Was heared in that He feared...

(Hebrews 5:7) “…He was heard in that he feared.”

How often, if ever, have you ever felt alone? I know I have in some measure. The Lord Jesus is most definitely familiar with this experience. Although He was alone in the Garden of Gethsemane the cup He needed to drink was His and His alone, even though those closest to Him whom we could call His favorites; Peter, James and John where asleep, when the Lord Jesus needed them more than ever, as He looked to them for comfort. He knew that His greatest trial was now upon him, He no doubt hoped that Peter and the two sons of Zebedee would stand with him and bring Him comfort or at least give Him some support. It was not to be; something’s are ours and ours alone. No one can stand in our place when it comes to our own specific trial that needs to be endured.

Let us look at our Masters great example; “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go over there and pray." And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me." And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:36-37)

We clearly see no matter how the Lord Jesus looked to position those closest to Him to help in His trial, they fell asleep and He had to face this trial alone. It was mammoth in comparison to the trial anyone one of us have to face, but the trail we face in context to who we are in our own story is colossal as we often also look to others for help. Yet, sometimes we have to come to the same conclusion it is our trail and not theirs. It is something we personally need to find grace for to overcome. These are not pleasant times and who in their right mind would welcome such a trail? And yet the Lord Jesus was given a title because of His victory though His trial in the Garden; He is not only our King but our High Priest. He earned the right, as He is no touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He has personally been there and understands our pain. Therefore cast all you care upon Him is what the scripture teachers. Why then do we battle, or rather why then do I battle so?

We know the answer it is in the text, The Lord Jesus was heard in that He feared the weakness of the flesh; however the voice of Satan like a dripping tap would have nagged away at Him, “you see those closest to you have fallen asleep”. The taunting would have continued as the Lord Jesus initially looks to avoid the trail; it is only when He acknowledges that He is meant to go through it that He finds rest and God sends an angel to minister to Him; it would appear that this angel removed His fear, enabling Him to face the temptation with a calmness that followed; “Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."” (Matthew 26:45-46)

I suppose until each of us come to the same conclusion we will remain as those who grope in the dark, never learning.

May God give us eyes to see and ear to hear in these the latter times of grace.

Signing off

Tyrone

Seasons!

God’s mercy and grace who can actual fully comprehend it. The grace of God affords the believer what they don’t deserve; in fact the sun rises on both the believer and the unbeliever. The mercy of God then keeps from us what we actually do deserve; separation from God here on earth and then ultimately hell as our final destination. Why? I could never say this enough and if you have heard it from me a thousand times it would nevertheless be worth mentioning a thousand more. The Lord Jesus Christ has made a way, praise His name. If for some reason we ever forget this, remember we are only accepted in the beloved because of what He has achieved and not on our own merit. Without the grace of God (the Lord Jesus) where would we be? You fill in the blanks!

Everything in life has its seasons, why? It is the way God has ordained it. I do not only make reference to the cycle of life pertaining to the weather patterns as we know it, but the seasonal changes for us on a personal level; “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)   

All have their place in our lives, why? They have been instituted to teach us to become more dependent on the finished work of Calvary and obviously to become more like Him in character. Sometime the thought of some of these seasons seem to send us in the opposite direction. We look to the old man and his ability rather than the grace of God, which we never deserved in the first place. This then results in lots of heartache.

As a family we got some unexpected news, my father has been diagnosed with cancer. This in itself with everything else that is going on at this time seems to be a mistake. There are no mistakes with God, He is in perfect control. It is now the time for this season in all our lives. Will we run to Christ for sustenance or will we look for strength in the old man? God help all of us to use this opportunity to unite in the bonds of love in and through the wonderful finished work our Redeemer.

If I look at my struggles of late; may I be soon be reminded of what the Lord Jesus had to go through as a man here on earth and may I learn from His example. To now find strength for my family feeling so weak in myself seems an impossible task. But I am then reminded…

“And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed.”

- Mat_26:39

There are several instructive features in our Saviour’s prayer in his hour of trial. It was lonely prayer. He withdrew even from his three favoured disciples. Believer, be much in solitary prayer, especially in times of trial. Family prayer, social prayer, prayer in the Church, will not suffice, these are very precious, but the best beaten spice will smoke in your censer in your private devotions, where no ear hears but God’s.

It was humble prayer. Luke says he knelt, but another evangelist says he “fell on his face.” Where, then, must be THY place, thou humble servant of the great Master? What dust and ashes should cover thy head! Humility gives us good foot-hold in prayer. There is no hope of prevalence with God unless we abase ourselves that he may exalt us in due time.

It was filial prayer. “Abba, Father.” You will find it a stronghold in the day of trial to plead your adoption. You have no rights as a subject, you have forfeited them by your treason; but nothing can forfeit a child’s right to a father’s protection. Be not afraid to say, “My Father, hear my cry.”

Observe that it was persevering prayer. He prayed three times. Cease not until you prevail. Be as the importunate widow, whose continual coming earned what her first supplication could not win. Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.

Lastly, it was the prayer of resignation. “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Yield, and God yields. Let it be as God wills, and God will determine for the best. Be thou content to leave thy prayer in his hands, who knows when to give, and how to give, and what to give, and what to withhold. So pleading, earnestly, importunately, yet with humility and resignation, thou shalt surely prevail. (C.H.Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone

What vessels are we?

Some things in life are a lot easier for some than others, which is the way it is. But we all have the tendency and the ability to learn, it is the way God chose to create us. Life is about learning; our existence here on earth has this objective, to learn to be obedient to the will of God. The rest is all just fill-in. As Christians we have had our eyes now opened to this truth. Some find it easier to be obedient with less destruction to their lives while others struggle along. Nevertheless God is building his church and the gates of hell shall not prevail. We must cling onto this hope with all we have; “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Yet with that said we must also take into account that the scripture is clear, that there is also another category of apparent believers we need to consider; there are those who say they believe in the finished work of Calvary but their lives tell a different story; “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.” (Titus 1:16)

It would be unwise for me not to consider this warning; many may needn’t spend too much time here and praise God for their conduct and testimony. However for some of us our lives as Christians have taken many wrong turns along the way and praise God for His forgiveness or else we would be lost. We may be groping in the dark even now, but we are not lost, just battling to find our way again. It is obvious that the map is Christ and no other!

So what then is it that turns us in the opposite direction is, well obviously it is sin, the enemy of the cross. The Lord Jesus Has conquered sin, but now it is up to us as believers to believe in His finished work and to also conquer sin in our lives. The battle rages on! For us to turn a blind eye to our sin whatever it may be would be like an ostrich entombing it face in the sand to avoid a predator. Foolishness personified!  We must consider were we are on any given day, with the knowledge that no matter how many times we may slip and fall that there is forgiveness for the Christian. But we must also remember those in the other camp; “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.” Yes we may even be number amongst them. If that be the case what is a man to do? I believe the Apostle Paul gives us the answer; “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.” (2Timothy 2:21)   

So it is the easily understood; we must look to our Saviour to put right that which is wrong, to make straight that which is crooked. It will come to pass! Just so long as we do not lie to ourselves and to God.

Father God it is almost unbelievable how forgiving you can be, time and time again you forgive me for the same sin, and there must also be others that feel rather bruised at times, it is for them I pray as I am able to sympathise with their failure. While we have breath we have hope and our hope is in none other than our glorious Saviour, you majestic Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is nevertheless imperative that we look to cleanse ourselves of that which disqualifies. For if this is our sincere will to put on the Lord Jesus, your Word is clear, we will be vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

Unto this end we do pray…

Signing off

Tyrone

  

It is finished...

John 19:30 “It is finished.”

To prosper is a want we all have had in some area of our lives. I believe we all look to prosper in one form of another from day to day. At the moment life is tough regarding income and as a freelance photographer I need to be commissioned in order to make ends meet. I have a want to work and yet it eludes me, times are tough and because of the pressures of life I find that I am uncertain how to react to my current predicament with uncertainty playing its part in my life. Doubt is alive and well and it should have died many years back. So many negative emotions still part of my life and yet when the Lord Jesus hung upon that cruel Roman cross on that hill in Golgotha, He declared which assurance and boldness, “it is finished”. It is this declaration I want us to look at…

After the sin in the garden we (mankind) were all doomed to this one particular fate, we were all born sinners. It was not a choice we were afforded, by default this was our penalty and all because of Adam’s sin. In other words we could do nothing but sin. The Apostle Paul puts it like this; “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (Romans 7:15): - we needn’t think back very far to understand what is meant by this. The Apostle James speaks about our tongues and how we wield them and this is what he says; “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.” (James 3:5-6)

When we were born we were all born as sinners and as life progressed we added to that account as sin played it part in all of our lives. All guilty of this one fact, without exception, that we are sinners; “as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;” (Romans 3:10): - Therefore without exception all deserve hell! Hell a place designed for Lucifer and his angels, all those who opposed God and His rule. Now for mankind, those who do not find forgiveness for their sin in and through the Lord Jesus Christ will end up there. This is the essence of why Christ came to pay the price for sin and free those enslaved by sin and why He was able to declare with boldness; “it is finished”.

I need to find an answer to this question; why then as Christians do we still struggle with sin, if His work is finished?

What is meant by these words; “it is finished”.  The devastating accomplishment that Satan had in the Garden of Eden, where sin found life in the lives of the human race had now been reversed. Sin had been defeated by the death of the Lord Jesus on that cross. The reason He was able to defeat death, sin and the grave was because of His life he lived as a man and yet without sin. This then qualified Him for the atonement for all who would believe on Him. God’s plan accomplished in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, isHHHHis Son, and our Saviour! The shackles of sin broken once and for all; therefore when a sinner (a man or a woman) calls out unto Jesus in sincerity and asks for forgiveness for their own sin, they are forgiven and receive His Spirit and are them numbered amongst Gods elect. No longer Satan as their father but God now accepts them into His kingdom and allows the believer to now address Him as Father.

I realise I am addressing the basic fundamentals of Christianity and we should all understand this. However I am looking to probe the inner circle of our understanding as believers; why do we still wrestle with sin if “it is finished”?

This is what Paul’s gospel has to teach us regarding salvation; “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2Corinthians 5:17): - Why is he able to make this statement? Because Christ declared that, “it is finished”, with His work complete and eternal. If old things have passes away why do they still have such an effect on our lives? “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)   

Satan has not been chained, he goes around like a roaring lion seeking to devour. God has so permitted it; he is actually helping in the sanctification process. Even if we succumb to his lures far more often than we should. I honestly hate having failed so often through this process but I know that it is good for me as God is in control. Not that it is good that I fall but that I realise how much I need the Lord Jesus in my life. He is for all of His Children and He knows what is best for us even if we don’t. Let us rest in Him and the finished work of the cross. The day is coming when we too will be able to enter the New Jerusalem where this warfare would have ceased, but until then may we continue to encourage one another and constantly look for forgiveness as we are often lured away by our own wants as we take our eyes of the Lord Jesus and we forget God’s will for our lives.

Thank you for your patience Father God and I pray that you would cause the wind of zeal to sweep across the paths of all your children so that we may find the vigour to glorify your name, not only with words but by our actions. Praise the name of Jesus now and forever more, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone    

  

  

Can a man be proud of Grace?

The grace of God in Christ is without measure, it is inexhaustible and available for all who have His Spirit. And yet life with all its challenges seems to want to rob us of this free gift. Grace is what is needed to get through any given day. For me to even again say I shall never fall would be an unwise declaration. Although my wish would be to never fall again, the truth be told if I do not find the grace needed for the particular trial, I will come up short.

Can a man be proud of grace?

“It is a curious fact, that there is such a thing as being proud of grace. A man says, “I have great faith, I shall not fall; poor little faith may, but I never shall.” “I have fervent love,” says another, “I can stand, there is no danger of my going astray.” He who boasts of grace has little grace to boast of. Some who do this imagine that their graces can keep them, knowing not that the stream must flow constantly from the fountain head, or else the brook will soon be dry. If a continuous stream of oil comes not to the lamp, though it burn brightly to-day, it will smoke to-morrow, and noxious will be its scent. Take heed that thou gloriest not in thy graces, but let all thy glorying and confidence be in Christ and his strength, for only so canst thou be kept from falling. Be much more in prayer. Spend longer time in holy adoration. Read the Scriptures more earnestly and constantly. Watch your lives more carefully. Live nearer to God. Take the best examples for your pattern. Let your conversation be redolent of heaven. Let your hearts be perfumed with affection for men’s souls. So live that men may take knowledge of you that you have been with Jesus, and have learned of him; and when that happy day shall come, when he whom you love shall say, “Come up higher,” may it be your happiness to hear him say, “Thou hast fought a good fight, thou hast finished thy course, and henceforth there is laid up for thee a crown of righteousness which fadeth not away.” On, Christian, with care and caution! On, with holy fear and trembling! On, with faith and confidence in Jesus alone, and let your constant petition be, “Uphold me according to thy word.” He is able, and he alone, “To keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

Wherever we find ourselves may we be quick to focus all our attentions on the Lord Jesus Christ, our risen Saviour. May all our confidence lie in Him and not our circumstance or our own abilities. Enough of what I am capable of achieving within myself, I have proved time and again that all that brings to my life is destruction. I am a new creature in Him and the time to embrace this truth is at the door, it has been from salvation, but life is there to teach us many lessons about ourselves, sure we can learn from the mistakes of others. I hope I have assisted some with the evident mistakes to my life.

However at the end of the day we will all stand-alone before our Heavenly Father and give an account of what we did with His perfect gift, Jesus Christ the Lord. How we applied His Spirit to our lives. Christianity is a person relationship that we received with no merit of our own, God who is rich in mercy afforded us the opportunity to call upon His name and only because of what Christ achieved on our behalf, redemption from sin. Although we battle with sin we are no longer guilty of sin as Christ has paid the price in full. A phenomenal accomplishment! How can we find sin in our lives and yet be free from its charge? Praise the name of Jesus!

It is now up to us to resolve in Christ to be strong in seeking out His grace. He has buckets of grace in Himself and yet it is not for Himself but for the Christian. The sole purpose of this fountain that flows full of grace from our head, the Lord Jesus, is to provide the Christian with nourishment and the ability to find strength to overcome. We will never overcome if we do not seek out His provision for any given situation.

I suppose we are asked to wrestle for it just like Jacob did, when he encountered the “Angel of the Lord” in the wilderness. That is why we are taught to approach the throne room of grace with boldness (chutzpah). It is far too natural to give in to temptation without fighting for what is right in the Lord.

Once again I will remind myself and all who now read this entry, it is all about what the Lord Jesus achieved on Calvary, may we never forget it, if we are to find grace we must focus on His victory and seek out His strength to overcome. Any other way will be like a house built on the clay and when the storm comes, and it will come, the house will come toppling down and great will be its fall.

Signing off

Tyrone

Restore a right spirit in me...

Romans 8:39 “…nor anything else in all creation…”

What would be the death of a Christian? Well, without over-philosophizing with a play on words, it would be good to keep it simple. We are taught that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God and yet we are left with responsibility as Christians…   “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 8:38-39): - This then would obviously cover our own inability to do the right thing as we have all been tainted by sin, as it clearly stipulates “nor anything else”, which must include even ourselves. However it is also very clear from scripture that we are accountable for our own actions; “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12)

Both truths will certainly play their part in the life of the Christian. What is my responsibility? I must leave certain truths to the mercy and faithfulness of God, for He is just and will work out His perfect plan to perfection without any impartiality concerning His righteousness. If this was not truth all it would prove is that God is imperfect and we know that is false. He is perfect and everything He does will ultimately prove His perfection. For us then to try and humanize God with our own fickle imaginations would be a serious mistake. How could we the created ever try to teach the creator right from wrong and yet we had a tendency to do it. What mercy, patience, longsuffering, kindness, perseverance and total dedication God has for all who belong to Him. Why? Simply put, Jesus Christ the Lord! Praise His glorious and I mean remarkable name now and forever more, Amen!

Back in time God singled out a people whom He called His own, the Israelites, those born from the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But before long it was evident that sin ran rife amongst His people, no differently to its effect on all of mankind even today. But with God there can be no place for sin as He is sinless and what fellowship can light have with darkness? They cannot co-exist!

God through Moses then introduces the law, the Ten Commandments. I want us to consider the complexities of the law and those who lived under it. It must have been a time of structure with lots of rituals worked into their lives on a daily basis. This was needed so that they could find favour with God. When a sin was committed a sacrifice was required to pardon the offender. An animal needed to lose its life. It would have been a gory time, blood spilt on an on-going basis. Just pause for a moment and try and visualise this type of lifestyle. Even a woman menstruating was considered unclean under her cycle and if someone happened to touch her they too were then considered unclean. They would have been ordered to wash with water and follow a particular ritual before they could be accepted back into the fold.  

Now let us consider it from God’s perspective; He would need to decide whether or not to forgive the offender and the offence. Once a year the high priest would enter the holiest of holies and offer up a sacrifice for the people. And on occasion God would not receive the sacrifice and he would die… Until the glorious work of the cross, yes praise the name of Jesus. It is now not about whether or not to forgive, Christ has paid the price for sin and it is finished! For those found in Him, they have all been sanctified by his blood. There now are no more if’s and but’s!

With that said, how does this affect us in our daily walks? I remember as a new believer walking into a movie house and watching on Hollywood block buster. I remember leaving feeling rather vexed. Some much of what it had to say was in total opposition to who God is. But through time and because of sin once again rearing its head in my life, it is obvious that my conscience has been anesthetised. It no longer responds like it once did. However with that said, everything hinges on the Lord Jesus Christ and the finished work of the cross. There is nothing that will keep a believer from seeking out His face, NOTHING! For those who choose to play the manic–depressive disorder card or those who suffer from addiction or even when I say that people don’t understand me and I am who I am, I can’t help it. It is all a lie! Christ has overcome and our sustenance lies in Him. We must learn to call out to Him in every area of our lives. Is my conscience seared; well my glorious Saviour is capable of heightening it senses once again. Do I suffer from depression? Call upon the name of the Lord, and do not let people, sinners convince you that you are a basket case… “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.” Add to this list if need be because the Lord Jesus has conquered all!

Wherever we find ourselves, it is up to us as believers to seek out God’s face. He has and ear for His children, but the responsibility lies with the child to come and find grace to help in time of need. The lessons of life are there to teach us to become more reliant on the Lord Jesus and less captivated by our own failure. We will always fail in one form or another if our eyes shift from Him onto ourselves.

My prayer today would be “restore a right spirit in me” and I know I am heard because of what Jesus achieved on Calvary, praise His name!

Signing off

Tyrone   

A current thought...

Thought time we all learn that there are most certainly certain things that aid in our walk as Christians just as much as there are things that look to disqualify. This blog has been of great assistance in the Lord Jesus to help me focus, but as soon as my eyes shifted I no longer found grace to be persistent with my endeavour’s. Today is a good day as God’s grace has afforded me the opportunity to once again pen my thoughts and for this I am thankful. I will be quick to say I do not have all the answers and I do not know what tomorrow may hold but God Knows!

We must learn to focus on what the Lord Jesus achieved with more certainty in our lives than the rising of the sun. We have an enemy that will do his utmost to stop us from achieving this end. Be that as it may, while we are afforded breath we have hope!

A reflection over this torrid time of my unbelief…

It is one thing to be aware of the danger on the horizon, take our end of the year holiday most of us are fortunate to have and enjoy. One is able to prepare for battle in that sense; precaution can be made to be on the lookout for certain triggers that could lead to us dropping our guard. In fact because we are on holiday we give ourselves license. That has been my experience over time.

At all times our focus should be Christ and not the success or failure of one another.

However, it is when we drop our guard, when the company we keep is safe, and there would seem no need to be guarded as we are all of a similar mind, “birds of as feather”, in that sense. We are all Christian and on the same side, that is if we all believe that it is Christ alone who has accomplished our release and it is only because of what He achieved that we are now named amongst the believer.

Here are the facts with no if and buts; “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:4-9): – I wonder how many people actually get this; I do not speak to infants but those who claim to be mature in Christ. As soon as we look to disqualify others because of what we now achieve in our own lives and we compare ourselves to them with a disqualifying eye, we have forgotten the basic fundamentals of Christianity; “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.”

With that said, I suppose it is a message that brings consolation to my heart because there has been much failure surrounding my life over the last few of weeks. Be that as it may, how does that effect what Christ achieved on Calvary? It could and never will effect what He achieved, that has been sealed for eternity, praise His name!

Where am I most vulnerable? I think I may have finally seen a truth to my life I have always tried to shut out; I have always strained to please those closest to me, even if they were blind to it. I know, even if they don’t! So when someone close to me decided to cut me off because of all my inadequacies after 30 years, having known me for thirty years and having seen me develop through life with my many bad decisions attached along the way and then to finally decide that they have had enough. Who could have seen it coming, I certainly didn’t! But these are the real issues of life and the things that affect us most. To say that they don’t cut deep would be a lie; they certainly do, even when we put on a brave face, pretending as if we don’t care. And yet I understand that he also has his own battle, so let me be very clear I do not hold his decision against him, these are just the issues of life that Satan uses to get the believer to throw stones.

I did care and I dropped my guard; sadly I continue to keep doing the same thing, when similar occurrences happen. But now that I have recognised a “trigger” that I have previously shut out, just maybe I will find the grace to no longer drop my guard in that area of my life. There are many other “triggers” that play there part in my life. However, this is the one that now seems to be current. Having said that, at the end of the day we have no one but ourselves to blame when it comes to sin in our lives, Christ has paid the price of our debt. I am well aware of my sin at present and can only ask for forgiveness and the power to search out His grace to turn from it.

It is when we encounter the serious failures of others that we are shown our own hearts and we can soon see exactly where we stand, with regard to Christ’s accomplishments in our own lives.

But I wonder how many have forgotten that it is Christ alone who accomplished our redemption. If I or anyone of us feel we have something to say against a brother; I will leave you with this thought; “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone.”

Signing off

Tyrone

    

The Mercy of God!

(Romans 9:18) “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.”

"To be like Jesus, all I ask is to be like Him", is a request that is unobtainable in us, it is impossible and yet with God all things are possible. How then is it possible to be like Jesus if we have been doomed to destruction because of our sinful natures? Just as all things began with God and all things will end with Him concerning the human race, so too will it then rely on Him to get us to be like Jesus. No other way is possible and the process involved is extremely painful and filled with much disappointment. It is all based on the reckoning of God because of what Christ achieved on Calvary and not that which is achieved by man. If it was, then Calvary would lose its significance, but it never will, how could it? Therefore self-justification or accusation is a dangerous by product of the old nature wanting to taint the work of the cross. It never sleeps!

I have however a more serious concern that God is capable of justly imposing His judgment on an individual and freely loving another in spite of themselves. Regardless of opinions or fallacies, the Word of God is very clear on this point. The problem we have when getting our head around this fact is we box God into human understanding, which in itself is a tragedy. We process information like this; if I will not act like that then how can God? It is obviously a warped perspective as our reasoning springs from a fallen nature, we were born into sin! What is the point I refer too? Here is the text; “though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad--in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls-- she was told, "The older will serve the younger." As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” (Romans 9:11-16)

Many conclude and even teach that God acted like this because he could see their future, which is not what the text teachers. In fact it tells us why he chose to act in such a manner, it is all about God and His choices and not the choices of men; election is of God. It is all about His mercy and whom He chooses to have mercy on. This very reasoning helps us exclude any boasting from the equation of salvation. It begins with God and it ends with Him. It is all about Christ’s achievements and not ours.

With that understood where does that leave me? This is now where the rubber hits the road. How can I live a life of perpetual sin through points in time hoping that the grace of God may abound? How I hate myself when this becomes a way of life. Even though I know that it is so destructive I still find myself destroying that part of me. I can but only cry out for the mercy of God and pray please forgive me Father. He is just and perfect and He will decide my outcome. How I dread missing out on His mercy. Forgive me for even reasoning like this at times sweet Jesus, but for me to be false would not be honest, it is my heart I expose and hope and pray for your oil and the wine to heal the wounds.

Whatever you chose to do with me, Father God, I know will be the right thing. All I am capable of doing is calling out for your mercy in time of my need. Thank you Lord Jesus for your selfless sacrifice and forgive me for my selfishness.

Signing off

Tyrone  

Curse God and die...

(Job 2:9) “Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die."

It impossible to pretend to be someone you are not, one may get away with it for a time, but all will eventually be exposed, be certain of that. God will bring every secret thing into the open. With that said, what is a man to do if what he sees is despicable and unappealing when he views himself in the mirror against God’s glory, against the beauty of His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ? The thought of suicide comes to mind, but even that in itself is not an option as we will all have to stand before God on Judgment Day.

What about the advice of Job’s wife when she asked why he still held onto his integrity, and suggested that he curse God and die. Now as far as integrity goes, I would not even pretend with any hint of a suggestion that I have any. But as far as cursing God and dying, by the grace of God I will not! I may end up with nothing and in some gutter all because of so many bad choices, but so be it!

God is God and He has it in His power to do whatever He pleases, whenever He pleases who are we to even dare to question Him? All praise and honour belongs to Jesus Christ the Lord for His selfless sacrifice, praise His name now and forever more!

Signing off

Tyrone   

Can I now say the same?

“I know how to abound.”


- Phi_4:12

There are many who know “how to be abased” who have not learned “how to abound.” When they are set upon the top of a pinnacle their heads grow dizzy, and they are ready to fall. The Christian far oftener disgraces his profession in prosperity than in adversity. It is a dangerous thing to be prosperous. The crucible of adversity is a less severe trial to the Christian than the refining pot of prosperity. Oh, what leanness of soul and neglect of spiritual things have been brought on through the very mercies and bounties of God! Yet this is not a matter of necessity, for the apostle tells us that he knew how to abound. When he had much he knew how to use it. Abundant grace enabled him to bear abundant prosperity. When he had a full sail he was loaded with much ballast, and so floated safely. It needs more than human skill to carry the brimming cup of mortal joy with a steady hand, yet Paul had learned that skill, for he declares, “In all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry.” It is a divine lesson to know how to be full, for the Israelites were full once, but while the flesh was yet in their mouth, the wrath of God came upon them. Many have asked for mercies that they might satisfy their own hearts’ lust. Fulness of bread has often made fulness of blood, and that has brought on wantonness of spirit. When we have much of God’s providential mercies, it often happens that we have but little of God’s grace, and little gratitude for the bounties we have received. We are full and we forget God: satisfied with earth, we are content to do without heaven. Rest assured it is harder to know how to be full than it is to know how to be hungry-so desperate is the tendency of human nature to pride and forgetfulness of God. Take care that you ask in your prayers that God would teach you “how to be full.”
“Let not the gifts thy love bestows
Estrange our hearts from thee.”
(C.H.Spurgeon)

Do we ask like David did?

(Psalms 119:82) …I ask, "When will you comfort me?"

The last few weeks have been a troublesome time for me, I have been restless and we know that is the opposite of peaceful. A fruit of the spirit is peace and therefore it is obvious to conclude that I have not been walking in the Spirit, for if I had been I would not be as impatient as I have been over the last two weeks. It would be good to look to another who often found himself in difficult circumstances and how he responded to them.

David is a great one to follow; one may be quick to think about what he did to one of his best soldiers and want to write him off, but I certainly won’t! We have this one very serious recorded incident and then so many positive God exalting happenings that exalt God and His working in a man’s life that I take great encouragement. Whenever I look at David and his understanding, as a man living on earth, of whom God was and obviously still is gives me great encouragement.

As a boy David killed bears and lions to protect his sheep; later on he destroyed Goliath with a slingshot; he ran from the king Saul and hid in caves to escape death; he later became king but acted like a man obsessed when he took another man’s wife to be his own, in fact to cover up his sin he had the man killed. All in all David had a very eventful life even at the end of it his son tried to overthrow his kingdom. His life was full of constant pressure; some of that pressure fell upon him so that God’s name would be glorified through David, whilst some of the unwanted trial of life befell him because of his own sin. This is something I can most certainly relate too. Many bad decisions leave us having pity parties about our lives, be that as it may, what can David teach me?

I believe it is this, when we are victorious in a particular area of our lives and we forget who has given us the victory we then tend to apply our own carnal principles to life and then we come tumbling down. This has been my experience far too often I would suggest, but Spurgeon saw something in David that I am now also seeing…

“And David enquired of the Lord.”

- 2Sa_5:23

When David made this enquiry he had just fought the Philistines, and gained a signal victory. The Philistines came up in great hosts, but, by the help of God, David had easily put them to flight. Note, however, that when they came a second time, David did not go up to fight them without enquiring of the Lord. Once he had been victorious, and he might have said, as many have in other cases, “I shall be victorious again; I may rest quite sure that if I have conquered once I shall triumph yet again. Wherefore should I tarry to seek at the Lord’s hands?” Not so, David. He had gained one battle by the strength of the Lord; he would not venture upon another until he had ensured the same. He enquired, “Shall I go up against them?” He waited until God’s sign was given. Learn from David to take no step without God. Christian, if thou wouldst know the path of duty, take God for thy compass; if thou wouldst steer thy ship through the dark billows, put the tiller into the hand of the Almighty. Many a rock might be escaped, if we would let our Father take the helm; many a shoal or quicksand we might well avoid, if we would leave to his sovereign will to choose and to command. The Puritan said, “As sure as ever a Christian carves for himself, he’ll cut his own fingers;” this is a great truth. Said another old divine, “He that goes before the cloud of God’s providence goes on a fool’s errand;” and so he does. We must mark God’s providence leading us; and if providence tarries, tarry till providence comes. He who goes before providence, will be very glad to run back again. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go,” is God’s promise to his people. Let us, then, take all our perplexities to him, and say, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Leave not thy chamber this morning without enquiring of the Lord. (C.H.Spurgeon)

What then is the lesson? We must never for a second forget who has saved us and who we have been saved from. O how I pray for a heart like David!

Signing off

Tyrone

Thou shalt call his name Jesus.

“Thou shalt call his name Jesus.”

- Mat_1:21

When a person is dear, everything connected with him becomes dear for his sake. Thus, so precious is the person of the Lord Jesus in the estimation of all true believers, that everything about him they consider to be inestimable beyond all price. “All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia,” said David, as if the very vestments of the Saviour were so sweetened by his person that he could not but love them. Certain it is, that there is not a spot where that hallowed foot hath trodden-there is not a word which those blessed lips have uttered-nor a thought which his loving Word has revealed-which is not to us precious beyond all price. And this is true of the names of Christ-they are all sweet in the believer’s ear. Whether he be called the Husband of the Church, her Bridegroom, her Friend; whether he be styled the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world-the King, the Prophet, or the Priest-every title of our Master-Shiloh, Emmanuel, Wonderful, the Mighty Counsellor-every name is like the honeycomb dropping with honey, and luscious are the drops that distil from it. But if there be one name sweeter than another in the believer’s ear, it is the name of Jesus. Jesus! it is the name which moves the harps of heaven to melody. Jesus! the life of all our joys. If there be one name more charming, more precious than another, it is this name. It is woven into the very warp and woof of our psalmody. Many of our hymns begin with it, and scarcely any, that are good for anything, end without it. It is the sum total of all delights. It is the music with which the bells of heaven ring; a song in a word; an ocean for comprehension, although a drop for brevity; a matchless oratorio in two syllables; a gathering up of the hallelujahs of eternity in five letters.

“Jesus, I love thy charming name,

‘Tis music to mine ear.”

(Charles Spurgeon)

In remembrance of HIM!

(Revelation 22:13) “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

When looking for a certain destination and then to lose our way can be rather frustrating, it is a waste of time especially if there is a deadline. It seems so fruitless, but if we think about all the times we have as Christians been lost in the Wilderness, what then is our conclusion to so many wayward detours? Have they all been a waste of time? Let us think carefully about it; something as simple as losing our way to a holiday destination has in the past shown me other places in South Africa I would never have seen, but now I have! Was it planned? No! Sin can have the same effect on all our lives. I address the Christian, the one who has found grace in the Lord Jesus as God called them by name and opened their eyes to respond through repentance and in Him has found life, true life. Eternal life! Unto Him be the glory now and forever more.

We must remember that opinions can never supersede the Word of God, even when they tenaciously fight to have their way. How I hate myself when I do what I shouldn’t do as a Christian. I am ashamed to say that if all my detours where recorded and placed before me the list would be a long one. I can look at this in one of two ways; I could focus on how useless I am in my own ability as a man to do the right thing, which I am, or I could flip the coin. Flip the coin you say! How one may ask? When I look at all my apparent failure as a Christian I see a lot of disappointment and I find myself trapped and this keeps me in the vortex of my sin. I keep doing what comes naturally and I dig a deeper hole. But as soon as I flip the coin and although I understand the severity on my sin, when I view it through a different set of eyes, what do I see and understand? HOW EPIC JESUS’ SACRIFICE WAS! I am just one man out of billions that have lived and breathed. The Lord Jesus died for all who through time have called upon His name. This is a phenomenal feat! When I look to remind myself how useless I actually am all it really does or should do is show me how great my Saviour is. Praise His glorious name! Through my failure I see His brilliance, as He never failed, even though He sweated drops of blood.

It was such an epic event that God the Holy Spirit impelled the Apostle Paul to pen these words about His death and by so doing getting us as Christians throughout the ages to remember His sacrifice; “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” (1Corinthians 11:26)

It took God almost 4000 years to teach mankind that even through the law is good; it is a reflection of Himself, it is impossible as a man in the flesh to attain to His glorious heights. And yet when he created man, it was in His image; Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… (Genesis 1:26) - What then was the purpose of the law, what is it meant to achieve for sinful man? Much could be said about this but I believe that the most important role the law has is to teach us about ourselves in reflection to who God is and that we needed a Saviour to save us from ourselves. The law was instituted to teach us about our sin; “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20)

Once we understand this we will then look to call out for help, we will look for a Saviour, praise the name of Jesus! This obviously happens at salvation, but it does not end there, it is a daily on-going process that needs to captivate our lives. It seems that when we begin to take Christ’s achievements on Calvary for granted that we end up needing to be reminded of where and what we have been saved from. It is often our own sin that reminds us of His sacrifice. We get lost and then find ourselves on our knees calling out for help; this in itself is a good place to be for the child of God. Nevertheless, there is a danger with perpetual sin in our lives, our conscience could become seared. Paul puts it like this; “through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared.” (1Timothy 4:2) – May God help us to at the very least be honest with ourselves when it comes to the own sin in our lives.

  

With that said, let us remember that God is the mastermind behind the Salvation of mankind, for all those that receive Christ’s Spirit, this then is the encouragement, especially when we slip and fall into sin; “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) – This is not merely a suggestion or a consideration; it is a fact, no matter what the other voices in your head may be propagating: “By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged." (Romans 3:4)

This then is what Christ achieved for every true believer; everyone who receives His Spirit has this hope in them that one day we shall be like Him. But never let us forget what it cost our glorious Saviour to ignite this hope in us. For this very reason God through Paul teaches us to “break bread” in remembrance of Him. Let us not shy away from this practice as I did on Sunday, but rather embrace this ordinance remembering our Saviour. It is ultimately not about own success for if it was we would never have needed a Saviour and how we need our Saviour, praise His name!

Finally it was a once and for all time sacrifice; “He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.” (Hebrews 7:27) - What this means is the Lord Jesus conquered sin once and for all. We will struggle with these bodies of death until we die (or fall asleep), but it is not about what we accomplish but rather what our glorious Saviour accomplished on Calvary. When we lose our way let us go back to the instruction God has left us and that is to fall to our knees and to seek out His forgiveness in and through His glorious Son, our majestic Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. IT IS ALL ABOUT HIM! He is the beginning and the end.

Signing off

Tyrone 

   

The second coming...

(1Corinthians 15:51-52) “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”

"To confirm what he had said of this change,

I. He here tells them what had been concealed from or unknown to them till then - that all the saints would not die, but all would be changed. Those that are alive at our Lord's coming will be caught up into the clouds, without dying, 1Th_4:11. But it is plain from this passage that it will not be without changing from corruption to incorruption. The frame of their living bodies shall be thus altered, as well as those that are dead; and this in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 1Co_15:52. What cannot almighty power effect? That power that calls the dead into life can surely thus soon and suddenly change the living; for changed they must be as well as the dead, because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. This is the mystery which the apostle shows the Corinthians: Behold, I show you a mystery; or bring into open light a truth dark and unknown before. Note, There are many mysteries shown to us in the gospel; many truths that before were utterly unknown are there made known; many truths that were but dark and obscure before are there brought into open day, and plainly revealed; and many things are in part revealed that will never be fully known, nor perhaps clearly understood. The apostle here makes known a truth unknown before, which is that the saints living at our Lord's second coming will not die, but be changed, that this change will be made in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and at the sound of the last trump; for, as he tells us elsewhere, the Lord himself shall descend with a shout, with a voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God (1Th_4:16), so here, the trumpet must sound. It is the loud summons of all the living and all the dead, to come and appear at the tribunal of Christ. At this summons the graves shall open, the dead saints shall rise incorruptible, and the living saints be changed to the same incorruptible state, 1Co_15:52.

II. He assigns the reason of this change (1Co_15:53): For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. How otherwise could the man be a fit inhabitant of the incorruptible regions, or be fitted to possess the eternal inheritance? How can that which is corruptible and mortal enjoy what is incorruptible, permanent, and immortal? This corruptible body must be made incorruptible, this mortal body must be changed into immortal, that the man may be capable of enjoying the happiness designed for him. Note, It is this corruptible that must put on incorruption; the demolished fabric that must be reared again. What is sown must be quickened. Saints will come in their own bodies (1Co_15:38), not in other bodies." (Mathew Henry)

Signing off

Tyrone

Trusting God's Word!

(Revelation 11:3) “…and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth."

This clearly means the two appointed men that God has chosen will prophesy and what they say will happen, not every other Tom, Dick and Harry. We must take much of what men and women claim to be from God with a pinch of salt. It is nothing more than vain puffed-up imaginations.

I’m noticing that everything is geared to explain away one of the greatest events of all time, the coming of the Lord. The Rapture will happen because the Bible has so declared it shall happen. God the Holy Spirit its author and nothing He has ever declared has not come to pass. What is the enemy to do? He endeavour’s to rationalize whatever scripture declares and makes what was and is miraculous as something that can be understood by the natural, until his time arrives. He steers us away from the truth of scripture, this is not something new as he was a liar from the beginning. But what seems to fascinate me is the way in which he keeps abreast with the times in relation to biblical prophecy. He knows that the coming of the Lord’s hour is at hand and so for some years now especially Hollywood has played its part conditioning the minds of many. There have been a lot of movies of late about Aliens and the end of the world, but there is always some who survive the onslaught. “Avatar” the movie with lots of undertones; a particular species taping into mother earth and drawing substance from her, serving the creature rather than the creator, with Satan not the creator as he was created and yet he wishes to be served as an equal to his creator, God! This will never happen, sure chaos will seem to rule the earth for a time, but this is all by permission, God has so ordain it. Satan will have his hour, but then he shall be cast into the Lake of Fire.

What is he to do while he prepares the hearts of those in believing his lies before his time finally arrives? It is obvious! He uses our God given senses which have fallen prey to the corruption of sin to ensnare us. To get people to continuously believe a lie! To try and disprove historical events that the Bible has recorded; take the crossing of the Red Sea, how many takes have I heard on that? The water was only ankle deep where they cross and yet that also backfire on the critics, because the whole Egyptian army was then drowned in ankle deep water. Straw men (decoys), looking to disprove actual events that took place in times past, and they continue to try and disprove what will happen in the future. Prophesy in the Bible will always happen as God has declared it. The Lord Jesus will come to fetch His bride as a thief in the night, but He will come and once He has shown Himself I wonder how the world will explain it away, if that could be possible, time will tell!

This was posted on my Facebook page, a beautiful picture but what caught my attention was the explanation in the caption; “This is a rare meteorological phenomenon called a skypunch. When people see these, they think it's the end of the world. Ice crystals form above the high-altitude cirro-cumulo-stratus clouds, then fall downward, punching a hole in the cloud cover. Freakishly weird!”

 “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:27):- Just by the association of the clouds people are drawn to certain conclusions, which is not accurate and who knows what will be said when Christ’s bride is raptured. This may well be a stretch of my own imagination but be that as it may, it is awareness to our surrounding that I wish to provoke as we explore beyond the surface for understanding. 

With this understanding; whatever looks to contradict the scriptures is a lie, it is a straw man looking to deceive, the Word of God is the final authority and not our vain imaginations, but Satan will use our imaginations to try and trip us into believing a lie, be alert, be on guard! Jesus is coming and He is coming as a thief in the night.

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.” (1Corinthians 15:3-5)

Wherever your mind or those around look to take you remember that there is only one place of safety when it comes to accurate doctrine, not our imaginations but rather the answers will be found according to the scriptures. We must learn to trust nothing outside of God’s Holy Word, the Bible!

Signing off

Tyrone  

Grace abounds...

(Romans 5:20) “…but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more”

I am tempted once again in the early hours of this morning to look to tear myself to pieces as there is much tearing to do. But I will not do the Lord any more injustice concerning His perfect work on Calvary. This morning I would like to consider just how great an achievement it was for the Lord Jesus to lay down His life knowingly for people like me. It is not as if He determined to lay down His own life with this thought in mind; (once a sinner has repented and believe on my finished work, I will have his continuous loyalty, he will never sin again). I know I have failed you Lord on numerous occasions and sadly I am under no illusions, I will continue to disappoint myself as well as others regarding my commitment to this continuous struggle against this my “body of death”. Does that mean I will throw in the towel and cry, “no more Father”? I may well cry out for your grace, O how I need your grace, but now to say I will now retire, what would be the point? Life and all its lessons a complete waste of time!

I am sorry Father that I have not been the person I wanted to be with regard to your call upon my life, but I must conclude you knew that from the beginning and yet you willingly sent your Son to die for me, for this I will be forever thankful. You are a glorious Saviour Lord Jesus, to suffer “once and for all” to the degree you were called to suffer and yet without sin, with this understanding that those who found the Father’s grace would continuously sin for what you died to destroy is mind-boggling. And yet you still agreed to do it, Praise, Honour and Glory belongs to none other than our great Lord and King, All Hail King Jesus!

Just think back on our lives and it will soon be obvious who has kept us. Yes it is about many Wilderness experience, it is about finding our pallets parched and experiencing water gushing forth from the Rock. It is about those times when we knew what we were about to do was wrong and yet we did it anyway, as our conscience pricked away at us. Just that in itself an indicator that God is for us and not against us. These are just some of the things the Lord has had to deal with after saving so many sinners. I remember the early days were I was convinced that I would never fall in those areas I once fell. But God gives more grace, praise His name!

Remember wherever you find yourself do not, I say do not withdraw from fellowship. We must guard our hearts against this evil. A sick person require a doctor not one who is well and so when we are struggling we need the encouragement of our brethren. This is the ointment used to heal the wounds. God has so purposed it! It is His design!

Here is part of an email I receive by a concerned brother and I quote:-

Morning my brother,

What I'm writing here is not a new truth but one which we cannot see at times because of the pain of sin.

When a saint sins, no matter what the sin, the consequences are always severe - The amazing thing is, that we often seem to grade sin according to some yardstick which we do not find in scripture. This leads the saint to believe that some sin is not as bad as some "very bad sin". This leads us to erroneously believe two things:

1. That if we do not commit a "very bad sin" that we are more acceptable to God and the Church and we are therefore fooled into believing that we do not need to grieve "that much" over our sin and we never experience Psalm 51, because "we do not need to". Fooled into believing that we are not that sinful - the Pharisee and the Tax collector repeated all over again - we never see the "Pharisee heart" within ourselves. Pride tells us that we do not need to grieve over our sin and experience the reality of a broken and contrite heart.

2. On the other hand, when we do commit a "very bad sin", we have been conditioned by the unscriptural yardstick to believe and behave contrary to scripture. The lessons taught in the parable of the prodigal son are forgotten and we err. Yes it is true that God hates sin, it is true that God judges sin, it is true that God disciplines the sinner, it is true that sin strains the sweet communion we have with God - sin is a dreadful enemy to the soul.

We err because in the midst of losing the joy of our salvation, experiencing the crushing and bruising of our bones, being made aware of the wretchedness of the condition of our hearts from conception, the ever pressing awareness that God desires truth in the innermost part of our being, our ever present awareness that we need to be washed and a longing not only to be cleansed, but for the sin to be blotted out where the very presence of its stench is removed and that God will give us His strength to live a Holy life pleasing to Him - we err because we listen to the wrong voices.

The worst voice we can listen to is our own - when we've been exposed to the "yardstick of sin" and when we have sinned a "very bad sin" - that voice rises up and while it may sound "right", it can be very destructive. When we speak that voice, we speak words which the prodigal son spoke. Not worthy to be called a son - I am willing to be a servant - I am willing to forfeit all the privileges of being Your child. Perhaps we do need to hear these words during the process of our hearts being broken and we experience contrition deep within our souls - but there is a better voice.

God has graciously taught me that He hates "all sin" and that no sin is acceptable to Him - my spirit remains grieved for my assuming that my lesser sins, which were not frowned upon by my hardened conscience, were acceptable to God because they were accepted by both myself and my kinsman.

Hear His voice my brother and enjoy the ring, the robe, the fattened calf and the re-instatement - don't resist Him while reaching out to you - worship Him by accepting His lifting you up onto His shoulders and restoring you.

The pain is deep and it is severe - but God in mercy and grace does minister to that pain - don't resist him in your state of "unworthiness".

Do you see the sweet ointment of fellowship addressing the wounds, I am thankful for those who would take the time out to minister to me at a stint like this. Our God and Father is concerned more than we could ever imagine about His struggling children’s well-being. He is for us and not against us even if we at times make some treacherous decisions and let no one tell you otherwise. Why else would He have sent His Son to die such a cruel death, for the strong only, never! It is the weak He is concerned about, praise His name!

Signing off

Tyrone