Re-visiting the purpose of life...

As my mind races about this morning from thought to intent, I believe it would be good for me to bring them to an abrupt halt and concentrate on my own commitment towards the grace of God in my life and his abundant mercies. Even though I may have posted similar thoughts before I feel that such considerations should be re-visited from time to time. It is needful for us to all consider our blessing in Him and the escape that we have received from our heavenly Father.

When I consider what I actually deserve, hell would be a just reward for all the sin in my life and yet I have escaped that fate and all because of my Saviour’s Love towards me. In spite of my rebellion towards God, God the Father initiated the rescue for my soul. He sent His only begotten Son to pay the price for my sin…  

Therefore, I resolve in His abundant grace and by the finished work of my Savior’s wonderful accomplishments, I will now therefore go on the record and pen these words.

I articulate that from today, I will make every effort to trust the Word of God with greater intent than I did yesterday. In addition, implement your instructions to the best of my abilities within the bounds of your mercies. When faced with choices I will look to the Word of God for counsel with greater determination and believe in its instructions as a child trusts in their father’s ability to keep them safe. I will not let the nagging voice of apparent reason influence your instruction. I certainly do not want any relationship to stand in the way of that truth.

“Let God be true and every man a liar”… I know in whom I believe! There is none like you; you are all knowing; perfect in all of your character and you have instructed your children to walk by faith, which feeds our hope and in turn energizes us to find your will for our lives.   

Continue to teach me these valuable lessons; give me a deeper understanding of what the men of old went through in regard to their commitment to you. My prayer is that you would help and instill your truths in me like never before, so that I may glorify your name as you equip me to walk by faith. I am thankful that these lessons have already kicked into gear, here I am Father God take me where you need me to be. I will not be as bold as I once was in my youth and cry out “thrash me if I am out of line”. Moreover, how I needed that trashing, but I will understand that I will be forever indebted to you for it. I stand in awe when I think of the goodness of Jesus and I think of what He has done for me. Thank you for being patient with me Father God. I love you my King. How merciful you are to some who are in desperate need to find rescue from themselves. When I consider a man like Samson the Nazirite, one of the men of faith mentioned in Hebrews chapter 12. A man blessed of God from birth. The one you called out to free Israel in a desperate time. And how things panned out in his life; with all eventually giving up on him; “But God” after allowing him to travel down a very slippery slope as he flirted with your promises, he eventually came to his senses; “But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.” (Judges 16:22) – People often write off others as spent, but you Father God are the final authority on all things and you look into the hearts of your children and determine their outcome. My plea is that you renew a right spirit in me, as you teach me to wait patiently for your rescue in every area of my life. Open my senses to the Word of God like never before, as a hunter hones his knife ready for use when called upon. What else does a man have that will stand the test of time, the pleasures of this world are temporal and lures to take my eyes off what really counts, YOUR VOICE and YOUR WILL!  

 

When we study any given subject there will come a time when we are expected to write an exam. Am I ready for the test? On reflection, I have failed many tests dismally and yet a resolve that can only come from the Spirit of God has driven me to pursue your will for my life. Please continue to drive me towards your will and not my wants, and I know that you, my great God and Father, will give me the desires of my heart. Thank you for who you are Jehovah God, Amen!

I am persuaded that you are true and that it is impossible for you to lie, not that my validation would add any value to your awesome character but this truth helps me with my application of “putting on the mind of Christ”. Gracious Heavenly Father you are perfect in every facet of your being, and how do I know this to be true? You Word so declares it, the Lord Jesus said; “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

God can and will never be enticed by sin. It is out of the reach of His brilliance. Satan thought he was immune to sin but proved that he was taken by it, in fact he is the author of it, at least when it involved mankind. Was he not the one to entice Eve with mankind’s very first sin? Ay! Therefore it is imperative for my mind to be captivated by these truths; “if God is for me who can be against me”, but in the same breath if you are for me, I too must be as equally committed and take up my cross and follow you with new vigour. This I will only ever achieve if you enable me to apply my wishes. Restore the resolve I once had when I was newly saved so that I may take up my cross and follow my beloved Saviour even to death if need be for your name’s sake. However, not with zeal without knowledge, I could never repay the debt of your kindness, thank you Father God for your undying love and commitment toward me; I just want to go on the record and thank you. THANK YOU MY LOVING GOD AND KING!  

Sure, I am fully aware of the weakness I still have as the old man looks to rob me of this, but the truth has been declared in and through your Word that I am a new creature in Christ, old things have passed away and all things have become new; “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2Corinthians 5:17) – It is this truth that I long to embrace, restore what the canker worm has eaten from my life and thank you Father that as I make this request I am persuaded that you will oblige, bless your name now and forever more, there is no One like you and because of this I can cry Abba Father, Amen and Amen!

Let me leave you with the song I now sing…

“When I think of the goodness of Jesus, when I think of what He has done for me my very soul cries out hallelujah, praise God for saving me.”  

Signing off

Tyrone       

Encountering God

Who is God is the pressing question on so many minds?

We needn’t journey too far into a conversation about religion amongst a random group of people to soon realise that we are very opinionated individuals. Whatever “god” fits into a person’s lifestyle seems to win their vote. I recall as a schoolboy on Sunday’s lining up in different groups for the different denominations services. Greek orthodox, Roman Catholics, Methodists, and whatever else was on offer that resembled religion were accepted. All claimed that they were on the right path. It was no different in my two year National Service stint in the Marines.

Let us not be fooled into making any brash assumptions concerning God or His character. However we most certainly have seen the Father in and through the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Reject the Lord and you reject God, full stop!

One third of the Godhead left the portals of heaven and went through the normal throes of life like any other infant, born of a virgin woman, Mary impregnated by the Spirit of God. Just imagine the uproar as she claimed that she had been with no man and yet she was pregnant; God confounding the wise opinionated perceptions of man’s logic. A clue to understanding who God actually is, the impossible made possible. God showing that He is not bound to mankind’s limitations. And we are given this verse from the Apostle Paul which highlights the point; “For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness." (1Corinthians 3:19) – God is not bound by the same laws we are, He is beyond that, He is far greater!

By design we all look for something greater than ourselves and the problem many have with their interpretation of who God actually is, they bring him down to their level instead of meeting Him on His level. God is Spirit and we are made up of flesh and blood, sold to sin. Our nature is the opposite of His. We are miles apart in character and the Lord Jesus proved this when he lived as a man. He had it in his power to destroy those who arrested him and eventually had him crucified whilst having it in his power to terminate them all and yet he allowed it to happen; “Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?”” (Matthew 26:52-53) - We on the other hand instinctively fight for our rights. We cry, “unfair, we have rights you know”. 

The Apostles walk and lived with the man Jesus Christ and they experienced his miraculous powers as he performed miracle after miracle whilst living on earth. He gave sight to the blind, raised the dead, walked on water and performed numerous other incredible feats. Those who witnessed it were in awe and many flocked to see him. Wherever he went he was surrounded by the masses. Sadly many came to tickle their sense and get a handout, from healings to food but their encounters were temporary and they missed the most important reason for Christ’s arrival and that was to forgive them of their sins. True repentance eluded them and their lives continued as they always had once the Lord was out of sight. However there were others who were miraculously changed and sold out for Him. Take the Apostles, one day living life as they always had and then eventually preaching the gospel, forgetting what they once achieved in their lifetimes and even in spite of the persecution they faced from there on in. History teaches us that all but John were eventually martyred. Even Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed the Lord could no longer live with his crime and he took his own life.

Without change in a person’s life the notion of religion is but a fantasy and no more. If we claim salvation in and through the Lord Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for our sin and we continue to live like we always have, we deceive ourselves. It is a form of religion that is dead. A true encounter with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will transform us into new individuals; “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2Corinthians 13:5)

Moses is a man that fought for that reality and although God is Spirit he longed to catch a glimpse of God. Here is the account; “Moses said, "Please show me your glory." And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." And the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen."” (Exodus 33:18-23)

Lets us glean some important truths from this passage of scripture…

Moses’ encounter was like no other this side of heaven, and although many people witnessed the Lord Jesus in the form of a man with His glory veiled by flesh, Moses was in God’s presence on a much higher level, God revealing part of His glory, sensational, what an encounter that must have been. Amazingly, although Moses had been on the mount for some time he couldn’t get enough of God’s glory and so he looked for more. Is that our daily determination I wonder. But one thing is for sure when we, like Moses, have encountered God’s glory, even though veiled, we will hunger for more of it, that is a given!

We also learn that God is Sovereign (self-governing) and is the final decision maker with His creation, there are no polls that determine the outcome of any decision He makes. He alone has it in His power to bestow mercy on an individual and unless you find His covering you will be doomed for eternity. Therefore we must make every effort to observe His instructions in and through His word, the Bible.

What blessed me with Moses’ encounter was the more he was given the more he requested. He teaches us to strike while the iron is hot. If we find grace from the Lord we need to capitalize on it. I am persuaded that God will bless those who are greedy to witness His glory.

There is much more I could say about our awesome God but for now time has run its course so I will leave you with this thought: God is so majestic that even Moses could not look at His face and live. It would be impossible to come into the fullness of God’s glory as a human being and survive.

In conclusion, all those who like to “box” God into their little worlds will one day experience His wrath and see Him for who He actually is. However today is a great day as the grace of God is still on offer to the world and all its inhabitants, use it wisely, and while we have breath we have hope, so share the Gospel to a dying world while it is yet the day, night is coming and then it will be too late for our loved ones.

Signing off

Tyrone

   

                 

  

  

Exercise

Exercise teaches us to be disciplined and it brings with it rewarding results when managed correctly. Most of us have been trained in some form of exercise through the throes of our lifetimes. A body builder ensures that his routine is precise and accurate to achieve their desired results. They are motivated by the change to their physiques. But one thing is certain if they do not adhere to strict diets and their daily programmes they will not reap their full potential. This is a principal we can apply to every area of our lives, “no pain no gain” and it is no different to the Christian walking in the Spirit, they must be trained within the realms of spiritual truths. The Word of God is where we find the correct instructions for our lives and it is imperative that we set our minds upon those truths if we are to be rewarded.

The beauty of it all is we have the Commander of the universe instructing us. However, when we ignore the instructions we find in the Word of God we stagnate in our growth as Christians and bear very little fruit to our lives.  In fact we hinge on the fringes of unbelief, which is a very dangerous place for the child of God to live.

“Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1Timothy 4:7- 8) – It is crucial to note that this verse emphasis that we are to train ourselves for godliness; we must resolve to be serious about the call that God has placed on our lives. I know that there are areas of my life that I am not willing to freely yield, but I am wrong and my stubbornness is hampering my progress. Sure, we are but flesh and this process will never come from the flesh it must be driven by the Spirit of God that now dwells in us. But I am convinced of this one fact if I have understood the theory, it is God who has been merciful and quickened my understanding and I now must be willing to find grace to yield in the areas that I struggle with. Will I? Time will tell!

We most certainly have an enemy that looks to trip us up with our progress towards godliness and the flesh will never be able to achieve God’s righteousness per say. The Apostle James teaches us this truth; “Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.” (James 1:13-16) – Lets suppose I am training as an athlete for the Olympics and I have a weakness for chocolate and it has been proven through research that chocolate hinders my progress but I have a weakness for it, it is obvious I need refrain from eating chocolate. In like manner to proceed in righteousness I need to put off my old habits, whatever it is that hinders my development. The beauty of it all is I am not left to my own devices to achieve the anticipated result. But we have been afforded storerooms of grace to draw from in time of need and we need to be exercised in that application. How will we ever learn this valuable lesson unless there are times in our lives that we are confronted with temptation? It is part of the training process and this will be our lot in life as long as we live here on earth. Once God calls us home and we breathe our last we will then be graded on how disciplined we actually were. And just in case you doubt that to be true the Apostle Paul enlightens us to a day of judgement for the Christian; “each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:13-15)

I realise that this is making reference to what we teach others in respect to God’s Word, however there is most certain a principle we can draw from in regards to our application to others and not applying them to ourselves with hypocrisy playing its part in trying to trip up the Christian. It is only through training and applying ourselves to Spiritual truths that we will learn to conquer that beast.

Signing off

Tyrone     

      

      

Be still and listen

We must all arrive at a correct understanding to clearly hear the voice of God in our lives. That statement would seem like a no brainer and should be obvious to all, but is it? Let us delve a little deeper. Firstly if my ears have been tweaked to “selfish wants” I will not be in the zone I ort to be with my flesh playing its part in hindering those life-changing gems from above, my flesh acts like a sound proof room filled with empty egg boxes pasted all over the walls. It muffles the clarity of what is actually being transmitted. In other words we must put on the mind of Christ, I know I say this often but it must become part of our characters if we are to grow up into His likeness. It must become our first port of call and not the second. This then is the call for all who claim salvation in Him. The Apostle Peter is very clear on this; “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1Peter 4:1-2)

Our life after conversion is about the will of God, in fact regardless of mans intent everything will eventually align itself with God’s will. He is the director of the universe and whether people acknowledge this truth or not will make no difference to the end result that I can guarantee you. However for the Christian it’s about learning to tweak our ears to His voice, this is the key to unlocking peace within our souls. And it would be good for us to understand the theory behind it all and then we can call upon our great Saviour to find grace in time of need to appropriate these truths into our lives.

We must all conclude that suffering is part of our internship; we must stop trying to skirt this reality. Instead of always asking the question, why? Let us rather probe our thoughts to inquire, what I am being taught through the test. And we will soon realise that it all pivots on our faith in Him. Read Hebrews chapter 11 and it will soon become obvious that the point I stress is accurate. Independence is our enemy and not our confederate. Our dependence upon the grace of God in time of need is all we require to become effective Christians.

However this does not come naturally to us as humans, we need to put on the mind of Christ to find this reality.

Our eternal existences depend on one thing alone and that is the Word of God. God has proved this to us from the beginning and the Apostle John saw this clearly and that is why I think He began His Gospel with these words; “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 any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5) – Later on in the chapter he educates us to this truth; “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) – And I will remind you that John was called the beloved disciple and if we want to embrace God’s love to the fullest degree we must learn from him; “Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.” (John 13:23) – John was allowed to rest upon the Lord Jesus’ bosom, it was a place reserved by the Lord for him, wow! What a privilege he was afforded. Imagine the intimacy they shared. In fact history teaches us that he was the only disciple that wasn’t martyred.

In conclusion let us remember that God’s ways are not the ways of the world, His brilliance is far higher than the scurvy found in this world. Let us learn to appropriate the Word of life into our lives, whatever the cost and it will be well with our souls. That does not mean that we will only ever need to suffer continuously, God understands our frailty and He often brings us relief when we have learnt what is needed to go on towards His perfection, praise His name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone     

      

    

Come out from among them

We are on our way into the New Year with normality already starting to gain momentum; it is the first working day of the year for many. As Christians I would endeavour to encourage us with a very simple request and yet to take it rather seriously and not run with the crowd. We are floorboards for the world to walk all over with the masses looking to discredit our every move and with time moving on, it will only get worse. We have been called to “come out from among them”…

“Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty."” (2Corinthians 6:17 -18) – All this simply implies is that we are to be a people that do not behave like the rest of the world and if we take this instruction seriously we will make it part of our behaviour. We will not behave like the world and they will unsurprisingly look at us with strange eyes. Nevertheless that is the call for every Christian.

There was a time when I walked as close to the world as I possibly could, I ran with them in hope that I could win some but sadly before long I was running with them. My selfish wants wanted to hang onto the world with all its lusts, this was still part of who I was. “You shall know a tree by its fruit”. That is the only true test that proves where we actually stand with our profession of faith.

This is Charles Spurgeon’s take on those who feel that it is necessary to flirt with the world and their indulgences; “Now, I have heard of some professed Christians, wanting to see, they said, the ways of the ungodly, going into low places of amusement, to spy out the land, to judge for themselves. Such conduct is dangerous and worse. 

My dear friends, I never found it necessary, in my ministry, to do anything of the kind, and yet I think I have had no small success in winning souls. I must confess, I should feel very much afraid to go into hell, to put my head between the lion's jaws, for the sake of looking down his throat. 

I should think I was guilty of a gross presumption if I went into the company of the lewd and the profane to see what they were doing. I should fear that perhaps it might turn out that I was only a mere professor, and so should taint myself with the dead matter of the sin of those with whom I mingled, and perish in my iniquity. 

"Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing!" The resort of the ungodly is not the place for you. "Let the dead bury their dead, but as for thee," said Christ, "follow thou me."

If we must in this life, in a measure, mingle with the dead, let us take care that we never suffer the supremacy of the dead to be acknowledged over the living. It would be a strange thing if the dead were to rule the living: the dead must be laid into their coffins, and put away in their narrow cells according as the living may decree. 

Yet sometimes I have seen the dead have the dominion of this world; that is to say, they have set the fashion, and living Christians have followed. The carnal world has said, "This is the way of trade!" and the Christian man has replied, "I will follow the custom." Christian, this must not be. 

"Ay, but," saith one, "I must do as others do, for you know we must live." This also is not true, for there is no necessity for our living; there is a very great necessity for our dying sooner than living, if we cannot live without doing wrong. O Christian, you must never endure that corruption should conquer grace. 

By God's grace, if you get at all under the power of custom, you must cry out, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me?" You must wrestle till you conquer, and cry, "Thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."”

Time is closing in on the offer of God’s grace for people to find their salvation, let us therefore be examples so that some may see our lights in a dark and dying world as some draw nigh unto the Lord calling out for His redeeming power.

Signing off

Tyrone

This thought was ignited after reading a post from Pyromaniacs (another Christian site) 

A New Year

(Plasms 119:173)  “Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.”

Today is the 1st day of a new year; something rather common for so many of us who has reached their last lap of life as time marches on. Regardless of your age, today is a new year filled with innovative possibilities. Whether it’s that same New Year’s resolution that you make every other year, just to break it, or something new; today is a day filled with promising potential, it speaks of new beginnings or so the world has programmed the masses to accept that New Years resolutions is rather the norm. It is possibly the most eventful day of the year with the tenacities of so many looking for change. Sadly old wine cannot be put into new wine skins as the container will burst. For centuries now people have endeavoured to avoid their doom, Botox and the like is only an external lie because you internal organs  will eventually run their course; with death looming for all and then the judgement. Since the beginning of time no one has cheated death but it has been mans intention from the beginning to avoid bereavement, we have an instinctive nature that drives us to live. It’s only God who has it in His power to implement such acts of mercy and there have been only a few who had never physically died; Enoch, Elijah and possibly Moses comes to mind.

Let us not keep on making the same mistakes as we mix up our application with our implementation of our faith towards God, if we are new creatures in Christ; if we have been born again by the Spirit of God, then we need to live with that mind-set and learn to put on the mind of Christ each and every day, prior to brushing our teeth in the morning, it must become our first natures and not our second; God first and not the other way around. Today is a new beginning so let us make this our resolve and it will be well with our souls. Here is a verse that came to my attention this morning, let it sink in and regardless of where you are within your walk with the Lord, whether you are a “babe in Christ” or “going on to perfection” let it change our lives; “Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.” (Plasms 119:173) – I am convinced that God helps all of His children even when they are in the depths of the pig’s pen but we cannot continue to live there, for He has far better things in mind for us. But when and if we learn to put His precepts as our first port of call our lives will be lamps in a dark and dying world for all to witness and it will be well with our souls. And then we can stand back and watch God turn our lives around, whatever your need or your circumstance look out for God’s helping hand as the seemingly impossible becomes evident to His faithful obedient children.

God has always looked for those who would live by faith in Him. This then is my resolution; to put God first like never before and I know that He will come through for me. I beseech you to do the same…

There came a time in the Israelites journey through the Wilderness where they reach their destination and then they ate all the delicacies from the land of Canaan, which was filled with milk and honey…

Let me leave you with these inspiring words…

(Joshua 5:12) “They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.”

“Israel’s weary wanderings were all over, and the promised rest was attained. No more moving tents, fiery serpents, fierce Amalekites, and howling wildernesses: they came to the land which flowed with milk and honey, and they ate the old corn of the land. Perhaps this year, beloved Christian reader, this may be thy case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in active exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight. To be with Jesus in the rest which remaineth for the people of God, is a cheering hope indeed, and to expect this glory so soon is a double bliss. Unbelief shudders at the Jordan which still rolls between us and the goodly land, but let us rest assured that we have already experienced more ills than death at its worst can cause us. Let us banish every fearful thought, and rejoice with exceeding great joy, in the prospect that this year we shall begin to be “for ever with the Lord.”

A part of the host will this year tarry on earth, to do service for their Lord. If this should fall to our lot, there is no reason why the New Year’s text should not still be true. “We who have believed do enter into rest.” The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance; he gives us “glory begun below.” In heaven they are secure, and so are we preserve in Christ Jesus; there they triumph over their enemies, and we have victories too. Celestial spirits enjoy communion with their Lord, and this is not denied to us; they rest in his love, and we have perfect peace in him: they hymn his praise, and it is our privilege to bless him too. We will this year gather celestial fruits on earthly ground, where faith and hope have made the desert like the garden of the Lord. Man did eat angels’ food of old, and why not now? O for grace to feed on Jesus, and so to eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan this year!” (Charles Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone  

   

  

Living and active

We have all been given the same commission “that if we walk in the Spirit we shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh”. This is rather a thought-provoking phenomenon when we consider how daunting the task actually is. But before we unpack the application behind it all, it would be good to dissect our thoughts over our intentions which can only ever be tested by the Word of God; “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)  

Our carnalities have some stubborn deep rooted pre-conceived ideas that keep us chained instead of finding freedom in Christ; “It ort not to be so brethren”! I will not and cannot claim to have conquered in all areas of my life, I am far from that objective, however we are called to walk circumspectly; the Apostle Paul had this to say; “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1Corinthians 9:27) – I would love to conclude that I have finally arrived in this area of my life, but that would be a stretch of what is actually true. However there are most certainly areas in my life that have strengthened in discipline by the grace of God. And yet when I gaze into the mirror the remaining quests that needs work seems daunting and a lost cause, but I now know better than to believe that I cannot attain all things in Christ who strengthens me. It’s all about being honest with ourselves and finding grace to overcome in time of need. This is the theory: we must now make every effort in the Spirit to walk in such a manner that we can echo the words of Paul. This then is our goal! But before we can achieve a favourable outcome, we must understand how to apply ourselves to a constructive solicitation.

Honesty is the first step, God sees us for who we are but do we see ourselves as we are?

The flesh and the Spirit are made up of differing substances; just like water and oil cannot mix, so too must we understand that we cannot mix the Spirit and the flesh. Unfortunately this is where we often go wrong. We try and apply our carnalities to the instructions given to us by the Spirit. We often try to fix ourselves up from the outside in instead of from the inside out. If I have a virus that gives my body a rash, I then seek out medication that heals the rash instead of going to the root cause of the problem. I need to eradicate the virus and the rash will then take care of itself. Get the point?

The bible is full of illustrations that teach us these lessons; “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, 'The old is good.'" (Luke 5:37-39)

This is why we are taught by the Lord Jesus this very valuable lesson; “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6) – We now have a dilemma; we are Christians who have been born again, our spirits have been quickened by the Spirit of God but we have a flesh and blood body that houses His Spirit.       

       

This is why we must learn to walk in the Spirit and not under the earnestness of our old natures. There is a simple test that proves our application within our daily walks. It’s rather simple when viewed correctly through the eyes of faith.

Examine the fruit of your life and it will soon become apparent how we walk. Do you suffer from anxiety and is your life still filled with rebellion, or are you at peace in every area of your life? One may say, I am at peace in certain areas of my life but not others. Well then, we may still be a work in progress which we all are. However, this is obviously the evidence of walking in the flesh as to the contrast of walking in the Spirit. It can be easily tested.

Is my life filled with these attributes; “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Or is my day filled with; “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.”

Now back to my first point; let us not make the mistake of singling out the obvious sins that we so easily pick upon whilst turning a blind eye to others, which have been equally mentioned in this text. Is your life free from sexual immorality but you habitually have “fits of anger”? Then sir, you are walking in the flesh and not the Spirit. And as we move through the list we will soon see where we are failing as Christians. This is a very hard text to get our heads around, but the point of any text is not to swallow us up but to free us and the only way this will ever be achieved is if we are honest with ourselves and with God, seeking out His forgiveness where we have erred. It is a continuous way of life for the Christian; we will have to be a person filled with self- reflection until the day we die.

But let us not lose sight of my main point and it is this; “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)

In conclusion let me leave you with this very valuable portion of scripture whilst we remember that it will soon become obvious where we stand before our holy God and Father and what is required from us; “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” (Romans 6:9-18)

Now it is up to us to find grace by the Spirit in time of need and to view all sin in the same category and not give some sins a pass.

Signing off

Tyrone

   

    

 

     

A radical conversion

I have a few probing thoughts that need to be answered by my Jewish mates or other friends and acquaintances who remain the skeptical concerning the true Gospel message. Jesus Christ the true Messiah has been rejected by many and especially by the household of Israel. Why?

As a nation, they have not accepted Him as their Messiah. But time shall reveal all and they shall be turned with tears as they look upon the Lamb that their fore-fathers crucified and this is how it played out…

“So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Behold the man!" When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him." The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God."” (John 19:5-7) 

There is an offer of God’s love which at present has been extended to all, to the Jew first and also the Gentile; “for God (The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes upon Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” It’s positioned for all to find God’s favour but a man must believe it is of God and from God in order to find this brilliant gemstone in the sparse deserts of righteousness scattered through the regions of the world.    

Here is my question? What would make a man do an about turn after a persistent lifestyle that they habitually followed, come high or low water? Before I get you to respond, I believe there would be value in sharing the testimony of the man in question.

There was a man named Saul, a young devout Jew who was a zealous individual to say the least. He was unlike me in character; a man not driven by wine, woman and song. A man with pedigree, an Israelite and a direct descendant of Abraham: the first man God made a covenant with after the great flood that wiped out the world, except for Noah, his family and the selected animals that were also rescued by God in the Ark which He had instructed Noah to build.

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly."” (Genesis 17:1-2) –

God had established this covenant with Abram or later known as Abraham, this was the man Saul claimed as his direct descendant. He was from the line of Promise according to God’s covenant and he, like others of today, was aware of his privileged position within Jewish circles.

He was a man filled with passion and he believed that killing Christians was honouring God. He was ignorant! This is a confession he makes later on in life: he believed Jesus Christ was a false prophet as he aligned himself with the Jewish rulers of the day. And after the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion he went from house to house seeking out Christians to imprison them and bring them to trial and with the intent of having them imprisoned, or even better, stoned to death.

It was a resolution that encapsulated Saul’s life! “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.” (Acts 8:3) – “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” (Acts 9:1) – He was obviously obsessed with the task that he believed was helping God as a devout Jew to eradicate the vermin and those who oppose the Jewish faith as they believe the Lord Jesus to be a heretic. Only a false prophet would claim to be God and yet today they still await their Messiah, God will be merciful to them as He has been merciful to the Gentile. I would remind the reader that the Gospel started with Jews and not the Gentiles; the very first Christians were not Gentiles but Jews. The Jew is the chosen race, God has so ordained it, but has included provision for the Gentile; in fact it has always been in the heart of God to make allowance for those outside of the seed of Abraham, just so long as they aligned themselves with His laws and requirements.

As I have been spurned with these thoughts please forgive the deviation but it is needful to drive home my point; when Abram became Abraham and the covenant between him and God was honoured by God, Abraham was given a commandment to be circumcised with all of the men from his household to follow suit. And yet even those outside were given an opportunity to be included. They had a choice to make and here it is; “And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.” (Genesis 17:9-15) – Note that even the foreigner was to be circumcised; Thus proving that provision was available even to the outsider way back then. God chose to be merciful even to the outsider. The mercy of God who can fathom it, praise His name!   

       

Now back to the account of Saul; then it happened on his way to Damascus he was struck to the ground and this is the recorded explanation; “Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.” (Acts 9:3-9)

There is much we can glean from this account of Saul’s encounter with God, however let me stay on point; he was blinded by God, and I will remind you that he was blinded not by some other god, but by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He was stopped dead in his tracks, and God blinded him because of his misguided perceptions. For three days although his eyes were open he could see nothing; a terrifying experience to say the least. Imagine the thoughts racing through his mind, “would I ever see again” could well have been one of them. Or “what have I done by killing off Christians”. It will be a question I will ask him if I get the chance one day. Which I will be afforded the chance one day as we serve the same God and heaven will be our final destination. We will dwell together throughout eternity because we have both confessed Jesus Christ as Lord.

Eventually Saul finds salvation in and through the Lord Jesus Christ and not by any merit of the law. He understood that the person he was persecuting was in fact the true Messiah. God took pity on him and saved his soul. In fact he became the Apostle to the Gentiles. God had singled him out to preach to those who had never known God outside of those foreigners in the household of Abraham. Although Abraham was told that he would be a father of many nations; it was a prophecy of what was to come and many gentiles now believe in the only true living God and have been saved in and through the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice. THE TRUE MESSIAH!

Saul’s name was later changed to Paul, a custom that can be found throughout the Bible after true salvation. Abram became Abraham, Saul became Paul and Simon Bar-Jonah became Peter.

Paul (Saul) then did an about turn and began to preach the gospel throughout many regions of the world and he suffered tremendously for it. What he had done to others was now being done to him. Here is what he endured for the sake of the gospel and this is his CV; “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. 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. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.” (2Corinthians 11:22-31)

Let me now conclude with my opening question, what would turn a man like Saul (Paul) a devout Jew, who once rejected Christ as the true Messiah but eventually was willing to sacrifice so much for the sake of God’s call upon his life? I must conclude that he had a personal encounter will the Living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob of this I am convinced. But where does that leave you, have you personally encountered the living God or are you still caught up in your customs and traditions?

Are you amongst God’s elect, if so then call upon the name of the Lord and you shall be saved and your eyes shall be opened to the truth, but call out you must no differently to the call of Saul; "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

Of this I am convinced that if you are of God’s elect you shall respond favourably to the name of Jesus the true Messiah.

Signing off

Tyrone

I AM WHO I AM

If you had to think about life in general, how would you sum it up? Would you choose an adjective like: ‘marvellous’, or would it be ‘exhausting’? One thing is obvious when we isolate all the “periphery noise”, we are self-seekers and it’s all about us. In fact we take it so far that many believe God is obliged to save us on our own merits. Life in general rewards the hard worker and we believe that if we just do enough we will make it into heaven, which is no more than a deception from the one who has blinded the world, the devil, which after salvation we understand that in fact the opposite is true. Grace is unmerited favour; it couldn’t be plainer to understand than that! However many still wrestle with the idea that they had something to do with their conversion, really?! One thing I have understood about myself is that there is no good thing in me, no matter how scrupulous I search for some hidden treasure that could ever warrant finding favour from God. I am rotten to the core and it’s as simple as that! BUT GOD who is gracious has extended to me a lifeline in and through the Lord Jesus Christ my beloved Saviour. God became a man and took my punishment by overcoming sin (all the times I was unable to act righteously) in His own body, and yet He became sin to set me free, if that isn’t unmerited favour personified then I rest my case. Individuals claiming to be “good” prove only one thing, that they do not understand their predicament.

But if I strip this thought down even a little deeper I realise that it is so deep rooted that even when realised, it still lives on. It is like a cancer, even after chemotherapy when the disease has been obliterated it somehow still managers to thrive. Self-worth is a virus so full of ego that a miracle is needed to purge it and that is why salvation can have nothing to do with us. It’s all of God! “It’s the goodness of God that leads a man to repentance”, His goodness and not ours.

The prophet Isaiah had this to say; “"I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25) – pay careful attention to this one fact; He did it for His own sake and not because of who we are but because of who He is. When this penny drops into place we will then be able to truly understand our state before God and even after our rehabilitation we must hang onto this truth as our lives do depend upon it.

When Moses was on the mountain top with God and the children of Israel lost their way and began to go back to a life of debauchery filled with idolatry, God considered blotting them out and starting again. Amazingly it was Moses who reminded him of this one fact that if He killed all the people that He had saved from slavery that God’s enemies would mock His rescue; “And the LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you." But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, "O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, 'I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’“ And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

” (Exodus 32:9-14)

Amazingly God is not enslaved to any laws of nature, He is the creator of all things and therefore nature is subjugated to Him. Time dominates our lives because our human bodies have a beginning and an end, but God had no beginning nor will He ever end; a mind blowing thought! I believe this is one of the points the Apostle Peter drives home when he makes this statement; “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2Peter 3:8) – It proves that He is not governed by time and that He is an eternal body. And yet although He knows the beginning from the end, we see that in His conversation with Moses He feels the moment almost to the exclusion of His overarching plan. I will tread carefully, like I said, “almost”. God never makes mistakes, He is perfect! What can we learn from this encounter? If God is Sovereign, which He is and nothing comes into fruition without His permission, which it true! Why would such a seemingly brash consideration enter His mind with His anger giving thought to obliterating the children of Israel because of their disobedience and starting over again with Moses? It is in the text, read it.

What I learn from this is that God has a character full of varying facets, for which I am truly thankful, He is God and as Sovereign ruler of the universe, He answers to no one. However I learn that He has a heart so big that it has melted my heart, bless the name of Jesus. I love Him because He first loved me. Have you been arrested by the love of God? God continually showing compassion to mankind when they didn’t deserve it, Wow! But like all things under the rule of time which will ultimately run their course. A child is born and then that person eventually dies with judgement looming and it will arrive for all! These are the facts according to scripture; the period of God’s grace would have run its course, and for the unbeliever the unbearable consequence of Hell looming as their final destination for all eternity. This is not a fairly tale friends, reject Christ and suffer the consequences. But for the faithful believer a time of rest and a co-existence with the only true and living God! How I long for that day to arrive!  

Today is a world wide celebration, Christmas is a day celebrated across the globe and although historically it is a day that has been high jacked by Satan with all the frills thrown into it, father Christmas and the like, I would remind you that if you chose to celebrate today as the birth of Christ and as a Christian please remember to share Christ’s birthday celebration with no other idols, for God is a Jealous God. And He will not share His glory with another, make a stand for Him and who knows it may just play its part in a person’s conversion.

I will leave you with this thought; “for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice…” (Exodus 34:14-15)

Signing off

Tyrone