Psalm 51;5

(Psalm 51:5)  Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 

Here we see a true understanding of our station before a Holy God and how we compare. We have been hewn from a rock of sin and not from a sheet of innocence as the world loves to project. Even now as I pen these words I sense the resistance. There is no doubt that a baby’s mind is uncorrupted by the completeness of sin and yet they are beings just waiting to find their form as sinful creatures. It is impossible for it to turn out any other way and as much as our children are the apple of our eyes, they teach us the most about this truth. It doesn’t take long to witness sin beginning to forcibly mould their characters. The first tantrum when things do not go their way or how they learn to squirm into position to win their parents over so that they end up having their way. And then we catch them red handed in their first lie, really the list is endless. However, there is no doubt to what we see, but we knew that already, all we needed to do was have a long hard look in the mirror. Sin is the archenemy of God and Satan is the father of it all. This is where the ultimate battle begun and where is will end; we will be in either of the camps, of this I am certain, sin will always look to disguise its true colours as acceptable. It will always play itself off others; “I am not as bad as her” as it looks to justify its actions. But above all, it will always challenge the WORD OF GOD. We will never find true deliverance until we come to the same place David did and for some it may take a catastrophic disaster for us to come to our senses. I thank my Heavenly Father and my glorious Saviour for the hard knocks in my life as futile as most have been, they have shaped me into a position of weakness, seeking out God’s mercy and His grace. True strength is found in Him and once we truly see ourselves for who we are and accept our realities will we then be able to cry out unto the One who has it in His Power to save, all hail King Jesus!

Stop that “strawman” in its tracks, we are all sinners and rotten to our core, we need the grace of God to save us from ourselves and until we see ourselves as such we will have a hard time falling to our knees and seeking our God’s forgiveness for our sins. Remember the two thieves on the cross as they conversed with the Lord Jesus, how do you see yourself? Where do you fit in and what will you do about it? I have made up my mind, as for me and my household we shall bow the knee to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the One who sent His only beloved son to die for my sins.

    

Thank you Lord Jesus; just as you have been merciful to me I ask that you be merciful to all who now find themselves sharing my thoughts.

Signing off

Tyrone

Psalm 51;4

(Psalm 51:4) “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…”

This is a plea filled with deep understanding of what we all need to realise as we seek out God’s face and come to grips with a truth that is often misunderstood. Although David had caused a married women to sin, betrayed one of his top soldiers, in fact had plotted with his generals to send him into the frontline of battle that would surely take his life, which it did, mission accomplished! And there is obviously much about this epic plot, filled with so much cunning sinful behaviour that we will never be privy too involving those in the wings effected by this apparent tragedy.

Through it all David’s arrive at a conclusion that many find hard to understand; “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…” Really? Amen and Amen! Until we get to a place that is filled with admiration for our God above anything else, this will be very difficult to comprehend. But if God allows us to see what David saw we too would arrive at a similar conclusion. As we cut through it all, we are the created and God is the creator, we are His subjects and He is the Sovereign power. He always has the final say and the sooner we can get our heads around this the happier we will be. He is in perfect control. As I have mentioned in the past “perfect” means exactly what is spells out, nothing needs to be done to improve it, if fact nothing can be done, it is PERFECT! I confess that I do don’t have all the answers on this topic, but one thing I am sure of is the brilliance of my God, David’s God! He is so full of perfection; the way He takes what seem to be bad and makes good come from it is mind boggling and unless you haven’t caught glimpses of this throughout your lifetime what I pen will elude you. We must seek out God grace to always be taken deeper. Things are not always as they seem…

With that said the main emphasis must be this, Father God I have wronged you and seek out your forgiveness. Remember it would be a far stretch for us to expect forgiveness from God when we are not willing to forgive those who sinned against us. Regardless of their sin, in order to find freedom in Christ we must accept out predicament whatever that may be.

Here is a reminder of how the Lord Jesus taught us to pray; “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” If God chooses to forgive us for our rebellion and was willing to forgive us of our sins. NO! He went far further than that He send his only beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ to live as a man, to lay down his eternal power for a season and then to die a cruel death for our sin. Let that sink in and then out grudges, if we have any will sooner diminish into nothingness. Understand that to the extent that God will give us comprehension and then I ask the question, should we forgive those you trespassed against us?

The point of David’s psalm is not about the sin of others but his sin, and for us to benefit from it we must consider our sin. Acknowledge, see it for what it is and then seek out God’s forgiveness. Although the Christian has already been sanctified; forgiven for our sin as the Lord Jesus Christ has already accomplished that on our behalf. His sacrifice was a once for all time sacrifice and never to be repeated. We have a righteous standing before our God all because of Him. However for us to become complacent with sin as a small thing proves but one thing; we may think we are saved when in fact we are not or it could be absolute rebellion against our Father and then we will certainly be dealt with and that chastisement may be very harsh.

Sin is a very serious concern, God hates it so much that he offered up His son to eradicate it. We must dig deep and find grace to confront our lustful natures that look to remain in our lives, see them for what they are, own them and finally cry out to our gracious God to change our thought process which in turn will affect our behaviour.

The reason for it all is that we want to please our God and heavenly Father. We want to show Him our gratitude, prayer is good but our actions reveal who we really are. Therefore impregnate my mind with the mind of Christ Father God and thank you for lending your ear to my prayer, thank you Jesus for all that you are, and I love you with all my heart.

Signing off

Tyrone

... part 3

(Psalm 51:3)  “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” 

Honesty is a hard thing to find when we are so self-absorbed will our own lusts. However it’s often the very same which brings us to our senses, sadly this can take up to a lifetime for some and then it even misses the many as they continue to live in self-denial. The truth be told their day is coming and the judgment seat of God will arrive.

Here we see David cutting through all the rot of self-justification and he simply arrives in a place of panic stricken acceptance and acknowledges how his conscience constantly reminds him of his sin. How the conscience and the mercy of God lead by the Holy Spirit comes together in probing a man’s mind is a mystery, God knows! But without it we would be in serious trouble. There was no sugar coating his reality; “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” As scary as this is, it is a place where we all need to find ourselves in, if we want true rescue, I’m not talking about the fashionable response to Christianity as if it’s something we put on for a season. Sadly there are many so called Christians that fly these flags. The true Christian finds the grace of God to endure the affliction. As for the struggling pilgrim; we must not mistake our folly in life as a commendable thing before God. There will always be consequences. The Apostle Peter gives us this understanding about our lives as Christians and what we are to expect; “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.” (1Peter 3:17) – Here David was paying the price for his sin, but if we read the book of Job we see a man suffering under the auspices of God’s will for doing good. Why? Well the answer is a simple one, to bring glory to God and to silence the gainsayer. Yes it cost him almost everything, even the death of his children and we will see his position in the kingdom of heaven and then we will truly understand the brilliance of our God. Amen!

God has made a way, a perfect way whereby we can find forgiveness, He went to incredible lengths to make a means for the rebellious sinner. I want us to think long and hard on what He did to save us from his eternal judgment. The price was almost too much for Him to swallow and yet He send his only beloved son to die in our place so that the gateway to heaven may be opened once and for all. The man Jesus was judged as a sinner and yet he was without sinner, falsely accused of sin and crucified for it. Did you know that he had the power to call ten thousand angels from heaven to obliterate his accuses but held his peace, took the unjust punishment, was spat upon, stripped naked and whipped so viciously that the bones of his back where visible. Then he was nailed to a cross and as he hung there in agony, he had no thought for himself and the pain he faced but rather cried out to His Father (the only true God, the creator of the universe); slow down now and disgust these word and hopefully you will understand the immense love of God; “And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”” (Luke 23:34) – Even now as he was treated as the scourge of the earth he did the will of His Father, and finished his quest, He died so many could go free. I sit here eyes wide open all because of the marvellous sacrifice that the Lord Jesus Christ did on my behalf, I will be forever grateful, praise His glorious name.

But until we understand that without His finished work our attempt at finding favour from God outside of Christ’s sacrifice, we will always miss the love of God. Do not be fooled, the entire love of God has been encapsulated in the finished work of Calvary. Miss that and I can assure you on the basis of God’s Word, the Bible, you will end up tasting the wrath of God.   

David understood that he could not save himself; “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” Have you? If not fall to your knees acknowledge your sin and then cry out unto Jesus and watch your understanding fall into line with the ability of your voice crying out; “I can see!”

Signing off

Tyrone

David's example cont...

(Psalm 51:2)  “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!”

The further I explore the question concerning my ability to choose God in a corrupt state of mind the plainer it is to arrive at the obvious conclusion; its God who has mercy on a person’s soul and without His intervention in our lives we will remain like the bat sending out sonic booms hoping to avoid the obstacles of life. Without the ability to cry out “I can see”, life is filled with guess work. The dictatorship of summations ruling our lives whilst always clutching at straws. I thank God with all I have for saving my soul and claim absolutely no self-recognition as a man who chose God prior to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob choosing me. And to understand that I had absolutely no merit within myself in finding His favour is a refreshing thought. It’s God first, He does the work, performs the miracle and then only are we given the ability to respond, it’s then that we react favourably. How on earth could it be any other way? Take the batteries out of an electronic shaver and you will be left with an impossible task, but power it up and see what it can do. King David certainly understood this; “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!”

There is a bridge in the spirit world that we won’t always fully comprehend, we see in part through the eyes of faith as it does the work in getting us to the other side; how God chooses to bring a man to the point where they cry out unto Jesus with certainty. An assurance that is undeniable, a saving cry that flips our understanding from confusion to an undeniable reassurance filled with absolute confidence. The brilliance of God silencing the enemy. I confess that I do not fully understand how that exactly unfolds, all I know is when we believe in our hearts that God rose His Son the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and now have the ability to confess Him as our Lord, the work is complete. We are born again and now sons of God. Some say we choose God, other say God choose us, I am persuaded, how can a dead man do anything until he is alive, logically it’s a no brainer. However until a man confesses Jesus as Lord, it is obvious that they have not been saved, their eyes remain shut to the spiritual world. Once the work has happened, it is up to the individual to confess and this then is where the confusion sometimes brings in the “strawman of Christianity” the debate between the Arminian and the Calvinist. This then is my conclusion “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” and that is the message we must preach and leave the rest to God our glorious Father. Those who will be save shall be saved, God is building His church and the gates of hell shall not prevail. He always has the final say...

Continue to keep washing ourselves and see how often we make the same mistakes, the pattern will soon become obvious if it hasn’t already. The human race have all been born under a vicious cloak of sin, we are fallen beings and therefore have sinful natures. The mind-set that is so often bandied around; “but you deserve it” is a misnomer and will only ever keep us from crying out unto God. David was the king of Israel, he was the final authority and yet when the prophet exposed his sin he fell to his knees and hence the birth of Psalm 51. David understood his sin, owned it, confessed it and then cried out to the only One who had and has it in His power to save. Wherever we find ourselves, whatever the trial, whatever the failure, the answer is simple, cry out unto Jesus Christ the Lord and you will find rescue. Do it any other way and watch the circle of life continually repeat itself. It’s only the Lord who can cleanse us from our sin. He alone has the power to truly save. Have you understood? David most certainly did. We will only ever respond favourably to what we truly understand. This then is the lesson, may God give us eyes to see, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone  

David's example

Understanding the basic fundamentals of our existences is imperative if we are to grow as Christians. One of the greatest examples that demonstrate this is King David. Psalm 51 is filled with disappointment, heartache and yet a clarity that surpasses the understanding of so many Christians of our day. Even within the tragedy of David’s sin he understood what needed to be done. I Pray God the Holy Spirit gives us eyes to see and then the ability to action us into bringing honour to our God, Father and blessed redeemer. He is so worthy, praise His glorious name.

Psalm 51 is full of treasure ready for gleaning…

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.”

I suppose without the failure of sin in our lives, or at least the acknowledgment of it we will never see ourselves for who we really are; sinful beings to our very core. It's only when our eyes are opened to this truth that we cry out “have mercy on me o God”. Until then we are always trying to hide our sin, keeping our truth away from others and always playing the “comparison card” when the pressure is on. Tricking our own consciences into believe so many lies about who we actually are. When David’s sin was expose he sprang into action, fell to his knees and approached the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob the only true God with an urgent plea help. He understood what was needed to please his God, do we? Let us learn from him, and then we just may hear a whisper across the heavens, “there is a mam after my own heart”.

We do not have the power to have mercy upon ourselves, God has the power to unleash His mercy upon whom He chooses. It’s imperative that we get in line seeking out His provision. Crying out unto Him is the only way we will ever receive a portion of that mercy. Forget trying to forge you own works to earn His mercy, Isaiah puts this type of mentality into this harsh reality; “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isaiah 64:6) - Without the mercy of God wafting into our lives we will be conquered by our sin, it will have the final say. David understood this very clearly, do we? If not it is time to ask God to shows us who we are outside of Christ. It one thing to nod our heads and say we understand, but do we really understand? David did and I want really to be taken deeper with my understanding, for I know I will find release in the mercy of God. This must be our mantra; “ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be open unto you.” It’s only God who knows how to give great gifts unto His children. These gifts have nothing to do with the carnal but rather the spirit. This is what I passionately seek out; the resolve to please my heavenly Father. The only way for me to achieve this is to have the mind and the understanding of King David.

Christ has blotted out the Christians transgression, praise His glorious name. However it is imperative to be reminded of His sacrifice and to see how merciful God has been on his elect, those who have fallen to their knees, confessing their sin and crying out for God’s mercy.

Continue to nurture my heart sweet Father and Holy Spirit help me feed my mind will King David’s attitude, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone     

           

Concepts

It’s one thing to read and be instructed to “put on the mind of Christ” and yet sometimes we are not sure what that actually means. We look to give some of our forbidden practice a pass. We confuse sin with licence and vice-versa. At times we are caught in deep waters and then” James explains that “a double minded man is unstable in all his ways”. So, although it appears as if we have certain areas of our lives tired down, we can only ever be classify as unstable. That is quite an indictment and yet we must own it if that is our story. Paul is more gracious with his instruction, he affords the Christian the ability to learn what it means to put on the “mind of Christ”. His instruction reads; “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2) – Life is a testing ground for one particular purpose and that is to discern the will of God for our lives, period! It’s when we look for wiggle room that we begin to sink into the marsh of life. Our consciousness has an awareness to it that now needs to appropriate truth to it; it needs to please God in order to find rest.      

   

We must foundationally understand what it means to “put on the mind of Christ”. The very first brick that needs to be laid, is God first. Praise and honour by us to Him is critical. “Hallowed be thy name” should be the first thing that comes out of our mouth in the morning. Then we need to consider how we can find His will in our particular situation throughout the day. It’s all about pleasing Him, which must become our main objective. How are we to do that? What type of actions must follow? Whatever we find to do that is noble, we must do it as inconspicuously as possible, for when we do it to be seen by others it is neither valued nor rewarded by God our Father; “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1-4)

Why did the Lord Jesus have to give these types of instructions? It’s obvious that our sinful natures dictates different types of patterns when it comes to our behaviour. It’s the voice of God that helps us realign our attitudes to that which pleases our Heavenly Father. Nevertheless this is a process and we must learn to work out that behavioural patterns for our lives, right from wrong but not as the world dictates, far from it. We must learn to put on the mind of Christ and the only way to be sure we are on the right track is to explore the Word of God, to find the hidden treasures that will help us find grace to please our heavenly Father. Really, when we strip it down what else is there?

Another topical truth bearing its fruit on a mammoth scale, organisations and individuals looking to save our planet without due benevolence given to the creator; “because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” (Romans 1:25) - Get this wrong and the consequences will be dire. God has spoken and He will destroy heaven and earth, his creation! And all because of mankind’s rebellion against Him. To resist the will of God is foolishness of the highest order. However, God has graciously made a way for all to seek out His support in this life and the life to come, and make no mistake there is another life still to come, it was never only ever meant to be about the here and now. Before the beginning of time God instituted His plan and it is now unfolding before our own eyes.

Call upon the name of Jesus Christ the Lord will an earnest plea and all will be revealed to you, your eyes will be open to the truth of God’s existence. It’s not as if creation itself has not proved His being, for it has, so we are all without excuse. However the love of God has chosen to exhibit His splendour by giving the world’s inhabitants an out which will escape His wrath and once again make no mistake it is coming. God sent His only begotten Son to die so that those who find repentance in Him can escape that wrath. True love encapsulated with mercy, how great is my God? Praise His name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Why... "born again"?

(John 3:3) Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Unless a man is born again he cannot see nor enter the kingdom of heaven is where the human race now finds themselves but how did we arrival at such a pitiful place and with so many cluelessly oblivious to the truth of it all? So many second guessing even God’s existence.

Here then is an allegory which could make it easier to understand for those willing to listen, consider, process and then act upon…

There was a man from another world who understood the beauty of all things; Utopia, a land which had the best of fruits, a place where the lion lay down with the lamb. It was a world far too beautiful to accurately describe, it was unadulterated magnificence. Thorns were unheard of, blemishes foreign to any of it fruits and sheer joy was an emotion that flooded the soul. Peace was an undertone that filled his environment. It was an acreage embodied with pure bliss and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was the center of it all. He was the one who created it and all He required was obedience.

And then one day an enemy from another world saw his opportunity. Someone who knew the truth, at least in part, he was an individual with great power, cunning and full of sin. An evil being who had already rebelled against God, a traitor who had been banished from heaven, who once held a position of power.

There is only One Master and Chief and the sooner we learn that the simpler our lives will become. He rebelled against God, disobeyed a direct command resulting in a twisted objective to defy God His creator and get this man to follow him. However Adam was not so easily fooled and so he devised a cunning plan targeting that which Adam held closest to his heart, his wife Eve, she was the apple of his eye and so this cunning creature, later to be recognized as Satan approached with lies and beguiled her inquiring mind into believing that he had a better life for her, unbeknown to her, she was drawn into his cunning scheme, the art of deception had ensnared her and she tried something forbidden. On the surface what he had to say seemed harmless enough, but once she indulged in the prohibited, her eyes were opened to a world of terror, filled with death and then it was too late, the door to their wonderful world was closed forever. A new facet to their understanding was quickened. Suspicion, malice, guile, envy, were just some of the fruits they could now actually comprehend. Her defiance had unlocked that door for all who would follow, her offspring would now be born as sinners and by nature bear its fruit with sin at the center of it all.

    

God was furious with their rebellion, questioning why he had formed them and their disobedience came at great cost; they were banished from their blissful country and into a world filled with treachery. Monsters and vile beasts surrounded them on every side. They were now on the run, seeking the preservation of life, hiding in caves and eating fruit full of worms. Death had become part of their survival! They now had to track and kill live venison to sustain their family. They hunted and were also hunted. The utopia on what was once peaceful had long been forgotten. Pain and suffering had become a way of life with death continually knocking at their door. And then Adam died, his life had come to an end. Death! The reality of their mutiny. The curse of death lives on and all because of our great grandparents rebellion.

If you think you know better, then by all means ignore God’s voice, but don’t be surprised when you face a similar fate. God has spoken and those who find the grace to heed His voice will be richly rewarded. Jesus has paid that price and He has broken the curse, God in the flesh died in the place of sinners reversing the curse placed upon mankind. It not as if once we are saved, “born again” that we become perfect in character, far from it, but no differently to a baby who enters our world learning what is needed for survival, the Christian also must endure many hardships along the way as they learnt to put on the mind of Christ. However although each Christian differs in growth and maturity, one thing is certain we can all see into heaven through the eyes of faith. Without true repentance for our sin, we may look heavenward but all we will ever see is the vast universe, pondering what is out there. Fabricating our own lies to suit our lifestyles.   

Being “born again” gives us eyes to see the truth. It’s God Himself who opens our eyes to know the truth. A second chance is what we have been given and there most certainly won’t be a third.

Here is the instruction: Acknowledge your sins, confess them, cry out to Jesus Christ the Lord as you seek out His forgiveness for you rebellion against His Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, confess Him as Lord, believing that God the Father raised him from the dead. Cry out to Him and He will react, of this I am convinced. 

These are the actions that quickens our Spirit and our understanding springs to life, this is how a person is “born again”. It establishes an honest relationship with God, His door is now open to our voice. Our grasp on who God is, is now quickened, we understand that we have found what we have always been looking for and we are given a peace where faith instills a confidence into our soul. Finally we know that all will be well. We were once the enemy of God but now we have been recruited into his fold, praise the name of JESUS CHRIST my LORD! We are now children of God and we must look to please our Father by uncovering His will, and not our selfish wants for our lives.

Signing off

Tyrone

The last man standing

“The last man standing” mentality seems to be something that is drilled into us from a very young age. It draws strength from conforming to a worldly mind-set and then parents gloat about their kid’s achievements. The pressure is brutal! Everyone trying to outdo the other is a heavy burden where only the strong will survive, let alone be the last man standing. If this be our plight, lets us rather channel our energies correctly, not pleasing the world, but our heavenly Father.

We are to be turn from that way of thinking and put on the mind of Christ; here is the instruction…

"And be not conformed to this world." — Rom_12:2

“If a Christian can by possibility be saved while he conforms to this world, at any rate it must be so as by fire. Such a bare salvation is almost as much to be dreaded as desired. Reader, would you wish to leave this world in the darkness of a desponding death bed, and enter heaven as a shipwrecked mariner climbs the rocks of his native country? then be worldly; be mixed up with Mammonites, and refuse to go without the camp bearing Christ's reproach. But would you have a heaven below as well as a heaven above? Would you comprehend with all saints what are the heights and depths, and know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge? Would you receive an abundant entrance into the joy of your Lord? Then come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing. Would you attain the full assurance of faith? you cannot gain it while you commune with sinners. Would you flame with vehement love? Your love will be damped by the drenchings of godless society. You cannot become a great Christian-you may be a babe in grace, but you never can be a perfect man in Christ Jesus while you yield yourself to the worldly maxims and modes of business of men of the world. It is ill for an heir of heaven to be a great friend with the heirs of hell. It has a bad look when a courtier is too intimate with his king's enemies. Even small inconsistencies are dangerous. Little thorns make great blisters, little moths destroy fine garments, and little frivolities and little rogueries will rob religion of a thousand joys. O professor, too little separated from sinners, you know not what you lose by your conformity to the world. It cuts the tendons of your strength, and makes you creep where you ought to run. Then, for your own comfort's sake, and for the sake of your growth in grace, if you be a Christian, be a Christian, and be a marked and distinct one.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Here Spurgeon gives us great insight to what hat we should be wearing as we conform to the image of Christ, a help to understand the dangers when turning a blind eye to our own lusts. Wanting the certainty of heaven with all its glory and then allowing every carnal whim to be satisfied. The cry went out many years ago and I now echo it; “choose this day whom you will serve” and this is an examination we are to have alone and in our closet. The beauty of Christ’s sacrifice affords the Christian a personal relationship with their God. With constant dialogue throughout the day. It’s not as if we have a set time when we commune with our God, the way religion has impressed its ideology upon the world. Big majestic buildings with their priests as the answer. NO! We have the ability to cry “ABBA FATHER”, Jesus Christ my Lord has accomplished that on my behalf. Aww, how I love Him. And yet my actions tell the story, we cannot escape that truth. The Lord Jesus was very clear with his instruction; “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Luke 16:13)

Although this analogy is very specific as it highlights money and everything that that entails, it’s the principle I wish to drive home, which is Spurgeons point; “Then, for your own comfort's sake, and for the sake of your growth in grace, if you be a Christian, be a Christian, and be a marked and distinct one.”

Signing off

Tyrone

Meditation

Looking to Jesus the finisher of the faith; the alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He was there when the world was created and He will be there when it shall be destroyed. He has paid the ransom for all who will call upon Him. He is the only one with the keys for the escape pod. In fact He is the escape pod, He is the KEY! Without his affirmation on your behalf your end will be tragic. These are the facts as God has ordained it. “For all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved”. (Romans 10:13)

Consider the dietician, what is his purpose? Surely he is to help those willing to listen, to get the best nutrients into their bodies, which in turn would achieve their objective, a healthier lifestyle!

As for the Christian we need a similar practice…

“I will meditate in thy precepts." — Psa_119:15

There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on his Word spiritual strength for labour in his service. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment out of them. Truth is something like the cluster of the vine: if we would have wine from it, we must bruise it; we must press and squeeze it many times. The bruiser's feet must come down joyfully upon the bunches, or else the juice will not flow; and they must well tread the grapes, or else much of the precious liquid will be wasted. So we must, by meditation, tread the clusters of truth, if we would get the wine of consolation therefrom. Our bodies are not supported by merely taking food into the mouth, but the process which really supplies the muscle, and the nerve, and the sinew, and the bone, is the process of digestion. It is by digestion that the outward food becomes assimilated with the inner life. Our souls are not nourished merely by listening awhile to this, and then to that, and then to the other part of divine truth. Hearing, reading, marking, and learning, all require inwardly digesting to complete their usefulness, and the inward digesting of the truth lies for the most part in meditating upon it. Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God's Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it. From such folly deliver us, O Lord, and be this our resolve this morning, "I will meditate in thy precepts." (Charles Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone