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

Fruit in works

How the pilgrim preforms with this leg, the time we are given on earth, will determine our eternal destinies. We have all been given an allotted stint to work it out and then it will end. Death will swallow us up, but for the Christian, death is not something we fear, but rather it will be the putting off of our corruptible bodies. It will be a time of absolute bliss where mortality will take on immortality. Has this thought resonated deep enough to change the way we live? Our journeys here on earth, the trickery of what we believe to be important, education, monies, status and the like are nothing but decoys to shift our attention off what really matters, finding the will of God for our lives and then approaching the storerooms of grace to help us overcome; “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) - In other words, latching onto that which is available to the Christian to help us through the trial of life. Victory in this area of our lives will help us store treasures in heaven, which is the timeless leg of our journey. The place we will live out eternity, and make no mistake, there will most certainly be positions for the faithful that will carry greater authority; “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Matthew 19:29-30)  - You see, rewards in heaven have nothing to do with our worldly achievements, those recompenses play out in this life and then God's judgment which will determine our standings into eternity. And so the Lord makes it very clear “many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Regardless of our age and where we stand up until now with our efforts. It is never too late to cry out to Jesus, repent and realign our rudders. It takes a resolves to be about the will of God. We must action it with intent and then only are we to look for grace to overcome. Many make the mistake of waiting for God’s intervention in their lives without any wilful intent from their side. Because God is sovereign we are tricked and believe that we must leave it all up to him.  We will never have anything to boast about, "boasting has been excluded". Without God’s involvement in our lives we would never change, but because of it we must change. Study the scriptures and it will soon be clear to all that we must play our parts in this beautiful relationship. Moses is a great example; “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;” (Hebrews 11:24-25) - God tells us to lay up treasures in heaven and not to worry about the lavish life that food and clothing offers. His will first and then the rest will fall into place. Sadly the systems of the world are set up to deceive and they all play into the hands of the enemy and billions have swallowed it up at the expense of their eternal outcome. Let us be reminded that all kinds of evil encompasses the love of money. Even Satan tried to tempt the Lord Jesus with it, or rather what it achieves, he offered our Saviour the worlds and all their authority, all he had to do was sell His soul for it and pay Satan homage. The more we have, the greater the pomp. Here is the warning; “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6: 10) – Beware of the trap of its craving, if not kept in check, it will bring nothing but misery.

Our commitment to faith relinquishes our control onto another…

“In Christ there are no dead and sapless branches, faith is not an idle grace; wherever it is, it brings forth fruit in works.” (Matthew Henry) – Abraham packed up and left everything behind. An action with intent to God’s instruction. He now wears the title “THE FATHER OF FAITH!” 

Now hear the voice of our beloved Saviour; “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  (Matthew 6: 19-21) - This is an instruction we can chose to make our own with intent or we can carry on just like we did yesterday. But of this I am certain, it will affect our eternal vocations.

“In Christ there are no dead and sapless branches, faith is not an idle grace; wherever it is, it brings forth fruit in works.” (Matthew Henry) – How many dead branches have we left unattended in our lives? All we need to do is seek out God’s face with commitment and the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth, exposing the dross of our lives and once we see those areas as they are, we can then action our wills to find grace to navigate the deceptions and the pressures of life. “If God is for us who can be against us?” That does not mean that we will not have an onslaught from the enemy, but it does mean that we are on the winning side and have nothing to fear. Our focus needs to shift onto our hope, which is eternal and not temporal, but until that penny drops nothing in our lives will truly change.

A day is coming where the Christian will receive their glorified bodies, wow! What a day that will be. However, until then, our daily walks are on show and like James says, “faith without works is dead.”

Father please help your children find the resolve to be about your will and our eternal reward, help us find the intent to want to action your production above all else and then help us find the grace to implement that which is require of us, bringing you the glory.

Revival is not a term that is used for the unsaved, but rather the saved, it is an action that God injects into a believers life to wake them from their slumber. Gideon Mpeni brings a clear understanding on the topic of revival and I recommend his insight for all as the Christian of today is in desperate need of revival.  

Signing off

Tyrone

The voice of Jesus

(Matthew 5:19) “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

 

With my head in a spin this morning I am earnestly seeking out a particular truth and my commitment to the will of God in my life. To what degree am I taking the call of God upon my life seriously? All it takes to jolt us into action is for a faithful brother to share a particular truth, even if that message may not be a popular one. Thank you brother, you know who you are. The truth of God’s Word has cut deep and it’s this that I need to examine with honesty. The teachings of the Lord Jesus known to most as “the sermon on the mount” has left me wanting. Read Matthew 5, 6 and 7, but do yourself a favour and remove any preconceived ideas your may have with that chunk of scripture and ask God to reveal His truth behind it all. Do not look left or right, just come as you are and stand naked in front of a full length mirror and let the Spirit of God lead you into all truth. If we lack wisdom, all we need to do, is ask God for it and He will obliged, just as long as we ask in faith.

 

I am persuaded that although we have been sanctified by the blood of the Lamb and the work of our beloved Saviour is finished, His work is done and He has received His glorified body but we await ours, our race is not yet finished. 

 

Because of His achievements we cannot now rest on our laurels and sit back and still allow sin to dominate our lives. We are new creatures in Christ and we have been born again of His Spirit. The question we need to answer, is that an obvious truth in our lives. The deeds of our lives, what do they look like. In particular, the secret society of what we do behind closed doors is what I bring into question. God sees it all and yet we believe that we will get away with so much because others do not see what we know to be true about ourselves. The life of the criminal substantiates the point. Why would a murderer dispose of a body if they didn’t believe they would get away with it? The heart of a man, the inner core to our being is tainted with sinful intention; “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “ (Jeremiah 17:9) – The King James translation translates like this; “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”  The word “sick” and “wicked” is use to explain the depths of deceitfulness we are willing to travel in order to get away with sin. It is who we are. Until we arrive at such an understanding about ourselves we will never breach the need for the grace of God in our lives to live lives like Job and Daniel. Thank you father God for the eye salve you have given me to see a truth about myself, now please help me find the grace to overcome. The complete work of the cross is to get people to shift their intent from a need to quench their own passions onto the will of God.

 

In the beginning God's will for Adam and Eve was not to eat from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. They ignored His command and where banished from the garden. There are two very interesting points we must not miss, both deception and wilful sin will result in the same outcome, banishment! Although the serpent deceived Eve it did not excuse her and for this reason - “deception” - I do not permit a woman to teach nor usurp authority over a man. See Timothy chapter 2.  To my beloved sisters in Christ do not be sucked in by the voices out there, which cry, it’s now the time for women to usurp authority over all and to hell with the order of God. Find grace to overcome, we all have our cross to bear and this is a hurdle you now need to navigate, I am praying for you. Adam knew what Eve had done was wrong and yet he ate what was on offer. James makes this very clear to men; “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. “ (James 3:1)  - God will judge the teacher with a greater strictness and it a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The Bible warns us, what we should be on the lookout for and a lot of that is about false teaches and false teachings. 1 Timothy chap 1, 6 - 2 Peter 2:1- and then Jude 1:4

 

False teachings of any kind are always shrouded with selfish gain. It always looks to make allowance for sin in one form or another and there is never an exception. It gives the individual a pass to indulge in quenching a sinful desire and the list is vast. But until we own our sin in its entirety we will always be half baked Christians. And I realise we cannot achieve this objective without the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. For revival to happen we need to see ourselves clearly in the mirror, God help us is my earnest prayer. We will never lay our lives down for other if this truth isn’t address correctly. And we will never accomplish this without the grace of God in our lives, so everything hinges on us finding grace to overcome. But in order to seek out God’s grace we must stop excusing our sinful behavioural patterns as a right to our existence.

 

This is what the Lord addresses…

·        Murder - our anger is like murder

·        Adultery - Lust of any form and what we expose our eyes too.

·        Divorce – the grounds for it

·        Oaths – to swear falsely

·        Revenge – We must go the extra mile in the opposite direction

·        Enemies - we must love them

These are the topics that have been addressed by our Lord and Saviour, read those chapters with an absolute willingness to be found wanting, the old adage, if the shoe fits wear it. It is not our responsibility to expose the sins of others as that only sets us up to excuse ourselves. The Holy Spirit is the one who does a perfect work. I am convinced that until we acknowledge our need for change in our lives, nothing will change. But if we see ourselves for who we are, repentance will follow and then we will be in a position to seek out God’s grace to overcome. Repentance does or should not only happen the day we are saved. Ongoing or daily sanctification must be our priority.

 

Let the grace of our God play a major role in our lives bringing Him the glory He alone deserves. Help your children Father, we need you now more than ever. The apathy we clutch is deafening. To God be the glory now and forever more, Amen!

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone