Be perfect

As I sit in front of my computer screen in the very early hours of the morning with sleep eluding me and with e-Sword (Bible) open. I wonder about the Lord Jesus’ request in the Garden; “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."” (Matthew 26:39) – There must have been a deep understanding of the gravity which he faced. It could never have had been having to deal with thoughts of evil intent, for the man Jesus was born untainted by sin and he had lived his life in obedience to God’s righteousness. Whereas mankind is not made like he was and we struggle with sin in a different way. I know the struggles I have on a daily basis. Nor would I want to presume that I understand his deliberation and his willingness for the temptation to pass. We all know the outcome of that encounter, he overcame, but the cost was an intense anguish, so much so that he factually sweated blood. The pressure he endured to overcome the temptation of sin is something very few, if any, have any grasp on. The flesh is weak and it has been tainted by sin from birth. We have a natural tendency to capitulation to the pleasures of sin and the more we feed a particular area of sin in our lives the more addictive it becomes and the harder it is to put it away. However the call is to be perfect, just like our Father in heaven is perfect. Wow! We all understand that we will never attain to His perfection until we reach heaven and our bodies and minds are transformed into the Lord Jesus’ beauty and brilliance. However that does not mean we must not shoot for perfection. Perfection must be our ultimate goal.

The world teaches us to have goals and to put things in place that will allow us to achieve them. Once that goal is reached we are then rewarded. Sin is the enemy; our own sin is the greatest hindrance that keeps us from our objective, which is; “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) – Our mind-sets must be one of deliberate intent and our goal must be to put off our old natures; we must watch and pray; “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:41) – Interestingly enough this was the Lord Jesus instruction to some of his disciples at the very time he was tested. He understood and he understands our weaknesses. He is our High Priest as well as our Saviour.

There are two opposing forces, the spirit which is willing to pursue God’s perfection whereas the flesh is extremely weak and more often than not succumbs to temptation. What should we do on a practical level to achieve our goal?    

I have of late found a practical solicitation that must always be driven by the spirit and not the flesh, if driven the wrong way around it leaves us feeling somewhat self-contented, which in itself is dangerous territory, a place where pride is bred and we all know what happens to the proud; God resits them! It’s only the humble who find His grace to endure. So what would I like to share with others struggling in differing areas of their lives; it is a simple request but it is having profound benefits. Instead of praying to overcome the temptation and the thoughts that just pop into ones mind. Rather pray to have our minds changed so that we no longer have such thoughts. A subtle teak in our prayer, may just fine tune our receivers.

If peradventure God gives us our request, where does it then leave us, changed by His Spirit and not our own determination and fortitude that will leave us having to fend off pride! Praise God for His brilliance!

In conclusion let no one bewitch you in this regard, I was a man who once believe that lusciousness was not such a bad thing, only because somewhere deep down in the recesses of my mind I wanted to satisfy the lusts of my flesh. Perfection is contrary to our human natures. However with the Spirit of Christ now living within us the world is our oyster, perfection is attainable in principle and it must be the goal we search out. All this really means is that we must seek out God’s righteousness and daily put on the whole armour of God if we are to have any chance. Sin has and will always be the enemy of God and the sooner we realise that as our reality the faster we will be able to address our failures.

God my Father give us strength I pray to appropriate these truths to our lives, help us all to understand the areas we are weak in and bring us to a point of confession. I ask you to change our minds and help us put on the mind of Christ. Aid us all in pursuing your righteousness on our daily to-do lists. Not only impregnate that as a daily reflex but help us prioritise this as our most responsible priority.

I am persuaded Father God that by faith you will grant me my request, thank you for your love and the grace we receive on a daily basis. The road ahead is treacherous and it is filled with many twist and turns, however if God is for us who can be against us. There is a day coming when we will see our God face to face, but until then let us fight the good fight of faith.

Signing off

Tyrone    

A serious consideration

Let’s face it we do things to help ourselves and yet we are taught to help others. We are self-centered individuals, do not be fooled into believing anything else, its God who has been merciful and often comes to our rescue and the rescue of others on the back of our prayers. But it always starts with our own well-being, strip it down and you will have to agree. Even those secret deeds done in the closest are not without “self” first, even if it is only seeking out God’s forgiveness for a particular sin that we struggle with, it’s about us; we are the ones that need work. If and when will give clothes or food to the poor, it’s only after we are taken care of ourselves; us first and then others. This is our human natures personified. Warren Buffet may have given away billions to charity, but he made sure he had a buffer of billions before acting out. The Lord Jesus on the other hand had this to say; “foxes have holes and birds have nest by I have nowhere to lay my head.” He had another agenda; He came to do the will of His Father, which was to offer a lifeline to sinner, opening an everlasting door for sinner, those who once opposed the will of God to bring about true repentance in Him; a perfect sacrifice! And until we learn this truth and it becomes our reality that Jesus died in my place, he died for me and paid the price for my sin, until then, God’s mercy will pass us by…

The further we move along into the future the more predominant “self” will become…

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” (2Timothy 3:1-5) - I suppose this circle of life has its part to play throughout history, study the history books and it will soon become apparent.

We must be aware of these truths and cry out unto God seeking out His will for our lives, as He ushers in the changes needed in our lives to be helpful to other bringing a proclamation that will glorify Him.

Have you ever contemplated why words such as these may have troubled you over time? “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” (James 4:2-3)

The more I study the authors intent, God’s intention throughout the Bible the clearer in becomes… Righteousness must be what drives us and not “food and raiment”, we must seek out God’s righteousness for our lives and the rest will be taken care of. Where we often make the mistake is when we get our priorities off beam, which the Apostle James pegs for us; “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”  I then ask myself the question does this apply to all; another subject for another day. However for the Christian it is imperative that the sooner we learn this lesson the quicker we will find the peace of God in our lives. Sure we have all experience His peace, you cannot be a Christian without the peace of God playing its part in your life, however I am looking for a constant rather than an exception, how about you?

It has and always will be about Gods righteousness, Jesus is the king of kings and His Father, our Father gave Him and instruction and this was His response to that order; “For when he received honour and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."” (2Peter 1:17) – Do not for one minute think that our call has a different emphasis placed upon it, it may differ in stature, but we have all been asked to carry the flag of our God, which reads – “seek first the kingdom of God and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS and all …” This I believe is one of the most important lessons of life and yet everything about our flesh drives us in the opposite direction and for some of us we have been called to a life of knocks and bruises; praise God for His endurance with us, I thank you Father God for your forbearance’s with me, continue, I pray, to lead me to the waters of righteousness which will in turn transform me into the image of your beloved son, my beloved Saviour, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

We should all have an Objective

My Objective

        

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

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

The summons from the only true and living God must dictate the way we live from here on in. I realize that this will only ever become apparent when we understand that call; when we are persuaded that it is God who has called; regardless of our blunders throughout our lives, if and when God calls will we obediently respond to His voice. For when we understand that this is the reason we were born, then it will be well with our soul. Society teaches us to believe in ourselves but God commissions all to believe in Him; “For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." (Romans 10:11) – This obviously refers to eternity and not a life based on time, sadly death seems to be the end for so many and it is hard for them to think beyond the grave. This is high on Satan’s agenda, to get people to overlook eternity.   

The world has been duped into believing so many lies that we think, to be smart is to be covered for retirement at the expense of eternity. Life cover and policies for our loved ones that we leave behind, how does that help us when we all get our chance to stand before the Almighty Creator and have to give an account of what we did for Him with the forgiveness we received in Christ? The essence of this example was the only man to never concede to the pressure of sin in his life, that man Jesus, died on a cruel Roman cross, he was put to open shame. But now, he has a place in heaven which will stretch throughout eternity and his position secure because of his obedience, his seat reserved at the right of the Father, Amen! Praise his glorious name

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

Examine your own hearts…   

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

Signing off

Tyrone

Renew a right spirit in me...

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

Is it possible to hope beyond the point of no return? The obvious answer would have to be, “while we have breath we have hope.” But once that door closes we will have no more play with the outcome of our souls. Judgment awaits all those who have passed on, some will be promoted to an everlasting bliss with the only ONE TRUE GOD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as their Father. Whilst the rest will stand before the judgement seat of God; For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:14)  - And that judgment will find them wanting, with their final sentence, the Lake of Fire! This is the truth in accordance with the Holy Scriptures; it’s not a figment of my imagination and unseen forces are doing their utmost to keep this truth from you. As strong as that denial is from the unbeliever, I will stand up with a voice and be counted and announce that there is no escape outside the finished work of the cross.  

There is only one possible escape from an eternity of torment, bend the knee to Jesus Christ and confess Him as Lord. Repent of your denial toward Him; ask for forgiveness with your whole heart and it will be given to you; “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."” (Romans 10:13)  

The further we move along in history the more predominant “self” will become…

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” (2Timothy 3:1-5)

We must be aware of these truths examining ourselves in that mirror and if found wanting to seek out forgiveness, restoration and His will for our lives as He ushers in the changes needed. At the end of the day it’s all about decreasing so that our great Saviour may increase, bringing about a proclamation that will glorify His Father and our God.

Signing off

Tyrone

Destroy and deliver

Preface

                                        

Not for a minute did I ever dream that I would be penning the words of my story.  However, by the grace of God and by the unction of the Holy Spirit I will endeavour to do it justice. Like I stated in the past, this is not the first stab but my third, the last and final attempt I will to hopefully help some glean from repeated mistakes that always leave a person deprived in a particular area of their lives, until true repentance is achieved.

Having tasted of the Lord's mercy and His wonderful grace I find myself in a place where what the Lord has completed in my life is miraculous. Soon after the very run on this first edition was done and dusted I thought that my journey had run its course in specific areas of my life. I had hoped that the lessons I needed to learn had worked their way into my life to bring about perpetual change, I was sadly mistaken! Allocations of much more pruning was required. With a lot more destruction on the cards! All those who have come to know and experience the power of God through the gospel have their own story. This is mine over a thirty year period…

"My Story"... bears witness to the wonderful manifestation of grace which has been and is still being applied to me by the mercy of God my Father, through Jesus Christ, His Son, who is my Saviour and cementing His position as the love of my life. I would love to claim my position in this regard as completely settled, but the Lord is clear; “if we say we love Him then we will keep His commandments”. How His love still covers me is a marvellous thing and I will be forever thankful for his endurance in my life and continuously undergo to love Him with my whole heart. 

The reason for a further refurbish to this original copy is that I felt that only half “My Story” had been told and I wanted to highlight the stamina of my great God and His commitment to the work He does in even the most stuborn individuals whom He has chosen to lavish with His grace. Many make shake their heads in dismay as this account unfolds, with questions like, will he never learn? Even though your summations may be well founded the purpose for this final edition is to highlight the unmeasurable forgiveness of this God of such immense love. If I am capable in portraying that regardless of the blows I need to receive on my chin from those who would choose to write me off as a complete failure, if only it would bring liberation to one individual who would repent and call on the name of Jesus then I have achieved my objective. God alone is the one capable of turning disastrous situations into something of beauty. Eternity will reveal this in amazement!    

Because of His wonderful mercy and grace, God brought me to a place where my flesh (my will) needed to go through a process of destruction, and only by that process was I able to experience deliverance. It is not enough to will something into ones life, we must cross the raging river to get to the other side, and there is no shortcut!  It is a phenomenal reflection that I find myself facing, even now as I put pen to paper. God is in the business of eternity and not the now we so often get caught up with, nevertheless we must come to our senses whilst we still breathe, if not we will end up on the wrong side of heaven. He is not looking for sprinters but marathon runners. All our flesh needs destroying, that which is carnal will always be carnal and the sooner we learn to understand this is no more than a tool used to see the wood from the trees; “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.

Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:7-8)  - The subtle nuances often lead us to believe that we need only destroy the obvious. My flesh needed to be destroyed and continues to require it to make way for the will of God in my life but do not be fooled, it is the same for all and the sooner we learn this, the better. As this book unfolds you will realise that often the choices I made in my life, and certain incidences, had and are still having severe consequences. However, God has the whole world in the palm of His hand and nothing can happen or will happen without Him allowing it to happen. Even Satan operates by the permission of God. Therefore, without destruction in my life there could be no deliverance and it is the same for all whether they are aware of it or not. However it is important not to blur the line in the sand when it comes to consequence as opposed to forgiveness. God’s forgiveness is immediate, Christ offered a once and for all time sacrifice. It is done and dusted; God has accepted His sacrifice and all those who call upon the name of Jesus will be saved.  

To those who find themselves being a part of this account... "MY STORY", the message is this; things are not always the way they seem. There is a deeper underlying truth that we need to uncover which many will sadly miss. 

"But God hath chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And the base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and the things which are not, to bring to nought the things that are:"

(1 Corinthians 1:27- 28)

Signing off

Tyrone

Introduction

Introduction

This is a travel story, highlighting many twist and turns along the way. It’s about the struggle of a particular individual making his way to the Celestial city. His main objective, to learn the lessons that will equip him to reach his final destination, heaven! It will expose many of his weaknesses along the way, but this is not the thrust and detailed accounts will not be indulged. It is not an allegory and I will bear a brunt of my folly unto this end, that I have a hope in my God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Whilst many individuals may have a tendency to disregard the weak or the stubborn child, God is not of this World.

It is the year 2017 and I have decided to put pen to paper in a final attempt to analyse my life and its journey over the last thirty years. It is a reflection on “MY STORY” and how I have dull of hearing in so many areas of my life. Having realised some of the lessons to come out of it all is the motivation behind it entirely. I cannot claim to have arrived, antiquity has found me out. But what I will attempt is to highlight the lessons learnt in the hope that it may free some who have had similar struggles in their Christian walks. There are model Christians and I am not one of them, and yet my great Saviour has not cast me to the wolves, and here I now sit by the grace of God, proclaiming that Jesus is Lord. Not for one second will I condone sin as acceptable before a Holy God. Sin cost the Lord Jesus a cruel death on a Roman cross and it is the vice used to disqualify the Christian by so many. However, it can bring about an adverse effect when the pomp and the filth of sin is stripped clean, when the satisfaction that sin promises is exposed for what it is, a misguiding lie that can never be quenched. It’s our sin which originally directed us to Christ, helping us understand that we needed a Saviour and as Christian’s repentance is part of who we have become, praise His name! Confession is a way of life for the Christian.  

If this is my reality there must be others who have also struggled in their Christian walks and therefore I have a responsibility to put pen to paper. When soldiers go into battle, all are not numbered amongst the heroes but all must fight and as a coalition we have a responsibility to one another. The biggest battle of all is just around the corner and we must ready ourselves. Some of us may be those singled out and made an example of by the enemy, God Knows! It is imperative that we know where we stand with our Saviour, for He will always have our backs, praise His name! However once we are grovelling in the dirt because of our sin, we tend to make it about ourselves and not Him as we indulged in the lies of sin, to escape what it is we have been called to face, we all have our crosses to bare and the sooner we learn this lesson well, the earlier we will begin to glorify our Father in heaven. However whilst we are undergoing this transformation, He is just a plea away, call upon the name of Jesus and you shall be saved, Amen and Amen!

I was saved (converted) in the year of 1987, and prior to that event it was a year filled with its fill of debauchery and then an awe inspiring awakening to a far deeper understanding of life and the purpose of it all; this is when my Christian journey began. Initially I was the one full of zeal, the first to open and close in prayer whenever I got the chance. Sharing the gospel with others was high on my agenda and then when it really counted as the lure of sin came a knocking, I was dull of hearing with my old nature screaming to be heard; sin is a very crafty infiltrator and if not check it will result in destruction. This may happen repeatedly as in my case, until the lesson is learnt and even then it looks for other avenues to infiltrate. Thankfully we have a high priest who is touched with our weaknesses and my hearing wasn’t completely removed. I started my journey sprinting out of the blocks, but little did I know that the life of a Christian is a marathon race and not a sprint; initially I fond myself way ahead of the pack but before long I was being overtaken. Therefore I must be classed as a straggler. Although my folly is often highlighted, that is not why I am writing this autobiography I trust the grace of God will become evident to all and His name will ultimately be glorified. I accept that some may not see it as such, however some will be freed from their slavery to serve the living God of this I am persuaded.

Confession must be in the forefront of all who understand their weaknesses, without it there can be no change in character. It is the key to finding God’s grace in our lives. Regardless of the amount of times you may have fallen, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble”, praise His name! Endurance in Christ must be our banner for life. Why do some who are called live model Christian lives while other struggle immensely? God knows! My appeal to all is that in reading this account, “MY STORY” I may help you see some of yourselves in me and spring you into action for Jesus’ sake.

Signing off

Tyrone

One last push to get it right

Who of you do not carry regrets? I certainly have too many to count and I am in the process of working a few things out. Life is a journey and the truth of it all is that we only get one stab at it, we must make it count. Some may achieve great heights in the business arena, which is not what I refer too as a good score; the hidden treasures that will never rot or perish and carry us through eternity is the ultimate goal for humanity, nothing more and nothing less will suffice and stand the trial of fire that is coming for all. Do not be deceived; “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- 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.” (1Corinthians 3:11-15)   

I’m tired of the hero being praised, especially if and when they mislead the pilgrim into believing so many lies. I once believed myself to be amongst that number as subtle as that deception may have been it was the truth in my own cognizance, only to be placed on a pedestal to come tumbling down. Sin taking it’s strangle hold on my life and disqualifying me throughout my lifetime. There where times of great rejoicing, where God, my heavenly Father took me to some amazing height that are hard to articulate. But even with these experiences close to my heart I sadly stumbled time and again. Thankfully it’s not about my achievements per say but rather its all about my glorious Saviours achievements and the shackles he has broken for the believer. It is up to the individual to work this great mystery out for themselves. This is what I am endeavouring to do with the grace of God as my comrade.   

Reincarnation is just one of the many lies that teach the world that we better ourselves and come back as someone or something else in our next life. God could have done it this way, but He hasn’t. This is the truth! “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:27-28)

With that in mind I have decided or rather feel a strong urge to put pen to paper as I revisit my life and flip through the pages as I analyse the folly of so much wasted time and endeavour with one last push to set the record straight pleasing my heavenly Father. My prayer is to end well and help other to do the same.

Signing off

Tyrone

Stability

Can the measure of our faith be dignified in relation to our obedience in finding grace, in order to put off our sinful natures, especially the sin that so easily besets?

The Apostle James teaches us that a double minded man is unstable, not only in a particular area, but in all his ways; that is quite a statement! However it must be taken to heart if we are to find freedom in serving our Glorious heavenly Father in the freedom of our beloved Saviour’s selfless sacrifice. I suppose I would not be that far off if I was to stretch that statement into every area of my life, fall in one and be found wanting in all. Some may conclude that that is somewhat of a stretch so let me stick to the fundamentals, which in this, faith! We all need faith to survive, without it we would certainly perish and remain silent with doubt or unbelief dictating. It is faith that God has chosen as a tool to establish His children.

It is imperative we zone into the text we explore, whatever it may be, that which jumps out at us when we are reading the Bible, that which the Holy Spirit illuminates for us. That which leaves us in awe must not simply be left there; we need to go deeper and when we apply ourselves by faith into the text it will leave us enriched beyond our wildest dreams.

I would like us to consider this truth; “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:15-16)

If I ask myself the question, why do so many people claim to have the powers of healing and yet lack the evidence of their claims? Although this portion of scripture refers to elders within the church (call for the elders), there is a deeper underlying truth that applies to all and is also backed up with other scriptures that drives the individual to God’s will for their lives. We cannot sweep sin under the carpet as if it is a light thing. God is righteous and we must all be single-minded by that righteousness. We must be driven towards God’s righteousness and when we live in His light, nothing will stand in the way of the believer, it cannot! For God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all. If we learn to live there it will be well with our souls. Obviously snares are place in our paths by the enemy to lure us into his traps and when we do not seek out the righteousness of God, we will fail.

We cannot claim to be covered by the righteousness of Christ and then live a life of debauchery, if this is where we find ourselves, we fool ourselves and we are then double minded and unstable in all our ways. We all have our struggles, but we need to own them and confess them to each other, so that we form the positive habits of faith as our “go-to” default. If we all applied ourselves well in this area of our lives then darkness would have no choice but to flee. There is no darkness on the planet or throughout the universe that can withstand the light of God, praise his name, Amen! We must all resolve to walk in His light. Today is the day for action and what will you or I do with our measure of faith. My prayer is that we will look to seek out God’s righteousness as the most important thing in our lives. I believe if we get this right the rest will follow; please pray for me as I am already praying for you.

Signing off

Tyrone

Logical deduction

Many of you may have seen or may have even read the account of a student and an atheist professor of philosophy that has made its rounds over time. I like to call it a “logical deduction”, banter concerning certain fundamentals that prove that God exists. God tells us that Creation is enough for us to understand that He is as real as the keyboard I now punch, however some dispute this truth. The atheist or the average scientist often clings to that phenomenon.

This account has opened my eyes to a far deeper understanding of who God is and it has helped cement certain factual truths that I had already grasped in part but now are truly grounded in them, praise God for His light! All it often takes is a slight trim with our “sails of reason”. Just a little tweak may be enough to differentiate north from true north. The “tree of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil” is where light and darkness part. “Good” is a depiction or reflection of the light whilst the darkness is swallowed up with “evil”. Even the Lord Jesus had this to say, “And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” (Mark 10:18) – So we understand that God is good and everything He is involved with is good even if we may not understand the evil we witness on the outside edges of our lives.

I trust this will help!

If God created everything, this then begs the question what about all the evil we see and witness throughout the world, how does it exist and where does God fit into that equation? For us to understand this, we must know that God is Light, God has saved true believers from the darkness, we have been born again, we are born of the Spirit of God and we have grasped this truth by faith.

Let us take this a little deeper…

In the Garden of Eden there was a tree of life as well as a tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. These are the two trees that are mentioned by name. Death was not a concept that the couple had grasped, it was foreign to their understanding. They were alive and walk in the light because God is light and He was there with them in the Garden.

 “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (John 1:5) - we must cement this truth into our understanding to find out bearings.

If God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all, then what is darkness or where is its origin? Darkness does not exist in itself; it is the absence of light. So where will we find darkness or all that is evil? The answer is clear; we find darkness and all that is evil where there is no light or where God cannot be found. To understand this we must understand the concept of light. “Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? That’s the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn’t. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker.” (The student) -  With that settled it then begs the question, did God created evil? For us to answer that we must understand that God created everything including Satan. Was he created as an evil being? No! Is the answer, his original position was one of honour because he lived in the presence of God who is LIGHT and where there is no darkness at all. So what happened? This will give us some insight into that event; “Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers. "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.” (Isaiah 14:11-15) – Somehow Satan believed that he could overthrow God and his sin was exposed and then banished from God’s presence, God removed Himself from Satan, he expelled him from His presences; in other words Satan was no longer cover by the light of God and hence all that is evil now manifests itself in him. Satan depicts darkness and all that is evil because he no longer lives in God’s light. Darkness is not the opposite of light but rather the absence of it.

Mistakes are made, as individuals we often conclude on facts which in detail are the opposite. Does cold exist? Our obvious answer would be yes; we are often exposed to its cruelty and then need heat to help. Cold is not something of itself by rather the absent of heat, just like darkness is the absent of light. With that understood then consider this; evil does not exist within itself it is simply the absence of God. Evil exists we Gods light does not shine, use that as a formulae and apply it into any situation and then come up with you own conclusions. I am settled and I thank God for His light, Amen!

It is believed that this student was Albert Einstein

Signing off

Tyrone Arthur

Leaven!

(Galatians 5:9) “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.”  

A little leaven affects the entire lump and it always brings about its objective when used correctly, it works as a raising agent. Similarly allowance of the smallest sins in our lives will have the same result. When we lighten the load to our sin with these types of thoughts, “it isn’t so bad” or “it could have been worst”. We certainly do not help our cause or the plight of others, and we play into the hands of the enemy with the same result every time, getting up from the dirt and dusting off our knees. Sadly its takes these kinds of knockdowns to teach us what needs to be learnt, “a little leaven leavens the lump”, it will more often than not leave us down and in the muck having to seek out God’s forgiveness. The truth of the matter is this; sin is sin no matter how you slice it and when we allow a fraction of it to remain alive in our lives, if we consent to it in any form, know this… “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” (Galatians 5:9)

Whether we are looking to find an excuse for our sin or if we err on the opposite side of lasciviousness and apply self-righteousness to our existence in order to prove our worth by applying the first covenant into our lives at the expense of the second. Pride rears its head and is resisted by God; we must never forget this, He seeks out the humble and He will only ever exalt the meek. It will never be about outdoing the person next to us with an arrogance that leaves us thinking we are better than the rest. In both instances, “a little leavens the whole lump”.

     

Lust (the natural offspring of a carnal and corrupt mind) of any form will have this result in our lives and we must be aware of its destructive power, I most certainly do not claim to have arrived but because of it destructiveness it has been brought to my attention and it needs to be rooted out before it brings forth death. Did you know? “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 1:14-16)

So from the smallest to the biggest allowances of sin in our lives let us not be fooled into believing that God will turn a blind eye to it, He detests sin so much that He sent his Son to die for it so that individuals would find deliverance in Him.

However as dismal as this reality may be; “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24) - There is an upside to it all. “Jesus in my place”, praise His beloved name now and forevermore, Amen and Amen! “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” (Roman 7:25)

It’s not the power of the law or my application to it that saves me, but rather what Christ achieved for me on Calvary. Mankind was sold into slavery way back when, and sadly we are all benefactors of Adams rebellion. We were never taught to sin per say but rather born with a natural tenacity to sin. There is an obvious innocence to young children, but only for a time and then the slide becomes evident as they grow. As Christians we need to trim our sail on a regular basis, and the correct way to do that is to come under the sound of the Word, the Bible! We need faith to survive and we add to our faith in this manner; “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)  

Now that I have been saved, born again, having eyes to see God’s kingdom, I still have a carnal mind that needs transformation. The war rages on between my flesh and the Spirit, and so it is for all who have been saved. Do not be deceived “a little leaven affects the whole lump”. 

  

Yesterday is gone. It has passed and nothing we do will bring it back. Today comes with new beginnings and our gracious glorious heavenly Father affords us such forgiving mercy that He allows us new beginning every day. Today is the day of salvation; let us therefore make the most of it. We all have an opportunity to right our wrongs in Christ’s forgiveness and find His grace to overcome.

“… But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13)

We have been called to live one day at a time, it’s only the world with all its propaganda that teachers us something entirely different, it instils that we must plan for our future, I will not look to over stir that pot but I will leave you with this thought; "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34)

Whatever your troubles are we must remember to pray through it. I have said a lot, so here is my summary; Sin is sin and must never be tolerated as adequate. We must seek out God’s forgiveness on a regular basis for our sin, and then we must seek out God’s grace to eventually overcome. Our victories in Christ do not justify us before God as the sacrifice of an animal in the First Covenant was meant to achieve, In fact the “First Covenant” (the law of Moses) was there to teach us about our sinful natures and that we needed a Saviour in order to find rescue. God has accepted His Son’s sacrifice and not ours. We are justified because of Him and this must never be overlooked. When we look to pat ourselves on our backs, this amplifies our pride, it becomes about us and not HIM! “A little leaven leavens the entire lump”; we must grasp this with both hands if we are to grow in the good graces of our God and King.

Signing off

Tyrone

Saving Faith!

What is faith? - Belief in, devotion to, or trust in somebody or something, especially without logical proof. Or it could be a strongly held set of beliefs or principles. However even though there are other variations of what faith actually entails for many, the obvious conclusion for all factions that claim to have faith believes in the unseen without a necessity for logical proof to assist in their findings.

Faith stretches across many spectrums, for some radicals they are even willing to blow themselves up, a human-bomb in the name of their cause. There has to be strong motivation to get an individual to carryout such an act. Faith is pivotal for these types of actions. But this is not the faith I want, I want to be involved with saving faith and not a faith that hinges on hate. Christianity centres on the opposite, which is forgiveness and when I seek it out and find it, it will leave me changed forever; it will bring about radical transformation and be driven out of acts of love. I may even have to lose my life because of it and that I would welcome if such a time arrived, just so long as the name of Jesus Christ my Messiah is fundamental through it all. His ultimate sacrifice brings about such faith in the lives of those who have been called. Why a man like Peter would be prepared to be crucified upside down leaves me with an obvious conclusion, he had an encounter with the only true and living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He envisioned eternity, he caught a glimpse of the bigger picture and what God has in store for those whom He loves. 

What we all need is saving faith! Which results with us being assured that we are on the right track, it eliminates all guess work and its conviction brings understanding. This faith opens our eyes to see God in another dimension as if we were looking squarely at Him. The writer of Hebrews sums it up like this; “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) – It is nothing short of miraculous!

Let’s endeavour to unpack how it works and what we as individuals are call to do to find it; we will use the woman with the “issue of blood” (Luke 8:43) to get a clearer understanding. She did everything in her own power and spent her life saving trying to remedy her dilemma, but to no avail. However, somehow she had heard of the man Jesus maybe as she traversed the market place while shopping for her daily supplies, or she could have attended one of His rallies and finally it may just have been the testimony of the lives of those closest to her whose lives Christ had changed, God knows! One thing I am persuaded about was she believed with all her heart that He had the answer; she understood that the Lord Jesus Christ could heal her. All she needed to do was reach out and touch Him or just get close enough to touch the hem of his garment. She was motivated and nothing was going to stop her from, her intent was deliberate as her life depended upon it, how about you? Is there a need in your life to find the answer of your existence, have you asked yourself what the purpose of life is all about and where you fit in with eternity in mind? Are you as persuaded as she was to walk a life filled with faith, outside the control of our own capabilities? Or have you got everything under control? The majority of the earths’ population is always looking to take care of tomorrow at the expense of today. She didn’t care about tomorrow or next week all she purposed was to push through the masses to get to Jesus and somehow, hidden in the crowd she eventually achieved her objective and she touched the helm of his garment and was immediately healed. Wow! A miracle driven by faith!

As a photojournalist I too know what it is like to be swamped by a crowd, it can be rather daunting, and the only thing your mind keeps telling you to do is stay on your feet because if you fall you will never get up again. The most vivid memory I have of that was with Nelson Mandela in Smal Street in Johannesburg with thousands of people following him as he walk through the city, everyone trying to get closer to get a better look, it was maniac and the pressure from all sides was intense and I could feel an awareness of my adrenaline heighten as I recognized I needed to be on guard against any sudden mishap that would leave me at the mercy of the pressing crowd.

This woman must have given very little though to that, all she knew was that she needed to touch the helm of his garment, she achieved her goal and was miraculously heal right there and on the spot. “She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased.” (Luke 8:44) – Saving faith has an immediate upshot on those affected by it. Its not as if she was only partially heal, it was a complete restoration.  

Our lives are filled with goals, which vary between short and long term objectives. If your life does not revolved around reaching out and touching Jesus on a daily basis you have missed the purpose of life. The saved see Him as He is, their merciful Redeemer, whilst others cling to an idea of faith in God and remain blind to Him. Their lives are filled with attempts to score points with God and all because of their own merits, hoping that their good deeds will outweigh the bad. Unless we can all arrive at the same conclusion and forget all the other voices out there and push through the crowds to touch Jesus, we will not understand the concept of saving faith. We must be measured in our determination to find Him and seek out His forgiveness for our sins.

Although it is God who gives us faith, look at the Lords response; “But Jesus said, "Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me." And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."” (Luke 8:46-48)

Do you see the connection? It’s our faith in the unseen God that heals us, and once we have this type of faith all is understood. - “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) – If you have been called, if you have experience saving faith, if your eyes have been opened to God and His existence and His involvement with all of creation then it is up to us to use the gifts He has given us by getting involved in helping others. Just as Christ laid down His life for the called, so too must we lay down our lives for others.

Signing off

Tyrone

The Holy Bible

Questions need answers, and there are many resources we can draw on to find answers and “Google Search” seems to be the flavour of the day; as brilliant as that may be remember the volatility of such a “search engine”. It has not been endorsed by God and the only thing we can truly rely on is His endorsement when it comes to our wellbeing and until we understand this with clarity we will be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. There will be areas of uncertainty in our lives. So what are we to do to overcome these types of predicaments? We must find God’s perspective on any given topic. How do we do that? We search out the scriptures…

If God has endorsed the written Word, the Bible, we can take full confidence in the fact that if we treasure it, it will be well with our souls. I cannot begin to stress this point enough, we are easily drawn aside by so many luring enticements with the overtones of the population’s opinions looking to take root in our minds and the only way to stay on track is to value the Word of God as our highest priority. How many of us can truly say that we have learnt this lesson well? We needn’t travel far to see where the world is going, it is moving in the opposite direction to what God wants from us.      

It is imperative I find scribes who have been privileged enough to pen thoughts on any topics that I face which needs to be answered. Many of our struggles will play a role in our futures. Some of those neglected areas will have devastating consequences that will haunt some for eternity. There are many voices out there but whatever the pressing issue may be, there is a principle that’s stands true, the greatest resource is the HOLY BIBLE. Trust it as your life does depend on it; God’s Word will stand the test of all scrutiny, if and when applied correctly. It has and will continue to set people up for onslaught from the enemy, but be that as it may, do we seek to please men or God? It’s only when we misappropriate the author’s intention and look for stuff that isn’t there that we end up on the wrong side of God instruction. And who hasn’t found themselves changing their opinions on a certain instruction as we have grown in Christ? It may be time to get back to basics for some of us.  

God often singled out ordinary men, authors that never had degrees or diplomas with intellectual awe-inspiring brilliance that earned them the right to be appointed by God as one of His scribes. Regardless of the topic, every author schooled or not, always has an intention in conveying a particular point or points within their message and its imperative that we get to understand what that is if we are to get the most out of the text. My encouragement would be not to overthink a simple instruction and here is a good example to illustrate my point; “Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."” (John 3:3) – Most of the world’s population is born with sight, we see God’s creation all around us, we witness His brilliance and yet we remain blind to Him until we are “born again”. Simply put, our spiritual eyes need to be opened. Until that happens we may think we see the kingdom of God through various rituals but in fact we are still blind. Nicodemus the scribe asked this question; “Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"” (John 3:4) – Its only when God gave him sight that he stopped asking theses types of questions.      

Once we are give sight to see we are thankfully not left to our own devises, or brainpower when we seek out certain truths from the Bible, the Holy Spirit will aid us in this area of our lives. This is where many schooled theologians with doctorates in my opinion, err at times, relying on their education as the pivotal objective to unpack certain truths. Schooled professors may read the same text that I read and come up with a totally different persuasion. Why? Could they be overthinking it or could I be under thinking it. My heart lies with all of the called and not only the brilliant. God is excellent and we conform to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ only when we value Him and His written Word. We must leave behind all opinionated persuasion that looks to tickle our ears.

Needless to say this does not give us a pass to become sloppy with the Word of God. What I mean by that is we must use the gifting God has given us diligently when it comes to unpacking scripture, we must be true to the text. Some may take this to extremes, they are scholars and good for them but the Authors intent (God) with His Bible was for all the called to find illumination from it and it was never only intended for the intellectual.

There was a time when organisations tried their utmost to keep the written Word from the commoner. They failed and God intervened, praise His name! Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures on how many Bibles have been printed, there is little doubt that the Bible is the world’s best-selling and most widely distributed book. God chose simple fishermen to pen some of the New Testament. Peter, James and John all have their parts to play in our lives when it comes to our sanctification.       

The Bible is a book for all and we must value it with all we have. It is the tool that will give every individual the insight to see them home, so long as God has given them sight to see. We must be born of the Spirit to benefit from it. And if this is true for you, I would encourage you to place nothing higher in your life than the written Word of God.

Signing off

Tyrone