Fellowship!

(1Corinthians 1:17) “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.”

Malcolm said…

“Just an illustration of what I believe is vital in studying the Word. Take this verse for example, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Cor 1:9) We could dissect and analyse each word, considering its context etc. but really.... we need to be having fellowship with His Son, which is an ongoing experience. The Bible is therefore not an end in itself, but a means to an end.”

I find it healthy that as believers may engage with one another and deliberate around the Word and our great Saviour’s influence in our lives. To most who read this blog you would have noticed the importance I often place on God’s Word and the need for us to understand it in context. I probably make mention on this topic more than any other.

In the past I have struggled with many biblical conflicts between the Pentecostal and Reformed teachings. I come out of a “Bible only” type of mentality; I was told that the only book I should read was the bible. It is by far the greatest book ever written and the most needed book for our lives. If I was allowed only one book it would obviously without the slightest hesitation have to be the Bible. But if gifted theologians wrote books around the Bible teaching us deeper truths, would that not be beneficial? Of course it would! The danger we as young believers face is that just like a babies put everything to their mouths. There are also those that pose under the “Banner of Scripture”, but they are false teachers and these types of authors must obviously be avoided. If we are in doubt about a book whether it is a palatable or not, then obviously, the sound advice would be to put it one side and stay with the Bible. But if those around with a keener eye for error, the watchmen amongst us recommend a sound book, of course we should read it. The purpose of it all is so that we can become more like our Saviour.

I now have a more balanced view to what I once had on reading other books. I use this example as this must be what we strive for (always under the banner of grace), we must look for helpful answers that aid in getting us home. Like every vocation and even schools all have text books expounding their theory. We must understand the theory before we will achieve in the subject. Get the theory wrong and the result will be incorrect. Everything hinges on understanding the theory. Most would agree with this conclusion!

This is the reason we are given so many warning through scripture; not to be lead away by strange doctrines. “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8)

 

The onslaught of the enemy has and will continue to press home, hoping to get believers to walk in doubt and unbelief. Weakening them to a point of hopelessness! We know that Christ has overcome and He will see us through unto the end, He will get us home! Of that I have no doubt! This is why we must learn to place our dependency upon Him and not mere theory. That does not mean that the enemy will not continue to lure us with his lies. He will and he must continue as he is the father of lies, as it is part of his character, he cannot be something he is not.

So then the Bible is a manual for life for all who believe. It is imperative that we understand the correct theory behind it. But what would the theory help if it was all in vain. Imagine a lumberjack receiving the highest accolades in his field. And he then decides to move abroad to a country that has banned all tree-felling. How would his theory now help him survive, it wouldn’t!  Now hear me carefully… How would it help to be the most astute bible scholar if we did not understand the importance of the cross and our Saviours’ accomplishments on our behalf? It could be all in vain!

This is where I believe Malcolm has made a very valid point, we must fall in love with our Saviour before we start chipping away at doctrine. It would be very difficult to separate them, but without a correct understanding of the work of the cross in our lives we remain in our trespasses and our sins, which in turn is doctrine. You cannot have one without the other! Without trying to confuse us, what I am saying is that everything in our lives must first spring from our relationship with Christ. We must lay everything in our lives at His feet. And so, I agree that the “Bible is a means to an end”, it is there to instruct and help us develop a relationship with Him. If we begin to dissect doctrine to the exclusion of what Christ achieve on Calvary then we have missed the mark. This is why I believe Paul is bold with this statement; “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)

We have here,

I. The manner in which Paul preached the gospel, and the cross of Christ: Not with the wisdom of words (1Co_1:17), the enticing words of man's wisdom (1Co_2:4), the flourish of oratory, or the accuracies of philosophical language, upon which the Greeks so much prided themselves, and which seem to have been the peculiar recommendations of some of the heads of the faction in this church that most opposed this apostle. He did not preach the gospel in this manner, lest the cross of Christ should be of no effect, lest the success should be ascribed to the force of art, and not of truth; not to the plain doctrine of a crucified Jesus, but to the powerful oratory of those who spread it, and hereby the honour of the cross be diminished or eclipsed. Paul had been bred up himself in Jewish learning at the feet of Gamaliel, but in preaching the cross of Christ he laid his learning aside. He preached a crucified Jesus in plain language, and told the people that that Jesus who was crucified at Jerusalem was the Son of God and Saviour of men, and that all who would be saved must repent of their sins, and believe in him, and submit to his government and laws. This truth needed no artificial dress; it shone out with the greatest majesty in its own light, and prevailed in the world by its divine authority, and the demonstration of the Spirit, without any human helps. The plain preaching of a crucified Jesus was more powerful than all the oratory and philosophy of the heathen world.

II. We have the different effects of this preaching: To those who perish it is foolishness, but to those who are saved it is the power of God. (Matthew Henry)

– The power of the gospel rests on what Christ has accomplished and not on how smart we may think we are. This however does not me we should not study, on the contrary! Because we now have a relationship with Christ and God our Father it is our duty to be astute. But we must be careful that we do not forget Calvary, we must enter into a “Father-son” relationship, it must be one of communication, and we must learn to engage with an “ABBA Father” type mentality as this is what Christ came to achieve on our behalf. We will only ever achieve this through raw knees and with many tears and not through mere words on paper. MAY WE NEVER FORGET CALVARY, AMEN!

Signing off

Tyrone  

Believe also in Me!

(John 14:1)  "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”

This is quite a statement and just as the Lord Jesus received opposition back then; we must expect the same to happen to us. We must be on guard as the day of the anti-christ now looms with more vigor than before. His day is soon approaching and for that to happen, preparation needs to take place.

Imagine a wedding without preparation, we couldn’t! I understand that his “day of rule” is part of a bigger picture and his preparation begun way back in the Garden of Eden. But there seems to be a much superior voice now making herself heard and although it has much to say on religion the underlying tone has the same pitch to it. Her message in not one of wisdom but trickery! What then does she have to say? It is simple and her voice propagates tolerance for all religions, One God across the board! In other words believe in who you like as it will always lead to the same God. LIES! That’s all it is, easy for most believers to see; but this message will be pressed harder and endevour to make inroads amongst Christians. We can and must have nothing to do with this universal movement. We must always remember that our faith hinges on our great Saviour and on Him alone. Without Christ we would remain dead in our trespasses and sins. I do realize that I am stating the obvious, but the reason I mention it is because I believe this will become a test for us as believers. Stand firm! We will possibly face hardships for it; however it will  be worth it all!

Our message is simple; without Christ every other religion is doomed for hell, salvation is only available in Him on His terms and under the tenet of scripture, no other way will do! He is not a prophet, but God who became a man (Jesus Christ the Lord), He lived without sin and then died for sinners and then on the third day He rose again so that all repenting sinners may go free. A Simple concise message, but we must present it with accuracy as many will come to distort the message.

We Live unto the Lord because He first loved us and for no other reason! We must understand the role we need to play as believers…

“If God had willed it, each of us might have entered heaven at the moment of conversion. It was not absolutely necessary for our preparation for immortality that we should tarry here. It is possible for a man to be taken to heaven, and to be found meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light, though he has but just believed in Jesus. It is true that our sanctification is a long and continued process, and we shall not be perfected till we lay aside our bodies and enter within the veil; but nevertheless, had the Lord so willed it, he might have changed us from imperfection to perfection, and have taken us to heaven at once. Why then are we here? Would God keep his children out of paradise a single moment longer than was necessary? Why is the army of the living God still on the battle-field when one charge might give them the victory? Why are his children still wandering hither and thither through a maze, when a solitary word from his lips would bring them into the centre of their hopes in heaven? The answer is-they are here that they may “live unto the Lord,” and may bring others to know his love. We remain on earth as sowers to scatter good seed; as ploughmen to break up the fallow ground; as heralds publishing salvation. We are here as the “salt of the earth,” to be a blessing to the world. We are here to glorify Christ in our daily life. We are here as workers for him, and as “workers together with him.” Let us see that our life answereth its end. Let us live earnest, useful, holy lives, to “the praise of the glory of his grace.” Meanwhile we long to be with him, and daily sing-

“My heart is with him on his throne,

And ill can brook delay;

Each moment listening for the voice,

‘Rise up, and come away.’”

(C.H.Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone

We are His Workmanship...

(Ephesians 2: 10) “For we are his workmanship…”

Why after salvation, that glorious day when the switch to life was triggered and truth flashed before our eyes, the day we met our Saviour the Lord Jesus. Our encounters may have differed, but all were by grace through faith. Let us never forget how this happened! “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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10) 

I would like us to consider our purpose as individual and what is meant by these good works that God has prepare beforehand (before creation) for us to walk in: – “… And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.” (Revelation 17:8) - In other words God in His brilliance has so amazingly scripted the outcome of His plan in such detail, that in fact He actual through wisdom preordained all things in and through His Son (our Saviour) before life began as we know it. This thought is far beyond the grasps of our vain imaginations, that without uncovering this truth through God Word, the Bible, we could never understand it. But now because we have His Spirit and with the help of God the Holy Spirit, who reveals all truth we are now able by faith and with sound reasoning to see and understand the beauty of God’s plan as it unfolds in our lives.

These “good works” that we now need to find for our lives is not always as clear as we would like them to be. The Apostle Paul teachers us that we need to work them out; “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. 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. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function.” (Romans 12:1-4)

Then we must conclude that we all have our roles to play in and through God’s plan, but we must never forget that we need one another, God has so ordained it! “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function.” We all have our roles to play, and yes it must begin in our local church, but we are also part of the universal church, in other words all Christians are part of the same global body of Christ. We must be concerned for all the members of God’s army, all true Christians must lock hands and we must get involved and look out for each other. At times that may mean we may have to be “harsh in love” with one another. If we stray we need the truth from God’s Word to realign our footsteps. God has often chosen to use prophets to speak into the lives of His children. (And no I am not implying that I have prophetic gifts. God knows who we are and what we are!)

Let us look at a case in point; Remember the account of David and Bathsheba, David had sinned against God and had wronged one of his most valiant soldiers Uriah the Hittite. He slept with his wife and then had him killed in battle. Sin had blinded David to such an extent that he tried to push it aside, but it was only until Nathan approached the king that David feel to his knees in repentance. It took a hard word from the prophet to help David realize the severity of his sin and it worked in him repentance. This encounter was full of heartache, in fact David’s son died because of His sin. And yes God was merciful as He is a merciful God and forgave David; just as He has forgiven us more times than we can remember (I make reference to us sinning after salvation). These failures in our lives should be proof enough that we can never boast of our own achievements; “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.”

I suppose it is easier for me to understand than possibly some, that in me there is no good thing outside of His Spirit. The reason for this is I have failed more than most. I am under no delusion that I have somehow arrived. If it had not been for the saving grace and the mercy of God my Heavenly Father and the work of Calvary I would be as I have said before in some gutter somewhere begging bread.

We must never be fooled into thinking that once we find forgiveness as Christians that there won’t be consequences for our actions. Forgiveness is on offer if God so wills it. But God will not be mocked! All that simply means is He is righteous and always does what is right in His eyes. We often reason in unrighteousness and therefore are left asking this question, why?

Did David find forgiveness for his treacherous sin, we know he did! Where there circumstances to his sin? We also know there was!

This was the outcome…

“Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.'" David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die." (2Samuel12:11-14) 

Why then do we feel it should be any different for us? Are we greater than those who have gone before us? Why then do so many of us grapple with the circumstance of our sin? And I will say it again so that there are no misunderstandings, not the forgiveness our sins as believers; we have that if we truly repent but the consequence in our lives after we have sinned is what I make reference too. We must accept them and find grace to press on. We need to understand the full council of God in our lives. We often spend so much time praying for things that go against the will of God. No matter how much David prayed and fasted for his son, it had been settled by Almighty God that he would die. Let us not waste time on the things we cannot change. May God help us to understand the difference between His will and our wants, so that His name will be glorified and so that we eventually learn to be helpful to one another in the body of Christ! May we never forget that it is only by grace through faith in and through the Lord Jesus that this will ever be achieved! Our first consideration must always be Him and Him alone, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

The Saviour of Sinners!

(1Timothy 1:15) “Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief:”

What would those around us do if we sang out of tune, would they not squelch their ears to its sound, or what do we do when our friends let us down and disappoint? Do we show resentment? Far too often I would suggest! If only we could learn to take on our great Kings nature and live with His attitude, how useful we would be to those around us. How magnificently our God’s name would be praise, it would be no different to the days of the plight of Israel as they fled slavery and now were about to posses the Promised Land.

There came a day that God began to make good on His promise to Abraham, his seed was now in final preparation to receive their inheritance, the Promised Land! They approach a city, Jericho by name and there they sent spies to spy it out in preparation for battle. Yet the battle was not theirs but God’s! How we need to be reminded that it is the Lord Jesus that has overcome, we must learn to take our eyes off our own struggles and remember that it is His resurrection that we need to be reminded of daily. He who has begun a good work will see it through unto the end.

A harlot by the name of Rahab heard about Israel’s great victory over the Egyptians, news had somehow travel by the winds of the desert and she had heard about this great God. On hearing the news great fear fell upon her and she resolve that whatever the cost she needed to find favour from these people and their God, our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

At the possibility of losing her life she hid the spies; “And it was told to the king of Jericho, "Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land." Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land." But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them… Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, "I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death." And the men said to her, "Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the LORD gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you." Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. And she said to them, "Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way." The men said to her, "We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear.” (Joshua 2:3-17) 

- What I love about this account is that this woman was a harlot, a sinner! There was no mistaking the fact and even the writer of Hebrews refers to her as Rahab the harlot. Each and every individual that has every lived must come to a place in their lives that they acknowledge that they are sinners and that they need a Saviour (somebody who rescues somebody or something from harm or danger). What then is the danger? Hell! Without Jesus Christ as our Saviour that is where we will all end up. There is no debate required when we look at the Bibles teaching on this subject. These are the facts; unless we repent and call upon the name of the Lord through repentance, seeking out His forgiveness for our sins we will be doomed in the life here after to a Godless eternity.

Here is another example of God’s brilliance as He shows mercy on whom He chooses and He has chosen to save sinners and not the self-righteous as they believe that they do not need a Saviour. Once again he will confine the “wise” (who are in fact fools) and silence them once and for all at the White Throne Judgment.

Mercy rest in His hands alone, no one else has the power to excuse the sinner but God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the only way we will be beneficiaries of that mercy is in and through the Lord Jesus. Accept His sacrifice and find life, reject it at your own peril!

Awhile back I posted that I had resolved to speak the truth even if it hurt. I have now declare the truth. I pray for all those who have not yet bowed the knee to the Lord Jesus that they would repent and call out to Him and find life. I too remember the day when I thought this to be “pie n the sky”. But God who was rich in mercy call out my name and quicken my spirit and I then found life. Father God please have mercy on all who are still grappling to come to terms with this truth, that salvation is only to be found in and through your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is only the sick that seek out a physician and He is the greatest of doctors, praise the name of Jesus! Let us be reminded of what He has achieved; He gave sight to the blind, He raised the dead to life again, He saved the harlot from certain death, He cleansed the leper, He cast out demons from a madman that was chained like an animal, He calmed the raging seas, He fed the poor and after all these acts of humanity he was beaten, whipped and then sent to die the cruelest of deaths, He was crucified on a hill, Golgotha by name. He bled and died for sinner so that they could go free. Do not be mistaken, reject the work of Calvary and you will not escape the wrath of God. He has given all; He laid down His life to make a way for sinners to repent of their sin. He alone has the keys to heaven and hell. Without His blood as our covering we will be found naked.

Growing up as a boy I idolized many different men as my hero’s but there is no one that will ever come close to the greatest of all heroes’, my Saviour the Lord Jesus. There is no one like Him! He is my HERO! How do you view Him?

Rahab believed the report and found safety, what will you do with the message of the Gospel I wonder? This offer is still on offer, but it will eventually run its course, the doors of heaven will be shut and then it will be too late. I urge you do not delay, for we do not know what tomorrow will hold.

 Signing off

Tyrone

God shows no partiality!

(Romans 2:11) “For God shows no partiality.”

When we look at others we will somehow formulate an opinion on them, whether they are good or evil, in our summation we either accuse or excuse! Yet when we reason like this we reason as mere men, we forget that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That there is none righteous, no not one! This type of reasoning is often to our own detriment. Why? We are quick to look at others and compare them against ourselves looking to excuse our sin as “not so bad”. It is just one of the millions of decoys that are out there to get us to forget Calvary and what it meant for Christ to die for us! Once we put on our spiritual thinking caps, it is plain to see that anything outside of what Christ achieved on Calvary is futile no matter how brilliant it may seem. Sell all you have and give it to the poor, but deny the work of the cross and your will still face the wrath of God… your destiny HELL!

Do you remember the ruler that came to Christ? He was a good man as far as men reckoned; concerning their customs and abiding in the law he seemed outwardly blameless. People must have look at him with admiration; he was definitely amongst the excused! Until he came face to face with our great Saviour, the Lord Jesus! This is how the story unfolded… “And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth." When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (Luke 18:18-22) - Note: - He was a law abiding citizen, and he was aware of “right and wrong” as he claims to have kept the law. What was his fault then? He was not willing to sell all, in other words loose his life for Christ, wealth was far more important to him as he was not willing to follow the Lord. What then can we learn from this parable? Let us not look around at others but lets us search out our own hearts, is there anything in our lives that is more important to us then following the Lord. Whatever we find we must live a life of repentance "around it" always praying that we may find deliverance from its deadly yoke. We must never accept it as the norm; if we do it will be to our detriment. The purpose of this life is to learn this lesson; we must leave all behind if we are to be useful to our Master. Am I for one minute implying that I have arrived? Absolutely not! Far from it, but it must be a resolution in our heart that God would strip us of every self want that opposes His will for our lives. The enemy will look to keep us busy with self, taking our eyes off the cross and its purpose. And yes the devil does play his part, but let us not be fooled as we remember what the Apostle James teaches; “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. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.” (James 1:13-16) – Note; He is addressing believers. 

The only way we can ever achieve acceptance before a righteous and holy God is in and through His Son, our beloved redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ! As soon as we take our eyes off Him we are in danger of judgment. May we always remember to consider what it cost our master as he laid down His life for us and others, may we too remember to lay down our lives for Him. What a daunting thought! Nevertheless when we learn to live by this rule, the law of grace, we will understand what is meant by this statement; “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:30)

Father God help us we pray to lay down our lives so that your name would be glorified on earth as it is in heaven. I am aware of the areas in my life that keep me from glorifying your name and I ask for forgiveness. Help us all to become more like our great Saviour, even Jesus Christ our Lord.

As the rain belts down this morning do not be surprised if you see a rainbow the other side of the storm as the day soon approaches when the Lord will return to fetch His people. May we always remember to pray and not to faint!

Signing off

Tyrone

Various Trials...

(2Corinthians 7:4) “… In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.” 

What amazes me although it shouldn’t is how often we are tested on what we preach. It is refreshing and yet frustrating. Let me explain… In yesterdays post I exposed what I believe to be factual according to scripture and yet this morning the opposition I now face is almost incomprehensible. I have three computers in which to blog from and all are faulty at the same time. This I only discovered this morning. Obviously I need them to post my daily blog. I am now working with my oldest laptop and it is somewhat laborious as I keep getting error messages, nevertheless we must press on and fly the banner of truth and glorify our great King, Jesus Christ out Lord and God. We have a hope that one day we will be like Him and forever be in His glorious presence. How I long for that day! No more burden to bear; we will then enter into our rest, even so come quickly Lord Jesus! But until then let us press towards the mark of this high calling.

Without opposition in our lives, when we stand for the truth and life seems to always move in a smooth direction it should leave us questioning our stand in the Lord Jesus. I am thankful for the trials of life as they are designed to produce patience, although at times is easy to say but in reality not so easy to believe and welcome. Yet they are there for a reason! God does not allow trial in our lives without a specific purpose. We may often look to shirk the test, but the sooner we understand that it is for our benefit the better.

In fact all the Apostles teach this; “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4) - Note James does not say accept the trial; he says, “Count it all joy.” There is a vast difference; we must learn to start appropriating the truth of scripture into our lives as it is for our benefit. – “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1Peter 1:6-7) – And the Paul has this to say; “I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.” (2Corinthians 7:4) 

 

So instead of skirting trials and afflictions we must start learning to welcome them as they are there to prepare us for the ministry, for service in whatever measure God will choose to use us. But until we begin to correctly apply scripture and in particular the trial of our faith we will be useless and not effective for our Jehovah God. When people witness a joy within us although reason would demand bitterness, people will then have to sit up and take note. Our God will be glorified!  Our sole purpose is to find obedience toward God and to exalt His name. His name will be glorified regardless whether we remain unfaithful as he cannot deny Himself. But we have (all those who have His Spirit) been afford the opportunity to find grace in time of need, it is this grace we must lose our live for, whatever the cost, it will be worth it all!

I did say we would look at God’s brilliance and highlight some of His character in and through the foolishness of men who believe themselves to be wise. God often takes the rule a man will institute and then traps him in his own ruling.

The Israelites were slaves in the land of Egypt some four thousand years ago, and Pharaoh passed a law that all of the Jewish baby boys were to be thrown into the Nile River; “Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, "Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live." (Exodus 1:22) – Here we have a king who looks to destroy the seed of Abraham and the way in which he sets about achieving this is by throwing the baby boys into the river. A law had been passes and as the citizens of that country it needed to be followed or you would face the penalty of breaking that law. A Levite woman then has a son, Moses is born. He should have been thrown into the river, that is what the ruler of the time had intended. Man opposing God! What I find now very interesting is the same river that was used to kill baby boys now becomes the life giver for Moses and all of Israel. If Moses had died, who then would have led the children of Israel out of Egypt? Someone else you may say, maybe! But let us stick to the facts as it was Moses whom God chose for the job. Moses was placed in the river, he may have well been in a basket, nevertheless he was as it were, “thrown into the river”. But instead of that action bringing death it brought life for so many. God’s brilliance on display! - “The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children." (Exodus 2:2-6) – “When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, "Because," she said, "I drew him out of the water." (Exodus 2:10) – Note: - not only had Moses’ life been spare but he now became the son of Pharaohs daughter, in other words Pharaohs adopted grandson, can we see the picture unfolding? There is much more that can be said about the account but due to time we must now rap up. This account concludes with God using Moses to bring the final plague on the Egyptians and that was all of their firstborn males were to die. The full circle is now complete; God had turn Pharaohs own judgment on him; “and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle.” (Exodus 11:5) – “At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.” And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. (Exodus 12:29-30)

We see the brilliance of God and how He chooses to work out His plan. What then can we learn from this? We must trust Him in and through His Word even if we don’t understand what is happen here and now. We can all relate to certain times in our lives when we have felt defeated and almost without hope, I know I have at times felt like this. God is in control and we must learn to walk by faith, if we already walk by faith let us learn to become more dependent upon our Saviour as He will see us home.

Praise the name of Jesus!

Signing off

Tyrone

 

 

  

Faith in the Word...

(Hebrews 13:7) “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”

We now will hopefully spend some time over the next week or so looking at the brilliance of God’s “apparent foolishness” as he exposes the hearts of men as they profess to be wise but in fact are fools. Simply put, God laughs at those who take Him on as He openly exposes their own folly! We will also look at individuals that embraced faith with both arms and then some. And why they were so persuaded and hopefully draw some parallels for our own lives, furnishing us with new vigour to serve God faithfully through faith.

But before we open this amazing topic, I would like to remind you how I find daily inspiration for this blog and how it takes its direction. Without the application of faith to it, it would be a futile exercise. Why? It would be so man-centred that it would be no heavenly good. I strongly believe in the work of God the Holy Spirit as He guides and leads God’s children. As much as this blog is for me as it deals with my emotions and struggles I do strongly believe that it is also speaking to others. This is the way God in His brilliance is able to minister into the hearts of His Children. How then do I find the direction this blog should take? I often wake up in the early hours of the morning with a thought. Take this morning as an example; I was challenged with death and faith and that those who lived by faith would not ever fear death. That was the thought, so now before I let that consideration run riot I need to seek out scripture that will confirm my reflection. This is a safe and accurate way to be sure that we are listening to the voice of God and not our vain imaginations. For many will come claiming to have been of service to God on judgment day and He will reject many as evil workers.

How is it then that I need to walk by faith and not be so in control that I hinder the work of God the Holy Spirit in my life? The answer is simple! Find contextual scripture and verse to back up what you believe you have heard. I have often heard sincere people, usually babes in Christ, say that they speak to God in their own way and they have a very close relationship with Him, praise God for that, Christianity is a very personal experience. But when you hear a voice speak against the Word of God, it cannot be God’s voice as He will never deny Himself. It is imperative that when we walk by faith that we use God’s map (the bible) to guide our footsteps along this Celestial Road toward the culmination of our hope, Heaven!

It is the Word that Satan will attack, that has been his ploy from the beginning. Remember the Garden of Eden and what the devil said to Eve; "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" (Gen 3:1) – Lets us now observe how this type of reasoning affects us today... God spoke and gave Adam an instruction, and that instruction was not to eat of that tree’s fruit. The instruction was clear and concise, but what the serpent now does is he twists the command as he realises that Eve had not listened to God’s Word accurately (now whether Adam was guilty in conveying that message accurately or not to His wife I cannot say, God knows!); her response to the serpent was; - “but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"(Gen 3:3) – Through this text God said nothing about touching the fruit; Eve was not paying attention to the voice of God. Satan as the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field and he exploits her weakness and gets her to then eat the forbidden fruit, objective accomplished! Satan twists the words of God to lure His children into sin; it is as simple as that! What then is our safe Guard? It is to accurately listen to the voice of God through scripture. It must be unpacked in context; as soon as we take scripture out of context we then open ourselves to be lead astray by the wiles of the devil. .

Let’s use another illustration to support this train of thought; through Matthew 6 the Lord Jesus instruct those who surrounded Him then, but now instructs us through the written Word, the Bible! He teaches us many truths and points out some safe-guards on how we should conduct ourselves. At the end of the chapter the Lord then tells us not to be anxious and illustrates through creation how God is perfectly in control and then instructs us to be anxious for nothing. Much of the concluding chapter addressing our daily needs, “food and raiment” and He makes a promise to us the believers, He tells us that God will supply all our needs. I have often heard people misquote the next verse; they say God will give me all I need and they read Matthew 6:33 like this; “But seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you.” But that is not accurate. Look at the difference when we read it appropriately; “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” The promise is to those who first seek out God and His righteousness, only those who put God’s plans first will be beneficiaries of this promise. Now this is what it means to live by faith and how we are to use the Word correctly in order to reap the rewards of God’s promises.

Satan also uses the Word of God, but his objective is to misrepresent it. Even the written Word Himself, the Lord Jesus was challenged by the devil as he endeavoured to use God’s Word against Him, trying to get the Lord to sin...

“And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, "'He will command his angels concerning you,' and "'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"” (Matthew 4:3-7) – Note the importance the Lord Jesus places on the Word of God when combating the devil, in fact even Satan notes the importance of the Word of God as he tries to misrepresent it. Do you then think we should take the Word of God seriously?

In conclusion; we must align our faith with the Word of God as it is of utmost importance if we are to be effective in this dying world, where so many apparent Christians hold the Word of God with such low esteem. May God equip His children to fly the banner of truth, without compromise to His Holy Word, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone  

  

The Fruit of Faith!

(Hebrews 11:8) “By faith Abraham obeyed ...”

Over the next week or so I thought we could look at the actual effect God’s Word has in reality. We often, or I often am the first to say we must believe the Word of God above everything else and even when our emotions resist the “Word” and it seems like a futile exercise to obey, it may even at times go against ever fibre in our bodies, against all common rational, nevertheless we must obey! Why? Well for many reasons; God is the only true God and He is the supreme ruler over the entire universe, therefore all are subject to Him, regardless of whether we agree with Him or Not, He is the final authority! If someone was to say, “If that is how your God operates then I want nothing to do with Him”. Will that now excuse that individual from His authority? Absolutely not! If the law of the land stated that its residence must pay taxes and we were amongst the number that disagrees with that law would we be excused from the punishment that government would impose on those who break the law on taxes? Obviously not! The “creature is subject to the creator” and not the other way around. Imagine if you had scientific skills and created a helper, let’s say a robot to help with the daily chores and that invention now operated against your will and its intended purpose, in fact it was now causing more damage than good. Would you let it run riot and make your life even more difficult as you now had to run around cleaning up after it? Your work load having now doubled. No you would not! You would either fix the problem or do away with the robot. As the inventor you would have final authority. Now then, why do some then think that they are not accountable to God? The answer is simple; they have been blinded by sin. Sin has had its part to play in society and all have been trapped by the snares of sin, this is why our great Redeemer came to defeat sin and its power by dying a cruel death on a Roman Cross. Now as believers and individuals who live with His Spirit we still find ourselves waging war against sin on a daily basis. We are instructed to find grace in time of need. Grace is now available to believers and not the unbelievers in that sense. What chance does someone have who does not have the Spirit of God? Absolutely zero! But that does not excuse them; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." (John 3:16-21)

We must also obey because God has chosen what is foolish in this world to confine the wise; “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;” (1Corinthians 1:27) – I would like to unpack some great examples throughout scripture highlighting God’s brilliance in this area. We will see how His wisdom unfolds even though initially at times our minds would scream out against what we are called to do in obeying our God and His instruction. This is the test of faith. When God instructs will we obey or will we feel the need to help Him along the way. I know this deliberation will make us feel very uncomfortable at times and so we must be sure of what God is saying, we must use scripture in context to back up our findings. I am somewhat excited about what we will find. 

I remember when I was in the process of writing my auto-biography for the first time. It was a daunting task as I never thought that I would be proficient. With much help in the post editing arena we eventually ended up with a thin paper-back. But along the way, I faced a serious challenge. I had just fallen very sick and was no longer able to perform any work duties, my days as a photographic journalist had been shelved. I was put on permanent disability, in other words I was paid seventy five percent of my basis salary and was not entitled to do any other work to supplement my income, and this was part of the disability insurances agreement. I had however been given permission to write a book. I wrote this book on my Apple laptop. About halfway through I hit a snag, my laptop needed serious repair work, and it now no longer was an aid but a hindrance. Many questions needed answers; was I doing the right thing? My mind was full of doubts but unless I could have it fixed I was not going to finish this project. It was a substantial amount of money and I did not have it. I was barely coming out on my abridged salary. What was I to do? I was despondent and feeling rather defeated. Just as I was about to throw in the towel, out of the blue I got a phone call from the office informing me that through some fund raiser they had been involved with that they were left with a positive balance and after a management meeting they had decided to give me the money. Without over mystifying this encounter I must tell you, that it was a surprise, there was no reason whatsoever for them to give me this money, except that God through His goodness and mercy was proving to me that He was in perfect control. The situation was totally outside of my control and this is where we need to find ourselves before God will step in and teach us to live by faith. It was such a wonderful experience, but at the time I must confess I was feeling rather defeated and almost without hope.

I realise that these kinds of experience are a “dime a dozen” and people misrepresent the application of faith in so many bad ways. People often use living by faith to excuse themselves from any biblical responsibility, or they manipulate the use it to for self gain. There are many dangers we must be on the lookout for, but the Word is very clear, “the just shall live by faith”! It is true faith we must learn to appropriate into our lives and it must become a way of life for every believer.

All that really means is we must learn to trust God’s Word even when logic rejects it. Abraham the father of faith has this testimony; “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:8-10)

We must learn to look beyond the here and now and we must resolve to trust the Word of God above everything else, we must look to God and not our circumstances as they will often leave us walking in unbelief.

Signing off

Tyrone

Kindness & Love...

It is good at times to consider the deliberation from other sound men, let us hear from Uncle Charles...

(Timothy 3:4) “The kindness and love of God our Saviour.”

How sweet it is to behold the Saviour communing with his own beloved people! There can be nothing more delightful than, by the Divine Spirit, to be led into this fertile field of delight. Let the mind for an instant consider the history of the Redeemer’s love, and a thousand enchanting acts of affection will suggest themselves, all of which have had for their design the weaving of the heart into Christ, and the intertwisting of the thoughts and emotions of the renewed soul with the mind of Jesus. When we meditate upon this amazing love, and behold the all-glorious Kinsman of the Church endowing her with all his ancient wealth, our souls may well faint for joy. Who is he that can endure such a weight of love? That partial sense of it which the Holy Spirit is sometimes pleased to afford, is more than the soul can contain; how transporting must be a complete view of it! When the soul shall have understanding to discern all the Saviour’s gifts, wisdom wherewith to estimate them, and time in which to meditate upon them, such as the world to come will afford us, we shall then commune with Jesus in a nearer manner than at present. But who can imagine the sweetness of such fellowship? It must be one of the things which have not entered into the heart of man, but which God hath prepared for them that love him. Oh, to burst open the door of our Joseph’s granaries, and see the plenty which he hath stored up for us! This will overwhelm us with love. By faith we see, as in a glass darkly, the reflected image of his unbounded treasures, but when we shall actually see the heavenly things themselves, with our own eyes, how deep will be the stream of fellowship in which our soul shall bathe itself! Till then our loudest sonnets shall be reserved for our loving benefactor, Jesus Christ our Lord, whose love to us is wonderful, passing the love of women. (C.H.Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone

Hope Eternal!

(Job 17:15)  “Where then is my hope?”

What a privileged it is to be able to communicate in a language that allows us to convey certain words that are so full of hope! The word itself speaks volumes, what comes to mind when we consider the word “hope”? It is a confident desire, it sparks a feeling that something desirable will happen and yet with hope on the back of God’s promises it takes on a whole near dimension, or so it should! The world is full of hope with a somewhat distorted reality attached to it, the world is full of promise and we see great men like Albert Einstein, Nelson Mandela and many others. They all are and were driven by hope to achieve. Everyone will face death, well almost everyone; those involved in the rapture will not, but for the rest it is a given. Death has called out Einstein’s name and as brilliant as he was he now awaits judgment, eternal judgment! I wonder how much time he spent considering life after death whilst captivated by endeavouring to prove his “theory of relativity” or many other scientific truths we now hold too. Yes, a brilliant man in deed, but what of it if he no longer has any hope. He no longer houses a human body as he died many years ago, but his soul is well and truly alive, he is in a spiritual conscientious state of mind but I can assure you that he is not contemplating any of his “relativity theories” or his political view which was, “I advocate world government because I am convinced that there is no other possible way of eliminating the most terrible danger in which man has ever found himself. The objective of avoiding total destruction must have priority over any other objective.”  (Albert Einstein, 1947) – And yet he never flew the gospels banner. 

Judgment awaits all who reject Christ sacrifice on Calvary; now whether he accepted it or rejected it I have arrived at a conclusion, but I will not voice my opinion, God will judge in righteousness and His judgments will be perfect, for He is perfect! Did Einstein’s efforts help the world, yes! But did he call upon the name of the Lord to find forgiveness for his sin? Time will tell! You see there are many different things we hope for, a student hopes for a degree; a married woman for a child, a sportsman for a trophy and a politician for votes. Once those dreams have arrived we then need to look for new hope, until eventually we breathe our last and then what? The world and most of its inhabitants have been duped into believing the greatest of all lies; we “hope” all will be well when our loved ones pass from this life into the next; this type of hope is futile! I tell you on the authority of God’s Word, without Christ’s blood covering our loved ones they will be doomed to an eternity of torment in hell. 

I suggest that if Uncle Albert’s knew what he now knows, most if not all of his time would be dedicated to getting this message out; that without Christ’s sacrificial covering everything ever achieved in live will ultimately be in vain. And there was a wise man, far wiser than most that shares my sentiments, or rather I share his, his name is King Solomon, King David’s son and he had this to say; “and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 12: 7-8) – “My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12: 12-14)

Hope for an existence with God in heaven overshadows every other hope, there is nothing that we must place above this hope, we do loose our way at times but when we remember our hope, how sweet is the reality of that thought. It is sweeter than honey in the rock. Look at a man like Moses, what a great example! He was adopted by Pharaohs daughter when she discovered him amongst the reeds on the banks of the Nile River. He was entitled to ever privileged the palace had to offer and yet he chose to lead God’s people through a barren land without any of those luxuries he was once entitled too. WHY? It should be obvious! He understood “eternal hope” and the potential it has on offer; “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. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.” (Hebrews 11:24-28) 

   

Let us then embrace our hope in faith, as God has promise to get us home, we must trust and obey. Help us to learn to obey please Father as we know in whom we have believed, praise the glorious name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

    

Half-full or Half-empty?

(James 2:17) “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Another day like the day before, instead of the glass “half-full” I find myself erring on “half-empty”. I have so many thoughts travelling through my mind that it is hard to hold onto one. This morning as I sit near the fire, as it now rages, finally the wood although initially a little wet is now serving its purpose, it is fuelling the fire! I have come to love this time of day, the sun far from appearing and the still of the night as silent as a thieving mouse. There is a beauty in this stillness, and not all understand what I am learning love; initially getting up early in the mornings with the intention of finding some sort of discipline to my life with these blogs was tough. But now I am thankful on so many fronts. We are now well into the winter months and even the birds are silent! I sit at my desk and just relish my time in front of this keyboard with my great God and Saviour. These are sobering moments.

Why is it that we have to learn lessons that are painful? I know the answer, but at times I wish it wasn’t so! Sin, has robbed me of so much through life and even with the glorious Word of God, the Bible and all it teaches, lesson are learnt only when we are hard pressed, when our bodies and emotions take strain. It is failure that brings us to our knees, but how terrible is it when we fail. It is through these experiences that we learn, or should learn, to become more dependent upon our Lord and Saviour and the finished work of the cross.

I am rather fascinated but somewhat discussed at times how I seem to forget what I have learnt. Let me use an illustration to exemplify; for awhile now I have suffered from reflux and live on medication to help combat its advances. But there are a few tricks that help; avoid white bread, lots of sweets and a few other things. Although I am aware of this, I seem to forget the effect this can have on me when the acid is at bay. This should never happen as I am aware of its downside but it does, take last night for example; I overindulged with sweets and chocolates and then I feel asleep, but not long into my rest I woke up choking, yes this is a common occurrence, however what I eat does effect the severity of my reflux and yet I sometimes ignore what I have already learnt, go figure!

Now it does not stop there although it should, there are many areas of my life where I seem to stumble in application. When the Apostle James was bold to point this out to his fellow brethren; I confess it was with me in mind: - “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. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.” (James 1:13-16)

“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” (James 2:8-11)

He then hammers home the point; “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” (James 2:26) – So then it is not enough to talk the walk we need to learn to walk the walk; “but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:8-10) – He challenges us to examine our own faith and to test it; “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:14-18)

This type of application has to become part of our lives; we must at least in principle resolve to find it by the grace of God. However like any good teacher he does leave us without some clear instruction to follow; “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:13-16) 

Signing off

Tyrone

 

 

 

   

The little foxes!

(Song of Solomon 2:15) “Take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines.”

How often have you heard the phrase, it’s only a “little lie”, or a “white lie”? The truth of the matter is a lie is what keeps someone from the truth. It has an agenda, and there is nothing “white” about it! In fact sin actually began with the human race in the Garden of Eden with a lie; it is the liar that lures us into sin. Whether we swindler ourselves in order to find justification for our actions or someone else misrepresentation the actual facts, it still results in the same outcome, SIN! Let’s use an illustration to help us position ourselves; the devil is the father of lies, it all began with him! So then we have the “father of lies” on the one side and we have God who lets say is the “Father of love” on the other, love and truth great allies! “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1John 4:8) - If someone habitually lies, they then prove their allegiance to their father who is the devil! But before I run away with myself lets back this up with scripture... “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) – So then anything that is contrary to the truth comes from him! He is the root of all sin! This is why the gospel is such a glorious message for all who believe, we now have a new Father, Almighty God has afforded us the privilege to address him as “Abba Father”. It is through adoption that we have been ushered into His family. It was and only ever will be the Lord Jesus who has made the way, praise His name! He has defeated the devil, He has defeated the liar! And we now have His Spirit, in fact His Spirit actually lives within us; “What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (2Corinthians 6:16) – This does not make a reference to whether we drink coffee, eat sweets or have a glass of wine etc. There is a far deeper implication to being the temple of God, in today’s context if we accommodate a lie or a liars then we defile the temple, but when we declare the truth we uphold the temple of God! If we say we must respect other religions that oppose God then we defile the temple, as we accommodate a lie, but when we declare that the Lord Jesus is the only way, the only truth and the only life, regardless of its outcome, prison and the like, we then uphold the truth and speak out against the liar! The Lord Jesus’ ministry here on earth was full of this type of contention! He came to speak the truth and we must also seek it out.   

This morning I pray that we would have our eyes opened to the deception of sin and the intricacy that it has on our lives, we must be sharp to its trickery and the first thing we like to do is look at others, instead of looking at ourselves, this is very important! A good soldier does not entangle himself with trivia, but focus on the job at hand. So my Great Jehovah God help me, help us, all who have this desire to be alert and honed to the dishonesty of sin like never before, open our eyes to it, help us see with acute clarity. I know that you hear our prayer, for we ask it in the name of Jesus our Saviour and we know we are heard because it is in accordance with your will. For your Word has taught us that all who name the name of Jesus must depart from sin! We often fail, but understand at least in part the magnificence of your mercy and grace, but for some of us (me) our lives have been so filled with squandering your grace that I have often found myself weeping when I reflect on the past. Help us become more like our Saviour and bring glory to your majestic name, for you alone are worthy of all praise!

We (believers) must learn to lose our blinkers; we must not let the “little sins” rob us of walking in victory; it is sin that keeps us from walking in love! Let us not look to quantify, but rather be on the look-out for the little foxes in our lives.

“A little thorn may cause much suffering. A little cloud may hide the sun. Little foxes spoil the vines; and little sins do mischief to the tender heart. These little sins burrow in the soul, and make it so full of that which is hateful to Christ, that he will hold no comfortable fellowship and communion with us. A great sin cannot destroy a Christian, but a little sin can make him miserable. Jesus will not walk with his people unless they drive out every known sin. He says, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” Some Christians very seldom enjoy their Saviour’s presence. How is this? Surely it must be an affliction for a tender child to be separated from his father. Art thou a child of God, and yet satisfied to go on without seeing thy Father’s face? What! thou the spouse of Christ, and yet content without his company! Surely, thou hast fallen into a sad state, for the chaste spouse of Christ mourns like a dove without her mate, when he has left her. Ask, then, the question, what has driven Christ from thee? He hides his face behind the wall of thy sins. That wall may be built up of little pebbles, as easily as of great stones. The sea is made of drops; the rocks are made of grains: and the sea which divides thee from Christ may be filled with the drops of thy little sins; and the rock which has well nigh wrecked thy barque, may have been made by the daily working of the coral insects of thy little sins. If thou wouldst live with Christ, and walk with Christ, and see Christ, and have fellowship with Christ, take heed of “the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.” Jesus invites you to go with him and take them. He will surely, like Samson, take the foxes at once and easily. Go with him to the hunting.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone