Be sober be vigilant

What about all those emails you have received over the years; the ones that come more often than not with good intentions, the ones that end like this;

“This prayer is so powerful. 
Pass this prayer to 12 people. 
Do not break or ask questions. 
This is a test. 
Does God come first in your life? 

If so, stop what you are doing & send to 12 people. 

NOW WATCH WHAT HE DOES!”

I may just as well walk up to a slot machine or buy a lotto ticket and hope for some miraculous result. I am sorry to burst your bubble but this is no more than wizardry! This may seem a little harsh if you have been active with those types of emails, but it is important that we look out for each other concerning the truth according to God’s Word. Remember we have an enemy that walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He is the archenemy and his greatest weapon is deception.

God has called us to be sober and vigilant; “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1Peter 5:8) - We have a natural tendency to avoid any form of hardship, but suffering has been designed to teach us obedience; “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” (Hebrews 5:8-9)

We have been called as children of God to test what people “put out” under the name of Christianity. Faith teaches us to believe God at His Word; in other words we must apply ourselves to the teachings of God’s word and not the opinions of men. “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2Timothy 4:2-4) – Let’s face it, who would not choose blessings over sufferings if they did not know any better? But we have the mind of Christ, which is to say if we have been born of His Spirit.  

Let us break down these types of emails; “this prayer is so powerful”, as if there is some magic attached to it! It has a formulae that if followed we will be blessed by it. Look at the subtlety, “this prayer is so powerful”, not our God is powerful! Trust is placed on the prayer and not upon the One we are praying too. I have seen a similar pattern emerging to this one; “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1:21) – We must be careful to pay particular attention to our daily activities in Christ. The world is looking to save the planet with all of its creatures; but many of those organisations believe in evolution and not in our God as the creator. They serve that which has been created but give no glory to the creator of all things, our God! On the surface it appears that if we save the rhino we are doing the right thing, but will we donate to those who are anti-God? If we do we are coming alongside an organization that is anti-God. What should we do? Do some research and if they are pro creation by all means support the cause, if not stay a million miles away!   

  

In like manner avoid anything that is not founded upon the rock, which is Jesus Christ our Lord. We are then told to “pass this prayer onto 12 people”, I am not sure if that number is linked to the twelve apostles, it may well be. Now it becomes evident that a formula is apparent and here comes the instruction; “Do not break or ask questions. This is a test”. It is a test to see whether we will examine its context the way we have been instructed to. The Berean brethren were commended for examining what was taught, we too must follow suit. “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” (Acts 17:11) – As soon as you see something asking you not to question (“do not break or ask questions”), alarm bells must ring loudly in your ears. Do not be sucked in with any form of manipulation playing on your weak conscience, “this is a test”. God has given us clear instructions with regard to how we should pray and pray we must but it must be done in secret. Our faith does not hinge on any formula no matter how appealing it may seem at the time, our faith depends upon God meeting all our needs with lessons along the way to teach us obedience and our sole dependency must be upon Him.    

     

Faith teaches us to believe in the unseen God, our heavenly Father, and not some mystical recipe that will bring us some good fortune.

Be sober, be vigilant…

Signing off

Tyrone

The free gift of God

(Genesis 1:27) “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

From a very young age we are capable of comprehension. Give a young child a pencil and a piece of paper and ask them to draw a picture about their life and often you will see them depict their lives rather intuitively. Therapists often use this technique to analyse their background at home. If a child draws a happy picture then it would seem that all is well on the home front, the opposite is also apparent if the kid illustrates something that seems out of place, sad faces and the like, they then conclude that an investigation may be warranted. I suppose Child Welfare uses a similar technique.

If we who are evil take so much care in understanding certain predicaments, how much more do you suppose the creator of heaven and earth takes with His creation? He did not make the chimpanzee in His image, but rather male and female were created in His image. This obviously implies that we are of all creation the most precious to His heart.  Now that everything in society has gone pear-shaped, with the evidence of sin predominant, we must be close to another one of God’s Global judgements. However with judgement imminent and with the world under the condemnation of God; “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.” All those who have not been born of God’s Spirit are under accusation and God will hold them accountable for their sin! However there is still good news for those who haven’t responded to the free gift of eternal life, while they have breath they still have an opportunity to call upon the name of the Lord. But call they must! We have all been given one life on earth and if you are reading this, then you have been afforded an opportunity to rectify your unbelief by calling out unto Jesus the only One who has it in His power to forgive you for all your sins.

One thing we cannot do and that is to forgive ourselves for the wrong we do or have done to others. They must forgive us or we will be held accountable. It is one thing to be forgiven by someone who we have offended but quite another to be forgiven by the only true God. This is on offer to all, what will you do with that proposition? I have by the grace of God been forgiven by the blood of the Lamb, not because I am special in any way but rather because I have accepted the free gift of salvation.

Let’s break it down with the help of some of Ray Comforts thoughts; you may say, “I am a good person” but have you ever lied? Your response may be, “who hasn’t”. I would then ask you what you would call someone who lies. A Liar! So we are in agreement. Have you ever stolen anything? Your answer may be, “no”! I would then say you have just confessed to lying. What about that sweet for a café when you were a kid? What do you then call someone who steals? A thief!  Have you ever look at a girl with lust? “Of course” would be an honest answer. Have you ever used God’s name in vain? God calls that blasphemy. You may well be saying to yourself, “ok so I am not perfect”.  But by your own admission we must then conclude that you are a liar, a thief, a blasphemer and an adulterer at heart.

Actually it much worse than that, sin is also doing things we should do and haven’t! The last objection you may throw out is this; well I’m not as bad as him. What if we could capture everything you have done in secret including your thoughts whilst calling all your family and friends around to view it on a movie screen, would you be ok with that? I wouldn’t!  I have just proved to you that you are full of sin, imagine saying to a judge, “ok I’m guilty but can’t you just please overlook it?” Only a corrupt judge would do that. God is perfect and He is righteous and will never overlook sin, it is outside of His character. But with His judgement looming He has made a way of escape; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) – This then is the love of God embodied, which is why we can with confidence speak of God as a loving God.

There is an offer on the table to find forgiveness in and through the finished work of Calvary. The Lord Jesus, the one who lived a perfect sinless life has paid the debt for the sins of others. But we must seek out His forgiveness for our sins, in order to escape the wrath of God. This is the love of God incarnate! It is not hard to understand, but what will you do with that offer?

Signing off

Tyrone

         

Mercy and Justice

Many of these thoughts have not originated from my understanding, although they now resonate with me, without the help of A.W.Tozer I would not understand perfection to the extent I now understand it.

Anyone who has gone on in life, those who have aged to a level of understanding all know what it means to suffer. The longer we live the more prone we are to experience different levels of suffering. What causes us to suffer? There must be a disorder in our reasoning. So long as we have psychological, mental and physical order our understanding remains in harmony and we will not suffer, break any of those orders and we will then suffer, there is a dysfunction in our reasoning, hence we then experience different forms of suffering.

The Apostle Paul is quick to remind us that we need to be brought lower than we imagine our intellects to apprehend, as if we truly do understand the way we should. Here then is the great equalizer and it would be good for all men to take note; “If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” (1Corinthians 8:2-3) – God is perfect in love; love is one of His perfect attributes and because it is perfect, it never had a beginning nor will it ever end, neither can anything be added or taken from God’s love as it is an infinite love. How then do we get our minds around something so perfect when we in fact are imperfect? I am reminded about Job’s suffering and all the counsel of his supposedly wise friends.  A lot of hot air with no real relief from the comforters, but when God comforts us it is with a perfect comfort; He is perfect in everything He does not because He has learnt to be perfect, but because He is perfect in character. It is who He is! “God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM."” (Exodus 3:14)   

I suppose if we begin to see God for who He actually is, within the constraints He would reveal Himself, I believe it would be accompanied with great acts of faith. Not that God can change, how can anything that is perfect change? But we would change! How I long to be more like my great Saviour, is that not the call for all who confess Him as Lord?  “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48)

Our commitment in worshiping him eases with our view of God because our imaginations have been so flawed because of our own weakness and we cannot find the means to reason correctly. God help us put on the mind of Christ!

The grace of God is perfect, therefore to say that God became more gracious after Christ died would be incorrect, and how can something that is perfect evolve, it can’t!  God’s grace has never changed; His perfect unchanging grace applied both to the saints of old (prior to Christ crucifixion) as well as those after His resurrection. To even suggest that God has become more gracious would mean that He has changed; how can anything that is perfect ever improve? If it did it was never perfect to begin with. But all of God’s attributes are perfect, He is perfect!

Mercy and judgement meet somewhere in the middle, how can I understand that as I should and I will not profess to apprehend. But what I can conclude is that both His mercy and His judgements are perfect. So somewhere in the middle God sent his Son, the second person of the Trinity, to die in the place of sinners. A just man dying for the unjust and yet perfect in God’s justice. How brilliant is our God? It blows my mind and yet I know it to be true. Jesus Christ dying for sinners is perfectly worked out in God’s justice.

I am starting to hate the injustice in my life; this flesh is so rebellious to the perfect righteousness of God. Thanks to God for His mercy in and through Jesus Christ, nothing else will get us to heaven. Singing hymns, or praying as we ought to pray and doing what we think will justify us before a perfect God will by no means qualify us for heaven, it is only God’s infinity goodness that will get us there; Christ died for the sins of man, God the Father turned His back on his Son to register atonement for all mankind. It was God’s perfect love that compelled Him to be merciful, it is who He is. God wrought out a plan where the second person in the trinity incarnated as a man could die while God’s justice would be satisfied and at the same time God’s mercy would rescue the sinner. Nothing else will get us to heaven, so forget trying to earn your salvation, and just be thankful for God’s perfect plan. Grace and mercy perfected in and through the finished work of Calvary. Wow!

I came to saving faith in 1987 or so I understand it, but God worked this all out before the foundation of the world; “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love” (Ephesians 1:3-4)

Signing off

Tyrone   

Love conquers all!

I have a recurring dream that often haunts me, lions looking to devour me with me frantically trying to flee their quest. It is a tiring dream and just the other day I woke up with a new understanding regarding my chasers. God had conquered all, why worry; I say bring that dream on again and by God’s grace I will turn and fight and not take flight in such a cowering manner. A young lion came at Samson and he did not run for the hills but turned and ripped him to shreds; “Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. Then the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.” (Judges 14:5-6) – Is this not the same God I serve? Is it not the same Spirit that saved me? You better believe it! I serve the same God that Samson serves. I have been afforded the same privilege and so I can call upon my God in time of need and that includes my sub conscious mind, even when I am asleep God's grace is available to me, praise the name of my magnificent King, all hail King Jesus my Lord. 

I love the fresh understanding I am witnessing in my understanding of late. I am excited with the fresh realization God has afforded me, we must understand who He is, and how big He is and how much love He looks to bless His children with. It is obvious that without the mercies of God we would be blind to His splendour. I wonder how much deeper He will enlighten my appreciation as I catch glimpses of His brilliance. I pray in confidence that I have only scratched the surface. Has the realization of the greatest love affair finally gripped my heart as it should have many years ago?

Universal grace is plain for all to see and understand, both the unsaved and believer inhales the God given oxygen that sustains us, but it is only the believer that has been afforded new life through the resurrection power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead. It is one and the same! God has afforded us the privileged to call upon that power to overcome sin, the sin that once held us captive has been defeated once and for all, may this truth grip our hearts! We have been called to walk in the Spirit and we are taught that if we make this reality our own that we will not be swayed by our fleshly lusts. The lion may roar but once we call upon the resurrection power of our great Saviour His Spirit will come upon us no differently to Samson’s experience and we will overcome and rip that temptation to pieces as we take revenge on the sin that once took us at will.

Christ has overcome and we must understand that all power has been given unto Him and He is on our side, we must learn to trust Him and give Him due benevolence. All we need to do is believe in Him and call upon Him in time of need. There is nothing mystical required, no hocus-pocus chant needed; we need only believe in Him and His finished work which God the Father has sealed by raising Christ from the dead! Even though the machinations of our own hearts may look to beguile us, Christ has overcome, we need only trust Him. If we are no longer under the law but freed from its curse let our new liberty serve God with great delight and as Charles Spurgeon would say, as we have come to understand this great miracle, “Lord what would you have me do?”

God is who He is and will always act according to who He is. This is why when Moses asked God who He was, this was His reply; "I AM WHO I AM." We must wrestle to wear the cloaks of His righteousness in our daily sanctification. It may not always pan out the way we wish it too, but let us keep short accounts of our shortcomings before a Holy God; “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1John 1:5-10)

Wherever we see His light let us learn to run to it and not from it, Amen!   

Signing off

Tyrone 

God's brilliance

When we look to magnify something that escapes the naked eye, we put it under a microscope, which makes something look bigger than it actually is. A.W.Tozer teaches us that when we say “magnify the Lord with me”, it doesn’t mean we look to make Him bigger than He is. Because it is impossible to make God bigger than He is. It rather means let us strive to see HIM somewhere near as big as He is. This then is where every child of God needs like Jacob to wrestle with His God and by help dedicate ourselves to this worthy cause.

Believing God when the chips are down is our only true test; does the winepress produce grape juice if there is no pressure applied to the grape? What of the olive, does it not bring forth the sweetest of its oil when pressed hard by two mill stones? In like manner we will never appreciate the sweet saving grace of our Saviour’s hand if we do not experience similar pressure.

“God does what he does because He is what He is”! (A.W.Tozer) – Let that resonate deep with our being, for when it does it will change our perception toward God and His everlasting mercies. It will never be about stuff and God added, but rather God and whatever we have been given will be overshadowed by His goodness. Do you see the difference in reasoning? God who is good knows how to give good gifts unto His children. Where do we see independence in that reality? I am sick to the core, how so many have been taken and even taught by leading members within the body of Christ, that we must help ourselves, RUBBISH! God who is full and perfect in goodness requires us to trust His word and in faith believe Him. Nothing needs to accompany that truth. Elijah was without food and God sent ravens to feed him! Why do we have so little faith, I am convinced it is because we lack faith in Him, Please forgive this generation Father God for our lack of understanding. But I will not leave my cry there Father God, move amongst your children and begin in your goodness to change our perception of your majestic perfect existence, which has no beginning nor end. How small we are and how grand you are!

Have we even begun to scratch the surface of faith? I suppose most must have made a small indentation into the truth of that certainty or we would still be dead in our trespasses and sins, but for those who are born again all have a portion of faith but in many cases a microscope is needed to see that reality, when we compare ourselves to those saints of old; “Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated-- of whom the world was not worthy--wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” (Hebrews 11:35-38) - God forgive our unbelief.  Do we believe that if we are taught that as it was in the days of Noah so will it be with the coming of the Son of man? Sin rife then and widespread even now, a very similar time. We must trim our lanterns! Enough is my cry! It must be time to take revenge on so much deception that once held us captive. With God all things are possible, therefore if we are with God how then will not all things be possible for those who belong to Him. If we reflect his image, both saved and unsaved, for he created man in His image, male and female He created them. How much more will we reflect the image of the resurrected Christ if we truly learn to walk by faith? I am so excited about where God the Holy Spirit is leading me I just pray I will be obedient to His bearing and not veer to the left when times get tough.

Does not God require us to believe Him? Some may see confidence in Him as arrogance; I feel for them, does not the Word instruct us to approach Him with boldness (confidence), not like a timid jackal looking to steal from the lions kill, NO! We have been freed by the work of our great Saviour to self-assuredly approach God for He is good and delights in the prayers of His saints. Does not the Apostle James teach us a similar pattern? “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8) - Let us not mistake our lack of faith for reverence.

The kindest man to ever live was the Lord Jesus and we have been sanctified by His blood. If we are born of the Spirit! How does one reconcile the fact that He died for my sin and became sin because of me? My penalty was put on Him, my debauchery, my toil with wine, women and song; He paid the price for all of it, including the sins I am yet to commit. My mind cries, impossible! And yet it is as accurate as something machined lathed to perfection. Now I could have one of two approaches to my sin to illustrate a point; I could wallow in self-pity for sinning against God, but if I didn’t sin I would be outside the mercies of God. I am taught that He who is forgiven much will love much. So I now learn from Tozer to thank God for my sin. Not so I would carry on in my sin but rather to help me realize my dependency upon this perfect God, my Father!

We are quick to judge others and excuse ourselves; but God is quick to forgive, He has the kindliest of hearts; consider the story of the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15. Who wrote it? God did! Wow a man who blundered all, it sounds so familiar and yet His kindness is quick to forgive, this is the God I serve, praise His name!

We need to learn to give Him due benevolence in every area of our lives, God only and not God and!

Signing off

Tyrone     

Overcoming this world...

(1John 5:4) “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.”

How can we be sure that we are walking with God? If I am taught that “it is better to obey than to sacrifice”. Many a true saint sold out for the purposes of glorifying God in and through the proclamation of this glorious gospel message we have come to love; will suffer persecution! Fame and popularity is a sure warning that something is amiss. We must learn to draw forte from persecution it tells us that we are walking closely with our God and that our faith is real and it will endure the test. True faith believes God at His Word, it is as simple as that! Just as Christ was raised from the dead so too will the day arrive when we will also rise to newness of life and we will receive our glorified bodies, there is nothing mystical about that, God has so declared it to be true. If we can embrace that thought, does it really matter about this life and the hardships we may face?   

The Lord Jesus had this to say about His time here on earth, “foxes have holes birds have nests but the son on man has nowhere to lay his head”. I would suggest that we examine our own lives against that statement, how do you fair?

Just yesterday I was doing a bible reading with Lisa and what was penned was unthinkable, there was a severe famine in the land, people were selling donkey heads for preposterous prices, and even the dung of doves was sold and eaten. It was a somber time for some but then the unthinkable happened: two women each with child were driven by their hunger to eat one of them. A disturbing inconceivable thought but yet very true! Although they were amongst a nation of unbelievers, the enemies of God, times were tough and the word “barbaric” would be an understatement. (Read 2 kings chapter 6)   

I have highlighted the worst opposing extreme condition to how many of us in the 21^st century live in the lap of luxury. It is diabolical the way we can complain about so much, God forgive our groanings. We must learn, like the Apostle Paul, to be content (more than happy, exceedingly thankful) with food and raiment, anything more than that I am convinced is sensual and fringes on the border of “the slough of despond” (a marsh looking to trap the believer into a state of worldliness). A very dangerous place, and yet most have been imprisoned by it. BUT GOD who is rich in mercy is beckoning to all those who have fallen asleep, to look to Jesus and to be rejuvenated in the Spirit to find a new lease on life and to once again walk with Him.

The closer we walk with Jesus, that harder we will be pressed by the enemy, that is a given, accept it! Why do so many of us question the obvious? Suffering has been implemented by God to teach us obedience. The Lord Jesus learnt obedience this way. What a mind-blowing thought!  “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8) -The cushier life becomes, the further we move away from the will of God. I believe independence is amongst the greatest deceivers to trap the Christian in today’s day and age.

The Christian has been commanded to walk in the same footsteps of the Lord Jesus. What frustrates me as Christians is that we shirk our responsibilities instead of embracing them. It is these muddy waters that cause doubt and drive us towards our old natures; worldliness evident in our lives! That type of mentality is known as having the best of both worlds and it is a trap. Wanting to have forgiveness as we hang on to the lap of the luxuries life affords us. We can’t have our cake and eat it; this is not the way the Christian has been taught! Our cake is meant to be eaten by those in need; “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” (1Peter 2:21)

Beware of Christianity that has a form of Godliness and is filled with prosperity at its core, it is from the pit of hell and many are taken by it. Flee from it, deny yourself, look to Jesus and live! Many false prophets lure the weak by such perverse messages, they will give an account to God, they will not escape His wrath, but as for us we will heed the sound council of God’s Word and look for His grace to help in time of need.   

"When we stand upon the pinnacle of popularity, we may well tremble and fear. It is not when we are hissed at, and hooted, that we have any cause to be alarmed; it is when we are dandled on the lap of fortune, and nursed upon the knees of the people; it is when all men speak well of us, that woe is unto us. It is not in the cold, wintry wind that I take off my coat of righteousness, and throw it away; it is when the sun comes, when the weather is warm, and the air balmy, that I unguardedly strip off my robes, and become naked. Good God! how many a man has been made naked by the love of this world!" (Charles Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone

The infinite love of God

(1John 1:4)  And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

There is a day soon approaching where the bride of Christ, His church will sit with Him upon His throne as His queen. This is a glorious thought even now as it infiltrates my mind, wow! To ponder on this reality is too grand for comprehension and yet I know it to be true for the Bible so declares it. His glory will be our glory; His inheritance will be our inheritance. What have we done to deserve such favour? Salvation and all that accompanies it is God’s love outpoured to a people who weren’t looking for it nor deserved it. The grace of God flowed out in streams of love and has touched myriads of people and I am one of them, praise God for His goodness!

If you share the same fate be of good cheer, for God’s love has found you out and just like me we never deserved it, God is GOOD!

For the love of God to save us from ourselves as our sin held us captive, we were in bondage and lost to the only true God. Sure religion may have played its part in our blindness, or superstition may have held us captive as we looked to all that was evil with dead idols, a cross on our necks or a cross in our rooms; nothing more than hocus-pocus, a dead belief to appease our conscience.

And then the unthinkable happened, God’s grace found us out, we began to yearn deeper for the knowledge of the truth, the lies and there were many, began to show chinks in their captivating armour and then it happened, a preacher preached Christ crucified and the bells of our understanding began to stir. What a glorious day that was when I recall crying, “I can SEE!” God’s love had found me out and what had I done to deserve it? Absolutely nothing favourable, in fact I was the one criticizing the Christian as someone who needed a crutch, it’s good for you but leave me alone was where I stood on that topic. Nevertheless God found me out and chose to enlighten my understanding. Could it have been that someone somewhere was earnestly praying for me, I cannot say with any certainty why I found His favour, but today I am able with great assurance to confess Jesus Christ as Lord of my life and with total conviction believe that God has raised him from the dead. How I have stumbled with sin along my journey and yet my God has been faithful in spite of my rebellion. I love my Father so for He lavished me with such compassion, and I never earned or deserved any of it. The glory belongs to my great Saviour, the one who bled and died in my stead; the One who took my sin upon himself, praise the name of Jesus Christ my Lord now and forever more, Amen, Amen and Amen!

What a privilege we have, to now be like minded with Christ, to belong to Him and to search out his will for our lives. To learn the lesson of obedience faith teaches us, we suffer with him, we may not need to die for our faith, but we now finally begin to hate those things that held us captive, the sin that took us at will is now the greatest of enemies and we look for revenge. We call upon God’s grace with boldness in faith believing God for deliverance on all those things that enslaved us and even for some we shamefully confess that after salvation we were once again beguiled by the crafty cunningness of sin. Just like a dog to its vomit! But no more is our cry! We now have the mind of Christ and all because God’s grace overshadowed in His love has found us out. In hindsight God is Sovereign, He is not bound by time therefore He has the ability to look into the future and even with that understanding He still chose to save a person like me, I wonder how others view this? All I know is I owe it all to Him and by His Grace until my last breath I will with boldness pledge my allegiance to Him from hereon in.

To God alone is the Glory now and forever more, Amen!

Signing of

Tyrone    

The MONSTER of unbelief

(Numbers 14:11) “How long will it be ere they believe me?”

How often in my Christian walk am I tempted to walk in unbelief, far too often I would suggest. Training is needed to grow in faith and with the journey for each Christian we are taught from our beginnings to walk by faith. In order for faith to make its mark in a believer’s life we must be in neediness. Firstly we need to understand our requisite and then we will become more vigilant in searching out God’s graces to meet those necessities. How will we ever walk by faith if we have no experiences to fall back on? For this to become a way of life we will need to walk through the “valley of the shadow of death”. King David is a great example of a man who trusted in His God, He walked by faith and we can learn much from him.

We must understand who the shepherd is; our shepherd is the Lord Jesus! Not one of His lambs shall be plucked from His hand, the bear and the lion may come but our God will always come to our rescue. He is the greatest of shepherds and our minds must rest on this fact; “… If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) – With that understood we need to clasp it with both hands and hang on tightly to that reality. The enemy with all his chariots and horsemen may drive us into a corner and it may appear as if our end is near but when we fall to our knees and cry out unto our God who is unseen to the naked eye, “save me even now”, we will see the sea parting allowing us to escape our pursues. The irony of it all; the means used for our escape brings death to the enemies of God. God’s foolishness is far greater than the wisdom of men. Jesus Christ dying to pay the price for sinners and setting some free and yet those who reject the gospel find that the very thing we have been pardoned of, our sin is the penalty that will send them to the Lake of Fire for all eternity, their own sin condemning them!

Gods children will never need to beg bread, our God shall supply all our needs, this was David’s motto! Total reliance on God’s provision, and yet for a time he needed to hide and live in caves with very little provisions on hand. I wonder how many valuable lessons were learnt during that time of his life.

Independence does not teach us to walk by faith, all it teaches us is to depend on our own abilities, and it is a lie! Do not believe it for a second. Life will be our training ground as we learn to walk by faith; we must not shirk our responsibility to learn from it as we look for more independence. Unbelief will look to rob us of bringing glory to our God, but of this I am certain, if we stay the course, it will be well with our souls! Yes there must be times when we will be tested to see what our faith is made of; it’s easy to say we have faith when all is well but quite another veracity altogether when the pressure is on. It’s typically in these times when we will learn the most valuable of lessons, becoming more dependent upon our God. Spurgeon’s understanding of unbelief will stand us in good stead if we make it our own. God help us to honour Him the way we ort in this area of our lives, remember Job!

“Strive with all diligence to keep out that monster unbelief. It so dishonours Christ, that he will withdraw his visible presence if we insult him by indulging it. It is true it is a weed, the seeds of which we can never entirely extract from the soil, but we must aim at its root with zeal and perseverance. Among hateful things it is the most to be abhorred. Its injurious nature is so venomous that he that exerciseth it and he upon whom it is exercised are both hurt thereby. In thy case, O believer! it is most wicked, for the mercies of thy Lord in the past, increase thy guilt in doubting him now. When thou dost distrust the Lord Jesus, he may well cry out, “Behold I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.” This is crowning his head with thorns of the sharpest kind. It is very cruel for a well-beloved wife to mistrust a kind and faithful husband. The sin is needless, foolish, and unwarranted. Jesus has never given the slightest ground for suspicion, and it is hard to be doubted by those to whom our conduct is uniformly affectionate and true. Jesus is the Son of the Highest, and has unbounded wealth; it is shameful to doubt Omnipotence and distrust all-sufficiency. The cattle on a thousand hills will suffice for our most hungry feeding, and the granaries of heaven are not likely to be emptied by our eating. If Christ were only a cistern, we might soon exhaust his fulness, but who can drain a fountain? Myriads of spirits have drawn their supplies from him, and not one of them has murmured at the scantiness of his resources. Away, then, with this lying traitor unbelief, for his only errand is to cut the bonds of communion and make us mourn an absent Saviour. Bunyan tells us that unbelief has “as many lives as a cat:” if so, let us kill one life now, and continue the work till the whole nine are gone. Down with thee, thou traitor, my heart abhors thee.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone

Slavery of old

(Exodus 20:2) "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

There are many similarities we can draw from God saving the children of Israel out of Slavery under the hand of Moses. Typology (the study or systematic classification of types) is helpful for us to glean connections as we mirror our journey with theirs.

It was a treacherous time for Israel as they were under the whip of severe slavery and ruled by the Egyptians without mercy. They had no control of their conditions but were dictated to by the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was heartless! Times were tough for them; however we understand from scripture that they were well fed. If that wasn’t true, why did the trouble makers stir them up to complain about their conditions in the wilderness? “Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, "Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at." (Numbers 11:4-6) – Although they were slaves they enjoyed some benefits, the food they ate seemed to be pleasurable and they were now looking to go back to those benefits, even though they had been saved from slavery. They forgot about their hard backbreaking conditions as their hunger overshadow there memory of that tough time, a perfect example of sin crouching at the door, lying to the one taken by it. Sin blinds us to the truth of any given situation, it is a destroyer, but Christ is our Saviour!  

How often do we fall into a similar trap, may God forgive us! We too have been saved from slavery (sin that held us captive) – The Apostle Paul puts it like this; “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” (Romans 7:19-20) - Sin had power over us that kept us in bondage as slaves to it! However I see the same war taking place in my heart even as a believer, this we must guard against. Why would we want to be enslaved to what Christ has freed us from? We are carnal beings and in character no different to the children of Israel, we have a tendency to long for the traps of sin that so easily besets our minds with lies. We should know better! I am thankful that God is patient with all His children and that the Lord Jesus intercedes on our behalf, praise His name!

As Christians we are no longer classed amongst sinners, even though sin plays such a daunting role in our lives. We have been sanctified by the blood of the Lamb; Jesus has paid the price for our sins, this covers all of them, past, present and future sins. This is why the writer of Hebrews has this to say about Christs sacrifice; “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,” (Hebrews 10:12) – We are now classed amongst the saints, the Lord Jesus Christ has earned that title for every true believer and God sees us as saints and not sinners. It is not about what we have or haven’t done but about what Christ has done. He is our Saviour, we can and never will have the capacity to save ourselves that type of mentality is “dead religion”!

With that now established we can now no longer live like we once did, many of us may have fallen into that mind-set along our journey, if so it is now time to repent from it. We are commanded to come out and be separate. Our journey will be wilderness experiences, we will witness others around us prosper from the lures of sin; wealth, wine, woman, and song their motto. We have been saved from that trap but it will persistently press home looking to trap those caught off guard.   

My encouragement to all would be that if the old man rears his head, hankering after any form of slavery, it must be avoided at all costs. It would be better to suffer loss or suffer reproach than to let him have his way. We are at war and the battle will rage on up until we breathe our last. We have a new set of rules that we must learn to live by; grace is one of the greatest weapons in our arsenal and will help to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one. The Lord Jesus sympathises with our struggles, He is touched by them, and He feels them; “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)

Just like the children of Israel were set free by God under the hand of Moses we too have been set free by God under the hand of the Lord Jesus, let us therefore heed the counsel of our beloved brother and Apostle Paul; “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:1-4)   

Traps are a plenty but we now have a light that illuminates the road that will eventually end at the pearly white gates of eternity. Our hope finally materialized and we will forever be with our God and Saviour; nothing that defiles will ever be permitted to enter through those gates. Our journey has already begun and we must encourage each other not to yearn after the vomit of sin that glitters on the outside but is rotten to the core!

I am aware that we do not only wrestle against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities and rulers of this world that oppose the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, but of this I am convinced, our King will see us home!

Times were tough for the children of Israel in the wilderness, but God always came through for them and He will certainly come through for us. Thank you Lord Jesus for your perfect finished work…

In honour God we must learn to seek out His grace, anything that takes preference over Him is nothing more than idolatry. There are many areas in my life that needs attention. We need to start by evaluation our own lives and then maybe we will be fit to help our brothers with the specks in their eyes.

Signing off

Tyrone   

      

    

Gifts

To God is the glory now and forever more_, Amen!

If it is the goodness of God that leads a man unto repentance, what can we do to assist; I suppose an accurate answer would be nothing in itself for God would achieve whatever he sets out to do. However if we now belong to Him and are numbered amongst the saints because of what Christ achieved on our behalf I would beg to pose a more accurate reality.

Because of one man’s obedience those who have now been saved have the privilege of approaching this awesome God no differently to a son approaching his worldly father, in fact even more than that, for God is greater than any man. With this thought in place, let us view our requests as something well thought through and I don’t necessarily mean with time allocation but discernment of the Spirit of God must be key; understanding the merits of each request. And once we have decided what should be prayed, we must believe God to come through for us.

Hopefully we would eventually learn to process the reasons for any given prayer, correcting our application in these areas of our lives. How often have we been asked to pray for the enemies of God without emphasizing who we are praying too? Daniel was very accurate when he was asked by the king to interpret his dream. “To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter."” (Daniel 2:23) Observe: - When we are asked to pray for someone in need, it warrants a perfect opportunity to present the gospel with accuracy, we must be specific and point people to Christ as an out for their sin, remembering that God has given all an opportunity to embrace Christ, mankind’s life-line! It would be a wasted opportunity if we did not specify the God we pray to, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the same God who sent his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to die for sinners. What benefit and glory do we bring to God if we are asked to pray for something and we then do not pay God due benevolence? Seeing that we are well taught that if we ask anything in accordance with God’s will it will come to pass, we must therefore be sure to exalt His name and once that has been established we must understand God’s will in any given situation.

How do we achieve this?

Suppositions and opinions will remain exactly that; we must look to God’s Word to find a resolution. In the context of the gospel, signs and wonders must follow, why? Because all authority belongs to the Lord Jesus, and that has been sealed by God as we witnessed Christ’s resurrection even in our lives as we now walk in newness of life. I suppose many men claim these miracles; lying signs and wonders prevalent on so many corners and in the name of Christianity. Nevertheless of this I am persuaded that when God moves there is no mistaking the miracle. It will always be grand! Therefore if we look for any gift of signs and wonders, words of knowledge, prophecy and the like it must operate on the back of our gospel presentation, we must not settle for anything less than grandiose manifestations bringing glory to God and not to men but yet changing lives and affecting mankind under the gospel’s power.

Faith a key ingredient but never independent of the will of God! We must ask for understanding in these areas of our lives and this is how it must be done; “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8)  

For us to understand God’s character it would be good for us to spend more time in His Word. This is where He has chosen to reveal the secrets of His heart to all who would dare to seek them out, praise His name now and forever more Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Exclusion rule

It is important to remind one of so many truths that look to elude the believer. Our sinful natures always gnawing away at the “exclusion rule”; we are well aware of certain facets of life but we hope that they will pass us by with death being the final enemy that all will face. Save those raptured of course!

I had a wisdom tooth yanked last week and with it they gave me some literature and it read; “day three will be painful”. On day two the pain had eased and I thought I was threw the worst of it, and then I recalled the information they gave me. I really believed that just maybe I would possibly be part of the “exclusion rule” and it wouldn’t affect me like everyone else and then day three arrived just as the leaflet had suggested, my jaw throbbed!

As Christians we are taught many truths about being Christians and the hardships we will face, it is these truths that we need to be reminded of lest we become discouraged; “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” (2Timonthy 3:1-5) – There are many factual warnings given about what to avoid and how to attend to oneself in preservation. Needless to say when we read such portions of scripture we must first apply the Lord Jesus’ teaching about the “log and splinter”, as we first examine ourselves in light of these warnings making sure we are not guilty as charged, and if we have dropped the ball in any of these areas it would be good for us to fall to our knees crying for forgiveness and pleading with our gracious Father God to renew a right spirit in us.

I suppose this could get tricky as our hearts are still full of deceit when left to their own devices. We need God the Holy Spirit to shine His beam of truth into the dark crevices of our hearts welcoming His truth about what needs to be worked out. This is part of our daily sanctification but if left unchecked it will get away from us. God help us to be honest with our own reflection, which thankfully He will always highlight in the minds of His children. I suppose growth brings about learning to see our own sin before God points it out to us. We cannot remain children forever; we must begin to grow into adulthood. How thankful I am for the undying commitment God gives to all those who truly belong to Him. Those who have been born of His Spirit will make it home.

The Gospel has been preached throughout the world, the fisherman have thrown their nets trapping many fish, but the reality of it all is that although many edible fish are gathered by the gospels net, there is undoubtedly fish that are poisonous and inedible that have also been trapped in the same net. They are the enemies of the cross and yet they have been pulled into the same boat, they frequent the same church of the believer. I believe it is these people that Paul is teaching Timothy to avoid. Why is that beneficial to us? Firstly it proves the prediction of scripture and so we must be excited about God’s sovereignty, and then we must understand how much damage people are capable of from within as opposed to those trying to bridge the wall from without.

Think about the legend of the Trojan Horse; the Greeks were at war and they could not breach the walls of Troy and so they devised a plan to build a wooden horse and place elite soldiers inside the structure and pretended to sail away, the Trojan’s pulled the horse into the city that the Greeks had failed to breach as a victory trophy and yet their own pride became their own undoing; the Greeks defeated them from within their own walls.

There are many that profess Christianity who are in fact the enemies of the cross and they can be easily distinguished from the true believer, these we are told to avoid; which means exactly that, avoid everything about them. TBN the TV channel hosts a lot of these poisonous fish. A Christian must bear similar scars to the marks of our great Saviour; He was crucified to set us free, we too must also suffer persecution if we truly belong to Him. We must learn to deny ourselves for the sakes of our brothers, whatever that may entail at any given time. “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2Timothy 3:12-13)

Signing off

Tyrone     

No other gospel

(Galatian 1:9) “As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”

This morning I have a heavy burden on my heart for my dear friends and family that have shared so many connections with me throughout life. Some thoughts are sweet while others are shameful in the context of my example, for this I ask forgiveness. It is up to us who have received the free gift of salvation to walk worthy of that vocation, I haven’t in times past. I too was taken by the crafty cunning lies of the devil and my own sinful lusts caused a dearth to overshadow my life, bringing shame to Christianity, I have in times past lived as a hypocrite, for this I say I am sorry.

However having said that He who is now in me, the Lord Jesus Christ is greater than he who dominates this world, even Satan and all his fallen angels are no match for my Saviour, praise the name of Jesus! He who has begun a good work in me shall see it through unto the end, in spite of all the opposition.  For this marvelous attribute I will always be indebted to Him, thank you Father God for your never tiring mercies. I will be the first to confess that as a Christian I have done things that I should have shunned with all my being and for my folly I have many scars that I will carry into eternity. However today I have clear vision and realize that many of my mistakes have brought me to the place I now understand, which is of utmost importance, fear God and keep his commandments for this is the soul duty of man.

We will all face God’s judgment; so I will no longer tiptoe around those dear to me but rather bring you the truth of what will unfold. I will no longer do the work of the devil leading you down a road that will end in treachery, with hell your final destination. I understand that I cannot, make up anyone’s mind but what I do have in my power is knowledge, information that has been revealed to me which I will declare in love.

Here are the facts in accordance with what God teaches in His Word, the Bible; Sin will be judged and if we are found guilty of any sin we will be punished by God. God will not overlook the smallest of sins as it is outside of His character to do so, He is HOLY! The punishment for sin will be death! We will all die in that sense but our spirit and souls will live on forever, if found to be sinners we will end up in the lake of fire. There will be no exception other than the sacrifice of another, the penalty for sin must be paid in full and it has been by the Lord Jesus Christ. Not His mother Mary, any of the Apostles or any other saint will be able to help you with your sin, only Jesus can forgive it, this is why you must come to Him and seek His forgiveness. No other gods past or present have paid the price for sin; they are no good to you in relation to your sin, Jesus Christ the Lord is the only One who has it in His capacity to forgive your sins. He died for sinners and no one else holds that office, period!

Whether you believe this to be true or not does not change the facts, Christ died for the ungodly, he died for sinners but in order to be forgiven for our sins we need to find forgiveness for them. We need to own and confess our sin; there will be opposition, our consciences will look to excuse us but to no avail, do not believe the lies, for that is exactly what they are, deceiving lies. Mr Self Righteous will play the not so bad card, another lie! Brother Pliable will excuse our sin but he cannot forgive us of our sins only Jesus can! The long and the short of it all, is there are many opinions about life after death with many differing summations, needless to say they are all traps to lead you to eternal damnation.

It was the man Jesus Christ that lived a life of sinless perfection, no one else has achieved this, nor can anyone else claim it, this is why God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob sent His only begotten Son the Lord Jesus Christ to live as a man and to satisfy his righteous penalty for sin. Jesus died for the sins of the world. However do not be fooled to think that if God is love, which He is that He will overlook your sin, He will not. You must be covered by someone else’s sacrifice to escape eternal judgment. If you have not been covered by the blood of the Lamb you will most certainly be judged.

God in His goodness has offered mankind a lifeline; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) – However reject His sacrifice for your sin at your own peril. There is no other way for an individual to be accepted by the only true God. Any other declaration is a lie and it comes from the pit of hell.

The message I give you is the message of the Apostle Paul and this is what he had to say about any other message that will supposedly get you to heaven; “As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”

Signing off

Tyrone

  

        

"The slough of despond"

“The slough of despond” is the pit of mire that no man can repair; it is only once we see our sin as the cause of our destruction that we will look to God for forgiveness. Mr worldly Wiseman will look to deceive and twist that fact; he will say it is religion and the voices of madmen which misleads you, when in fact it is only the fool who says there is no God! The ironies of those professing to be wise are in fact the fools. Morality seems to be the first point of call for most; did you not know that everyone is cursed who is incapable of keeping the whole law. To keep only part of the law is total failure in God’s eyes. All have been condemned by the law! “As it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;” (Romans 3:10) – Therefore only the chump believes that God will accept him on his own merit. Those taken by this mentality push it upon others to follow their error, have nothing to do with it; your sin must be forgiven, for your burden to be lifted; if not life will continue clawing away at your jugular. Look to Jesus and ask him to reveal the truth of your sinful state to your understanding. Look to Him and live! Run from Mr worldly Wiseman and Mr Legality, they are no more than false guides.

There are many roads that a man may take but only one road which will lead to eternal life; "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14) – This then is a reality of finding true salvation, stick to the path and do not veer from it and it will be well with your soul, ignore the warnings at your own peril. "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15) – There is no other way to shed ones burden of sin except by the narrow door; "Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” (Luke 13:24) – It may take persistence to arrive at the door which at first is bolted shut; however once you knock with vigour looking to lose your burden of sin, that door shall be opened unto you. However many thieves have been denied entrance; we must come the way of the cross, no other way will cut it! It’s not about a better life with more money and goodies but rather a shedding of one burden; sins must be owned and then confessed. Run with your burden until you arrive at the foot of the cross and when you find yourself alone without any distraction. Bear your heart unto God, confessing your sins and acknowledging that Christ willingly bled and died for your sin.

What a great day that was when the heavy burden of sin fell from my back as I understood that it was my sin that had nailed Christ to that tree. Tears of joy flooded my cheeks as I cried “I can see!” A wretched sinner like me had been set free. So many fiery darts whizzed past my head for days on end trying to trip me up and keep me from the foot of the cross, praise God, I eventually arrived. Let no one deceive you! Salvation is something that can only ever be achieved on a personal level, it must become your reality or it will elude you. Wrestle to be blessed of God and it will happen. He that is now in me is far greater than he who is in the world, praise the name of Jesus Christ the Lord now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

What a relief, as I felt the weight of sin fall from my shoulders, God the faithful One had proved His faithfulness to me and opened my eyes to heavenly truths, what beauty to behold! The interpreter had opened my eyes to see Jesus for who He is, thank you God the Holy Spirit for showing me the deep and yet simple mysteries of God. Two thousand years ago Jesus Christ had lived a perfect sinless life and yet He died a criminals death, they crucified Him, although I had not been born, I had somehow understood the gravity of His sacrifice on my behalf, He had died for my sins, it was my sins that had nailed him to the cross and to realise that He died willingly for me, as it was the only way to reconcile me back to God, praise His name! In other words without Jesus dying for my sins I would never ever be able to be accepted by a holy God, Christ had now paved away that had always been closed, even though I had gone to church and heard a man preach from the bible, it was gobbledygook, it had meant nothing but now I could see, I finally understood what life was all about.

Look to Jesus and live…

Signing off

Tyrone