David's example...

Why was it Father God that you felt it upon your heart to declare that David was a man after your own heart? Such a faithful man and yet a man who made mistakes, not many, but nonetheless he still had his blemishes.

I wonder if any other man had as much faith as David, a boy who overpowered the lion and the bear and then later on in life, when he was entering manhood, he defeated or rather annihilated the most feared man in the world, a giant named Goliath. How did he do it? With a slingshot and a stone! That was what he chose to take into battle; he could have used the king’s armour and the best crafted sword of the time, but it was cumbersome and he felt clumsy wielding it.  Here we have it, a small insight into the favour of God.

Note: - the ingenious craftsmanship of man is on display all around us, fashion high on the priority of so many, A Louis Vuitton bag could be priced as high R200 000 and these items are selling; all in the name of Fashion! In like manner David could easily have taken the best of man’s ability to fight the enemy (Goliath), He was offered the best man had to offer in readiness for battle and yet he refused it, why? For this exact reason; it was man’s way of sorting out a dilemma and not the way of his God! Instead without fear he boldly went into battle with that which he was accustomed, a slingshot and five pebbles! In other words, it was his faith in God that clinched the victory! “… 'I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.'” (Act 13:22)

I could spend a lot more time here looking to prove a point, but it isn't needed. Obviously the answer to why David was a man after God’s own heart is an obvious one, even though he fell into a treacherous sin and later on in life he had to bear the brunt of that, like many of us will also have to bear the brunt of own actions, thank God for His merciful character and His willingness to forgive.

However we cannot shy away from the consequences of our actions and we must learn to appropriate this truth into our lives. David was all about pleasing God with His application throughout his lifetime. We can learn so much from his example; “Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.” (1Kings 8:17) – We must continually learn to put our trust in our God regardless of our current predicament, We must seek God’s face with an earnest expectation to walk by faith, we must pray for our God to continually “renew a right spirit” in us. We must begin like never before to be captivated with our hope, our reward will one day to ever be with our God! We must become obsessive with this thought. Our God knows our needs before we even know them ourselves; we must learn to trust Him! It is all about bringing glory to Him! He is so worthy of that accolade! Praise the name of Jesus!

I would earnestly pray Father that you equip all your children with David’s desire and passion to be about your business and not our wants!

Signing off

Tyrone  

   

Seek in order to find...

Does one have to give a little to receive a little? “To be or not to be” is what I am asking! There has been much to do with the word “karma”, does fate happen regardless of our actions or is the saying “what goes around comes around” more apt to us in everyday life. That then is the question I need relief from; or rather it is God’s retort I seek. There is no better person to inquire from than God the Holy Spirit. I am convinced I shall find an answer by searching the scriptures as He leads me into His truth.

 I am told in scripture that I must seek in order to find, so hunting it shall be!  "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

How often have I read a truth from the bible, sincerely believing it and yet as I sit and consider my application to its instruction, I am found wanting… Let me explain; I must have considered this exact verse several times over the past week and in part I have involved my application into its instruction, but I have made a feeble attempt in what I wanted to call my application of faith to its tuition. I have glibly knocked, but not been persistent with my knocking. Remember the Lords parents; Mary was about to come into labour, so whilst in Bethlehem they (Mary and Joseph) sort out accommodation so that she could give birth, but all the inns were full, they eventually found a manger and not an inn. What can I learn from this? Although they sought out a particular place they found another. They knocked on the doors of various inns but they were all full. Nevertheless through their persistence they found alternative accommodation; God gave them a barn instead!

We do not always get what we want and yet we will still receive what is required to get the job done. The difference between our wants and our needs on display by this marvellous example! It wouldn’t be far from them to expect the penthouse, why not, the King of kings was about to be born, being real about this, why Not? But God had a different idea…  

We must knock in order to find, we must seek before we can knock and then we must be thankful for the door that opens even if it is a barn door. Our lives must begin to reflect gratefulness to whatever God chooses to give us on a daily basis. It is about His will and not our wants!

Teach me Lord to apply this principle to my life with thanks giving I pray. I too like the Apostle Paul wish to, with confidence, make this statement; “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2Corinthians 12:10) – And, it is through suffering that I will learn to become obedient; “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8) – Then finally when I come to accept this truth and your instruction which is always for your children’s benefit I will by your grace accept my fate and be content wherever I may find myself; there will be no more clutching at straws. Grasping for hope in what is nothing but hopelessness!

With that in mind, no wonder Paul could with assurance make these bold declarations; “As it is written, "Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack."” (2Corinthians 8:15) – And - “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13)

This morning I inquired about a particular answer to prayer, I knocked on heaven’s door as I searched out scripture to find an answer to my current predicament. Yesterday I lacked understanding but today my question has been answered, a door has been opened unto me, I must confess it was not the door my flesh was hoping for, but nevertheless I have clarity of mind, my prayer has been solved! I must be content with my predicament, although times are tough my God is looking out for me, and for that I am most grateful. All Hail King Jesus!

A man once said to me, “you know Tyrone a leopard cannot change his spots”, too true I must confess; BUT GOD can most certainly achieve the impossible! A leopards spots are no match for the One who in fact created the leopard with its spots. We must learn to trust our Father with our lives, help us then I pray to find the grace in our lives to put our total trust in your finished work as we rely on our great Saviour, praise the majestic name of Jesus Christ our Lord!

Signing off

Tyrone

The voice of God!

When can we be sure what we hear is God’s voice and not our own twisted imaginations willing something to be true when in fact it isn't!  What then do we know about the way God speaks to His Children?

We will find the answer from the Word of God, the Bible, this we can be certain of!

·         We also know that in times past God spoke through His prophets, the Old Testament is full of accounts where God singled out people to speak on His behalf, in an audible fashion.

·         The writer of Hebrews clearly teaches us this fact; “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"? Or again, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son"?” (Hebrews 1:1-5)

·         The prophets were used to bring in the law and the commandments of God and describe His character, and His requirements for the cleansing of sin, sacrifice of goats, lambs, bulls, pigeons, the washing of water and the like, depicting a God who is righteous! But the Gospel dispensation is now the realisation of the law with all its requirements. It was there to teach us that we needed a Saviour in order to find forgiveness for our sins and in turn have a relationship with God

·         – Let us break this down for a clearer understanding; we will use Matthew Henry to help us get a richer picture…

(1.) “At sundry times, or by several parts, as the word signifies, which may refer either to the several ages of the Old Testament dispensation - the patriarchal, the Mosaic, and the prophetic; or to the several gradual openings of his mind concerning the Redeemer: to Adam, that the Messiah should come of the seed of the woman, - to Abraham, that he should spring from his loins, - to Jacob, that he should be of the tribe of Judah, - to David, that he should be of his house, - to Micah, that he should be born at Bethlehem, - to Isaiah, that he should be born of a virgin. (2.) In divers manners, according to the different ways in which God thought fit to communicate his mind to his prophets; sometimes by the illapses of his Spirit, sometimes by dreams, sometimes by visions, sometimes by an audible voice, sometimes by legible characters under his own hand, as when he wrote the Ten Commandments on tables of stone. Of some of these different ways God himself gave an account in Num_12:6-8, If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known to him in a vision, and will speak to him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses: with him I will speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches.

II. God's method of communicating his mind and will under the New Testament dispensation, these last days as they are called, that is, either towards the end of the world, or the end of the Jewish state. The times of the gospel are the last times, the gospel revelation is the last we are to expect from God. There was first the natural revelation; then the patriarchal, by dreams, visions, and voices; then the Mosaic, in the law given forth and written down; then the prophetic, in explaining the law, and giving clearer discoveries of Christ: but now we must expect no new revelation, but only more of the Spirit of Christ to help us better to understand what is already revealed. Now the excellency of the gospel revelation above the former consists in two things: -

1. It is the final, the finishing revelation, given forth in the last days of divine revelation, to which nothing is to be added, but the canon of scripture is to be settled and sealed: so that now the minds of men are no longer kept in suspense by the expectation of new discoveries, but they rejoice in a complete revelation of the will of God, both preceptive and providential, so far as is necessary for them to know in order to their direction and comfort. For the gospel includes a discovery of the great events that shall befall the church of God to the end of the world.

2. It is a revelation which God has made by his Son, the most excellent messenger that was ever sent into the world, far superior to all the ancient patriarchs and prophets, by whom God communicated his will to his people in former times. And here we have an excellent account of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ:” (Matthew Henry)

Simply put, we no longer need to rely on dreams, visions or the like. We needn't have someone speak into our situation as it was done in the day of the Prophets (BC) all we need now is to examine the scriptures as we have them. In reading the Canon of Scripture we will have the voice of God whisper into our ear; It is God the Holy Spirit who has been commissioned with this responsibility; “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26) – How do I know this to be true? That is an easy answer; this truth is found in the Canon of Scripture, if what you hear or are told cannot be confirmed from Scripture then it is more than likely a twisted vain imagination. Do not gamble with your eternal life, trust God Son the Lord Jesus – the One who died for the sins of the world, there is no other who can save us from our sin, in Christ and Christ alone will we escape judgement! How do I know that to be true, the Canon of Scripture so declares it; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

So then to my dear friends who are pondering the meaning of life, Brett (Bandit), Richard, Terry, Paul, Derek, Jason and there are many others whom I have not mentioned by name, this then I say to you, trust no one’s opinion but the “Canon of Scripture” as we now have it, and if when reading it you do not hear that whisper in your ear, pray to God so that He may have mercy on your soul just as He has had mercy on my soul and ask Him to open your ears so that you may understand the brilliance of His voice! And what a voice He has! Praise the name of Jesus now and forever more, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone  

Righting our wrongs!

I suppose the best way to divide one’s time up would be to do it in the same manner our great God used… we wouldn't be far off the mark with our accuracy if we allocated our time correctly just as God divided years with seasons and season with days and nights, all having its place as He saw best. He presented the universe to the onlookers (angelic beings) and to us who now enjoy His masterpiece, creation an awesomeness to behold! However the formula we now use must carry with it one proviso and that is, we must first and foremost look to our God before we do any planning or make any decision. This is what the Lord Jesus taught us whilst on earth, put Him first in all things and the rest will follow accordingly. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:33-34)

We have been called to apply a different set of rules to our lives, as Christians anyway! Faith must be our anchor with all deliberation that is the bibles teaching. I am so tired of people’s opinions, which we all have, but “let God be true and every man a liar”, must be our motto if we are to receive a blessing from our God! If we had to say to our son, if you pass matric with exemption as your reward I will give you a car. What would be the point if he failed and we still gave him a car? Why is it then any different when we are taught by our heavenly Father by His Word (the Bible) what, when and how we need apply ourselves? Yet we do our own thing or societies article as we incorrectly apply ourselves, why then do we wonder why we are not rewarded. The answer is a simple one but not easy to accept as it falls on leaden ears; "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. "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 not 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? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

I must confess this has been my life for the most part of it, and without looking to excuse myself which I will now nevertheless do, I do not see many great examples I am able to follow. Forget what you have been taught up and until now with regard to conquering this world, it is not how we have been called to apply ourselves, let our God do the rewarding, let us stop trying to hedge our bets! We may well receive rewards as we journey here on earth but what would the point be if we achieve accolades, the blessings of men and then tomorrow it is thrown into the fire! There must be a shift in our reasoning, may God help us grasp this fully and with eyes wide open! As I believe this is one of the wicked ones greatest traps in today’s day and age! Nevertheless our God has overcome, if we will only sit up and listen to His voice; it will be well with our souls!

How do we then find a balance in our communication with our God?

·         Our first point of reference must be prayer, and most certainly not our last!

·         Just as there are four seasons in any given years, we must except that there will be a “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;” but our God will determine what is needed and when it is desirable, we must learn to find rest in this truth! If not we will be most miserable with our daily existence if life is not always filled with blossom scents of spring.

·         Prayer helps us understand what we want from God and then when we spend time in His Word, reading the Bible we learn what He requires from us…

My conclusion then must be that wherever we find ourselves, in want or without any lack we must firstly seek God and His Kingdom through His righteousness and the rest will fall into place correctly according to His good pleasure. There seems to be a skewed perception in many Christian’s mind-sets and that is we are always under God’s discipline. He is a God of blessing, even though there must be times in our lives where we will come under God’s firm hand; He is a Father who loves to bless His children! How do I know that? The Lord Jesus taught us that; “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11)

So then we must be asking in and through prayer and we must be reading to find the correct answers. May God give us ears to hear and eyes to see more acutely than ever before!

Signing off

Tyrone   

Dear Lord,

Dear Lord,

It is obvious as I journey through this world of yours, that I am foreigners in a strange land, it was not always so, and sadly even after your gracious call I like Demas lost my way, forgive me Father for this! But with great joy in my heart I can with confidence declare that it is no longer so. Continue to change my perceptions pertaining to the ways of this world. Continue to “renew a right spirit in me” oh great Holy Spirit, continue to reveal the wondrous works of the cross to me, continuously reveal Jesus every minute of every day!

This then is my cry…

Just as the Lord considered not His life but laid it down for His brethren, I too pray that you would place a great resolve within my heart to lay my life down for my brethren. Just as He was a stranger in this world, I too will become a stranger to the systems of this world. As foreign as that may be, I am persuaded, I have seen enough of your tenderness in my life to know if you go with me, it will be well with my soul. What a great God I serve! You are wonderful beyond comprehension, but I am no longer foreign to you but rather known of you and for this I am most thankful. Strengthen my faith I pray, so that wherever you may lead I will follow.

Folly has had its place in my life, but it has surely run its course! The days of childlike behavior can no longer claim any part of my life; Rescue is found when we look to Jesus and no other! Praise His glorious Name! – “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1Corinthians 13:11-13)

Help me then from here on in to focus solely on that which is of utmost importance; faith hope and love! Always remind me to look to Jesus for He is my rescue. How this world is so full of the opposite; faithlessness, dearth and hate, and they without doubt have their pull. A snake may be daunting to behold, but only if you see it with poisonous fangs! A mountaintop may be scary but only if you see jagged rocks below. BUT GOD in and though the Lord Jesus Christ has conquered all, so then death when is your sting? All hail King Jesus! Blessing can be realized but only when we pull down on the ropes of faith. The storm may rage but only outside of the realm of faith. Faith is the tool to calm any storm! Faith will not leave us hanging on a limb dangling without hope, faith feeds our hope. And what a great hope we have, one day we will forever be with the One who has conquered every negative burden that look to rob us of our call. “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:29-31)   

There is a day coming when the love of God will in totality be realised for all who cling through faith in hope to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. How I long for that day even so come quickly Lord Jesus! We have an anchor that is steadfast and true, only realise it and it will be well with your soul, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone  

No rain in the land...

(1Kings 17:1-8) “And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.”

To seek, ask and knock must be mingled together with faith; and yet many times we do not receive because we ask amiss. To know the mind of Christ in any given situation is what is required. How then does one arrive at the mind of Christ? How I need your help Father God in this area of my life. My world is being rock at present! However I do know this for a fact, whoever trusts in the Lord shall be saved! Nevertheless it is a very trying time in my life, so many mistakes made; how then will I be sure that I’m not engaging in another? This then is the question!

I must start with what I know to be certain; Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to take away sin from the world; there is no other God who is able to save a sinner from sin. We will all stand before the judgment seat of God. Our hope must fuel our faith; if God ordains something, who can stop Him? His Word is final! Regardless of what circumstance would like to dictate! Let us look at some examples…

“Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word." And the word of the LORD came to him: "Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." So he went and did according to the word of the LORD. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of the LORD came to him…” (1Kings 17:1-8) – We all need to search out God’s Word for our lives, and this must be done on a daily basis. BUT we must know of a certainty that it is the Word of the Lord that we respond too! Not some babbling wannabe that brings a word to us. When we respond to Gods Word, we will be in such a wonderful place that even the ravens will bring us bread if need be. This type of reasoning is so far from self-sufficiency that it almost seems like a madmen’s thought. If we look at Elijah’s experience in this passage we see that the brook had dried up before the word of the Lord came to Him. He was in a desperate state; this seems to be the way God likes to deal with those who belong to Him. Why? So that their trust will be in His provision and not their own abilities! We see Elijah’s dependency on His God very clearly from this account, why should it be any different for us? I am well aware that we are not Elijah, not even close in our application to faith, but does that mean we shouldn’t strive for his faith? I believe it pleases our Heavenly Father when he sees us placing our trust in Him and I am persuaded that He will reward such faith, the Word, His Word has so declared it!

Let us look at the account of the “prodigal son” or rather the “good Father”: -“And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants."' And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:14-24)

Sadly we need to somehow be in want, we need to be desperate before we learn to trust or obey. It is the nature of our fallen selves! BUT GOD is able to somehow bring His children around and he uses our circumstance to do it. We serve a wonderful God, a God with a patient nature, thank you for who your are Father, thank you Lord Jesus for making a way for a dull of hearing man like me. I will forever be indebted to you. I am well aware that I can never repay you for what you have done, but help me lay aside my wants and be about our Fathers business. Teach me I pray, to know the difference between my wants and His will! Thank you for gentleness in my life; to the only true God in times past, now and forever more may His name be exalted, for He alone is worthy of my adoration and praise!

Signing off

Tyrone

PS Help all your children learn this valuable lesson and help us escape from the snare of the devil.

Not long now...

(1Corinthians 13:10)  “But when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.”

How often have you noticed when speaking to other Christians that our emphasis is often misplaced when we talk about getting to heaven? If the truth be told I know we do not understand what that really means, as our understanding has been veiled by this corruptible body of decay, our flesh!

The Apostle Paul teaches us that our sight is obscured; we only get glimpses of heaven through the eyes of faith and yet I wonder after so many years why so many still apply their faith in a childish manner. Why is it that we haven’t given up our childish ways? Oh how I thank God for our helper, God the Holy Spirit! The One that leads us into all truth! “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” (1Corinthians 13:12) 

What inspired Paul or any of the other Apostles to lay down their lives even unto death? They understood that they were fully known there could not have been any obvious hidden agendas in their lives; they were sold out for Christ. We all have many struggles, and that is undoubtedly by design; it is what we need in our lives to keep us crying out unto our God. Without these challenges in life we would not yell out for help. But I must confess that at times the pressures of life seem unbearable, but when I correct my focus I am wiser than that, as life’s tests are working together for my good. It is amazing how often I look for sin in my life to explain the reason why certain things are happening. It’s as if, I constantly believe myself to be under God’s discipline! “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:10-13) 

We must reason with soberness but it sure gets muddled at times; but only when I think like a child! Sin or unbelief is a wicked trap in our lives! That is why we must always look to our heavenly Father in hope of the resurrection; the day when this mortal body will take on immortality.

In order to fuel our hope we must reason correctly, we must not place our ultimate anticipation in heaven and the streets of gold, or the many mansions, but rather that we will forever be with our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:1-3) – The main emphasis is not on heaven itself, but rather that we will be with Him. We will forever be able to have fellowship with Him; we will be in the best of company for all eternity. This then is what must fuel our faith! No wonder the Apostles were so willing to die for their faith, and more than that they did die!

May God help us all to put off our childish outlook on life. It will be better to be in hell with the Lord Jesus than to be in a place like heaven without Him and without our heavenly Father. This is the gift God has offered to every child of God who remains faithful unto the end! The prize is not merely heaven, but our Saviour will take us unto Himself! How I long for that day, even so come quickly Lord Jesus! 

For this truth to remain constant in a believer’s life, with all the cares of this life pressing hard upon us, it is imperative to wrestle to find God’s grace in time of need. It is not a given per say, we must seek it out in earnest. Remember Jacob’s tenacity! He wrestled with an angel for hours before receiving a blessing, how feeble I am at times! I know it cost Jacob a limp for the rest of his life, but that is a very small price to pay when we consider where he is. He is in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ having fellowship with Him. Hope no longer needed in his life. We still live and breathe, our hope still remains but there will come a day when we too will be in the presence of our great Saviour, to ever be with Him! “Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.” (Hebrews 12:12-13)   

May God help us not to be overtaken by the cares of this life, because before we know it, it will all be over. I recall as a young boy looking at older men and thinking they are old! Time stands still for no man, I am almost fifty! How time flies. Hang in there child of God, our God will see us home! Believe it we must! Before we know it we will be with our Saviour and in His presence for all perpetuity!

Signing off

Tyrone

Just to be sure!

There is much to-do on how one should read and interpret the bible, people love formulae and hate to move very far from them; an easy out, and why not? Who in their right mind would want to work harder for the same result? Sometimes working smarter is far easier than grinding away at something even with the right intention but ending up in the wrong place. “To do it right yea!”

The Baptists tell us that we must study scripture in an expository manner (is to explain and analyse information by presenting an idea, relevant evidence, and appropriate discussion or “used to describe writing that is done to explain something”). In other words to start with a book from the Bible at verse one and then to work your way through it to get the most accurate interpretation out of it. The Pentecostal believer will stress the point of letting God the Holy Spirit lead and they will jump around the Bible to get their point across. I am yet to find either willing to budge on their understanding.

Who then is right? In my opinion they both have their place. Take Charles Spurgeon a minister of God’s Word, who arguably was one of the greatest men God used in the 19^th Century. A man with phenomenal devotion to the Word of God, a man with an abundance of revelation! A man who held to Calvin understanding of Scripture and yet, I vividly recall a point he made in one of his sermons, I cannot quote verbatim but he said I believe in all of Calvin’s doctrine, and more! It was the “and more” that jumped out at me. What I understood by that implication was that we should all be diligent in studying the scripture; we shouldn’t just take someone’s word for it because they say so. Paul had this to say to Timothy; “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2Timothy 2:15)

The Charismatic church accuses the Baptists of boxing the Holy Spirit, which at times they may be found guilty of doing exactly that! However, God is not the author of confusion! There is a right and a wrong way to do things. If Spurgeon was more topical when preaching, what gave him the right to be so skill with his application to God’s Word? He even took it to the point in his daily devotions to use only part of a verse and then hone in on an idea. I would agree that there aren’t many Spurgeons around today. However, in my opinion, he worked from a platform of an expository understanding, and this in turn made him as effective as he proved to be. We too should follow his example, look at scripture in context to the passage and then only once we understand as much as we can from a book are we then able to glean from scripture as we search out topical verses to stress a point!  

The Baptist will say that by doing this we open ourselves up to error, which could also be true, but we are taught very clearly from the Lord Jesus that the God the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth; “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” (John 16:13)

My conclusion then would be this; we must learn to walk by faith and be open to God’s direction in our lives on a daily basis, when we believe we have been lead into truth, it is imperative that we examine the scripture in context to confirm if what we have heard is in fact from God, or it is just a vain imagination. Not to doubt our great God but rather to receive confirmation from Him.

May God open the eyes of our understanding, to Him be glory for now and evermore, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone  

Birth Certificate

We will look at an event that took place in Isaiah’s life and we will each need to ask ourselves if we ever felt the same about ourselves. If not I pray God would be merciful allowing us to examine our hearts, because I am convinced if we haven’t then it would be fair to ask the question; “am I saved, am I truly born again”? If not we need to seek out God’s forgiveness in earnest, not simply trusting that we will make it to heaven but of a certainty know we are covered by the blood of the lamb; to know beyond a question of doubt that God has forgiven us for our sin! If not, we need to fall to our knees and cry out to the only true God, and not to the false religions of this world, as they are just illusions, a deception of the truth and will be found wanting on the day of judgment.

Let us put the scene into context…

Isaiah was a man whom God used to write one of the books in the bible (the book of Isaiah), a prophet used by God to speak to His people, who were at the time the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Jews were His people! But God in His grace and mercy has also afforded us (non-Jews) the opportunity to be included into His family if we come through the only true Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; the true Messiah! Without their rejection of Christ we who were never part of Abraham’s seed would never have been afforded this marvelous opportunity. But the invitation has gone out far and wide, in fact I doubt whether there are many places left in the world who have not received the gospel in one form or another. However there are a lot of pseudo gospels that will never save a soul. We must be sure!

Are you sure that you have been saved? If not do not let the sun set until you are sure… Perhaps or maybe is a place of instability, and who wants to live there?

Here is Isiah’s experience; “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"” (Isaiah 6:1-5)

Do we see ourselves as Isaiah saw himself as a man in deep trouble as he stood in the presence of the Lord? Do we echo the words “woe is me”? Or do we think because we say we believe but live no differently to the way we always have that that now qualifies us as Christians? Or do we say I am not as bad as the next person. If so I would suggest that we believe a lie, we have been hoodwinked! No one has the right to examine another; we must all examine our own hearts before God. I would even dare to suggest that 

there isn't a person alive today that could have claimed his own self-righteousness like Isaiah and yet the first words out of his mouth when he saw the brilliance of God was “woe is me”! This then in my understanding, we must all find ourselves having a similar encounter, where we utter these words, “woe is me, I am a man of unclean lips” before we can with any assurance claim to be the children of God! Where do you fit in with that in mind?

Here is a man who may help us understand what our next move should be…

“Ye must be born again.”

- Joh_3:7

Regeneration is a subject which lies at the very basis of salvation, and we should be very diligent to take heed that we really are “born again,” for there are many who fancy they are, who are not. Be assured that the name of a Christian is not the nature of a Christian; and that being born in a Christian land, and being recognized as professing the Christian religion is of no avail whatever, unless there be something more added to it-the being “born again,” is a matter so mysterious, that human words cannot describe it. “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Nevertheless, it is a change which is known and felt: known by works of holiness, and felt by a gracious experience. This great work is supernatural. It is not an operation which a man performs for himself: a new principle is infused, which works in the heart, renews the soul, and affects the entire man. It is not a change of my name, but a renewal of my nature, so that I am not the man I used to be, but a new man in Christ Jesus. To wash and dress a corpse is a far different thing from making it alive: man can do the one, God alone can do the other. If you have then, been “born again,” your acknowledgment will be, “O Lord Jesus, the everlasting Father, thou art my spiritual Parent; unless thy Spirit had breathed into me the breath of a new, holy, and spiritual life, I had been to this day ‘dead in trespasses and sins.’ My heavenly life is wholly derived from thee, to thee I ascribe it. ‘My life is hid with Christ in God.’ It is no longer I who live, but Christ who liveth in me.” May the Lord enable us to be well assured on this vital point, for to be unregenerate is to be unsaved, unpardoned, without God, and without hope.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone

To be content...

For us who now belong to the only true God, to those who are fortunate enough to cry Abba Father! We must all eventually arrive at this conclusion; our God is a consuming fire and His brilliance is so majestic and powerful that we are unable to come into His presence as men in the flesh, for if we did, we would literally disintegrate in His presence. Remember Moses’ account with God, how God hid him in the cleft of a rock for this exact reason. However with that said we also know that He deals with us as sons and not bastards! For this reason we are not only able but are entitled to cry Abba Father!  This places a totally different dimension on man’s (Christians) relationship with a God of such magnitude. But it also brings in an element that the Christian often tends to overlook, which is God’s chastisement into our lives. This aspect to God’s relationship with His children is of crucial benefit and importance to the believer. Without it we cannot claim to be His children! I daren’t go into the exact implication God uses to work this out in a believers life, which I will leave to God the Holy Spirit to convict and reveal the necessary in a believers heart. But I will be so bold to deal with the truth of this text as I understand it!

Far too often in times past I prayed for something to be gone from my life as if it has no place in it; why was it there? While in fact my actions had caused the result! A consequence to an action! Stop blaming God for the position you find yourself in, when in fact you are exactly where you need to be. A man may say, “why is my money dried up, I had an abundance not so long ago.” He spent it on debauched living, why would he even bother to ask the question? And yet our hearts are so wicked it is often the first retort! Remember the prodigal son! It was only when he came to his senses that the oil and the wine was poured into his wounded heart and the healing process kicked in. God in His brilliance, taking an absolutely hopeless situation and using it for the good of the perpetrator; ultimately bring glory to His name. I said eventually! Remember Samson, he may have lost both eyes, but when he came to his sanities, he called out unto the Lord his God and he killed more philistines in his death than his life!

I have made far too many mistakes in my life to mention them all, but through them I trust I can help others understand the consequence to so many bad errors will result in exactly that, “the baggage of the past”!  Nevertheless we must ask God to help us accept our wrongs, He most certainly does forgive those who truly repent, but to try and pray away our situation at times is nothing but folly! For me to ask God to heal me from HIV when in fact I was the one who ignored the warnings, I certainly have asked for forgiveness, which every true believer will search out, this should be obvious because without forgiveness we will never be able to cry Abba Father!  But, to ask the question why, when in fact we are aware of our actions when playing them out; it is imperative to seek out God’s grace to differentiate between the two, forgiveness and consequence! We must all find rest in the finished work of our Saviour; the Apostle Paul teaches us this lesson, if only we would learn from him; “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13)

Signing off

Tyrone 

Remembering the lost...

Another early morning for me as I excitedly wait for direction form the Lord of my Life. I wonder how many people around the globe are entitled to a similar privilege. Or rather how many of my friends and acquaintances have the same fortune of waking up at 2 in the morning, sitting at their desk and conversing with the only true God? It is an open offer; “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."” (Romans 10:13) - But how many have embraced this invitation? I am forever thankful that God almighty, my heavenly Father has afforded me this opportunity, praise His Holy name! Thank you Lord Jesus for drying on Calvary for me; a wrenched sinner like me!

 I am under no illusion that on the face of it, and with human reasoning, I most certainly do not deserve salvation. I have absolutely no merit in myself, on the contrary if I look at all the times I have failed even as a Christian, why would the Lord still bother with me? If the truth be told, even as pathetic as I am, He is perfect and He will glorify His own name, for His own name sake. There may be others out there who want to throw in the towel as they feel they cannot cut it as a Christian; failure after failure seems to be the order of the day. That may probably be true; BUT GOD is able to save from the extreme to the uttermost. I can assure you He has not given up on you, even if you have given up on yourself. This is one of the reasons He came to earth to live as a man in a human body to experience the weakness of the flesh. This is why He was able to say this to Peter; ““Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."” (Matthew 26:41)

He understands what it is like to live as a human. A shepherd like no other, the lion and the bear may be on the prowl looking to devour and they may even find a wandering lamb; but like prince Valiant upon his horse our Saviour always arrives in the nick of time. Just as the beast is about to sink his teeth in for the closing blow, our Knight in shining armour arrives with His flaming sword in hand coming to our rescue, praise the name of Jesus!

Even when we know we are in the place we should never be. Let us learn from these setbacks in our lives and avoid similar situations the next time around. These tests will come, as they must! We must however learn to be careful as Christians and stay away from the danger of the Fowler when we have it in our power to do just that. Do not venture into places that will test your resolve, we must go back to our “first works” as Christians, the time in our lives were we avoided the lying traps of life with such vigour. Why then after so many years do we slip back into the same routine we once avoided? The storerooms overflow with grace for every true believer, but we must come as we have been instructed to come, and that is with boldness, seeking out God’s grace in time of need.

How many faces flash through my mind’s eye of those who have come and gone, what has become of them I ponder? I am persuaded of this one fact if they were truly saved I will of a certainty see them on the other side, clothed in white. Do they lie desolate in some damp corner as life rips away as their faith, they are weak but He is strong! I beseech all my brothers and sisters in Christ to stop and consider those who once were but now seem to be no more, pause and pray for them with an earnest expectation, as we have been instructed to pray for one another, it is the way of the Christian! Remember them now and cry out to our God on their behalf! Be wary to disregard them as lost and forgotten, our God has not written them off; you may have but He hasn't! “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory;” (Matthew 12:20)

It is love that covers a multitude of sins, just as Christ has loved us,  we ort also to love others…

I will leave us with this thought from our brother Jude; “keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” (Jude 1:21-23) 

Signing off

Tyrone

My grace is sufficient...

No matter where we find ourselves, nothing more needs to be said…

I am quick to grumble… forgive me Father God and thank you for the reminder…

My grace is sufficient for thee.”

- 2Co_12:9

If none of God’s saints were poor and tried, we should not know half so well the consolations of divine grace. When we find the wanderer who has not where to lay his head, who yet can say, “Still will I trust in the Lord;” when we see the pauper starving on bread and water, who still glories in Jesus; when we see the bereaved widow overwhelmed in affliction, and yet having faith in Christ, oh! what honour it reflects on the gospel. God’s grace is illustrated and magnified in the poverty and trials of believers. Saints bear up under every discouragement, believing that all things work together for their good, and that out of apparent evils a real blessing shall ultimately spring-that their God will either work a deliverance for them speedily, or most assuredly support them in the trouble, as long as he is pleased to keep them in it. This patience of the saints proves the power of divine grace. There is a lighthouse out at sea: it is a calm night-I cannot tell whether the edifice is firm; the tempest must rage about it, and then I shall know whether it will stand. So with the Spirit’s work: if it were not on many occasions surrounded with tempestuous waters, we should not know that it was true and strong; if the winds did not blow upon it, we should not know how firm and secure it was. The master-works of God are those men who stand in the midst of difficulties, steadfast, unmovable,-“Calm mid the bewildering cry, Confident of victory.”

He who would glorify his God must set his account upon meeting with many trials. No man can be illustrious before the Lord unless his conflicts be many. If then, yours be a much-tried path, rejoice in it, because you will the better show forth the all-sufficient grace of God. As for his failing you, never dream of it-hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now, should be trusted to the end. (Charles Spurgeon)

Tyrone

   

The Wisdom of God...

“Out of the eater came something to eat!”

Satan goes around seeking whom he may devour…

But our GOD more precious than gold, more brilliant than the glint of a diamond, sweeter than honey in the rock and He has a heart full of love…

It is without question that the trial of our faith teachers us many valuable lessons in life, but more than this, it is only when two crushing stones come together do we get the most out of the olive! How else would we get such a precious well sort out oil if there was no pressure placed upon the olive? No pressure no oil! Throughout the ages the olive has been of great value to mankind. Let us then learn from the oil; we need pressure in our lives to produce oil that is useful to us as well as others with us. It is the trial of our faith through our daily experience that teaches us the value of “oil”. We are quick to pray it away, why? Because we do not understand our God, our Father is greater than any earthly father could ever dream to be, why then would He look to bring us harm? He wouldn’t! Trust we must!

I stand in awe when I consider the greatness of our God, His ways are far from finding out. He has chosen to operate outside the realm of human reasoning and with great affect He works out His eternal plan! When mankind reasons, we find ourselves always asking the question, “why? How come if God is a God of love has this happened”, filters across the lips of so many. He isn't bound by the laws of gravity and the aging process, our God has no restraints! No wonder the Apostle Paul boldly says; “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1Corinthians 1:25) – Men think themselves to be wise but in fact they are foolish, educated men say things like, “there is no proof of God where is He?” But God has declared through the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans, to those who would dare to search the scriptures; “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:18)  - And yet in their arrogance they continue to pipe the same tune, trying their utmost to cause doubt in the hearts of the simple! The day of reckoning is just around the corner and there is a day coming, where every knee will bow to the Lord Jesus and confess Him as the Lord of lords and the only true God; they will all have to eat their bullishness! What a day of rejoicing it will be for the believer but for the heathen the lake of fire will be his portion! I beseech you therefore, proclaim the good news far and wide, and do not leave the gospel edict until tomorrow for today is the day of salvation. While we still breathe we have hope but for those who have gone on, their race is run and judgement waits! No second chances as it were! There is one of two outcomes: heaven with all its glory, or hell and damnation a sentence that will last forever.

Have you ever seen a person shy away from warning people from tragedy? Take the movie called “Contagion” as our example; an epidemic starts in Asia and travels abroad to the United States of America, a virus highly contagious and transmitted by touch. Once the news was out, there was no, “should I, why would I”, or people saying “I don’t believe it”, as the masses died around them as they sobbed for loved ones. This virus was so contagious it took no prisoners, in fact it was so aggressive that shortly after entering the humans body it began to mutate; straight on the offensive, destruction its objective! My point should be obvious but if not, let me spell it out. There is a day coming when the Lord Jesus Christ, the same man who died on the cross of Calvary; God in the flesh, the One who knew no sin, and yet He paid the price for sin as if He was indeed a sinner. The same God who paid the price for an unworthy sinners like me. He will judge the living and the dead! The trumpet is booming, men and woman across the globe are appealing to the “whosoever” to come, you needn’t be rich, you needn’t be poor, just come as you are; all have been invited, but come you must!

Woe to the one who rejects the invitation, judgement is looming just over the horizon. No other philosophy or religion will cut it, it may bring some relief here on earth, but as for the life to come every deception will all bow at the feet of Jesus!

There is but one criterion that qualifies mankind for salvation, they must acknowledge that they are sinners and that they need a Saviour. Where do you fit in?

Signing off

Tyrone