To be or not to be!

(Romans 3:28) “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”

“To be or not to be?” Is a serious question and it covers many dimensions to our lives. We could make our way through every aspect of our lives checking the truth or false boxes off one at a time, but what would be the point? All this would achieve is an attitude of accusatorial or pardoning lifestyles. “To be guilty or not to be”? But as a dear brother recently said it would be good to take at least ten looks at the Lord Jesus to every look at ourselves. It is crucial that we make this reality our own. If not our itch keeps nagging away and the more we scratch the more it itches. The law will never be kept by the works of the law, that itch has no cure outside of Christ. I am slowly starting to comprehend what this actually means. It is Mammoth!  It can get very confusing along the way, if those teaching give out mixed messages. On the one hand we are told to abstain, and to put on the whole armour of God, which we must do daily. But we measure our maturity and at times take it somewhat further as we look to our own works for justification, proof that we are true believers. We know from scripture that a tree cannot produce both good and bad fruit from the same tree. And when that consideration begins to itch it can get very destructive if we start looking inwardly to the exclusion of the ten looks we should be taking at our glorious Saviour and His accomplishments.

It is the law then that accuses us of sin, so when we break it we think on the lines like this, I am guilty! If I was a good tree why would I fall in that area repeatedly? Surely this proves that I am not a true believer! Do we see the downward spiral as it now begins to spin out of control? Hopelessness and despair the order of the day and many are ensnared by this persisting lure. I should not behave like this, why did I do that again? What is wrong with me? Am I brain dead? “Like a dog back to his own vomit”.  

Now this may well be a truthful reflection in part to one’s life, but what pattern is clearly evident? Me, me, and me! It was impossible for those who lived under the law to pass its test without failure, and this included all from Adam to Christ. This was the reason why God sent His only begotten Son to pay the price for the sins of mankind; their inability to keep the law. He accomplished it and no one else! It has not changed now after Christ’s resurrection if we look to the law for justification. We are and will only ever be justified by His achievements. Why then do we now think we can do it without His help? It was impossible and it is still impossible! Let that begin to sink deep as it resonates once and for all as a permanent mindset. It cost Him his life back then to excuse our sin and we will forever need to be excused by His act of mercy into the future, with the worlds that are still to come, they too will know about His great feat. It will never be about what we accomplished but always about His accomplishment! Ten looks at Christ and then one look at self in retrospect, and not the other way around!

Remember the “ten lepers” all where healed but only one turn to the Lord Jesus thanking Him for His act of mercy, the other may have mentioned that He had healed them when asked by others, but it was by the by. It was not so with the Samaritan, he returned and fell at the Lord Jesus’ feet giving Him thanks and acknowledging Him as the one who had cleansed him, whilst the other who now were clean look to the priest (the law) for justification. I hope you see the difference clearly! We will never be justified by the law; “Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Romans 3:27-28)

The sooner we learn this the easier I believe it will be for all to take ten looks at the Lords accomplishment before we begin to look at ourselves for our own justification or disqualification. As a babe in Christ my life changed dramatically, I never gave much thought to the does and don’t that seem to now captivate my mind, all I knew that I had fallen in love with this great God, the Lord Jesus the One who died for my sins. My mind was engulfed with Him and not so much the law. Ten looks at Him to one look at self. Where did I begin to veer off course? Arrogance and pride no doubt playing their part!

We know that the law is good, but is was intended as a teacher to teach us that we are sinners and that because of our desperate state as sinners we needed help, we needed a Saviour, praise the name of Jesus! Now the world, all those who reject the work of Calvary still look to self-justification to be justified before a holy God. It is a futile exercise as it is impossible. Knowing this, why then do we still as Christians look for justification in what we do?

Remember it is at least ten looks at our great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ before we take a look at ourselves. This I believe then will begin to re-kindle our first love if we have somewhat lost our way.

Signing off

Tyrone

Helps!

(John 4:24) “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

We have many helps as Christians and they all have their place. We have the Spirit, without Him it would be impossible to see heaven let alone get there. We have faith, which would remain man-centered without the work of the Spirit in our lives. How one may ask? Without God’s Spirit as the actual catalyst driving and guiding us individually, we would soon get lost, in fact to be more accurate we may even think that we are on the true Celestial road and on our way to heaven, but in fact we travel a road that has similarities but will eventual lead into a ditch (hell) and not heaven. Can I prove this thought from scripture, or is it just my imagination running riot? I surely can!

Let us see what the Lord Jesus said to those who were trained up in the scriptures, there was a certain man, who was a leader of the Jews, a spiritual leader, one responsible for getting his nation to heaven. And yet he was leading them down a road of destruction, he taught them man-centered philosophy even though he taught from the Holy Scriptures, He taught from the Old Testament, and even though he had a doctorate in theology he was as “blind as a bat”. Why? He did not have the Spirit of God enlightening the truths of God’s Holy Word, in other words the map to heaven was in braille. The blind leading the blind and both destined to fall into the dyke, unless God steps in and enlightens their path. This is how it happens in principle, circumstances and places may vary but unless God the Spirit quickens one’s spirit, we will remain as those who clutches at straws whilst in the dark.

Here is the account of Nicodemus as he tried to make sense of the Lord Jesus’ teaching on this exact subject…

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?"

Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? (John 3:1-10)

This teaching is then fundamental, we must start here. Our Spiritual life must have a beginning and that is not when we are christened as infants. That is just another smoke screen to keep us from the truth and it is the same with confirmation. We must find ourselves in “type” falling to our knees and asking God for forgiveness for our sins. It is and must be a personal experience and not simply a religious exercise. Understanding that it is not through penance, or through works that we find forgiveness but only by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. If not, we may think we understand heaven and its calling but we are way off the truth, without God the Holy Spirit as our guide we would still be blind even if we read from the same Bible as those who are able to see. This is sometimes overlooked; in fact it is overlooked often. We speak as if we in ourselves have this great ability to change the course of history. We believe we are the ones who come up with brilliant ideas as someone special and we forget to give place to the greatest of teachers, God the Holy Spirit. The pride of man a wicked thing!

Having said that, we still need teachers, who are gifted as teachers by God and not by men, without them we would be lead astray at times to supposition and inklings. We may even get carried away by what we think is the leading of the Holy Spirit. It could well be His voice we hear, but unless what we perceive is confirmed by sound doctrine, we cannot and must not be lead astray by what we think we have received. Why? We have many enemies; the devil roars seeking to devour, while our own flesh leads us down a slippery path and looks to ensnare us in these three areas of our lives. The pride of life, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes; “For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world.” (1John 2:16): - It is only sound doctrine that will keep us from their entrapment. God the Holy Spirit, without exception always works in tandem with the Holy Scripture, the Bible! It is therefore those gifted as teachers that we must give earnest heed too. Who gifts men as true teachers? It is the person of the Lord Jesus who imparts this gift on to someone and not institutions. An institution may well help equip someone to be more skillful but it is not a given.

“But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." (In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:7-14)

The ability to teach sound doctrine is a gift from the Lord Jesus and not all have been given this gift and in particularly women will not receive the gift of teaching, hear me carefully on this, if not you will be led astray but what they think is true but in fact is not. Why are women not permitted to teach, Paul gives us an inclining to why they should not teach; “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.”  (1Timothy 2:12-14): - If you as a woman do not like this portion of scripture, I would ask you to examine your birth certificate. I only mention this as we are taught that all scripture is there to teach us the ways of God and we must give earnest heed to their wisdoms. I fear for some, I cannot be more specific but as a brother looking out for his family, I have been lead and am now compelled to highlight this truth. I pray it will be well received! Beware of all that is not confirmed by God’s Holy Scriptures, the Bible! And remember that God the Holy Spirit whom God the Father has sent in the name of the Lord Jesus will only ever lead us to the truth; “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24): - And it is imperative that we not only understand this next portion of scripture but that we make it our own; “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:13-15) 

As Christians it is our responsibility to lock hand with one another as we guard against the errors of all that opposes the truth of God’s Word. My prayer would be even though we fail in many areas of our lives, may we never err on the side of that which is not comprehensive, as the Word of God shall endure forever!

Signing off

Tyrone

Removing the veil!

(2Corinthians 3:16)  “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.”

The most phenomenal accomplishment of all time is what Christ achieved for us one Calvary and it would be nice to settle on this. Even as Christians, no especially, our minds like to play tricks with us. It is at constant battle as it looks to find justification in the law to prove salvation and not in what Christ achieved but rather what we achieve in our daily lives. We constantly deny this but we always look to prove it, at least to ourselves. Day after day this seems to be our struggle. I am just wondering if I will ever be free of this on-going battle of looking for self-justification, even though I accept the fact that we will never be justified on our own merit but only by the blood of the Lamb.

We like to talk the talk but we often fail to walk the walk. I make reference to what we achieve by what we are capable of accomplishing with our lifestyles. We are bent on resolutions, I know I am and yet I am incapable of sticking to one out of ten, go figure! We often teach others from the Word of God, as we should! We unpack what we like to call sound doctrine and then when confronted with daily living and with what comes out of our mouths, I wonder have we really understood? There is no doubt we see heaven through a fogged window. We live in the realm of the terrestrial as heaven is a place that is celestial, it is a different realm, and it is spiritual. It is hard for our minds to reconcile the two and it gets jumbled at times.

The bible is very clear with its teaching and when we stick to it in plain sense; I believe it will hold us in a good standing before a righteous God. It will nourish our souls, but only if and when we use the denomination factor that brings light to all of scripture, and that is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, praise His name! Begin to focus on the bibles teaching without His life changing function and we will go astray with our application in living it out.

Yesterday a brother wonderfully expounded on the “old covenant” (the Law) as opposed to the “new covenant” (which is to be saved by grace through faith). He proved by scripture what most of us all know; we can only ever be justified by what Christ achieved on Calvary, it will never have anything to do with us and our achievements. How could it ever be any other way? And yet, knowing this, I constantly with many others look for justification that I deserve salvation by what I do or do not do. We all do! You may say that you are not guilty as charged, but just consider your steps this morning or maybe yesterday and before long you will understand my point. A life filled with hypocrisy, accusing and excusing, up and down, round and round, what seems a never ending battle. But is will end one day, it will run its course; time will give way to another dimension. Eternity will eventually arrive for all.

With all these on-going struggles in life, our daily deliberations; if we forget to look at our Saviour, who is our only hope, we will be smothered by doom and gloom. No wonder as brilliant as Paul was in his capacity to discipline his body he nevertheless makes this statement; “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Galatians 6:14): - Why then do we look to boast in our achievements before God, even if we keep it to ourselves, which we very often do. Maybe I am quicker to accuse myself than to excuse myself when I look into the mirror. Why do I do this? It is obvious; I forget Christ’s accomplishment on Calvary. No matter what people achieve or fail to accomplish, no one will ever be able to take away or add to His perfect sacrifice. “It is finished”!

Having now said what I have just said, we may struggle through life with these on-going battles, but because we have received His Spirit, we have this hope; “Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:33-39)

And yet, we believe this passage of scripture even the more when we walk as victorious Christians. Looking for justification in what we are capable of achieving and I am not sure that will ever change.

There are obvious sins that look to disqualify us as believers, but what of all those sins that we tend to conveniently overlook? We will and can never be justified by our own achievements, it may well leave in a peaceful state before God, but that is a different topic altogether.

May we constantly remember what it cost our Lord to set us free from the bondage of sin and death! How I long for the day when I will finally put off this earthly body and be free of its trappings once and for all. Even so come quickly Lord Jesus! Renew a right understanding in all of you wayward children I pray Father God as circumcision will never cut it! How I wish I was more self-disciplined and yet that is not where it is at, but it would help the turmoil I often contend with.

“In some sense the path to heaven is very safe, but in other respects there is no road so dangerous. It is beset with difficulties. One false step (and how easy it is to take that if grace be absent), and down we go. What a slippery path is that which some of us have to tread! How many times have we to exclaim with the Psalmist, “My feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped.” If we were strong, sure-footed mountaineers, this would not matter so much; but in ourselves, how weak we are! In the best roads we soon falter, in the smoothest paths we quickly stumble. These feeble knees of ours can scarcely support our tottering weight. A straw may throw us, and a pebble can wound us; we are mere children tremblingly taking our first steps in the walk of faith, our heavenly Father holds us by the arms or we should soon be down. Oh, if we are kept from falling, how must we bless the patient power which watches over us day by day! Think, how prone we are to sin, how apt to choose danger, how strong our tendency to cast ourselves down, and these reflections will make us sing more sweetly than we have ever done, “Glory be to him, who is able to keep us from falling.” We have many foes who try to push us down. The road is rough and we are weak, but in addition to this, enemies lurk in ambush, who rush out when we least expect them, and labour to trip us up, or hurl us down the nearest precipice. Only an Almighty arm can preserve us from these unseen foes, who are seeking to destroy us. Such an arm is engaged for our defence. He is faithful that hath promised, and he is able to keep us from falling, so that with a deep sense of our utter weakness, we may cherish a firm belief in our perfect safety, and say, with joyful confidence,

“Against me earth and hell combine,

But on my side is power divine;

Jesus is all, and he is mine!””
(C.H.Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone 

Remember!.doc

(Revelation 2:5) “Remember therefore from where you have fallen;”

Does a day go by where we are not passing judgment? Absolutely not! We judge a lot of trivial nonsense, and half the time it is exactly that, unimportant tripe! Opinionated summaries of peoples own finding on everyday life, from TV shows through to eating habits. A lot of time and energy is ploughed into these types of topics. Far too much time! We have been duped by sins into miss-guided energy with frivolous fruit in our lives to prove it. The car we drive the jeans we wear or the suburb we live in high on the agenda. It is a real concern for most and it can easily be tested. Test your next conversation and throw in words like “Pep Stores” (an inexpensive bare minimum convenience store), is a great place to shop. Now if one was from the Northern Suburbs that would be taboo, but if one lived in a squatter camp, that would be but the only option, or obviously one could rather steal. Have you ever wondered why the Lord has such a heart for the poor? It speaks of destitution, and it offers very little hope. It could force someone’s hand to do what they normally would not do, Steal!

Then of course there are those who do what they do regardless of the cost, they steal and leave a wake of destruction in their path. South Africa is rife with these types of criminals. As serious as this is, we often exert our energy in the wrong areas of life! We give far much time to the here and now. It is a no brainer that we must deal with issues in our lives where and when they appear, and who wouldn’t. We must address the daily issues of life, whatever that may be. It is the time spent on all that never materializes which alarms me. Worry, worry and more worry is high on our agenda. But we are taught not to fret, even though crime lurks on every corner, we still spend far too much time worried about things that never materialize. Misguided energy that is wasted on unfruitful twaddle!

Here then is our instruction, pay it earnest heed; "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:25-30)

I think on these words and contemplate the importance of such a portion of scripture. The Lord Jesus had much to say about a lot of things as He is the great I AM and everything He had to say and still says needs an attentive ear. And yet the Apostle Matthew penned this teaching and paid careful heed to it training, will we? We must!

I believe we lose our way as Christians when we forget about the simple instructive teaching we receive from scripture and we get to clearer for our boots. Knowledge puffs up, may we never forget the elementary principles of the basics of Christianity. Remember the church at Ephesus, they had got so involved with exposing error, and although they were commended for it, they lost their focus on who they were outside of Christ, miserable wretched sinner and nothing else. We too are no different! May we never forget our first love, and if we have then God help us to repent, before the candlestick is removed. A serious warning! Not from opinionated supposition that people have but from the mouth of Lord Jesus. When I consider the volatility of my life and how it has fluctuated over time, I must conclude that I have gone astray, when I have lost my first love. All this actually means, if I place something else before Him. Even if it is a worthy cause like exposing wolves dressed in lambs clothing, I will be guilty of the offense. Nothing must come between me and my Lord, regardless of what that may be.

I will end off with this encouraging rebuke; "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: 'The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. "'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.'” (Revelation 2:1-7)

To all those married sisters out there; remember the excitement prior to marriage, this then is exactly the point we need to embrace with both arms, we need to find that tingling feeling once again for our Lord and Saviour if we have let it slip somewhere along our journey toward the Celestial City. As for us men we need to consider our courtship when we look to win her over. We may have failed with our relationships but we daren’t fail with our King and this eternal relationship.

Signing off

Tyrone  

Be Angry!

(Ephesians 4:26) “Be angry and do not sin;”

It is as if I have a voice that talks to me when I sleep and as I wake. It is not an audible voice that filters through the air, but a graphic thought that forces me to consider certain truths about my life. It is often a challenge as it exposes the “true me” and not the “pretend me” and it varies from rebuke to encouragement. Sometimes we need to be reminded that we are new creatures in Christ and that we have a hope in Him and He will get us home. However there are also times when we need a strong rebuke, and this morning is such a day.

Even as Christians we become callous in certain areas of our lives and we tend to ignore certain sins as the norm. My life has been this way for a long time; I accept certain behavioral patterns but ignore others. I am thankful that when this begins to slip and becomes part of my daily routine it is God the Holy Spirit that admonishes me as well as all others who belong to Christ. If I am honest, I would have to deduce that I need a stronger hand then most, hence a body so full of scars. So before it gets to a place, where strong-arm tactics is used, let me give earnest heed to that small still voice.

I am truly grateful for having ears to hear, as it is the goodness of God that leads a man to repentance. This voice (a graphic thought) now challenges me to re-evaluate my position in Christ. It can never change in that sense as we either have His Spirit or we do not have it, we are either sons or we are bastards (a child whose birth lacks legal legitimacy). Nevertheless, as children we can walk disobediently before our Righteous Father. Obedience is better than sacrifice and yet we are still instructed to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. However, when we let certain habitual practices back into our daily routine we then sin and walk in disobedience.

Today is such a day and I have been challenged by that “small still voice”, call it the "conscience" if that sits better with you, either way, I now deliberate my life and my behavioral patterns and look to the Lord to find forgiveness and a change in practice.  

The Word of God is full of nourishment, but one must digest it to gain strength. It is not enough to look at it and admire it, it must be eaten! If not our Christian life will remain “pie in the sky”, and unfortunately many will enter through the broad gate. May God help us to be honest with ourselves and find repentance where and when it is needed.

We must be accurate with its instruction; I recall back in 1983 when I was on the rugby field and I was injured as I took a knock to my right leg. Internal bleeding in my right thigh was the finding. If only I knew what I knew now and I applied ice to the injury instead of “deep heat” (a muscle simulant), I would have recovered a lot sooner. Ice helps, as it brings down the swelling and it stops the bleeding only then should we get the blood flowing again to repair the area. Do it the wrong way round and we will suffer loss; in this case I was out for a number of weeks. I watched my team play from the sideline.

We must learn to apply sound doctrine to our lives to benefit from it. This then was my thought both last night and this morning when I woke; “Be angry and do not sin;” (Ephesians 4:26): - It is important to understand this instruction correctly, in the past, I have not had a clear understanding on its teaching! I often get angry with myself and my sin once I have already sinned. That is not the teaching! It specifically says, be angry before you sin, so that you do not sin. See the difference! Anger is acceptable, only if it is a help that fuels our minds and keeps us from sin. May God help us to administer this relief wisely! Grace is available for all who belong to Him as we have the right to approach God’s “throne of grace” with boldness.

Forgive me Father God, my great Jehovah as I have neglected this instruction for my life, I seek your forgiveness as I acknowledge my sin before you. Continue to teach me your ways and make me more like my great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Help all your children across the globe put on the mind of Christ and help us to appropriate sound doctrine to our lives and not to accept certain sins as the norm for our lives, whatever they may be.

Signing off

Tyrone

The Living Water!

(John 4:14) “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.”

Have you ever sat down to consider how lusts and wants gratify for a time and then it is soon forgotten, we think that they will satisfy, but soon we work out it is only until the next time. Lust can never be quenched or satisfied! Take the desire for chocolate, when eaten it is smooth in one’s mouth and pleasant to taste, but overindulge and one will be left feeling somewhat bloated and uncomfortable. Sin in itself has the same kind of result. But instead of feeling nauseous it is the conscience that is affected. It either causes worldly sorrow, regret for our action or it brings us to a place when we seek forgiveness to find relief from the constant reminder that what we did was wrong. The bad regrettable decisions we make through life sometimes leave us with such a heaviness we tend to harbor them deep within the recesses of our minds and they never leave us, unless we find forgiveness.   

What makes us become so callous with some of our behavioral patterns, it is obviously sin. Sin is an awakening to both good and evil and yet without forgiveness from God, we will always be a slave to it. It is the law of God that teachers us what we should do, but it is sin that drives us to do exactly the opposite. How often have you told yourself that you would never do something again, only to prove that you were not true to you word. Think about your life! At any given time you may well have been sincere with a resolution, but before long you would have broken it. A case in point, New Year’s resolutions! We are all the same; this is why we need a Saviour! This is why God sent His Son to die in our place as He made a way of escape from the clutches of sin and its power. Even as a Christian who has found forgiveness and for those who have had their eyes opened to the heavenly realm, we all still contend with this on-going battle. But because of forgiveness we are able to endure the pressures of failure. Think on it as a pressure cooker, when the steam builds up to its maximum pressure and it is trapped in a pot, a valve releases the pressure. So too is life and the sin that so easily besets, when we are trapped in areas of our lives Jesus Christ the Lord is our release valve when we look to Him and we find forgiveness.

He is the only hope for mankind! The sooner we begin to believe in Him and we then put our trust in Him the sooner we will find peace for our lives. Without His forgiveness we will be in constant turmoil. Not only in the life to come as we escape the clutches of hell but also in the here and now.

“Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.”

- Joh_4:14

He who is a believer in Jesus finds enough in his Lord to satisfy him now, and to content him for evermore. The believer is not the man whose days are weary for want of comfort, and whose nights are long from absence of heart-cheering thought, for he finds in religion such a spring of joy, such a fountain of consolation, that he is content and happy. Put him in a dungeon and he will find good company; place him in a barren wilderness, he will eat the bread of heaven; drive him away from friendship, he will meet the “friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Blast all his gourds, and he will find shadow beneath the Rock of Ages; sap the foundation of his earthly hopes, but his heart will still be fixed, trusting in the Lord. The heart is as insatiable as the grave till Jesus enters it, and then it is a cup full to overflowing. There is such a fulness in Christ that he alone is the believer’s all. The true saint is so completely satisfied with the all-sufficiency of Jesus that he thirsts no more-except it be for deeper draughts of the living fountain. In that sweet manner, believer, shalt thou thirst; it shall not be a thirst of pain, but of loving desire; thou wilt find it a sweet thing to be panting after a fuller enjoyment of Jesus’ love. One in days of yore said, “I have been sinking my bucket down into the well full often, but now my thirst after Jesus has become so insatiable, that I long to put the well itself to my lips, and drink right on.” Is this the feeling of thine heart now, believer? Dost thou feel that all thy desires are satisfied in Jesus, and that thou hast no want now, but to know more of him, and to have closer fellowship with him? Then come continually to the fountain, and take of the water of life freely. Jesus will never think you take too much, but will ever welcome you, saying, “Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

Wherever we find ourselves, our great King is just a call away, whatever our struggle He is just a prayer away. Let us learn to rely on Him for ever struggle we content with in our daily battle against sin.

Signing off

Tyrone

Repent and believe in the Gospel!

(Mark 1:15) "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

Pain is an everyday reality we need to contend with. My knee now throbs and unless something is done about it, it will continue to ache. It is impossible to ignore! Heaven and hell will be no different in reality, impossible to ignore! Pain should help us understand the concept of hell as we are told there will be a wailing and gnashing of teeth; “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.” (Luke 13:28) 

We must accept the fact that hell will be a place of agony, a place that at all cost must be avoided. Very few welcome pains, nevertheless deception has so twisted the perception of some, as they look to pain in stimulating pleasure, they are known as masochists (the condition in which sexual or other gratification depends on one's suffering physical pain or humiliation). This sect of individual’s endeavors to make a statement that pain is and can be pleasurable. But even if a mind was so twisted to find itself so far gone, entering into such practices, what they fail to tell you is that pain is only manageable if relief is administered. Let us use a simple example like my knee, the pain is bearable for a time, but before long I am looking for pain-killers to ease the pain. And as it has continued over time it forced me to see a doctor yesterday and I have now booked a knee operation for next week Wednesday. Many different manageable outs and hopefully an operation will do the trick. The hope of relief!

But hell will not be like that; there will be no relief whatsoever and it will not be a place of spurts of pain and then relief, but constant eternal torment and hurt.

The writer of proverbs teachers us that to fear God is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of God and His sentence on all those who reject His offer of Salvation, in and through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ is a true reality. We must align ourselves with His terms, conditions and not our own cleverly thought-out plots to excuse ourselves for His judgment, as it will fail. We will nose-dive if we ignore His instruction, and be sure of this one truth it will be without exception!

So many opinionated voices out there, with their own idea of who God is and what will happen to us in eternity. If one seeks accurate answers on any topic, it is best to go to the source to find answers. It is God who has created the heavens and the earth; “For there is nothing hid, save that it should be manifested; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light.” (Mark 4:22): - I now speak the truth in love about a topic that so many look to ignore, but ignore it at your own peril. I will use the Bible (the Holy Scriptures) to teach us about this treacherous but very real place.

It is the teachings of the bible I will use as the final authority, and if you chose to ignore its warnings as heresy then you do it at your own risk. Firstly let us look at some of the warnings given; “And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28):- So then there is one who is able to sentence a person to hell, this person must excuse an individual from this particular sentence and it will be left up to Him to pass His judgment and not the suppositions of others. God will have the final say!

Some history on hell and those who now live there; “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.” (2Peter 2:4-9)

Do not be mistaken, hell is a very real place and its mouth is open to receive as many as will not repent and turn to God seeking forgiveness for their sins. Denial of such a place will not excuse anyone from such an abode.

How will we avoid such a place and what must one do to escape its torment? It is not about us trying to attain to some level of righteousness within our own character, to keep God’s laws is an impossible feat. We need to be covered by the blood of the only One who has accomplished this feat, there has only ever been one who has lived as a man and lived a life without sin, thereby excusing us (those who repent and believe) from the sentence of hell, praise the name of Jesus Christ the Lord! The law in itself has proved to us all that it is impossible to keep God’s commandments; therefore we need a champion to excuse us of our sin, in type, like David killed Goliath, so too did the Lord Jesus kill sin once and for all. It was a supreme sacrifice; in fact it cost the Lord Jesus His life as He paid the price for our sin. It is hard to comprehend how severe this actually was, as God the Father actual turn His face from His only begotten Son as He hung upon that cruel Roman cross; “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"” (Mark 15:34): - God the Son was for a time separated from God the Father, why? Because of mankind’s sin!  

The sole purpose of this account was to once again make a way for sinful men to find repentance in and through the blood of the lamb. Although Adam sinned in the garden separating mankind from a relationship with God, it was the act of Calvary, the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice that once again open away for men and woman to re-establish communication between them and God the Father. Every other religion and suggestions made on how we can make it to heaven is a lie from the pit of hell and Satan is behind it! Do not believe it!

What then is a man to do? It is simple; "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." As nothing else will keep a soul from the clutches of hell!

Turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and find life and heaven will be your final destination; hell will have no claim on your life!

(Romans 10:13)  “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."”

Signing off

Tyrone

  

 

Learning to be thankful!

(James 1:12) “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

I have heard some people say you haven’t really lived if you haven't any regrets to one’s life. This is an opinion based on experience; I would on the surface accept this to be true, for my life anyway. However if one scratched a little deeper, would we arrive at the same conclusion? I am not sure I would as our hope in Christ overshadows our regrets or at least they should. Less of self and more of Christ; this would also include my daily thoughts. To find the right conditioning we must be trained by Christ, our minds must be renewed on a daily basis. It is an on-going battle that we can never excuse ourselves from, for if we do we will fall.

I would have done things very differently in my life, if I could re-visit them; this however is not an option for any of us. We must forget those things that are behind us and look forward, pressing towards the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus our Lord. In fact even if I am justified in my reckoning and I feel that I am not to be blamed for the place I now find myself, it is the will of God for my life. I am exactly where I need to be and hopefully learning to depend on Him more and more as I see that day approaching.

Our great God has the capability to use every situation to conform His children into the image of His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It only becomes painful when we look to kick against the goads; “And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” (Acts 9:5)

It is a lot harder to swim upstream against the current that to sit back and use the stream as intended, swim with it and not against it. Rest in the Lord; be thankful for all we have both good and bad as they will help get us home to heaven. When we second guess our standing in Christ we call God a liar, a heavy indictment! We may not say it but we think like this; Why, I have wasted so much of my life, I have been tricked, why me! The answer is a simple one, because you have needed it. So, until we arrive in heaven this process will continue in our lives, changing us into the image of Christ! Yes, many bad choices may have left us with much regret; nevertheless we can and must learn from them.

We will never have to experience something that is not needed to achieve this outcome; changing us into the image of Christ. The olive only processes its delightful oil when placed between two grinding stones, when downward pressure is exerted on the olive and only then is it useful as cooking oil. But before that sequence the olive remains an olive! Try throwing a handful of olives into a frying pan and then fry an egg, a disaster as the egg sticks to the pan. Our lives are no different; we also need to have it milled out so that we may be of use to others.

Let us stop complaining and be thankful; it is not our prerogative whether or not we feel like praising God our heavenly Father. We have been created for this exact purpose and that is to be thankful for all we have received, starting with salvation all the way through to the oxygen we breathe. It was the murmuring Israelites that fell in the wilderness not the thankful ones; “Wherefore, even as the Holy Spirit saith, To-day if ye shall hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, Like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tried me by proving me, And saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was displeased with this generation, And said, They do always err in their heart: But they did not know my ways; As I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.” (Hebrews 3:7-11)

Will we except and trust our God as we believe this one fact? That He knows what He is doing. If we answer yes to that question, then moaning has no place in our lives. Let us lay aside every sin and weight that looks to way us down. Let us run this race with fortitude, looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith. May God help us to be thankful for all we receive from Him, without exception!

Teach us beloved Lord to trust and obey!

Signing off

Tyrone

Saints and not sinners!

(Deuteronomy 4:33) “Did any people ever hear the voice of a God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live?”

Pay careful attention to the small still voice of God…

It is another early start, just on 3 am as I eagerly await to hear the voice of God, I look forward to my Saviour’s instruction as God the Holy Spirit reveals never-ending truths about the shekinah glory of the One and only, my great King, the Lord Jesus Christ, which in turn energizers me in the inner-man, equipping me to walk victoriously before a Holy and righteous God. As I think on this, these words come to mind; “beautiful, beautiful Jesus is beautiful and Jesus makes beautiful the things of my life.”

God the Holy Spirit does it gently causing my eyes to see, but as soon as my self-reflection begins to overshadow the glory of my gracious King, I then begin to miss the mark and I lose sight of the greatness of our glorious King. My problems begin to overshadow His achievements and this then in itself is sin. It is not about what we can achieve but rather what Christ has already achieved by dying on that cruel Roman Cross, praise His name!

It is crucial that we come to terms with this truth, less of self and more of Christ and that also includes pity-parties! Our attention must shift at all times to the victories of Christ. Of course the Apostle James gives us very wise council; he teaches “faith without works is dead”. And yet we look to beat ourselves up all the time because we do not resemble similar fruits of those who have already run the race and kept the faith. I would suggest, it is because of this very reason; we forget to focus on what Christ has done and we look at what we haven’t achieved on His behalf. I know this to be true, as I often give unbelief too much time of day. These treacherous times of reasoning’s leave me downtrodden, but not quite broken; there is a time and a place for these emotions, but far too much time is given to them. I know this to be true, as it has played large part in my life.

We often cry our God reigns! We all believe that He is Sovereign, but how often do we always hear, “if only”! That type of reason does not exist in our great Saviour’s rational, it is foreign to Him. It cost Him his life to set us free from the bondage of sin and death, and I am not talking about the “do’s and don’ts” of our daily struggles. Should I or shouldn’t I drink this coke or eat this chocolate etc., is such a fickle understanding and it will leave us unstable in every area of our lives. When we reason like this we package our Saviour into box, forgive us Lord! He never ever thought on failure as an option. He came to do the will of His Father and He accomplished every jot and tittle to perfection. He has now set us free, huh some may sigh!

We are no longer sinners but saints (I speak to those who have His Spirit). The question we may still ask; but don’t we still sin? Yes! But not when we apprehend that Christ has already paid the price for all our sins, past, present and future. If this was not true then we would need to be judged for our sin and then the work of the cross would be incomplete, which it is not! He hung on that cruel splintered cross and cried. “It is finished!”

As I sit typing, these words continue to escape my lips, “I love you Father, I love you Lord Jesus.” Over and over again, I do not tire ether saying them or hearing these wonderful words, which is true and now very real. But when I think on the “woe is me” person in my life, I miss the essence of Christianity, which is; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Do you see that there is no law against the fruit of the Spirit, how could there ever be? Christ has paid the price for sin, once and for all! He has removed the bondage that the law of God once had over mankind. This is a fact, but will you dare to believe it? Believe it we must, or round and round the merry-go-round we go. 

It is all about the victory of Christ and not whether we make the grade or not in that sense. It was not because Caleb and Joshua had big biceps that they brought back a good report when they spied out the Promised Land. It had nothing to do with their abilities but everything to do with God’s promise. We too must articulate as they reasoned, if not we will cower away from the smallest of challenges. We will always be clutching for the lip of some ditch instead of gazing across the plains from a mountain top.

Why are we reminded to have communion as often as possible, for this exact reason; that we are to jog our memory about our Lord’s death and what it cost Him to set us free from the bondage of sin and death. Less of self and more of Christ and it will be well with our souls. Here is a biblical fact that the Apostle John uses leading into the book of Revelation about this great Man, God and our King; “and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.” (Revelation 1:5): - The Apostle Paul makes this statement; “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)   

Whatever the yoke, even if it would appear to be good in itself, if misappropriated outside of the finished work of the cross, all it will achieve is bondage and a annoyance to slavery once again. Circumcision is not sin in itself, but when we use that type of mentality to look for justification we do sin and therefore if we look to circumcision for justification it is sin. I trust my point has been made and clearly understood.

Therefore I will conclude with this question; are you a sinner or a saint? Both I hear some say. Both! How could we be both the old man and the new, I am taught that the old man is dead; “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:6-11)

If we now are dead to sin and alive to God, I will once again ask the same question; are we sinners or saints? Saints indeed! There is only one proviso; if we have been born again and if we have His spirit then we are indeed children of God and we then must align ourselves with the teachings from the Holy Scriptures.

It is a marvellous triumph that Christ achieved on our behalf; let us never forget what it cost Him to lay down His life so that we could go free! All hail King Jesus!

Signing off

Tyrone

It is more blessed to give than to receive!

(Acts 20:35) “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

The idiom “faithfulness” is a term of endearment but it also carries with it great responsibility. There are many areas in one’s life that demands faithfulness and yet so little of it actual exists with any meaningful fruit. Divorce is high on the list, which proves the volatility of mankind. Words like “unto death do us part, in sickness and in health, for richer and poorer” etc seems to be taking its toll on society. Even amongst Christians this truth seems to be wreaking havoc. I am sadly amongst that number, and I say it to my own shame. No matter how I may look to justify the reason for why I am now no longer married, the facts is this, I am no longer married and therefore lack endurance as a faithful husband. Guilty as charged!

Then what of our commitment to a body of believers, our faithfulness to a local church; I too was faithful for a while to a group of believers where I believe God had placed me; “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” (1Corinthians 12:18): - And yet now my priority is to self instead of others. We must guard against this warning from scripture, which says; “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:12-13): - Everything in Christianity and in the life of the Lord Jesus points us to His faithfulness, to His Father’s call and His total commitment to it. Faithful was He, even unto death! It is imperative that we begin to bare the fruit of faithfulness in our lives. This is now high on my list of priorities.

You may say I am faithful, praise God! But is there any area in your life that you see slipping and if so guard your heart against it? Through the process of time I have let many areas slip, but God in His faithfulness has brought me once against to a place of repentance and renewed a right spirit in me. How did this reckoning come about, it is simple, we must remember to put on the whole armour of God, for when we do, God is faithful to reward those who find obedience to His instruction. He is faithful in committing to His promises whatever they may be! I love you Father and I thank you for revealing this particular characteristic your wear with perfection.

There is a thief that looks to rob us of our commitment to walk faithfully before our great God and Father, as well as our lack of dedication to those whom you have called us to be faithful too. Many of us have fallen short is some areas of our lives, but I am thankful that through your faithfulness and your undying loves towards those whom you have call, to those you have chosen, you once again bring us to a place of reckoning and help us cry out to you. We are dependent upon you mercy and grace to survive in this perverse and wicked generation.

Where would I be without your faithfulness, in some gutter somewhere and yet now I am able to cry out, my God reigns and His mercies endue forever! Thank you Lord Jesus! It is the amour of God that protects us from the deceitful wiles of the devil; let us therefore remember to dress for battle. By so doing we find protection and will be able to guard against the thief who looks to rob us of our love for one another. It is the simple things we need to get right and not the moving of mountains.

Let us seek God’s face as we cry out to Him, “less of self and more of others”, as it is more blessed to give than to receive; “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (Acts 20:35)

Have we learnt this valuable lesson? If not let us make it our goal to learn it and fast.

Signing off

Tyrone 

Creation Groans!

(Psalms 66:2) “Sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!”

Jesus, Jesus Lord to me, Master Saviour Prince of peace, ruler of my heart today. Help me remember that today is the day on salvation and as your children Father God we must dress for battle. It is grace that will equip us to put ourselves aside and to focus on the well-being of others and we know that we shall be tested in this area of our lives. Help me, help us, I pray become more and more like our great Kind and Saviour and help us become doers of the Word and not just hearers. Lets us learn to lay down our lives just as He lay down His!

Once again I am away from the comforts of home; I sit in the Free State with the wind howling drowning out any attempts of the birds trying to dominate the airways, it is as if God now speaks through the wind, it is nevertheless very beautiful to behold as trees and branches aggressively sway from side to side; “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” (Roman 8:19): - Can you hear creation groaning as it awaits the adoption of Gods sons, do you wait eagerly for Christ’s return, and have you repented and believed on Him? Have you put aside all your false gods and dead idols? Repent as that day draws nearer, much nearer than you think!

And once again I struggle with my power supply, internet connection and all that goes with it trying to post this blog and yet even with this minor frustration God reigns Supreme, praise His Name, Yes speak great Jehovah, make your presence known and let the wind call it out with gusto! Some may miss it for now, but all will eventually bow! But your children will praise you and exalt you high above all the earth, we will praise you, I will praise you! Praise Him all you children of the earth and again I say praise Him! All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name. Come and see what God has done: He is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man, it was one thing to part the Red Sea, this was a great feat and yet He has far surpassed it in and through His Son our great Saviour, yes the Lord Jesus Christ has paid the price for our sin, bless His name! Do you believe this, if so will you now confess it to others?

“It is not left to our own option whether we shall praise God or not. Praise is God’s most righteous due, and every Christian, as the recipient of his grace, is bound to praise God from day to day. It is true we have no authoritative rubric for daily praise; we have no commandment prescribing certain hours of song and thanksgiving: but the law written upon the heart teaches us that it is right to praise God; and the unwritten mandate comes to us with as much force as if it had been recorded on the tables of stone, or handed to us from the top of thundering Sinai. Yes, it is the Christian’s duty to praise God. It is not only a pleasurable exercise, but it is the absolute obligation of his life. Think not ye who are always mourning, that ye are guiltless in this respect, or imagine that ye can discharge your duty to your God without songs of praise. You are bound by the bonds of his love to bless his name so long as you live, and his praise should continually be in your mouth, for you are blessed, in order that you may bless him; “this people have I formed for myself, they shall show forth my praise”; and if you do not praise God, you are not bringing forth the fruit which he, as the Divine Husbandman, has a right to expect at your hands. Let not your harp then hang upon the willows, but take it down, and strive, with a grateful heart, to bring forth its loudest music. Arise and chant his praise. With every morning’s dawn, lift up your notes of thanksgiving, and let every setting sun be followed with your song. Girdle the earth with your praises; surround it with an atmosphere of melody, and God himself will hearken from heaven and accept your music.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

“Even so I love thee, and will love,

And in thy praise will sing,

Because thou art my loving God,

And my redeeming King.”

May we never forget it is our duty to love our God because he first loved us, Thank you Lord Jesus for dying for a wretch like me!

Signing off

Tyrone