Self Gratification

 

Let’s face it we do things to help ourselves and yet we are taught to help others. We are self-centred individuals, do not be fooled into believing anything else, its God who has been merciful and often comes to our rescue and the salvage 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 acts preformed behind what we believe to be the "hidden curtain" highlights the “self” in us; when seeking out God’s forgiveness for a particular sin that we struggle with, it’s about us; firstly we scratch the itch and then we seek out forgiveness, we are the ones that need work. If and when will give clothes or food to the poor, it’s only after we have taken care of ourselves; us first and then others. This is human nature personified. Warren Buffet may have given away billions to charity, but he made sure he had a buffer of billions before acting out. What about Bill Gates? On the other hand, the Lord Jesus had this to say; “foxes have holes and birds have nest by I have nowhere to lay my head.” His agenda obviously different; His overarching purpose was to fulfil his Fathers will, which was to die a death he never deserved so that the sinner may have a way to escape the looming judgment just over the horizon. The offer through repentance has gone out to all who will cry out to HIM for help… And until I learn this truth and it becomes my 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 like a gust of wind that gushes by, it come when we least expect it, the grace of God is not something we can plan for, but we most certainly all have the potential to respond to it. How often have you heard that Jesus saves? None of you haven’t! I wonder how you treasure that truth?

 

The older we get the more predominant we begin to reflect, regret and sorrow fills our days with selfish thoughts, if only? Even through the turmoil we always have the need to be in control, power the last of the sinful beasts that has to be heard, “I told you so” or “without me you would be nothing” and so on. No matter how you slice it, or how old you are we are self-satisfying creatures that always put the needs of ourselves before others. The Lord Jesus was the complete opposite…

 

“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 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 instructions where followed to the tee; “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, forgive me for my sins as I forgive others of theirs against me. I pray, continue to lead me to the waters of righteousness, which in turn will transform me into the image of your beloved son, my beloved SAVIOUR. Even the slightest transformation will display the abundance of your Grace in my life. I love you Father God and I thank you for Jesus.

 

 

Signing off

 

 

Tyrone

Understanding our Creator

 

Understanding our creator, Jehovah Jira our provider is firstly a shot in the dark for so many as they clutch at straws hoping to land on the right side of his love. So many accredit their fortunes to His creation, which is Idolatry. Although he is invisible to the naked eye, he proves His existence to us all through HIS CREATION. The Apostle Paul teaches us this truth very clearly in the book of Romans; “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19-20) - The demise of mankind is linked to a mind-set of worshipping the creature instead of the creator. Platitudes like “the universes had other ideas”, how would that make you feel? Bill gates the mastermind or creator if you like of Microsoft, imagine if all his work was accredited to another, how would he feel? Now magnify that by the billions and consider what we are doing to God by not giving him due benevolence when it comes to HIS CREATION.

 

From there we move on to God making a way of escape from the wrath which is to come, and make no mistake it is coming in this life and the next. Even with this rebellious spirit we have somehow inherited through the sins of our fathers, God still takes pity on us and offers all of mankind a lifeline. Originally God made a covenant with Abraham, hence the quote often coined “the Jews God’s chosen people”, because they are. However, they rejected their Messiah and therefore an olive branch has been extended to all tribes and nations across the globe. God has made a way of escape for us all, regardless of race, religion, colour or creed. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

 

You may even be one that often coins the phrase; “the universe had other ideas”, you too have been invited, repent of your sin and call upon the name of Jesus. If you find that an impossible task, sincerely cry out to God to reveal himself to you, walk in your garden and observe the intricate detail of whatever catches your eye and acknowledge Cod as creator and give Him praise for his brilliance and He may just open you eyes and lead you to the foot of the cross, where all will eventually become clear. Every effort, struggle, question or uncertainty will be instantaneously irradiated as the light switch to life will flip into place and the need to tell others will burn bright. I know! because that’s exactly what happened to me…

 

The offer still stands, Jesus Christ the Lord, the only redeemer who has it in His power to save, the rest you have been sold as an out to enter the Promised Land has been tainted with lies and is back by Satan himself, the deceiver of the nations. In fact, he is so good with the mastery of trickery that God has referred to him as; “And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” (Revelation 12:9) - He will accomplish his quest and deceive the whole world, bar those who have had their robes wash in the blood of the Lamb, bless the name of Jesus, now and forever more, Amen!

 

However, there is a flipside to the mercy and grace of God, reject Him as creator and then cap it off with rejecting his beloved Son as your Lord and Savior and you will burn, it will be an unbearable anguish that those who dig their heels in against God will have to endure an eternal sentence in the Lake of Fire.

 

DO NOT BE FOOLED God has spoken through HIS SON, the Lord Jesus Christ, time is running out, so let me leave you with this encouragement; “for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

 

 

Signing out

 

 

Tyrone

Temptation

As my mind wonders amid my thoughts, governance resonates with this awareness; I have often heard it said that because God is righteous He cannot be evil, which is obviously true. “Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” (James 1:13) – If that be true, which it obviously is, why then are we taught by the Lord Jesus to pray, “Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil (the evil one).” – Who does the leading, Satan or God the Father?

 

Some of you may remember the account of Job; if not, here it is; “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it. And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?"” (Job 1:6-8) as this account further unfolds, although instrumentally it is Satan who brings evil upon Job, we can very clearly see that it is God who allows the calamity (evil) to fall on Job, “Have you considered my servant Job?” - A test is there to prove our authenticity. It’s the suffering in the test, which teaches us to shed the skins of sin or the flipside of that drives us to apply the grace principle, excusing our sin as the norm.

 

While the Apostle James teaches us that when we fall into sin, our own wicked heart, and our sinful nature’s drives us to eat from the forbidden tree, which God hates. God hates sin! In fact he detests it so much that whilst the Lord Jesus took upon the sin of mankind, whilst he was punished for it upon that cruel Roman cross. God the Father shunned his Son and turned his back upon him, thus causing the Lord Jesus to cry out, “my God, my God why have you forsaken me?” No doubt rhetorical, but just in case it has not fully dawned on some of you; evidence proving the hatred God has for sin. He judged his Son on the cross for our sin, even though he had no sin of his own, once the penny drops and we get just a glimpse of what it meant for Jesus to die on Calvary, understanding that HE died for me, we will never be the same again.

 

Sadly it’s our own lusts that lead us astray. It is one thing to have a thought but another when it becomes an intention. There is without doubt an aspect of God’s sovereign will which allows us to be tested in certain areas of our lives. If this was not true why would the Lord Jesus teach us to pray in this manner; “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:13) - Why? So that we may see where our treasure lies! For the Christian who loves God would be quick to confess their breach, the apostle John teaches us this truth, Nevertheless our aim is to please our God; “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.” (1John 5:2)

 

The Apostle Paul on the other hand is quick to help us understand the severity the Christian faces on a daily basis, the coalface of our walks, looks like this; “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)   

 

With all this to consider where does that leave us? There is a testing that God require from every believer, sanctification must be tried and tested on a daily basis, we must get to a stage in our lives whereby we begin to have victory over the areas we once where enslaved to. That does not mean we should cavalier into areas that could easily trip us up, but rather pray, “Father lead us not into temptation”, however when we are tempted we have an obligation to seek out God’s grace to overcome the trial and in so doing we will come out on the other side more refined. This is the walk we have been called too! Has God every said to Satan have you considered my servant Tyrone? I somewhat doubt it, nevertheless I have an obligation by his grace to shoot for the mark. It is our duty as Christians to live a life that brings honour to God. The Lord Jesus has left us with a perfect example to follow.

 

Let us be quick to seek His face, find grace in time of need, instead of habitually buckling to the temptation. May God help us all; remembering that it is not by strength or might that we will overcome the evil one, but rather by the finished work of Calvary! We must call on Jesus to find the grace to overcome, Do not believe the lie that I may continue in my sin so that grace may abound. We must learn to overcome…

 

In conclusion, it is God who allows us to be led into the temptation, Satan opens the door to our lusts and we either buckle to it or we find grace to overcome. It’s as simple as that. When we fall we are covered by Christ, when we overcome our Father is glorified. For many of us it’s time to put off the childish things.  

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

Signing off

 

Tyrone

In the Beginning...

Without a beginning there will be no end, process that for a minute and the penny should drop, helping us understand God as an eternal being. God had no beginning and therefore can have no end. That which doesn’t exist can never be because it has no beginning until HE who IS, the creator of all things brings that into being. But He is the great “I AM”! A complete mystery, He who has no beginning and yet His existence, a fact obvious to all, for He has given us creation, which proves His presence; “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19-20)  

 

The man Jesus had a beginning and the more I consider it, the further my mind is sent into orbit. The lengths God went too to rescue his creation from certain destruction. God became a man, live in a body that had a beginning and an end, to save the sinner and restore Satan’s shakedown.

Let me pose a question, consider the birds of the air and the lilies of the fields and what do we see? We behold the brilliance of God’s creation. God spoke creation into being, He has the power to perform such brilliance and it all happened in the beginning…” That exactly how the bible opens; “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”  (Genesis 1:1) - Make no mistake the world as we know it will come to its end. Plant as many trees as you like or recycle as much as you will, God will destroy this earth and replace it with a new one. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” (Revelation 21:1) – God alone has it in his power to implement such an act, He holds the privilege to that right as Creator regardless of the world’s diverse opinionated voices. At the end of the day they will carry very little weight, God always has the final say. Get in line with his objectives or pay the price, period! It’s always been death that’s ushered in life; “But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.” (1Corinthians 15:35-36)   

 

Everything as we know it will come to an end, but not that which is spiritual, that part of God’s creation appears to be locked into the eternal realm. If we settle on this, it should help us wrap our heads around certain truths concerning eternity.

 

Now let us consider the Garden of Eden; Adam was created and then Eve with the potential of an eternal existence at their fingertips. God had planted the tree of life in the mist of the Garden and yet they never ate from it. Their minds had not yet managed the meaning of death. But once they had eaten from the tree of the “Knowledge of Good and Evil” death became their reality and now they wanted to live. So in order for the fruits of sin not to have eternal reign God protects the tree of life, that now becomes the forbidden fruit; “He drove out the man, and at the east of the Garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:24) – God will not permit sin to be an everlasting fruit tainting His Holiness. The rule of sin will have its end just as it had its beginning. Interestingly enough sin was conceived in the spiritual realm, a time when Satan rebelled against God and convinced one third of the angels to follow him.  

 

The Lord Jesus reversed the curse through His achievement and all those covered by his sacrifice have been sanctified in his accomplishments, not our own feeble attempt to find favour with God. But for those not covered by His righteousness their rule will have its end in the Lake of Fire. A place prepared for the devil and his angels; “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matthew 25:41)  

 

The brilliance of Gods plan for rescue is found in the Lord Jesus Christ, the man. It’s what he achieved that offers rescue to whoever would dare to call upon Him for release. Although he had a beginning and an end; he was born miraculously. God the Holy Spirit impregnated a virgin Girl, he was conceived, went through a normal nine month cycle in the womb and birthed like every other baby, he then lived a life of complete obedience to His Father, died a cruel Roman death, crucified for a penalty he never committed and because of his perfect work on earth, God raised him from the dead. He is now seated in heaven with a glorified body at the right hand of God the Father. A phenomenal consideration, God placing himself in a position of vulnerability as he took a flesh and blood body with the possibility of failure. The enemy objective whilst in this state, was to get Jesus to sin, which he never achieved, praise the name of Jesus now and forever more, Amen and Amen! Without this achievement all of mankind would be doomed to a pitiful state of eternal torment in the Lake of Fire. Jesus defeated the last enemy, death! Because of his brilliant achievement, millions will be rescued from that punishment, WOW! I hope this truth blows your minds into orbit and beyond.  

 

With this now understood what is left for mankind to do? Individually what must we do? It is simple; “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” (Romans 10:13) we must call out for rescue or pay the eternal price of torment in the Lake of Fire as there will be no state of Limbo as some suggest. You see, there is a register in heaven known as the book of life and without our names penned into that book we will be doomed to eternal damnation. The only way we reverse that sentence is to cry out to Jesus for rescue; “And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”  (Revelation 20:15) – If your name is not etched into the book of life you are doomed to eternal torment, be sure!

 

Christian as the screws tighten, take encouragement, not far from now we will see our glorious Saviour and receive a body like his and what a day that will be and although that will have its beginning it will have no end as it resides in the spiritual world. The misconception of the thought “here today, gone tomorrow” is a lie.

 

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

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

The Will of God

Can anyone stop the Lord once he has decided on a matter? Most certainly not! And yet we spend so much time trying to do exactly that. Instead of misused energies, we should rather investigate the pursuit of Gods plans. God’s will shall come to pass and once we know what that is we find peace and even in the struggle of life we find rest. It’s the trial of life that God has willed into our paths that will bring about change and glorify His name; “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1Peter 4:1-2) - Stop trying to shirk your responsibility. Praying against the will of God is a futile exercise.

 

How then do I understand the will of God for my life? Firstly, I need to read the Bible, so if that has stopped happening. It would be a good time to start factoring that back into your daily routine. An important note to understand when reading scripture, context is crucial, it’s dangerous to isolate a verse and then run with it in spite of the context. But above all things, lock onto the finished work of the cross, remembering the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice and what it cost Him to save us from our sinful states. If and when we focus on Him it will be well with our souls.

 

The will of the Father was to send His only begotten Son the Lord Jesus into the womb of a young virgin, who was miraculously impregnated by the power of God the Holy Spirit. He was born and then lived on the earth for 33 years, he was not a prophet as some religions claim, He was God in the flesh, the creator of all things. All those who deny this fact oppose the will of God and their prayers carry no sway when it comes to having His ear. Sure, the Christian is surrounded by spiritual forces of darkness and other enemies opposing Gods will, with an objective to get all of mankind to do the same. They are and continue to cause mayhem whilst deceiving the nations and yet it all still falls under the will of God’s plans. I sifting of wheat from the tares, or separating the goats from the sheep. It’s exactly what they propagate and how people respond to their call that allows us to understand who is truly saved or not.  

 

The man Jesus then lived a life of sinless perfect, was judged for sin even though he was innocent, his end in the flesh was barbaric, he was beaten, whipped and then crucified, was buried and then three days after that was raised from the dead by His Father. His resurrected body was handled by doubting Thomas, who would not believe the testimony of others unless he saw and handled the resurrected Christ. Many others engaged with Him, in fact, there were many who could confirm that the Lord Jesus was raise from the dead; “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.”  (Act 2:32) – On Judgment Day these witness will confirm the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead.

 

The purpose behind the plan of God involving His Son was to make a way of escape for all those who would understand their position before a Holy God, acknowledging that we are at fault and have not paid our Creator the due benevolence HE deserves. We have sinned against the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and because of this we need forgiveness. The love of God encapsulated in the Lord Jesus Christ, everything outside of Him, carries very little weight with God. He is the darling of Heaven, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.” Without Christ’s seizure in our lives we will never be covered by God’s grace nor will we have his ear.

 

Therefore, for those who acknowledge their sin and earnestly seek out God’s forgiveness, for all those who cry out to Jesus for rescue will be saved from the looming judgement that will come. The Lake of Fire will be the sentence, a place of everlasting torment, with no escape. God has willed it, but He has also willed rescue for all who cry out to Jesus; “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” (Romans 10:13)

 

Will you call or roll the dice on fate and hope for the best against the will of God? If so I can assure you regret will encapsulate eternity.

 

Signing out

 

Tyrone

Conforming our minds

 

If you need rescue run to the cross, run to the WORD of God which points us to Christ our beloved Saviour. Bask in its goodness and before long it will have achieved the desired result. I am convinced that no medication prescribed for the brain will ever come close to the power of the Word of God. One is of a carnal nature whilst the other is Spiritual. The one feeds our natural desires whilst the other the will of God. We are constantly at war within ourselves, but I think we have missed a trick, we often look for the generic instead of the real deal. Hoping that it may lighten our load, an instant solution to our problems that at best can only ever elevate the pressure of life for a season. Our problems remain because of our sinful natures, our natural minds have been cut from sinful material, we are fallen beings. Therefore, we need a miraculous intervention and that's where walking in the Spirit comes into its own. The battle is won or lost in our minds and this is where it all solidifies, it is the wheelhouse to our souls. The more I give it thought the more I realise I am onto something. Let’s unpack a few truths, but before we get there it would be amiss of me not to mention the importance of this point; “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” (1Corinthians 1:17) – Therefore, it’s important to steer away for the brilliance of academia accolades, or us trying to sound wiser than most by brilliant speech or the like, because that distract from the simplicity of the gospel. We want no praise for ourselves, period! It would be good for us to constantly bring this truth into focus whilst ministering. Jesus and His achievements alone must receive all the glory.

 

It’s the Apostle Paul who instructs, pay attention; “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) 

 

·        There is an appeal to the Christian – we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice and the only way this is possible is to search out the mercies of God in our lives to achieve this objective. But the instruction is clear, we need to acknowledge the fact that we are no longer as important as we once believed, it’s no longer about our selfish wants, which almost always highlight sin in our lives. What is todays message, the world message? "When you start seeing you worth you will find it harder staying around people who don't." God's way is love you neighbour as yourself, its unconditional. It’s now all about the well-being of others and how we play our part in conforming them to the image of God and His holiness. This then is our spiritual worship.

 

·        How is this achieved? – In the mind, we are instructed not to be conformed to this world, which is open ended coaching. Almost everything the world teaches us to satisfy our carnal needs. We must learn to embrace the Lord Jesus’ example in every area of our lives and only then will we truly find the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. Think of the Martyrs that have gone before, Christianity cost them their lives and yet in the throes of death they were at peace. Stephen the very first Martyr had rocks crushing his skull and his lasts thoughts were about heaven with all its glory and forgiveness for the perpetrators. We know that the Lord Jesus in now seated at the right hand of God, nevertheless in this account in the book of acts we see him standing; “And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”” (Acts 7:56)  - “And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:59-60) 

 

·        The instruction is to have our minds renewed, reprogrammed if you like. And the only way this is achieved is by testing, which means by trial and error. Christianity is a marathon and not a sprint. The closer we walk with the Lord the harder the trial and yet the greater the peace. It’s through the trial of life that we learn to have our minds transformed into the image of Christ. Our minds must embrace the bigger picture, which is the will of God.

 

My conclusion then, regardless of the cross we will all have to carry and that obviously varies, nevertheless, we all have the potential to overcome, excuses only ever come from a place of our sinful cravings, which the Lord has already crushed. If we claim Christianity as our own then this will become our mantra; “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:50) 

 

Its times to let go and let God, we must walk by faith, for without it is impossible to please God.

 

Signing out

 

Tyrone