The gifts of God

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

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

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

Let us work through this…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Signing off

Tyrone

Let go and let God...

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

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

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

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

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

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

Signing off

Tyrone

The struggle of Christianity...

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

Observe…

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

- Psalm 22:1

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

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

Signing off

Tyrone

Judge not!

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

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

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

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

Signing off

Tyrone 

The Brilliance of God!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Signing off

Tyrone

Grasping a truth!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Signing off

Tyrone

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Signing off

Tyrone

Truth!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Signing off

Tyrone

Looking a little deeper

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Signing off

Tyrone

The Tongue

The greater the struggle the sweeter the victory is a thought I have often had, which I have already affirmed by scripture. The Lord Jesus introduced love for what it is and should be and it cost him his life. Let’s face it; we should all understand that if a perceived truth isn’t validated by scripture it will bring about decay. Deception may elude an individual’s perceptions for a while but eventually at the end of its course it will bring forth death. Sadly, we are all governed by our carnality, which is an entrapment to sin, and therefore our intention is about the here and now, our nearsightedness steering so many of our perceived perceptions into believing falsifiers. Just like any great mystery, all will be revealed in due season; truth will stand tall!

One of the first encounters recorded for us pertaining to the relationship between man and woman, Adam and Eve were influence by deception, which in turn introduce death into the equation. Prior to sin entering in, death was unheard of. It was a rather simple encounter, words were exchanged. Satan got Eve talking. In fact there was also a tree of life in the garden and yet there seemed to be no interest for its fruit until Eve sinned and they both became aware of death and only then did God command cherubim’s (angels) to guard it as the new forbidden fruit.   

There is much we can learn from that encounter, however, I wish to focus on the immense power of communication. No wonder James is so bold when he gives us insight into the power of our tongues; you have heard the quote “the pen is mightier than the sword”! I would have to concur on so many levels. The Apostle has this to say concerning the tongues destructiveness. It often tries to be syrupy and then it lashes out with malice and ferocity, the questions he asks are these; “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.” (James 3:10-13) – Our tongue proves that our lives are filled with duplicity. For it can at times trigger both fresh and bitter waters, proving that we have been tainted by sin. James even goes as far as this to establish the rigorousness that our tongues yield; “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” (James 3:2) – A very interesting conclusion. The key for the Christian is to train their tongues and then they will be able to tether their bodies. Test what he says against the Lord Jesus’ example and it then becomes very clear what we must strive for and find grace to reign in our tongues.

Thank you Father God for the clarity in which you’re “Word” so often speaks to me, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Rescue

Indeed the Lord shall rescue you from all persecutions when it is all about the will of the Father. No differently to the way He raised his Son from the dead. But we must not miss the overarching intent that drove the Lord Jesus Christ, which was this; He has overcome and cushioned the vicious blows from the devil and his followers who still continue to carry malicious intent with an objective to destroy Christians, kill and separate them from God for eternity; Satan failed along time ago and he will fail with us also, so long as our gaze remains fixed upon our Saviours finished work. Jesus overcame Satan with all his deceitful lures! Regardless of the ferocity of the storm, Jesus has overcome and the Christian can hang his hat on that and on nothing else.

It is easy to get “lost in translation” with the world and all its pressures, which often brings us down. The struggles of life can be rather overwhelming at times. However, when we find yourself dazed, stop and seek out the still sweat voice of God. Lend an ear to His whisper and before long a settling peace will be our reward. Not that the struggle will miraculously disappear; but we will be persuaded of this, that God is on your side and the gates of hell shall not prevail, Hallelujah! It’s at times like these that we will soon be reminded of verses like these; "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:25-34)

Life often leaves a bitten taste in ones mouth, whilst at times there is much enjoyment while eating strawberries until that day arrives when you unswervingly pop a rotten one into your mouth and all the bliss that has gone before is soon forgotten as you hastily spit out the unwelcomed flavour that now haunts your pallet. The longer we live the more we realise that life isn’t always going to be a bed of roses. That is why it is imperative to focus upon our hope, heaven with all its glory will one day be ours. Even so come quickly Lord Jesus! That day will be filled with such bliss that the Bible depicts it like this; “But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1Corinthians 2:9) – Once we get to heaven the struggles of this life will soon be forgotten and our race will be run, but until then we need to be constantly reminded of the hope we have in Christ and what a HOPE that is! Even though the pressure of the constant surge of the barraging waves relentlessly continue to pound away at our worlds we have this expectation, that One day we will see our Saviour face to face and then we will be rewarded with a body like His, wow! Death and decay will be removed and eternity will begin. How I long for that day! But until that day arrives for the Christian let us remember to press towards the mark of the high calling of God, for it will be worth it all!

Signing off

Tyrone

Christianity scrutinized!

Christianity seems to be under the pump of late, however this is nothing new, the chosen of God have and will always find themselves under the cosh of the enemy and his followers. God’s covenant with mankind began with Abram, who later became Abraham a common occurrence once God had singled out men to follow and serve Him. Jacob became Israel, Simon Bar-Jonah became Peter and Saul became Paul; an illustration of a radical change to their lives. Similarly the sinner repents and believes that they need to be saved from themselves and they then cry upon the Lord Jesus Christ asking for forgiveness believing that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and that God the Father rose Him from the dead. Once this event takes place in an individual’s life they are then “born again”, miraculously God intervenes opening their eyes to His truth. We were once blind by now the Christian shouts “I can see!”

Last night that “hot potato” topic raised its head again on national television; homosexuality in the church. The answer on this topic is as clear as day, however this does not mean that in lieu of that sin other then get a pass. Sin is sin and every breach of God’s law shall stand before the judge. Sadly the victimised mentality of some feel that they should get a license, it will and can never happen. God hates sin, but has such an abundance of love to His creation that He has given us an out and that is not to excuse away our sin but for us to rather own it, confess it and seek out His forgiveness in the finished work of the cross.

Homosexuals are as guilty as liars are and visa versa. Both camps have breached God’s law and will have to give an account to Him and then face His judgement where the second death will be the fate of some. The only way we will ever escape that dreaded day is if we find salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. We must start with Him and then seek out God’s grace (His unmerited favour) to work it all out.

I also heard in the same package someone speaking on behalf of the “Word of God” with baloney coming out of his mouth. He said that if the Christian says that the Word of God is the final authority, which it is! Then the Christian must apply themselves to all of God’s Word and not only that which suits. I concur! However where scripture is misquoted then I do not concur. He said that the Bible says we must only eat certain foods and most don’t. The Law of Moses does specify this, however the Lord Jesus has fulfilled the Law and therefore this no longer applies as it once did, the Christian is now under the Lord Jesus’ yoke, the perfect sacrifice for the sinner. We stand because of His work and not our own merit. This is why I have learnt to love this song with such appreciation, “Jesus in my Place” by the Summit Kids; the gospel message in four words.

The Lord Jesus had such compassion on me that He was willing to die for me and take my sin upon Himself, Wow! Which now does not imply that I am free to continue in my sin as I once did, all this proves is that I view His sacrifice with very little value attached to it, when in fact it cost Him His life.

The homosexual does not get a pass, nor the liar or the adulterer, nor the envious and all those who take the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice lightly; we will all have to give an account.

Coming back to the law of God; if we walk in the Spirit we are not under the yoke of the law, what we eat has nothing to do with the Christian faith, just so long as we eat giving thanks to our God and Father for his provision. The end of it is this; “Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.” (1Corinthians 8:8)

My conclusion is this, sin is sin and we must all own our sin whatever that may be, regardless of our own weaknesses, it must never be explained away as a free pass to continue that grace may abound. If and when we fall into sin, it is the Christians responsibility to ask for forgiveness. But as far as trying to tailor the Bible to suit our own sin that will never be accepted by God, and when we try and condone our sinful actions all we prove is that we are still under the curse of sin. This applies to liars, the homosexuals and all the other categories mentioned in the Bible, but what a person eats is most certainly not one of them.   

Signing off

Tyrone

Conviction!

When people dispute the authenticity of the bible and its authors it is a guaranteed sign that they are still trapped in their sins, regardless of their claims in understanding the “bigger picture”- this life and then eternity! One could most certainly claim spirituality even when they are still blind to the truth of it all. A self confessed Satanist is a spiritual person, they serve Satan and I am sure witness many miraculous things that could only even be spiritually inspired. We also have the more expected genres of spiritualism, such as yoga and the different forms of meditations and then there is traditional religion, a form of Godliness and yet very far from it. There will be many other claims of spiritualism interwoven throughout those sub-headings and yet they all have their place in the trickery of deceit which will eventually be exposed for what it is. Deceit is normally only ever realised when it is far too late to do anything about it. However is you have breath you still have life and repentance can be found in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Deceit often leaves you feeling good about something; lets use an example that will ruffle feathers; saving the donkey or the rhino may leave you self-satisfied but if you do not acknowledge God as the creator of all things whilst undergoing such plights, you have missed it all and are under the lure of entrapment and live under the spell of deception, with Satan as the magician trapping you into believing his lie. You have been blinded into worshiping the creature rather than the One who created it all, the Triune God, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul, who once was Saul, a Jewish murderer of Christians, pens these words so that there will be no mistake on the matter; “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19-20)   

There are so many fabricated myths about creation and religion that it very disturbing at times. Fluctuating voices rumbles across the globe, with magicians on every corner trying to keep society from uncovering the truth; there is only one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! The Christians God!

What I have come to love about the Bible is endless; I suppose I price it like a mathematician values his formulas which unravel so many truths, as the words penned in the Bible jump out at me with such ease and it delights my soul when I find enlightenment. With the pages of the Bible coming to life as the Holy Spirit shows me some insight into God’s plan and His character. But it wasn’t always this way. There was a time when I would try and read the bible, which was a laborious task. A time in my life where I was still blind to its truth; it is as simple as that! If you have tried to read the bible and find it boring or a difficult task, it just may be that you are still blind to so many of its hidden treasures and the first place to start would be to examine your position in Christ. Forget your upbringing, or your religion, if you are not driven to the Bible and its contents something is amiss. This is the kind of intent we should all be driven by, look at Paul's introduction to the church at Galatia; “Paul, an apostle--not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead – (And then he includes all those that are with him); and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:” (Galatians 1:1-2)

New birth and receiving sight to see God as He is, is rather miraculous and wonderful. If what I say eludes your comprehension then you have not seen the truth and once again I say if you have breath you still have hope, cry out to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to forgive you for your sins. If you say you have no sin then what I urge you to do will not help you, it’s only a sick person who seeks out a doctor. Only those who where once blind and cry out, I was blind but now I can see! Those are the people who understand! What will you do with the greatest physician of all time, the Lord Jesus Christ, will you cry out to Him or will you let Him pass you by?

Signing off

Tyrone