Essential Doctrines

Apathy will never be an excused when it comes our eternal destinies. Hence the warnings in scripture, this is why we must not simple glean over them but rather study them in depth and learn from them. Use the lessons behind such caveats to shape our decisions. And such a caution as this one that the Lord Jesus gives us, is crucial and we must gather from it to equip ourselves for what lies ahead; “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7: 13-14) – There is a narrow and a wide gate and the Christian needs to ensure that they can differentiate the wide from the narrow and then to enter the correct gate, period!

 

Here are some essential doctrine that I believe will help us stay on the right road. Obviously we need the grace of God to get us home and one of the functions of God the Holy Spirit is to lead us into all truth and I trust this will help…

   

·    The Essential Doctrines we need to latch onto to ensure we are on the right road, which in turn leads to our salvation.

·    We need to be truly saved, we can’t attach ourselves onto an organization that miss these essential doctrines.  That is where we will fall into the devil's playground. It is obvious many are being swept up by his trickery. The way many are disregarding the Word of God and referring to it as dated. 

·      It’s no use getting bent out of shape on the application issue behind baptisms. Some sprinkle, whilst others submerge. Or structure and the way churches are run and then lastly, the way people differ on spiritual gifts and their methodology behind their application and the technique they use is not an essential doctrine that is needed to be saved.

 

SO WHAT IS ESSENTIAL - WHAT MUST WE EMBRACE WITH BOTH ARMS TO ENSURE SALVATION? We cannot miss these truths. As John MacArthur calls it the “drivetrain” behind Essential Doctrines. I like that!

 

1.   The Word of God, the Holy Bible and the authority it carries, we must believe that it is inherent, if we land on questioning its authority, then we are playing into the hands of Satan. Just like they did in the Garden of Eden. It’s crucial we embrace the voice of God, through the written Word. This is where we find safety. – What if I don’t understand or I can’t relate to certain aspects of the scriptures? God has graciously afforded me freedom in this area of my life and I hope it will free you, if I don’t understand or feel something is harsh, I rest in the fact that God knows what He is doing and I believe what has been penned, even if I can’t get my head around it, end of story!  Romans chapter 9 a case in point, as I struggled with this chapter for a very long time. I don’t try and understand it on a carnal level, if it is to be discerned spiritually; “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 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: 6-8) - With this understanding and my application to it, I can honestly say that the Spirit of God has settled me on this topic and I am at peace. The Bible and only the Bible is the revealed Word of God and this is the first essential we must embrace. I want us to consider what is attacked the most in the Christian world, is it not the Word of God? It certainly is! Why? Bring doubt into what has been penned and what happens? It undermines people confidence in God. Satan’s objective from the beginning. I trust this point is clear. We need to latch onto the Word of God with all we have.  

2.    We must get to grips with the God’s nature, any god outside the trinity is a false god. We know that God is a triune God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit and they all have their specific roles in our salvation. One in nature, three in person, and this is the true God revealed in scripture. It's the first essential that has already been discussed that prove this, it’s the Word of God through the Bible which communicates these truths. The Father as the creator and the giver of life, the Son as Redeemer, the Spirit, the power behind salvation and sanctification. This must be our understanding of God. We also have to believe these truths about Christ, He was born of a virgin and that He is God and Man, 100% God and 100 % man; that’s who he claimed to be in scripture and that is who He is. He live a sinless life and died in place of others, His death was substitutionary. He also rose from the dead endorsing God the Father confirmation in His son’s sacrifice. His resurrection by the Father proves the validation for all those who have and will still repent and cry out to Jesus for their salvation. We also believe in His ascension into heaven and that he will return again to fetch His church.

3.   We must believe that salvation is by faith in Christ alone and by grace, it is a gift from God! We cannot earn it by our own works. In other words our own effort will never save us or get us to heaven.

 

Let me conclude like this; we start with a true understanding of the Bible, it is the unadulterated Word of God. The true understanding of God the trinity and the roles HE (three in one) plays in our salvation. These are the essential doctrines that we must make our own to stay on track and make it to heaven. The rest will be sorted by God when we are with Him in heaven.

 

To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Praise!

 

(2 Samuel 22:4) “I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.”

 

What in your life is worthy of praise? Is it your bank balance or could it be your children’s achievement. Maybe your position as the owner of a conglomerate and the power you now wield is your claim to fame. There is much to do about nothing when we consider what is worthy of praise, if it falls outside of the scope of God’s provision for mankind, the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is worthy of praise. Why? Because no one else has it in their power to pardon your sin. This is a phenomenal achievement, He alone has paid the price for the repentant sinner. We have it in our power to forgive one another, but that forgiveness as liberating as it can be, will not stand the test of eternity. David gives us some insight to this, may we have ears to hear what the Spirit is teaching us. His sin had snowballed out of control. That is what sin does if left unchecked. He had impregnated a married woman and was now trying to cover it up, he went as far as ensuring the death of her husband. He had arranged that Uriah the Hittite, an honourable man, who had chosen to rather sleep on the steps of the king’s palace than return to his wife while his companions were at war. This is turn, squashed David’s plans for his cover up. He then sent a message to his head General, Joab and it reads like this; “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.”  And all because he felt he needed to hide his sin, sin will remained buried, but only for a season. David’s plans apparently worked out, however, only until the prophet Nathan confronts him and eventually says; “You are the man!”  Guilty of treason. God had exposed David’s sin and it was now out in the open. An example of what we will all have to face when we stand before the judgment seat of God and make no mistake that day is coming for the unbeliever. It’s not our sin that God is ultimately offended by, obviously God hates sin, as it falls outside of everything He is. But rather our response to it that moves God towards a favourable outcome for the sinner. It’s the love of God that forgives us. When David’s sin was brought into the light, his immediate reaction was to own it, and then repent. God has afforded all the same privilege, we can confess and find forgiveness for our sins in and through the finished work of the cross. The Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished that for us all. But only those who respond favourably will find forgiveness for their sins, whilst all the others, which will be many, will be judged for theirs.

 

Those who reject Him and refuse to pay Him homage in this life will stand before a Holy God and give an account of their lives and every secret sin will be brought to the surface and judged. God is love, but I tell you this it is a fearful thing to fall onto the wrong side of His judgments. The cost is unthinkable, but think we must, whilst we have breath to implement His truths into our lives, it is imperative we take every opportunity to make straight our crooked paths and that can only ever be achieved in and through the finished work of the cross.

 

David sinned against so many people to cover up his iniquity, but look at his response to it in the Psalms; ​ “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” (Psalms 51: 1-4) – We need God’s forgiveness for our sin, without His endorsement we will suffer the fate of the devil and his angels, the Lake of Fire will be their final destination. Why? Because of their sin, in other words, their rebellion against God’s order.  

 

This is the reason for my applause, I will call upon the name of the Lord, He is worthy to be praised, hallelujah and Amen! He has saved me from a catastrophic dilemma, praise his name. Christian we have been born for such a time, it is time for us to dig our heels in and be countered. Where will you stand on this? Will you buckle to the pressure of society and the whimsical clattering voices that shout compromise is love or will you boldly come forth and be amongst the number who cries out in love to those lost and tainted by the wolves in sheep’s clothing; “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”  (Matthew 7: 13-14) - Our lives must be all about the will of God the Father and not our selfish wants, we must learn to “let go and let God”, as it will certainly be worth it all, when we make it to heaven and see Him in all His splendour, what a day that will be, even so come quickly Lord Jesus.

 

Even the lessons we are taught in life, through the natural, help us understand that anything worthwhile comes at a cost. We must decrease so that God can increase. We must learn to depend solely on the finished work of the cross. We must throw all our eggs into one basket, and that basket must be the Lord Jesus. There can be no hedging of bets when it comes to the eternity. One foot in the world and the other in the church is simply not good enough.

 

The storm is coming and those not built on the Rock, will be swept away.

 

Look to Jesus and LIVE!

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Faith biblical formula

 Faith, an essential, for the Christians walk, why? Without faith it is impossible to please God. Nevertheless, we need to understand how to apply it correctly if we are to ever please our heavenly Father.  Faith could refer to, confidence, trust, reliance, conviction, belief or assurance to name but a few of its replacements. The tricky part when applying ourselves to faith correctly is the slant so many have on the subject. It is imperative that we understand the biblical truth behind faith and we must find the grace to apply it correctly. God has given his children access into His storerooms of grace, it is freely available and its doors are never shut.

 

Let’s explore biblical faith with the intent of keeping it simple; what is the definition of faith? (Hebrews 11:1) “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction (or evidence) of things not seen.”  Faith is an individual’s pledge, believing in a hope that they will eventually receive, even though it is unseen to the naked eye. The danger behind faiths entrapment is this, because faith is an immaterial substance it allows the gainsayer to throw extra goodies into the mix that they feel will tickle people’s ears to get them racing down the rabbit hole. Their strength lies with people's will to satisfy their sensual desires, in other words, if it appeals to us and offers worldly benefits, profits for us in this world, then it is swallowed hook, line and sinker, but only by those who are carnally minded. The babe in Christ is in danger and we need to protect them from such poison, whatever a baby gets their hands on, goes straight into their mouths.

 

Christian this is what we must chase with all we have, we must search out God’s grace to implement this truth into our lives…

 

But before we get there, let’s use a secular example to highlight the point. A spaceship needs fuel to propel it into outer orbit. It’s not as if the head engineer sends out a jerry can on the back of a truck to the nearest gas station. That they would never do, they search out the best of the best when fuelling the rocket. It’s make up consist of a complicated concoction which in turn enables a rocket to get the best propulsion possible. The best of the best for the best results, with no cost spared.

 

Why then would we as Christians settle for anything less? Here is the formulae; Faith + the Word of God = evidence of the hope to come. When we value the voice of God and apply it into our lives even if we don’t really understand, let’s face it, some truths are hard to swallow, but swallow we must, if we want to be recorded it the record books of faith.

 

Faith not fed by the word of God will only ever produce pseudo faith. Why? Because if God voice is not behind our faith how will that benefit us in the ages to come? It wont!

 

I don’t know about you but I am looking for the faith that will glorify my heavenly Father, and bring praise to my glorious Saviour. Any other types of faith I want absolutely nothing to do with.

 

The writer of Hebrews has this to say about true faith; (Hebrews 11: 13-16) “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”

 

My encouragement to all would be feast of the Word of God, God’s voice, given freely, is available to all in and through the written Word, the Holy Bible.  Avoid myths and the static from all the opinionated voiced of today, there is so many channels with so many blinkered ideas that it’s easy to get lost in the mayhem of it all. But as for you Christian; “As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:5)

 

Let me leave you with this encouragement, let us look to Moses’ example and learn from it; (Hebrews 11: 24-25) “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.”  

 

Be blessed Christian in the finished work of the cross

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone         

The divide

The divide between judgment and truth, to find the balance without compromise is an art in itself. Where there is truth in our society there will always be those looking to tarnish it with lies, sadly, it is the way of the fallen world. So from the outset please forgive me if my delivery seems harsh, however the reality of the feud of today is real and it would be unwise for us to bury our heads in the sand. I have a heart for the lost, the wayward sheep, those who have missing in action. I was amongst that number for a very long time, but God who is rich in mercy and through a series of painful corrections brought me to me senses, thank you Father God! I may be HIV positive, have a leg shorter than the other with a hip now failing due to a head-on collision. Nevertheless, the discipline of God’s action into my life has saved me and if I was given a choice, I would have it no other way.  It’s hard to articulate the depths He was willing to travel to rescue me, a life of total debauchery, wine, woman and song; with drugs a common requirement to escape the reality of it all. Hence the reason for my autobiography, which is available on the Amazon platform in the form of an electronic book, it is called Destroy and Deliver Synopsis for anyone who is interested. 

 

The mercy and grace of God is not lost on me, I have understood that boasting of any form has been excluded, it’s the goodness of God, alone that saves. Let these words infiltrated you mind and bless you richly; “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2: 4-9)

 

In any warfare there always has to be an opposing force, for the Christian it is no different, the battle is fierce and it often comes from within. We have been warned, in the last days people will gather teachers to themselves; “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2Timothy 4:3-5)

 

Without any other influence for now, please consider where we stand on this, is it obvious? Or is this a reference for another time? We will explore this train of thought a little further in upcoming posts.

 

The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Life's Journey

(Philippians 4:7) “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – is this your reality?

 

The journey of life, when does it begin, at conception or when we breach our mother’s womb? Regardless of where you land on this, the truth of the matter is we exist and therefore get to an age where we have to start making informed decisions for ourselves. We all have a story to tell and at the end of the day we all have to work it out. Life can be confusing at times, the pressure this generation faces is immense and growing up in this digital age can be harsh. Online bullying and the like, but God has made a way for you to escape the onslaught.

 

The message of salvation is timeless and on offer to all who cry out to Him. The brilliance of God on display in and through the finished work of the cross. Has the Lord Jesus Christ touched your life in a way that no one can rob you of the experience or is the concept of His redeeming work just pie in the sky? Do you have a form of godliness but deny the power of it all? In other words do you claim to be a Christian but you live no differently to everyone else. Do I? I am not exempt from the very same question. What about the “peace of God that surpasses all understanding?” If not, today may just be your day, for me it happened what seems a lifetime ago, I was 22 years old when God brought me to a place of understanding. Understanding what? Well, I understood that I had been lied to for so many years, 22 to be exact! Adults don’t give teenagers of today enough credit to reason correctly, but I say, we all have the ability to aim from a very young age when it comes to our understanding of the deeper meanings of life. I can remember asking myself the question what is the meaning of life and demands like what about heaven and hell. A dearth, a spiritual blindness for 22 years and then it happen, God opened my eyes and then I knew, all my questions found answers. God gave me the eyes of faith to see into the unseen. Every con I had been lured into prior to this event I could now see the way they had been set up for entrapment; wine, women and song had driven me into the person I had become. Enough was the cry! I had come face to face with Jesus Christ, the One who died for me. He had saved me from a path of destruction, I could see! Everything had now fallen into place and I understood. That moment I will never forget and I treasure it deep within the clevises of my heart. Thank you Jesus for opening my eyes and saving my soul. Do you know what I am speaking about, have you had a similar experience? Let me leave you with this thought, it’s not enough to believe in God, even the demons believe and tremble, they know the power He wields. Has our relationship with the Lord Jesus brought about a change in the way we live our lives and is it obvious to all?

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

The Parable

“And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.” (Luke 8: 9-10)

 

Firstly we need to understand what a parable is, it is allegory to get a point across and it the case of the Christian to give them insight into a truth that the unbeliever will miss, when exposed to the same story. Ingenious if you ask me, God is phenomenal in the way He weaves His brilliance into society. This is why we need to be born again, the time where we receive His Spirit to see and understand correctly. It unlocks the secrets of heaven. Think on it like this, a 3D movie need 3D glasses to clasp the full experience, so too everyone who claims to be a Christian, must be born again, traditional Christianity, those born into Christian organisations from birth, those who are Sunday church goers, cannot rely on their parents teaching to get them you heaven, or to rely on our christening as a baby, we all need to be born of the Spirit to see and understand Spiritual truths; “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” – There needs to be a precise event in their lives when this happens, it must be an undeniable experience.  

 

As the walls close in, I am reminded that we who belong to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are a people with great hope attached to our faith. And it is crucial that we are constantly reminded of this hope, for without it we will perish, no differently to a seed backing in the sun or settling amongst the thorns with no hope of producing the fruit required. Useless and forgotten. Although that seed came from the same bag bought by the farmer to plant and then to reap his harvest, it never takes root and dies, the cares of life become too much to handle. It’s the faith of the Christian that must feed our hope. Just like the rich soil nourishes the seed and water then allows it to germinate into a fully grown plant that brings forth much fruit.

 

Life and then some looks to interfere with the process, if we fall privy to its deceit. The cares of life has this intention; “And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.” (Luke 8:14)

 

The Christian has been given sight by the great I AM, God has equipped us with great insight, and the doors of eternity are open to the believer. However, because it is so far removed from our natural understanding, we need a looking glass to see clearly, and our great Saviour has afford us the privilege, but in order to access those binoculars we must tap into faith and hope. It’s the nocks and the disappointments of life that looks to shift our gaze, but it’s the Word of God that realigns our rudders to see them for what they are, an experience to help us squeeze and hold onto our Saviours finished work even tighter. James actually takes it a step further, he instructs us to count in all joy when we are faced with various trials. It’s like a long distance runner, he must train in order to gain the stamina for an upcoming marathon. Christianity is a marathon and not a sprint, we too need the pressure of various trail to build our stamina, it produces a steadfastness. A determination to stay the course. However when the trail is viewed through carnal eyes, we will be swallowed up.

 

Let me concluded with this truth; “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) – You see how faith and hope work together to trim our sails and even though the battle is fierce, we know in whom we believe. Our God will get us home, and just in case we think the cup we need to drink is too much to handle, read the rest of Hebrews chapter 11 and it will soon become obvious that what most of us face is trivial in comparison.

 

Thank you Father God for this reminder, I needed it, please give me and whoever else is in need of a special measure of your grace and the strength to find it, praise your name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Fruits of repentance

(Romans 8: 7-9) “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. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.”

To have our minds conditioned to the way of the world is a hostile action against God. Hostile is a strong word, it could be interpreted as aggressive, argumentative, antagonistic, and unreceptive. It really means someone who is against God's will. The question we need to ask ourselves is how does my mind operate? What actually fuels it and makes me the person I am? Once we allow the Holy Spirit of God to work his brilliance, revealing certain truths about our characters, that place which leaves us unembellished before our God, striped of all self-justification which allows our sin to breathe and live on. It’s only in this state that we can truly seek God’s face to intervene in our lives. There are obvious times in this world when we are so blinded by our sin that God steps in and disciplines us, and thank God for that. However, we must all arrive at a place of understanding. A time in a believer’s life when we consciously play our parts in this tremendous relationship with our heavenly Father. A time when we need to stand up and be counted. An obvious deduction concerning the shift of our thought process, not living life as we did yesterday, but with an intentional will to find grace to change the way we process information. Until this happens, we will never shake the mould of society. The war is fierce and it was never intended to be any different. Christianity isn’t for the Pliable. We all fail in different areas of our lives, this by design, which keeps us humble. But to live as if one does not need the will to find grace to overcome those obstacles in our lives, makes us no different to the drug addict or the alcoholic. Escapism for the Christian is a “no go zone”. And yet I know I am guilty as charged, forgive me Father God.

We must get this into our minds; “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,”  - As believers born of God, although we live in a flesh and blood body we are not under the governance of our flesh, we are to live in the Spirit which is fuelled by faith. Our faith must drive us to live here, period! If not then we need to ask ourselves this very serious question; “if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.”  We all like to acknowledge and believe that God is on our side. Even the unbeliever has a hope that it will end well. That inherent thought powered by deception, a trigger mechanism that believes it will happen to others and we will be safe.   There is a very stern warning in the text, without the Spirit of God in us, we do not belong to God. This is an obvious deduction and plainly declared in the transcript. “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”  

 

Before we disregard Paul's teaching, as it were for our neighbour, let us seek God’s face for our lives. Let’s seek the Spirits help to see ourselves as we are. Once He obliges and His work is done we can then actively look to strengthen our feeble knees and find grace to help in time of need.

 

There is a way we can test where we stand before our God and our commitment to Him. Sin will always look to accuse others and excuse ourselves. But the Spirit of God is not subject to that type of manipulation, praise God for that. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”  - How do we test our involvement with God’s call upon our lives? – Here it is, the fruits of repentance reveals a truth that we cannot deny; “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.” (2 Corinthians 7: 10-11)   

 

Do we have a godly grief to our failures or a worldly sorrow to them? A simple question that strips us to our core. The one produces repentance whilst the other carries with it a death sentence. It the godly grief that now drives the Christian, it’s the Spirit of God that compels us to through faith and by grace to act differently. This truth is obvious for the believer at salvation, the day God opens the eyes for an individual for the very first time and the way their lives change, it is an undeniable truth. What I want us to examine is what has happened since then and how does compromise now dictate? 

 

Let us now unpack the fruits of repentance and what I lives should look like, and if not, we know what needs to happen. We need to fall to our knees and earnestly cry out to Jesus.

 

There are seven fruits of repentance; Earnestness (seriousness), eagerness (enthusiasm) to clear yourselves, indignation (anger or annoyance), fear (anxiety), longing (desire or a craving), zeal (fervour), punishment (retribution or as the KJV puts it, revenge – retaliation)! All of these descriptive words give us insight to the way our minds are conditioned and how serious we are with our God. They all play their part in our retaliation against the world and its entrapment. A measure for us to evaluate our spiritual standing before a Holy God. God willing, I will look to unpack this with more proficiency in the next post.

 

If God if for us who can be against us, but we need to be real and here is what the Spirit is saying to the churches, what can I take from this? We must see our need and only then will we be compelled to cry out to Jesus for help. Help us Father God come to our senses is my prayer, Amen and Amen!

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Grace valued...

(2 Corinthians 6:1) “Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.”

 

What a statement, it encapsulates the grace of God and without a comma it then emphasises the “in vain” aspect that must draw our attention. We must sit up and take note. What a tragedy that would be, to receive the grace of God in vain; to be offered a perfect lifeline and then to throw it all away because of some selfish want. The ten virgin comes to mind, with five of them oil less and groping in the dark with their lanterns snuffed. Sadly for some, we will be caught off guard, the second coming of our Lord and Saviour will find some with their hands in the cookie jar of sin. We have been called to “come out and be separate”, the Christian is a peculiar person and our ties to the world must be meniscal when it comes to our lifestyles. We have been singled out and must therefore live accordingly. We are the salt of the earth but if that salt has become favourless, what is it good for, except the rubbish bin.

 

I shudder to think of the way we live, I live, when I mirror it against the saints of old; “We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love;” (2 Corinthians 6:3-5) - Not to say we have all been given the same responsibilities, but our commitment to the gifts of God must be exercised with intent to bring God glory. This is why we have been saved from our sin to live lives filled with hope and to point people to the finished work of the cross. To snuff out all the lies filtering down from the world and those wanting to be heard. Here is the instruction; “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) – The Spirit of God has caused me to hone in on these verses, as they are imperative, when we make them a part of our daily living, we will shift gears and then we can look to the gifts of grace to walk in the Spirit and then like a well trained soldier to keep step with the Spirit.

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” (Romans 12:3) – This verse reminds us that it grace’s (unmerited favour) involvement in our lives that we must latch onto and treasure. Boasting has been excluded, however this should not leave us unresolved to stir up the gifts that God has given us. We have a responsibility to Him and others to be good stewards with what we have been given. And I stress, the spiritual gifts we have received is what I refer to, not the gifts that feed our worldly desires. We need to focus on our ability to present our bodies as living sacrifices. Less of self as an overarching rule and then by testing we can align ourselves by the Spirits intervention of reprogramming our minds to understand the will of God for our lives. This must become a priority, if we are to please our God and heavenly Father. Remember our Saviours example and the words that followed; “And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”  (Mark 1:10-11)

 

This journey of ours is all about finding the will of God for it. That’s it! Not easy to accomplish, with so many distracting voices looking to throw us off course and not to mention everything else that the world offers, the lusts of the flesh, lust of our eyes and finally the pride of life. In fact, an impossible task if we were left to our own devices. The law of God has already proven this. However, we are not alone, we have the mind of Christ, the Holy Spirit as our ally and Jesus Christ the high priest who intercedes on our behalf. God has afforded all His children the tools needed to overcome. We must just learn to let God and let go. 

 

It’s now time to focus on what really counts, I’m praying for you, please pray for me. The pressure is on and will only increase from here on in. If our attentions are not locked onto to the finished work of the cross we will end up squandering the grace of God in our lives, God forbid we ever regard Christs sacrifice with such impunity.  

 

I must remind us all of our hope, for without this wonderful anticipation we will perish; one day we will be like our Saviour in character, once our race is run, we will see our God, faith will now longer be required and we will be able to handle this tangible truth, God will be our Father and we will be His sons. I will be able to fall to my knees and personally kiss His feet. What a day that will be, even so come quickly Lord Jesus.

 

Let us not be sucked into the mould of compromise; “When we begin sharing truth based on how well that truth will be received, we are halfway to compromise.” (Charles Spurgeon)

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

the battle is fierce and the war rages

The battle is fierce and the war rages, it’s as if people, Christians are looking to find whatever they can to parry the blows of the enemy. Many have become dull of hearing, whilst others from the outset have never been taught correctly; all we need to build upon is the Lord Jesus Christ, and the how-to is found in the written Word of God. Obviously without the Holy Spirit’s intervention in our lives we would soon be defeated. However, because of the finished work of the cross we have been justified and are now among God’s people, we must draw from His arsenal and not allow our vain imaginations to be thwarted by looking for extra revelation to find victory. I’m hearing a lot of prophetic words of late, which simply do not line up with the Bibles teachings. We must be careful not to swallow these voices, hook, line and sinker. God is in control and He is the director of His production, to even suggest that we have the power to unlock His hands by what we do, is absolute nonsense. He will get done what He willed regardless of our interventions. However we can become part of His will when we align ourselves with His intent. Another consideration for another day.      

Our foundation is the Lord Jesus Christ and we can never build on anything else, when we do, we are opening ourselves up to potential false teachings that will lead us astray. Messages that are convincingly presented on the back of apparent prophetic insight. I have told you beforehand and I will remind you again, if what a person bleats out contradicts the Word of God, it is false and cannot be trusted. What can we trust? The voice of God penned throughout scripture and in context can and must be trusted and favoured before any other voices out there.

Pay attention…

​
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1-2) – Confirmation and proof that the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ is in fact God and if you read on in the same chapter we see His obvious role in creation and then how the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us; “All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made.”  - “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.” - Grace and truth unifying to bring us clarity.

He then lived on the earth for 33 years fulfilling his ministry, his objective to do the will of His heavenly Father and that was to save mankind from their sins. In order to achieve this, he had to die a death he didn’t deserve, in other words, he paid the penalty for my sin and your sin. He was condemned as a sinner when in fact he was without sin. He lived a life of sinless perfect in a human body, something no one else, to date, has ever achieved. Not to say that didn’t come with its own difficulties, we see a very vivid account of what he endured in the garden of Gethsemane, the toil his body faced almost killed him, as he resisted temptation so that we in turn would find repentance for our own sins. What a Saviour I serve, praise His name, the world has their heroes, I have mine.

“And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:39-4)

Temptation is a means used to test our commitment to the call of God upon our lives. It uncovers our hearts. This is a particular truth that floors me every time it’s brought to the forefront of my mind. I am humbled by the mercies of God and in particular the achievements of my beloved Saviour. He was willing to endure such an onslaught brought on by temptation that he began to sweet blood. All he had to do was relinquish and yield to the temptation and the pain would dissipate. He did not and he stayed the course, can we say the same? I have fail more times than I care to remember.

He was now ready for the final test and was crucified, taking the punishment of our rebellion against the great “I AM”. He died for our sins, opening a door to God the Father, that through faith and by grace we can now find forgiveness for our sinful ways, it’s through repentance and our commitment to Christ that numbers amongst the sons of God. The finished work of the cross is by far the greatest historical achievement of all time. Nothing else even comes close in comparison.

With this in mind the writer of Hebrews has this to say; “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Hebrews 1:1-2) - The only question I need you to answer is this; on the back of our Saviours achievements who should get our attention? Will we treasure the penned Word of God above the prophetic voices of today? I have made up my mind, it’s up to you to make up yours. God has spoken to us by His Son, our Saviour and it’s His voice we must cherish. Prophetic utterance can claim that Jesus is behind the expression, but it remains hearsay until proven otherwise. The Word of God has the stamp of God’s approval, it’s this we must cherish with all we have. It is the utility which will help get us home.

Father God I know that without your eye salve in our lives we will remain oblivious to so many truths. Holy Spirit help us with discernment I pray and continue to remind us that it’s about the will of God and not to play into the hands of potential imaginations.

I will leave you with this thought, the downfall of man all started with vain imaginations and because of this, hearts were darkened: “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”  (Romans 1:21)

Here is the warning; “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.”  (1 Timothy 6:3-4)

Signing off

Tyrone