual realm where there are a different set of requirements which will determine our final destination. To enter the city that is filled with happiness, a land that is encapsulated with delight. Aces and pain a forgotten memory. A place of total utopia with all its inhabitants having the same word role off their tongues, Shangri-La! However we will never reach that place on our own merits and the sooner we come to this realization the better it will be for us even down here on earth. It allows us to view our life with the eyes of faith, the only remedy for true hope. If we deny God provision it is no different to slapping someone in the face for their act of kindness. If we deny the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice but look to our own morality to find vindicated we will be found wanting. God dwells in unapproachable light, all that teaches us is that He is a consuming fire and if we want to come into His presence we need a fire-proof jacket, which is Jesus Christ. Jesus died and bore the brunt of God’s judgment in my place; He died for my sin so that I could find forgiveness in Him. This truth applies to all of creation, to every person that has ever breathed oxygen. In other words we must be covered by His sacrifice if we are to find God’s validation. I hope that it is now clear to understand and that all understand that if we approach God on our own terms, finding justification by what we do, we will never cut the mustard. Does a fireman move into a blazing inferno without a fireproof jacket?  Jesus alone can vouch for our acceptance into heaven and the way for this to happen is to realise our sin and ask The Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us for all of our transgressions. It is the only true way to find justification that will be considered by the only true living God.

The sooner we learn total dependency on God’s provision the happier we shall be. Independence is one of our greatest enemies. Here is the point the Apostle Paul presses home when he speaks about boasting in his infirmities. What is the author’s intention with statement? Let’s examine it in context and then unpack the lesson so that we may all gain from what he has to say about suffering with benefits. The reimbursements of suffering, really! This is the climax of his intended thrust and it is up to us to make it our own and be strengthened in our faith, or we could turn a blind eye to the medication in front of us and ignore the instruction. We have the choice; “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15) 

   

What then does suffering have to do with repentance is my question? Well it’s all actually intertwined and when we see the beauty of those two facets to our lives latent in harmony I believe we will be content and have peace with God regardless of our predicament. This then is the lesson! Without repentance we will never understand the need for suffering and vice-versa. Suffering and repentance share the same closest and yet at times they act out a little differently to what we would like. However they are part of God’s arsenal in combatting sin. But for us to learn the value of this warning we must not see suffering from our own stupidity as God’s intervention as suffering for the sake of the gospel; “But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And "If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" (1Peter 4:15-18) - Take note that when we suffer in ministry, whatever that may entail, we must make every effort to work with the talent God has given us and apply ourselves to it. Peter puts it like this; “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit…” (1Peter 3:17-18) - Christ suffered for us to bring us to Him and it will never be by any other means.

The world teaches an “eye for an eye” mentality but in Christ we are commanded to turn the other cheek. We often find justification in what we do; society has taught us that this is our democratic right, really! It is impossible to avoid this type of breach in our lives; we are challenged by it on a daily basis. “We have rights you know”! Carnality will always have a valid point, nevertheless if eyed through the judgments of the Spirit of God and when we find grace to walk in the Spirit we will not succumb to our old sinful patterns, hence repentance is needed at the conception of our salvation and every other day after it. The way we think about things need to change. This is where we see true Christianity differentiate itself from the Pseudo-Christian camps of the world; whereby allowances are claimed by leading authorities to breach the Word of God. To be told that everything we have been taught needs the action of repentance is a hard pill to swallow, but a pill that has to be swallowed if we are to reap Gods intended rewards.

Signing off

Tyrone    

A deeper reflection

It is fascinating once we see something about ourselves even if what we see is rather horrific. I know this is a statement that covers the majority of society but many would take offence to such a comment, therefore let me dissect this reality as my actuality and if the glass slipper fits put it on for the powers that anthropomorphizes the encounter will of a certainty bring with it freedom in Christ. I am now beginning for the first time in my life to understand just an inkling of what John the Baptist meant when he called for repentance; “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."” (Matthew 3:1-2) – There is a wealth of information we can draw out of this statement and there would be no immediate end to our adventure exploring the depths of the author’s intention and why such a statement was preached.

There are two points I wish to explore, “repent” and the “kingdom of heaven at hand”. Firstly what does “repent” actually mean and how does that concern me? Secondly, why state in the same sentence “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”?

Last night as I layed awake in bed with my mind galloping toward the realisation of a truth that has now become my own. I am very thankful for the work of God the Holy Spirit in my life.

I had a question that needed answering, “what defines a man”? Surely it is a man’s character which defines him. What defined the Lord Jesus? It was his ability to accomplish everything His Father asked him to accomplish and he did it as a man, wow! I will concede that he had seen heaven as he was sent from heaven. I will not claim any authority in understanding the convolutions on that in its entirety, but what I will say is the scripture teaches us that he laid down his heavenly authority and became a man, God became a man and he took on a flesh and blood body and entered this world through the womb of a woman. Mary, a virgin, found God’s favour, conceived, and then gave birth to the child Jesus. He grew like every other child and was subject to his earthly parent’s authority. Let the reality of that sink in for a minute. The only true and living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob humbling Himself to the level of mortality for the sake of mankind, WOW! Jesus lived and died no differently to our journeys. Except for one vital truth: he lived a life without sin attached to it, praise his name! That is what feeds us hope in him and obviously because God raised him from the dead. We too shall be raised in newness of life, what a hope the Christian has that one day we shall be like our glorious Saviour.

What now defines us as men or women for that matter? The Apostle John nails it; “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?” (1 John 3:16-17)

What does the word “repent” mean? Simply put it means to reconsider. Why does John the Baptist tell us to reconsider and what must we reconsider? He tells us to reconsider because the kingdom of God is at hand, there is a time coming and it is just around the corner when God will reveal Himself. Our eyes shall see another dimension; we will all become privy to this element. Therefore we are to reconsider everything life had to teach us and to look deep within ourselves against His reflection. And where do we see His reflection? The Bible reveals everything we need to know about him. Study it and you will soon see the flaws in your life and then we will have it in our power to repent as we ought to.

Signing off

Tyrone

  

  

The looking glass

As I gaze through the looking glass of time I see a man who was once popular amongst his peers but now full of sorrow, with regret eating away at what bantam hope he has left. A bloke who once gloated in his conquering quests, a man once full of pride on reflection on the backburner of his life; a fella now stripped naked and ashamed as those around him have much to say about his current quandary. Although he once had ogles to say about his God, his foolish actions had now silenced him. Be that as it may, his deepest regret was how he had disappointed his God and brought Him into disrepute. A chap who had once truly experienced the joy of his salvation, and yet in the recesses of his soul was nevertheless still somehow able to latch onto the little hope that remained. “What now” is the pressing question?

The obvious answer was there is nowhere else to go besides the only true living and loving God. “Jesus in my place” is the lesson that is a hard pill for him to swallow but nevertheless the only truth that lives. The lures that once helped him forget were no longer an option. Wine, woman and song a thing of the past as that type of lifestyle is full of cankerous worms and by experience has taught him the emptiness of that existence and all it could ever accomplish was to leave a man gasping for breath. “All is vanity” outside of fulfilling the will of God in a person’s life that is now an obvious deduction; Jesus the only man of repute is the only alternative. Bless His glorious name now and forever more, Amen!

“Amazing grace how sweet that sound that saved a wretch like me”.

In consideration of who God actually is and with His capacity to operate outside the realms of time; in other words to have the ability to time-travel and knowing what He knows and then to still be willing to send His Son to die in my place gives me great insight into a part of His character that is unquestionably full of compassion. “Why”! The simplest riposte I can muster is that GOD IS LOVE! His persona is Love and it must drive Him to be compassionate, wow!

“Amazing Grace how sweet that sound that saved a wretch like me”.

It would be an improbable accomplishment to arrive at this conclusion without the eyes of faith; God’s goodness personified in the heart of a wretched sinner like me. It leaves my thoughts so full that it feels as if my brain is about to explode. Thank you Father God for remembering me…

Signing off

Tyrone

  

   

Jesus in my place

An open letter to my Redeemer

It would be amiss not to begin my correspondence with thanks-giving. Thank you Lord Jesus for laying your life down and rescuing me from such destruction; I would love to believe that I have not taken your sacrifice as a small feat, in fact you had the entire world, both the known world and the unseen realm where Satan and his renegades live causing havoc up against you and even those closest to you at times didn’t really understand what was going on; most of the time in fact! You had come to live and then died for sin.

As I look back over time I have been haphazard with my application and the call on my life. We are taught very clear from scripture that you will know a tree by its fruits. A man often says one thing whilst doing another as hypocrisy plays its part. Thank you Father God for reminding me of the price paid for my salvation.  It cost the Lord Jesus having to leave the portals of heaven. He bled and died for me! Why do I at times so haphazardly draw away and find myself sitting in the pigs pen of unbelief, forgive me! Old patterns of habits unfortunately still play their part and when broken down it is nothing more than the sin of unbelief. How I long for the day when I will be like Him with every one of my considerations.

In spite of so many grappling with their old natures in one form or another, the thought of your liberation is almost a fairytale to my intellect but I know it to be true. There is such beauty in your cruel sacrifice; it has freed me from certain destruction and eternal damnation. It has given the Christian true hope. To find myself amongst that number gives me such an overwhelming awareness of absolute bliss that I am almost left speechless. But I will not be silent! I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever and I will shout from the mountaintops when it comes to your love my heavenly Father. Jesus Christ my Lord has rescued me by laying down His life upon that cruel Roman hill, Golgotha is its name. “Jesus in my place”! Can you hear the cry O sluggard, Jesus has died for you, what will you do with His sacrifice?

Let’s consider a man’s discipline, my self-restraint. To be fair there is a small amount of resolve that plays its part in my life, mornings are the best times for me; while everyone still sleeps I am able to have fellowship with my God. This is a deliberate action and over time I have made my own. Thank you my God for your grace in this area of my life. But what of times when I have had it in my power to do something deliberate, to bless someone else at my expense, there are countless times where selfishness has had the victory. The Lord Jesus was never like that; "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." (Luke 9:58) - He always thought of others first. Or what of the time where He felt the need to fast and pray for 40 days prior to His encounter with the devil. I have fasted only once and that was for 3 days, a long shot off the target. I am filled with so much self and I confess my weakness.

No going back to my state prior to salvation, the daunting reality of it all is I didn’t know that I needed saving. I went about my daily business none the wiser, save that niggling thought, “there must be more”. I did nothing to deserve rescue and yet I have found it in you, wow! Lost to my sin and then salvage; the love of God who can fathom it; YOU took pity on a people inapt to their sin, no differently to a headless chicken running aimlessly waiting for death to have the final say. Bereavement the final puncture in a man’s life! But you alone conquered death and it has now lost its sting, praise God!

Lord Jesus you are my hero, there is no one who can compare with you and I mean NO ONE! Bless your name now and forever more, Amen and Amen! The world can have their super heroes for I have mine, He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords; I am His and He is mine; nothing else is needed to sustain a man. Sure food and clothing is required through life but He will always make a way when there seems to be no way through the trial of life, I have lived long enough to understand this truth and there are many recorded accounts of this reality both in the recorded documentation of scripture and through the testimony of others who have lived beyond that Era. I can vouch for that.

I must confess that I hate the weakness of my flesh but in the same breathe I love how you have fashioned feebleness to highlight our need to depend on your grace and not on our own achievement the way religion teaches a man to behave as it looks for him to find justification in what he does instead of what you have done. Salvation is a gift of God, it is all of God! We have no claim to boast regardless of our obedience. Nevertheless we must all learn to find obedience in our God and we must learn to trust you through the throws of life. How the vortex of that struggle continuously nags away at my inner core having to be told this truth over and over again. I depend upon your justification. It is God who justifies and not our own deceiving intellects. This is a lesson we must all wrestle with to make our own; “Jesus in my place”!  

I do admit that the traps along life’s journey are very real. They often bring a man to his knees, why am I so slow to understand? Forgive me Lord Jesus my love. The doubts of unemployment have pressed hard on me and the niggling thought of food, shelter and raiment is very real and I cannot pretend that this doesn’t concern me. In South Africa and under the current condition as a white man nearing almost half a century leaves me with an anxiety that I detest.  If only I could learn to channel every drive I possess into your loving arms. How I long to rest in them, to lay my head upon your chest and feel the comfort of your heart beat as it brings about that peace which you alone impart to those who draw nigh unto you. To feel a sense of absolute safety even amidst the inundation of the storms of life as the waves of time bash away at my hope. But nay my God, my hope is in you and the harder the wind beats upon my cheeks the more it drives me to cling onto you. You are the greatest of Shepherds and I love you for your tender mercies, forgive me for the times when I seem to lose sight of my hope in you, I ask for your forgiveness for the stints in my life where I lack faith and I am quick to run to the “old man” for release which always without exception brings regret.

Change my heart my God and make it ever new so that I may be like you, this is my longing desire. Continue to ignite my hope in your finished work and continue to remind me that those who endure to the end shall be saved and ultimately become like you, wow! This is the Christians hope and it is only ever attainable by our faith in you. We must all learn to depend upon your finished work in spite of the trickery of our minds and the lies we are told by those outside.

Help these words now begin to mold me like never before is my prayer, so that I may be about your business and not my selfish wants which always disappoint; “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1Corinthians 15:56-58)  

Kiss me my Lord with your mouth for your love is far better than the comfort of wine. Do not look upon my blemishes of life for they have left terrible scars; they often remind me of my folly and cause me to take my eyes off your beauty. The distractions of life often call my name, forgive me my love! How graciously you deal with me, I still have so much to learn whilst you patiently succor me in my need. I have a long way to travel, draw nigh unto to me for the journey remains a treacherous one but I know with absolute assurance that you shall sustain me through it all. You are the anchor to my soul. Please extinguish all the flames of my unbelief as the trials of life press in. I know that they have been designed for my benefit and they are there to teach me to trust you my gracious heavenly Father. Dependency upon you my Lord is the lesson, with independence needing to make a rapid exit.

Lord when I gaze into your eyes, my love is stirred to new heights as you settle my nerves and your concern gives me a calming peace that relaxes my soul. As I glean through your Word, the Bible, I realize that Moses allowed men through the law to divorce their wives because of the hardness of their hearts and yet I have given you countless opportunities for neglect but you stick closer than a brother in spite of my conduct. Thank you my love. My ending prayer is please equip me to leave all the rot of unbelief behind and help me cleave with absolute resolve onto your finished work in every area of my life so that just like Samson I may end well bringing you the glory you alone so richly deserve.

“JESUS IN MY PLACE”!

Signing off

Tyrone

The Truth Commission

Finding forgiveness is not always the easiest task and sometimes a can of worms needs to be opened before that can be accomplished. I recall during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as a press photographer whilst sitting in on some of those hearings, with camera in hand and waiting to capture an emotion on film that would tell the story. It was in those trials that I experienced what true forgiveness really entailed; even though I was awe struck by the severity of some of the violent crimes that when brought to light, with the horrific tortures and deaths of the innocent covered up and kept from the public’s eye. All the commission was looking for in most cases was honesty from the concerned offender. Most offenders operated under the government’s instruction. The National Party used some severe tactics to keep equality at bay. After Nelson Mandela had come into Power and for the sake of peace and reconciliation in South Africa a committee was formed, the Truth Commission sprung to life and in my opinion it helped free many from their resentment. In some cases it achieved its objective and as Christians there is much to learn from this sanctioned action. Why form a coalition that undertook to free war criminal from their diabolical actions in the Apartheid Era that ruled South Africa for decades?  

Observe some vital principles; it takes the powers that be to condemn or convict the offending parties, they have it in their power to pass judgement. Their intent was for those who crossed the line in “humanity” to own up to their crimes and to be honest about their involvement in them. Only then would a pardon be considered. Some received absolution whilst others didn’t. The question that needs answering, did they achieve their objective? The little I was privileged enough to witness has taught me the power of true forgiveness. I saw a mother who had lost her child and had sat through the entire questioning process as the truth about her son became evident. The gore revolved around his death mentioned and yet I saw a broken woman somehow find it in her heart to forgive her sons murderer. The embrace of mother and murderer highlighted with tears was gargantuan in light of so much hate that surrounds our world. We so often quickly react with such negativity for the smallest offense and here was a murderer who asked for forgiveness. As they stood eyeballing each other with the mother gazed locked on her son’s killer; she said, “I forgive you”. That action shattered him, the tears that filled his eyes revealed sorry, regret and humiliation. He was truly sorry for his actions and she now had the power to condemn or forgive and she chose the latter. Wow! I condone you “mother” and thank you for your action that is fresh in my memory twenty years later.

Do you see a similar picture as God chose to forgive us for our crimes? “Jesus in my place” must be our reality with a true understanding of what this means. God is God and He has it in His power to condemn or to forgive those who oppose His order. Sin is the offense and even if we have only ever sinned once in our lives, which is impossible we would still be guilty of a crime and subject to the punishment of that law, God’s law! The penalty, eternal death for all eternity with hell as our final destination; now some think that is a preposterous thought but God has so ordered it and as He is the final authority on the matter so the opposing opinions have very little bearing on the matter. He alone has it in His power to forgive or to Condemn and the sooner we realize this the sooner we can deal with whatever needs to be dealt with. If that man had walked into that hearing arrogant and conceited do you think he would have found forgiveness? Why then would it be any different with our attitude towards God? The sooner we find forgiveness for our sins. Just as the charged person stood before the Truth Commission and confessed his crimes, we too will have to confess our sins before the Almighty God and no cover-up story will be allowed. Honesty must be the order of the day if we are to have any chance of finding forgiveness.

God has made a way of escape for the sinner; “Jesus in my Place”. He has taken the punishment for my sin and has paid my debt in full. But what action did I need to take for this to happen? I needed to confess my sin acknowledging my fault and sin against God’s precepts. I was obligated to truly own them and then I needed to cry for forgiveness from the One who has it in His power to forgive, seeking out His forgiveness and only then will the light switch be flipped and illuminate the grandiose mercy I have been offered. Praise the name of Jesus! In the sunlight of what has been penned maybe these verses will now take on new meaning; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)

Signing off

Tyrone

        

     

The Bible - A locked door or an open window?

I believe that the majority of people in existence pursue a life filled with blessings and yet how many strive to be blessed from God as their ultimate achievement? Health, wealth and prosperity high on the list of all and yet as we begin to test the formulas life has to offer we see that they lack substance. There are holes in the procedures to life that just don’t add up. Work, play and then more work with the looming inevitable outcome that knocks for all, DEATH! And then I am reminded that while we breathe there is hope for all to find God in their lives. There is something in a man that constantly propels him to look for more but I have lived long enough to understand we are never satisfied, until we come face to face with our creator.

Pay attention! Life is filled with empty promises that will never truly gratify; sure we can look back on our past and recall the “good times”, reflecting on what we say were great memories or so called great experiences. But if I really strip it down I am left wanting, let’s me illustrate my point. I remember when I was in the prime of my life, 22 years old on a yacht, “Sea Jay” in the middle of the Mediterranean Ocean with all its trimmings. It wasn’t enough! I needed more! Or much later on in life when I had a million rand in the bank, it wasn’t enough I needed more!

It is only when we come face to face with our God that the pennies will drop into place and life will begin to make sense. You will then have an eternal purpose that will energize you with tremendous hope with faith as your catalyst to drive you to your ultimate goal, which is an existence with God for today and into eternity. The only means by which we can achieve this is through repentance; we must all learn this valuable lesson and we must call upon the name of the Lord and ask Him to forgive us for our sins, if not nothing about our lives will change and the procession of clutching at the next so called opportunity to find satisfaction will continue as we look to quench our unquenchable desires. Sadly not everyone while come to this realization and yet the offer has gone out to all. Have you understood or is the hope of winning the “Lotto of life” still the only hope you have?

Let’s face it we are all driven to find blessings for our lives and here is the lesson that I have learnt from life with all its trimmings. True blessing, the blessing that is filled with substance and brings true fulfillment is this; “Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!” (Psalms 128:1) – Having considered all, the sole purpose for all is to fear God and to keep His commandments and yet I have also learnt that this is an impossible task. So what now? Mankind is doomed, who has lived a life without sin? Mandela, Ghandi, the Dali Lama or mother Teresa? They all have been subject to some form of sin somewhere along their journey, that is a given. But there was one who never succumbed to any form of sin in His life and because of that I will take note of what He has to say…

Let us reason together, if you need advice on a repair, who would one consult? Obviously someone in the know, someone qualified for that repair. I wouldn’t take my ripped trousers to a motor vehicle mechanic but rather to a tailor. In like manner why would I seek out the advice of those who have all been privy to sin if I had an opportunity to learn from the one that concurred sin? Who would be more qualified on the subject? The one with the doctorate! The one who passed the test! No other man has ever concurred sin in their lifetime here on earth, except Jesus Christ the man and what does he say about the blessings of life? What do we need to do to be satisfied? “There is much to do about life” from many differing voices but the only true master on the subject was the one who has concurred sin, the Lord Jesus Christ, praise his name! For the sake of clarity let me repeat my question, from whom will you receive your instructions? I have made my choice it is now up to you to make yours.

“God wrote a book” and in it is the keys to eternal life and peace on earth. It is here that we find the miracle of life and its starts with an encounter with Gods own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Bible we are afforded opportunities to come face to face with our God. That in itself is a miracle, once our eyes have been open to spiritual things; “Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."” (John 3:1-3)

  

Therefore without our spiritual eyes receiving sight we will remain in the dark to spiritual things. Nevertheless for us to unlock the realm of what is spiritual we need to search out that which is spiritual; “God wrote a book”, we have the Bible at our fingertips and it is here that we will find the answer to life, if you are a sceptic don’t take my word for it; read, read and then read some more and watch the miracle of understanding unfold before your own eyes. As John Piper suggests the Bible can be view as a window filled with opportunities or it could remain a locked door that you will never look to enter, my prayer for you is that the Bible becomes your window of hope from here on in.      

Signing off

Tyrone