Enemies of the cross...

(Romans 5:8)  “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Can you echo these words, “When I think of the goodness of Jesus, when I think of what he has done for me, my very soul cries out HALALUJA, praise God for saving me!” It was no nimble feat to rescue all those who now confess Him as Lord! It was painful and it came at great cost! It needed God in the flesh to die so that I could go free! That is a phenomenal thought if you would dare to spend some time mulling it over.

If we were to consider an unworked lump of clay: Who would have the power to create whatever they desired with it? Would it not be up to the individual, do they not have the power to do whatever they please with it? The power is in the individuals hand to do as they please! Why then do we think as created beings that we have the power to dictate to the creator, the One with the power? It makes no logical sense and yet we claim rights when in fact we have no rights.

People make plans and create empires with the mentality of “we will achieve” and all it then takes is one small gale-force wind, or an earthquake and their dreams are shattered. Does not the potter have power over the clay?

God chose to save His enemies, to prove that He is a God of love. Not that God needed to prove anything and yet He chose to do exactly that! Wow! However, it came at a great cost; God looked down upon His creation, mankind, and saw their lost estate, no different to a headless chicken after slaughter running around without eyes, far blinder than any bat! With everyone only concerned about themselves. But not our great God, He took pity on us, and made a way for us to be freed from the bondage of sin.

This is what was needed and what God chose to do…

God is “righteous”, this is one of His glorious attributes; He will never operate outside of His own character to achieve an objective. On Sunday night Carte Blanche had a documentary of the “White Widow”, a woman involved with the jihad (“a campaign waged by Muslims in defence of the Islamic faith against people, organizations, or countries regarded as hostile to Islam”); proof was provided that she would use any means to achieve her objective, bank fraud, unpaid rent, stolen I.D and the like. The bible has this to say; “that you will know a tree by its fruit”. God never used sin to defeat His enemy. He defeated the devil with righteousness!

How did He achieve this?

God became a man through the birth of a virgin woman, Mary; she then gave birth to a son name Jesus. He lived like any other boy of the time, He was subject to his parents authority; he had to endure the challenges of puberty; he faced stern opposition from the religious leaders of the time; he was tempted of the devil; he sweated drops of blood enduring temptation; he was humiliated, spat upon, whipped, stripped naked, beaten beyond recognition, falsely accused of wrong doing, nailed to a cross; left alone to take on the punishment of mankind’s sin, and then left for dead. And through it all, Jesus never exceeded one of God’s Commandments! Why was this necessary? Because God is righteous and He needed the sin of mankind to meet its required punishment; someone had to pay the price for sin! Jesus Christ the Lord paid the price for man’s sin and not his own as he had no sin!

This is why the Apostle John says this in his gospel; "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)

God is the potter and He most certainly has power over the clay (His creation) and this is what He chose to do for sinful man; He could have started all over again by blotting us out, but God chose in His mercy to make a way for reprobates like us, praise His name! He sent His Son, God in the flesh to pay the price for our sin. We have now been afforded the opportunity to come to Him and seek out His forgiveness. Disregard this offer at your own peril!

One last question that now needs to be answered, do you think you are good enough in yourself to get God to accept you or do you acknowledge that you are inherently sinful and need forgiveness for your sin? If it is the latter we must come the way of the cross. God cannot accept any other sacrifice outside of His Son the Lord Jesus, He is Righteous!

Some may believe themselves to be righteous, which in fact is nothing more than a lie! “And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”” (Luke 5:31-32)    

Are you sick, have you been tainted by sin? If so, be of good cheer, you qualify for salvation. Call upon the name of the Lord with a sincere heart and you shall be saved!

Signing off

Tyrone

    

The sweet waters of patience...

(Romans 2:7) “To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;”

Patience is a virtue that is naturally foreign to our characters, but if we want something badly enough we will find the resolve to stick at it. We must therefore believe that it will be worth the wait! As a wildlife photographer wanting to attain, you will soon learn the lesson of patience if you want to achieve your desired results.

I recall waiting for six hours in the Kruger National park with cars coming and going before the prize arrived; a leopard returning to its kill! One of those images is now part of my wildlife portfolio. Without the wait I would not have received the reward!

Christianity is a religion full of reward for those who wait it out, the Lord Jesus shall return with His reward! However only those found faithful will be recipients of that remuneration.

I am persuaded that we will only ever learn the lesson of patience if we latch onto the reward, without hope we will be ineffective in this area of our lives. As Christians would we willing endure affliction if there was no reward, would it not be better to eat, drink and be merry? This is why so many eat, drink and focus on the carnal rewards they see in front of them, because they are tangible and real to them. But they do not understand the gravity of that choice! If they did they would change their ways. Have I change my ways is the question that needs answering? May God continue to renew a right spirit in me and may the hardship I face help me understand that it will be worth it all! The hope of heaven must be bigger than the goals of this life, if not; our strugglers will weigh heavily on us as worldly sorrow chokes life from us.

It would be quite a thing if these lessons that our Father teachers us never had any relief; thank God that He is A God of love and He cares for all His children. There were times in the dessert where the Children of Israel were parched and needed water but there was no water in sight; “Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer."” (Exodus 15:22-26)

It seemed like a helpless situation, BUT GOD came to their rescue! Many begrudge their predicament but not all! In spite of so many moaning God’s grace came to the rescue, praise His name! The waters in life can be very bitter, but they are no match for our God, He will sweeten them as and when He sees fit. Once we have learnt to trust Him through the roughest of patches I believe that is when the waters will be the sweetest! Without the lessons of patience, this truth will remain foreign to us!

My prayer is that God would help us all understand His ways and teach us to trust Him more and more each day. Our God is a God who loves to bless His children; Let us learn to trust and obey; let us learn from Him as it will always be to our benefit!

Searching out the treasures of this world is but vain glory and filled with an emptiness that will never truly satisfy. For all who patiently seek out honour, glory and immortality we know we shall have them. Our reward will not be a fleeting event in this life that comes and goes with trouble often attached to it. Our spiritual reward will last for all eternity. And with the beauty of God’s brilliance manifesting itself along the way that even through the struggle we can experience a calming peace, praise His name!

The lesson of patience is not our enemy but our friend!

Signing off

Tyrone 

Pursuing Holiness

(Romans 6:2) “By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

Considering the Lord Jesus’ lessons we glean from scripture; it is extremely refreshing when the Word of God is enlightened to our minds. When understanding, it is as if a light switch has just been flipped; Christianity is most surely alive and it is refreshing to drink from the waters of life! God the Holy Spirit is the greatest of helpers as He teaches us all things pertaining to God and His kingdom; He opens deeper understanding of the Word of God to those who search it out.

Why is it important for the Christian to pursue holiness? It seems like such hard work at times! If this is the way you feel, like I once did, then we lack understanding. If we neglect this high calling and habitually remain in our sin, we will only ever be as effective as someone handicapped, always relying on others for help! If grace becomes license for our sin we have once again been tricked into believing a lie! This trap has ensnared me for far too long, but by the grace of God, “no more” is my cry!  

After a miraculous conversion about twenty-seven years ago, where the mercies of God carried me through such a radical about-face from so many sinful habits without any effort at all. However, before long a lack of carefulness cause me to fall victim to the same sins all over again. I could never understand that if I was now no longer class amongst the sinners: as I was now sanctified by the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice, He had paid the price for my sin and having understood that my debt had been paid in full. This is irrevocably true! - Why did I now have the urge to sin all over again? This then is the reason: - Just as a toddler learns to take their first steps leaving the immediate care of their god, mom! There will come a time in every believer’s life that they too will have to learn to stand and walk in this vicious world of sin. It is not as if the Lord forsakes us, He is always with us, but there must come a time where we must make our own choices. Will we go there, mix with those people or partake of this and that. The less careful we become as Christians the harder the lessons will be! Thank God that His grace has not only been extended to the strong per say but also to the weak, to those who kick against the pricks, those who think that they are strong enough to swim against the current. What a great merciful God I serve, He never gave up on me, but pay careful attention, there must come a time in a believers life that they themselves say, “enough folly, I’ve done it my way long enough, please Father God forgive me for my stubbornness and renew a right spirit in me, so that my life may now be about your will and no longer my selfish misguided wants”.

How much pain have I had to endure because of my foolishness; a shattered femur, HIV, insolvency and divorce…! ENOUGH!

I serve an awesome God, He has mercifully heard my cry and for this I am forever thankful!

Let us look at the account of the paralytic in the book of Matthew; “And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven." And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he then said to the paralytic--"Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”” (Matthew 9:2-6)

Once our sins have been forgiven we will be able to rise up and walk in newness of life, overcoming the sin that once enslaved us, but if we neglect God’s call upon our lives and habitually go back to our old ways we will once again find ourselves incapable of walking freely in the Spirit. And before long we will find ourselves needing others to carry us on the same stretcher we clung to prior to salvation. Just like a dog returning to his vomit! Where confusion will be the order of the day!

Sin handicaps us, but if we look to God for grace to overcome sin, before long we will be running with our sister “peace” in the lush meadows of His freedom! This is the lesson we must all learn along our journey and the sooner it hits home the better! Sin has been conquered by the blood of the Lord Jesus; let us take revenge on that which held us captive for so long. Let us trust our God as we learn to approach His throne room of grace with complete confidence, knowing that His grace will suffice in any given bind we find ourselves in! No longer slaves to sin but freed souls indeed!

Signing off

Tyrone   

Band of Brothers!

Once a man has seriously resolved in his heart to put his hand to the plow as it were, only then does he realizes how much work lies ahead…

It is one thing to take on a task but quite another to see it through to its end. This is the call for the Christian! We have all been summoned to walk worthy of the calling in which we have been called; with the Lord Jesus as our example! It is a high calling! With the enemy, the devil looking to prevent us from reaching our goal; nevertheless our God, our great God will guide us through the mire and the tricky obstacles alone the way. It is imperative that we use the cords of love to bind the shield of faith to our forearms, which in turn will help us quench the fiery darts of the wicked one. His time is short! But for now he continues to roar as a lion seeking those weak in the faith. His objective, to get the Christian to walk in unbelief! However we know in whom we believe! Our God is not only able, but willing to sucker His children! Praise His name, He is the great “I AM”!

The battle rages on, we must all arrive at this end, if we are to be found fit for the Masters use; we must be faithful friends to those who share our trenches, we as brothers must lock hands with a banner that reads; “Band of Brothers”! We must be friends to all Christians and sworn enemies to all sin. Sin looks to destroy and rob! The lure of all sins falls into the same basket, Lies! It looks to deceive the one occupied by it and its conclusion is empty and void of understanding.

Love is the law of Christ’s kingdom; we are our brother’s keeper. Unity of the faith is a sign of maturity; “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (Ephesians 4:13-14)

My life has been so captivated with pride, driven by parents from a young age to be the best of the best. It is all about self! Now by the grace of God and with my hands on the plow the reality of the changes needed is a daunting thought! The means of unity is to be meek, long-suffering, humble and tolerant with one another in love. I needn’t look far to understand this truth, the mirror will suffice! How God has been patient with me, melts my heart and brings with it tears of gratitude. As I gaze across the meadows of my unplowed field I realise that the task ahead is great, but I am persuaded that my God will see me through.

The words of that glorious hymn now comes to mind; “Amazing grace how sweet the sound who saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now am found.” How I have blundered things along the way, how often have I veered off course and yet now I stand in the grace of my God with a hope that burns bright and clear, praise the mighty name of Jesus Christ my Lord!

With our tender hands fixed to the plow it is obvious blisters will form and there will be times when we find the pain unbearable, but know this, before long callouses will form and the pain will subside. Those once rocky barren lands will in its season bring forth palatable “fruits of the Spirit” that will not only feed us but our brothers also!

May God help us to keep our hands fixed to the plow!

Signing off

Tyrone

New Birth!

Salvation in Christ will leave absolutely no doubt in a person’s mind whether they are saved or not, or will it? A healthy baby breaching its mother’s womb leaves the witnesses in awe; beaming smiles fill the delivery room; with an all-round nuance of Happiness. “A child has been born”, is their cry! And when the baby’s cry is heard there is absolutely no doubt that new life subsists.

Before long the infant acquaints itself with its mother and completely depends on her for warmth and milk. They need to suckle in order to live! If the baby is deprived of either it soon learns to cry with more adeptness. Nature teaches us many biblical truths, if only we would pay careful attention to it.

What then is the similarity to the child being born and the birth of a Christian? Both will desire milk in order to grow! The natural child will hanker after their mother’s teat, while the Christian will desire the sincere milk of the word in order to grow.  If we claim to be Christians and never spend time desiring spiritual food, then we must question our salvation! It may be a form of religion and nothing else! The idea that many philosophies suggest is that we must give time to our spirituality, but if we do not long for the milk that Christ offers all His children; that religion is dead!

A new born baby will die without its mother’s milk, so too will an apparent believer if they are not fed by God’s Word! A baby needn’t be taught that it needs its mother’s milk; likewise neither will a true Christian need to be taught that it needs the milk of the word; they crave it with a refreshing eagerness for all to see. They bring new life to the fold of God. Have you seen the effects a newborn has on their grandparents?

Therefore, will the observers be able to see if someone claiming to be a Christian is in fact a Christian? A baby may not realize that it is a baby, who can remember their childhood? But the bystanders will have absolutely no doubt!

As we grow, rebellion becomes evident, sin teaches us to push the boundaries with our parents; I suppose for many of us this is sadly our testimony, as Christians we have pushed the boundaries with our God. I Know I am guilty! Please forgive me Father God! I know you have, but no more folly is my cry! It is time to stand up and be counted!

If Christ has manifested Himself to someone they will desire to want to get to know Him, that is a given! For those who claim to know Him well will covet Him with zeal, this then will be our assurance that we belong to Him! If there is no evident desire, then we have our answer.

I suppose rebellion can cloud evidence of true salvation; nevertheless rebellion in a true child will run its course; “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1John 4:4) - Our great God works in His Children, we are under the influence of God the Holy Spirit and He is mightier than the men of devils. Look at the life of Samson or the prodigal son, “when he came to his senses!”

Phrases like, “I think he is a believer or he might be saved” speaks of doubt. True salvation in an individual will be clearly evident for all to see; just like the birth of a newborn baby!

Signing off

Tyrone

The Cauldron of Prayer

(Micah 7:8) “Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise;”

The winters in Africa are short but real with its icy nip in the air; a fire in the early hours of the morning is always a pleasing sight. It brings a smile to those warmed by it. Prayer has a similar effect; it is capable of warming ones heart. It is when we neglect to fuel the cauldrons of prayer that the arctic chill of disbelief looks to rob us of our victory in Christ! Prayer is a vital part of our daily dress, it equips us for battle!  It allows our supplications to be heard and God our Father most certainly lends His ear to the prayers of His Children. May God help me to find the correct words to seek out His righteousness in my life with ample time spent on my misguided wants! 

How often do we as Christian’s waste so much time on prayers that are self-centered? Enough is my Cry! Teach me your ways Oh God, even to the point of hurt! Help me find the shortest route to this truth in my life; keeping me alert with all perseverance and always being mindful of my brethren in Christ across the globe who also have the same desire. Help them find the shortest course in their closets to your will in their lives.

We must keep the altars of our private prayer burning with secret devotion. Our enemy looks to rob us of this privilege that the Christian alone has in Christ! Others pray to the deaf idols but we have a God who not only hears but is also in touch with the feeling of our weaknesses! He is full of compassion, praise His majestic name!

Prayer reminds us of the weakness of our flesh as our words confess our struggles; it reminds us of where we need help in our lives, striving to make us more like our glorious Saviour. How I long to be more like Him! To be satisfied, knowing that I seek out God’s will for my life; “renew a right spirit in me” I pray! There is much molding that needs to happen, but I am confident that my God is able. When we learn to pray without ceasing, we know that we are on the right road. And when we learn to dress for battle from head to toe it will only ever be well with our souls.  

Let us never degrade ourselves by saying, “I cannot conquer this sin, for it is legitimate and lives within me with extreme persistence, it is part of my flesh, it is who I am and part of my character; I cannot change!” Allow no excuse for ourselves; we will not plead for a life of a single sin. That type of rational is unbelief! Our God the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth, with daily ongoing sanctification as our goal! Our Saviour defeated every obstacle he encountered whilst on earth, He has now made a way for us to walk in victory; believe it we must! He left no stone unturned! We too must resolve within our hearts through prayer to leave no stone unturned; our God will answer our prayer! “Why should He one may ask?” The answer is an obvious one; if we seek out His righteousness all things will be added! There are no ifs and but in that statement; it is full of certainty and once we make it our own we will finds ourselves benefactors of God’s grace in all areas of our lives!

The certainty of this reality in Christ will mean that we must select the panting deer as our crest; we must pant for the water like that of a parched stag. This is why we must dress for battle; we must take up the whole armour of God and after having done all to stand. The devil will come with all sorts of schemes, but our God has defeated Him, praise the name of Jesus Christ our Lord! “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

When I fall bruising my legs and gashing my knees; when I cry to my God, I will be heard! My parched lips will be quenched by His eternal living stream, I will regain my strength and it will be well with my soul!

Let us therefore remember to pray without ceasing, for the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man has great power as it is working…

Signing off

Tyrone  

Speed Bumps

Exodus 4:11 Then the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

Faith is a substance so foreign to the carnal nature that it eludes most of the Christian masses. I know that this is now a very volatile subject as so many apparent churches have run a mock claiming so many lying signs and wonders that fall under the banner of faith! Nevertheless that does not mean that we must shy away from what God teaches us in and through His Word! We are not totally in the dark when it comes to the wiles of the devil; he would love us to live outside of the realm of faith, but it is imperative that we look to understand faith as we ort and then seek God’s face with sincerity to live by FAITH! Without faith we would never have been saved; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” (Ephesians 2:8) - Faith is added to our understanding by God, which enables us to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sin and that God raised him from the dead to accomplish this miraculous intervention. Faith feeds our hope!

We do not choose God, He chooses us and the more you explore this reality the more it will hit home; how can someone dead in their trespasses and sin ever choose God unless God gives them the faith to do it? “Not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:9)  - When we use words like; “I can’t believe that man is like that”, it is a result of our lack of understanding, it is a form of boasting! We owe everything to God our Father and Jesus Christ our Saviour; it is a work of God not a work of man! When family and friends resist the gospel it is our responsibility to plead with God our Father to save them with a perseverance for His mercy, not because they deserve salvation but rather because God has it in His power to save them and because He most certainly hears the prayers of His children; our petitions do not fall on deaf ears! Prior to salvation we are all dead in our trespasses and our sins!

Can a dead man do anything? It is but a corpse; it will never be capable of life and even our apparent good works will only ever feed the worms. It is the most basic of all principles and yet so many argue this point! However once we are “born again” our childhood as new creatures in Christ begins! It is “super grace” that has been imparted to an individual and it is through faith that this miraculous event takes place. Faith is a facilitator that operates outside the realm of the natural! The Bible is very clear that once we have begun in the spirit we must continue in the spirit; considering this, all that means is that we must not now claim salvation as a work of our own doing. It isn’t a required standard that we meet which qualifies us for God’s kingdom; Christ has already met that requirement! We should never claim obedience by the works of the flesh! This is what is known as “dead works” or “dead religion”. However, it is possible to get confused! Two people may do the exact same thing in their service to God; one will be received and the other rejected, why? We understand this when we consider the very first sacrifice we see recorded in scripture; “In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard..." (Genesis 4:3-5) -We must learn to align ourselves with the good works He has foreordained for us to find and carry out but we will only ever be capable of achieving this once our spiritual journeys have begun! Our sacrifices to God must be through the realm of faith! – “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” (Hebrews 11:4)   

Coming to grips with this is one of the first “speed bumps” we face on our Christian pilgrimage! We tend to want to take over the reigns as it were! Education, degrees, bigger house, more money, self-sufficiency and the like are all goals we set to accomplish our existence. I have heard people say, “God helps those who help themselves!” This is a lie! God requires us to depend upon Him it is not the other way around. We are not accepted because of what we find ourselves doing but rather because of what He has chosen to do! Most of what we do is all about getting ahead in this life with very little thought on the life to come, eternity! We get it the wrong way around; faith teaches us to change our priorities!

Misguided faith also leads us down the wrong road! If our goal and application to faith is all about this life it is erroneous; faith teaches us to trust in our God come what may! The test is, will we learn to trust our God and depend upon His provision in every area of our lives? Not only the ranges we think we need help in!

Let us not view the hardships we face in life as a judgment but rather learn to understand that the greater our need the more dependent we will become upon our God and the wiser our understanding will be. Let us learn to lean on the “crutch of faith” and not on the systems of this world.

Signing off

Tyrone

The King of kings

What woman doesn’t want their fairytale ending? I am yet to meet one! And what man doesn’t want to arrive at the end of his life concluding, “Now that was a great success!” Eulogies at funerals are mostly misaligned, if only an entire life could be accurately professed! Some have great stories and they leave a pleasant taste in the mouth of the masses; take Nelson Mandela as an example, even the staunchest Afrikaner who was once all for apartheid could tip their hats to him. Madiba a man who I met in person on a number of occasions was always approachable; be that as it may where is he now? His soul has left his earthly body and he has now entered the spiritual realm where the chapter of eternity exists! We will eventually all arrive there! From the least to the greatest; all will stand before the King of kings and bow their knee to Him. The Christian, the atheist (if there truly be such a man of which I am doubtful), the Moslem, the Hindu, the Apache, the Dali lama, the pope, the Jew, the Barbarian, and the Guru. Every single knee will bow to Jesus Christ the Lord, the Christian gladly and willingly, the unbeliever forced by the Hand of God!

The Gospel is a very simple message; God sent His Son to live here on earth as a man without breaking one of His laws or statutes. He then was falsely accused of crimes he never committed and then crucified on a cruel Roman cross on a hill call Golgotha. He was then buried and on the third day God raised Him from the dead. He was the perfect sacrifice which allows mankind the opportunity to find forgiveness for their sins. Acknowledgment of this truth must be confessed by the individual and a sincere cry to God for the forgiveness of their sin is needed. For those who find this truth making it their own, will find saving forgiveness! But for those who reject it for whatever reason will face the judgment of God! Both camps will however confess this truth with their mouths! If not in this life, then most certainly in the life to come! Forget all the other dogmas that are bandied around, you will never come back as a cow!

This world has been tainted with so many lying lures that most pursue the wrong end. King David’s son Solomon has written a detailed account in the book of Ecclesiastes of what we chase and his conclusion is this; “vanity of vanities all is vanity!” I have also lived enough to understand his conclusion, “Have you?” True fulfillment can and will only ever be found in the person of Jesus Christ! It is time to stop chasing the trivialities! He is the happy ending and nothing else will satisfy!

Signing off

Tyrone

Genuineness!

(1Peter 1:6-7) “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

“Do you believe?” Is a question I find myself asking over and over again! I wrestle with this reality as the doubts of hardships press home, they squeeze as if there is no tomorrow. What do I believe? I positively believe that heaven is as real as hell! I absolutely believe that God so loved the world that He gave His “only” begotten Son to die for the sins of the world and on a personal note, for my sin! I am convinced that there is no other being seen or unseen with more authority than God Almighty! The entire universe is subject to His authority! There is much more I could add to this list… however I have lived enough to understand that nothing precious comes easily!

The Lord Jesus is the pearl of great price! He died so that we might live! And yet as we live we to must now learn to die! It is through the hardships of life that we learn this lesson! Worldly comforts work against us; they are of no benefit when sharing in Christ’s sufferings! In fact they weaken our faith! Nevertheless, who welcomes hardships? These hardships have been orchestrated to conform us into His image and without them there will never been any change in our characters. How volatile are we, or rather am I? And yet, as hard as it is at times and when all has been considered, I wouldn't want it any other way. I know better than to want to shirk this call upon my life! Although I only understand in part, I know enough to realise that it is working together for my good.

The trappings of sin cries out, “why put up with it, you needn’t!” It is just another lie!

Life is our test and we will be tried with fire, and those who overcome will appear on the other side refined having tasted in part what it meant for Jesus Christ our Lord to die on that cruel roman cross. There is no avoidance of this reality! Unfortunately most want the best of both worlds, forgiveness of sin with the hope of glorified bodies for eternity as well as the comforts of this world! We will never find peace pursuing both! Joshua had this to say; “choose this day whom you will serve”. It is impossible to serve two masters! As we will be more committed to the one over the other! Disloyalty will be our lot in life!

Words roll off our tongue with great ease, but the reality of those words are proven by our actions! Words do not convince, actions do! It is by our actions that we understand where our commitment lies. It is not a rocket science degree we need to understand where our treasure lies!

I am not making light of the “trial of life”, that is why it is a test, it is trying! But “hope” if it burns brightly enough will be the oil needed to fuel our lamps.  

Did you know there is a day coming when even the apparent Christian will turn on his brother to save his life? If we do not at the very least acknowledge that we need to be trained up in the ways of righteousness how will we ever handle the possibility of death for our faith? If it is the comforts of this world that drives us, we have much to be concerned about.

Testing proves our genuineness in our commitment to God, without it we are like a clanging symbol without any melody; hard on the ears!

Let us say that we realised that we were overweight and we determined to lose 5 pounds. Half the battle would be conquered, we have so willed it! The dieting will not be easy but our objective, the hope of attaining that end will fuel us to stay the course. We may even fail on the first couple of attempts but if the goal is so tantalizing we should eventually arrive.

Back to my original question; “do you believe?” Testing proves where our treasure lies? It helps us realise our own reality. May we all search out God’s grace to endure the trial of life!

Signing off

Tyrone

Worldly Sorrow!

(2Corinthians 7:6) “But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by…”

I have intentionally left out the end of that verse; it is open ended for the sake of each individual finding their own comfort as they fill in the blanks. The Apostle Paul found comfort when his brother in Christ, Titus, arrived! If we are tired and weary we needn’t go far into the vault of our memories to draw on the recollections of God comforting us; just yesterday we broke bread and I was freshly reminded that the death I deserved was paid for by God, Jesus Christ hung and died on a cruel Roman cross in my stead! What sweet comfort to my soul! It is those reality checks that should bring with them a multitude of comforts. What of the times when sin seemed to have its clutches holding so tightly it was almost impossible to breathe, when everyone else had thrown in the towel or so it seemed; It was there that my God mercifully corrected the error of my ways. O what comfort! In hindsight, even the severe lashings as it were, have been comforting, to know that my God cares for me, is too wonderful for comprehension!

It is one thing to know God but quite another entity to be known of Him! Do not let hardship rob you of your joy in the Lord; in fact it has been orchestrated to teach us obedience. If grief teaches us to repent and rely on our God we know that we have not veered from the path that leads to eternal life. If pity overtakes us in a worldly manner be sure of this fact: we have turned right instead of left at the last intersection. There is a repentance that leads to life without regret, once it has run its course we will be smothered with the joy of the Lord! No one enjoys the throws of discipline, but when we understand its purpose we will learn to welcome it! So long as our repenting is after a godly sort. “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (2Corinthians 7:10) – Who hasn't somewhere in life been subjected to the “woe is me” syndrome Club? Worldly sorrow is nothing more than a destructive cancer that if left untreated will bring forth death!

I recently drove a friend around who was severely infected by that vicious disease; he withered away to nothing just prior to breathing his last; in fact it didn't only shred pounds from his weight, it also left him speechless and being fed through a “peg” (feeding him through a syringe directly into his stomach). It was a very trying time for him as well as those around him! Radiation did not help, he was too far gone! Cancer achieved its objective, he died last year!

If “worldly sorrow” is allowed to brew; the results can be catastrophic, treatment is needed sooner than later! I have another friend who was also diagnosed with exactly the same cancer but he treated it sooner and now by God’s grace is in remission. He nipped it in the bud! We must nip “worldly sorrow” in the bud and the only effective medication for that is “repentance after a Godly manner”! When we find God’s forgiveness we are set free from the decay of “worldly sorrow”. We must call on the One who has the power to save! Psychologists will only ever do repairs, patch work is their specialty, they can only help people to cope with their symptoms, but they will never free the individual from death! The only way we will find freedom is through the gospel, as it is the power of God unto salvation! We must all find forgiveness through the Lord Jesus Christ, if not death will be our lot in life!

Sin has in one form or another latched onto mankind but until we acknowledge that we are in fact the sinner and not the victim we will never find freedom as we remain in the clutches of “worldly sorrow”. The Lord Jesus has this to say; “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3)

I implore you; do not let the trickery of sin trap you into the justification of the past actions of another as it robs you of finding forgiveness. We can do nothing to change the past but we most certainly have it in our power to change our futures; “For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame."” (Romans 10:11) “Worldly sorrow” will only ever lead to shame! We can all be saved from its destructive powers; “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."” (Romans 10:13)

BUT CALL WE MUST!

Signing off

Tyrone

    

Revenge!

Distraction is exactly that, a disturbance to prevent someone from reaching a desired outcome or destination. It is designed to get someone to shift their gaze! For the Christian, the will of God is our target, with the Lord Jesus locked in the cross-hairs; however the enemy who roars and make such a racket, appears so bullish and brutal, in fact he has no teeth when it comes to the child of God; he is no more than a lion that roars! He has been defeated! Our Saviour conquered him on Calvary! When we remain focused on our Lord and King, we will be at peace but when we allow any distraction to supersede our focus, which is when we find the lions rumble over powering and we often forget that it is no more than a roar. Our minds begin to imagine that the lion’s teeth are sharp and able to rip us to shreds in seconds. We forget that we have the greatest of shepherds! If we keep our eyes fixed on the finished work of Calvary we are most certainly secure in the arms of our God! In fact even when we have carelessly wondered off into the dangers, His hand has kept the lion at bay. Praise His name!

Revenge is part of the “first fruits of repentance” and some have let that reality slip, I too am guilty as charged, but it is the goodness of God that leads a man to repentance; it may just be the time to seek out His grace and right our wrongs in this area of our lives! Sin taking hold of me and at will throughout life has got me to behave is such a way that on reflection I am disgusted and disappointed and even now find myself asking the question, “what was I thinking?” Or rather “what wasn't I thinking?” If we seek out God’s grace to appropriate, the victory that is ours in Christ; how sweet it could be when we are capable of taking revenge on the hold sin had on our lives in a particular area. Our God will be exalted in and through it and we will echo the words of James; “I will show you my faith by my works”. Many may not see the little victories that we now have that where once impossible, but we shall understand and our God will witness the progress in our lives. It will be a sweet smelling aroma in His nostrils. To be capable of calling on our God, and looking to Jesus the Author and the Finisher of or faith as we find the hurdles that were once impossible to clear, now simply part of our daily walks, how sweet the taste of revenge will be to us. How peace will begin to flood our souls and locked our focus will remain on our Saviour and the will of our Father for our lives.

Signing off

Tyrone

Confusion!

Confusion hinders the progress of any objective…

The businessperson has an objective and that is to reach their desired goal. The soccer sides at the Brazilian World Cup’s objective, is to hold up the trophy, they train hard for the possibility of this accomplishment, it is the greatest prize in soccer, which only comes around every four years. And if there is confusion on or off the field this will not stand them in good stead to fulfill their once in a lifetime dream to be branded world champions! This then is what they strive for, to go down in the history books as world champions!

How often have these types of goals been hindered by confusion? More times than I would care to mention; “confusion” is a tactic that if used correctly can have the hostile effect hindering the objective of a person or a group of people.

What ploy did Satan use with Eve in the Garden of Eden? Was it not a plot to confuse her understanding? It most certainly was! "Did God actually say”, was the approach he used when endeavouring to get her to sin. Deception and confusion have very similar intentions and that is to delude someone from reaching their required intention. In Eve’s case she was forbidden to eat from a particular tree, “the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”! Satan attained his objective through deception and she ate from the tree, in spite of God’s commandment!

Remember the account soon after the flood when the then known world was so unified that God felt the need to confuse them, to stop them from reaching their objective, which was to build a tower into the heavens; they wanted to make a name for themselves with unity as their goal. “Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."” (Genesis 11:1-4) – However because of the fall of man and the fact that sin was alive and well, God opposed their plot; “And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech." So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.” (Genesis 11:5-8) – God through Confusion achieved His objective!

With that point now established why do we as Christians sometimes feel confused, sometimes we do not know for sure what we should do in any given circumstance; should we move, should we get married or not and so on. God is not the God of confusion! “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints.” (1Corinthians 14:33) – It is obvious that God, our God has used confusion to hinder the plans of men who oppose Him, but it is clear to see that in the verse above “God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” His objective would never be to confuse His children! Satan on the other hand strives to achieve confusion amongst the saints of God!

Why then do Christians face confusion throughout varying times in their lives? I believe it is when we are all about “self” and when the will of God gets pushed aside; it is at these times in our lives that we open ourselves up to confusion.

Did you not know that the objective for maturing as a Christian is the “unity of the faith”? “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:13-14)

There was no confusion in Christ, He was the perfect man, and He came to do the will of His Father. He was never confused! He may well have sweated drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane and cried “my God my God why hast thy forsaken me” when he hung on the cross, but He was never confused! He came to do all the will of His Father and He achieved this end with perfection, praise His name!

My conclusion then, the closer we align ourselves to the will of God for our lives the less “confusion” will play its part in it.

Signing off

Tyrone

   

The "Camel"

The camel is of unique design, when we consider the way in which God created them. Its name means “to go without”; they are capable of surviving in deserts under harsh conditions, going without water and food for extensive periods. They have been created with the capacity to store fatty deposits in their bodies and to draw sustenance from them, where and when they are needed; somewhat like a reserve tank! Nevertheless even those stashes will run out if there is no food and water intake.

The Christian must always be aware of this truth, we may well be on a spiritual high with our treasure troves full of bounty, but if we neglect fellowship with our God it won’t be long before those chests become bare and we will find ourselves suffering loss. “Take nothing for granted”! Remember Joseph’s interpretation to Pharaoh’s dream? When I reflect on the years gone by and I consider the highs of my spiritual life, without exception I was at the very least contending for the faith, fighting wars within and contending with persecution from without, I will confess even though at times I was misguided in one way or another, I was still able to draw from the resources of heavens treasure troves; with an urgency to find grace or forgiveness; as wayward as I may have been my God was still willing to supply what was needed, as I grappled with sin and its hold over me, I would nevertheless approach the throne room of grace and the One who has the power to forgive! What a gracious and merciful God we serve, but never let us take Him for granted; He has moved mountains for His children and we owe Him our all! 

Regardless of where you may find yourself on this sometimes treacherous, rocky road to heaven, it is imperative that we drink from the living brook and we eat heavens manna along the way. We, like the Camel, may go without food and water for weeks but that is a dangerous approach to our journey. We have all been afforded the same opportunity and that is to freely drink from the “rivers of life” as often as we would! There are no tariffs to open the taps of God’s supply; the price has been paid in full, praise the name of Jesus Christ the Lord, my Lord and King!

“Idleness” is a land full of harmful lures; misguided commitment to worldly sustenance is another well laid deadly trap that many are lured into. Thank God that the Lord Jesus holds the office of “High Priest” and He makes intersession for all of His flock. With this objective in mind; to conform us into His image! He alone is worthy of all honour and for us to even slightly begin to resemble Him we must remain well-nourished with a well-balanced diet and from one source only, “THE WORD OF GOD!” This is where we receive Gods direction into our lives and then prayer is just as important; this is where we bear our hearts to our God and we then find grace to get through the trial of life! If we neglect either one of these instructions it will be to our own peril and soon the fatty deposits stored to sustain us will soon dry up, leaving us exhausted! It is all about the will of God for our lives and not our own wants! The sooner this reality captivates our minds and souls the happier we will be. The easier it will be to face the trial of life, for there are many trying tests along the way!

“Pharaoh’s dream has too often been my waking experience. My days of sloth have ruinously destroyed all that I had achieved in times of zealous industry; my seasons of coldness have frozen all the genial glow of my periods of fervency and enthusiasm; and my fits of worldliness have thrown me back from my advances in the divine life. I had need to beware of lean prayers, lean praises, lean duties, and lean experiences, for these will eat up the fat of my comfort and peace. If I neglect prayer for never so short a time, I lose all the spirituality to which I had attained; if I draw no fresh supplies from heaven, the old corn in my granary is soon consumed by the famine which rages in my soul. When the caterpillars of indifference, the cankerworms of worldliness, and the palmerworms of self-indulgence, lay my heart completely desolate, and make my soul to languish, all my former fruitfulness and growth in grace avails me nothing whatever. How anxious should I be to have no lean-fleshed days, no ill-favoured hours! If every day I journeyed towards the goal of my desires I should soon reach it, but backsliding leaves me still far off from the prize of my high calling, and robs me of the advances which I had so laboriously made. The only way in which all my days can be as the “fat kine,” is to feed them in the right meadow, to spend them with the Lord, in His service, in His company, in His fear, and in His way. Why should not every year be richer than the past, in love, and usefulness, and joy?-I am nearer the celestial hills, I have had more experience of my Lord, and should be more like Him. O Lord, keep far from me the curse of leanness of soul; let me not have to cry, “My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me!” but may I be well-fed and nourished in thy house, that I may praise thy name.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone

the strength of the Spirit

LED Lights seem to be the new lighting flavour of the month; they are phenomenal! As they are now part of my daily bread, I have experienced them first hand. What I appreciate about them is the amount of light they generate, there are far worse things I could be selling at least “in type” they remind me of the Light of the universe, the Lord Jesus Christ; “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.” (Genesis 1:1-3) – We all know what it is like to fumble in the dark!    

That is why I love the Word of God; whenever I am faced with a crisis in my life and that is more often than I would like to count; it has been the Word of God that has given light to my path. The times I have neglected to make the Bible my first port of call, I have always without exception lost my way! Life has a very cruel way of teaching us lessons! So without the correct counsel it can become insufferable. We can fish as hard as we would throughout the seas of this world and our nets will come up empty. If not there could well be reason for concern! How so? If we as the children of God receive sustenance from this world without His counsel we should at the very least be asking the question, why? What earthly father would give his son a stone if he asked for bread? How much more then will our heavenly Father look out for those who belong to Him? He must always be our first port of call, if this then is not our experience, it may be time to check our birth certificate!

I am convinced that this is the lesson God is now steering me through, times are tough and there is much destruction in the wake of my past, BUT God is with me so who then can be against me! I suppose as Christians we will all have to learn this lesson along our journey here on earth! And the sooner the better! We have an enemy that looks to lead us another way by targeting our weakness, the flesh! “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” (2Corinthians 10:3-4) – Hence when Christ died in our stead He opened up a spiritual arsenal of weaponry to every true born again Christian believer! To overcome the weakness of the flesh we must engage our souls to walk in the Spirit; it is time like never before to “Lock and Load”! As we all fly this flag into battle, with this slogan lit up in neon lights; “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”  (Romans 8:31) 

                                                

Our God shall supply all our needs, not our wants but our needs! It may well be time to make the decision to drop ones excess baggage as we make our way to the front lines. You needn’t worry if that seems far from your ability to choose what to keep and what to let go of, God will make it clear to you over time, all we need do is trust and obey! Remember the disciple when they lost hope and they decided to go back fishing? They toiled for hours without a catch, but as soon as they recognized the call of their Master, everything changed! “Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, do you have any fish?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.” (John 21:4-7) – It may well be the time for us to voluntary strip down and to throw ourselves onto Him, instead of Him needing to disciple us no differently to a father would discipline his son. God only disciplines His children, he is not concerned with the bastard, praise His name! And yet the invitation has gone out to all! Repent and believe in His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ and He will welcome you into the fold! 

Where have so many of us gone wrong? We have not learnt to hate wickedness as we ort! We have not taken the sin in our lives seriously enough; “As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." (Hebrews 3:15) – The storerooms of grace are open and available to every believer from the weakest to the strongest and from the youngest to the oldest. It is crucial for us to understand the Apostle Paul’s teaching; “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” (Romans 6:12) – And the only way we will overcome these passions, which at times press hard, will be to walk in the Spirit! To be honest with ourselves about anything that looks to steer us away from God’s righteousness. This then is my prayer; “order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me!”

Signing off

Tyrone  

Honouring God

(Romans 1:21) “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God…”

It is one thing to know God, even the demons are aware of His existence and they tremble knowing that their time is short; It is one thing to be historically aware of the exploits of Christ but unless we lay down our lives for Him just as He laid down His life for us, honouring Him as God and Saviour we have missed the mark completely!

We honour our judges and we witness advocates addressing them with much reverence; “your honour may we approach the bench?” is a manifestation of that respect! The judge will then decide whether or not to grant them permission in approaching the bench.

The Lord Jesus Christ has died for the sins of mankind; we all have now been afforded the opportunity to approach HiHHhHis bench. The way we have been instructed to do that is by seeking out His forgiveness for our sin. We must come with an attitude of humility. In order for this to be relevant we must first acknowledge that we are sinners and that we need to be forgiven for our sin.

What is it that keeps so many from approaching the bench? The trickery of sin leads them to believe that they are good. Mankind is not good; not one of us can actually claim that we are good! God is good, He has not been tainted by sin, and we needn’t look far into our pasts to understand that sin has had its part to play in our lives. What make one a sinner? Obviously sin! A particular sin! What then is sin? It is a breach of God’s laws in any form. There is no such thing as a white lie! A lie is a lie!

The only true and everlasting God, the great “I AM” has no sin and will never be subject to sin! Mankind on the other hand sins naturally; no one teaches someone to lie, they do it instinctively when they think it will help them.

“Birds of a feather flock together”, is a well-known phrase often quoted and it is easy to understand. Nature even teachers us this reality; you do not see a lion sharing a pen with sheep. And yet mankind expects God to dwell amongst sinners! Or accept them as sinners! It is impossible! Light and darkness will never co-exist! Flip a light switch and the darkness has no choice but to flee. These types of common laws are easily understood by all.

The reality of it all! Until God stepped in, mankind was doomed to live lives outside of a relationship with Him. But God has made a way! "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)

What was the catalyst in and through the Lord Jesus Christ that allows sinners a relationship with God who has never sinned nor ever will? God sent His son, the Lord Jesus Christ to live a life as a man but he was never allowed to sin. He could not even break one of the smallest of God’s laws; if he did his mission would have failed! He accomplished His assignment with flying colours, he never broke a law! Thus qualifying him as the Saviour of the world! No other man has ever achieved this, nor ever will!

The only possible way for sinners to approach God is through the Lord Jesus Christ who has been raised from the dead. There is and will never be any other way to approach God. We are sinners and He is not! This is what it means to be sanctified by His blood; he paid the price for our sin and this was only possible because He had no sin.

With that now established and hopefully understood what is left for us to do? It is simple; we need to approach God in and through His Son. How? By believing that He has made a way for sinners like you and me and then through repentance confessing our sin as we seek out His forgiveness for it. Nevertheless everybody will have to decide for themselves!

Will you call out for forgiveness?

Like I said it is one thing to be aware that God exists but quite another to call on Him as our God. It is not enough to know God, it is imperative that we are known by Him! And the only way that is possible is through His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ! “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”” (John 14:6) 

We are left with a very simple choice; “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."” (Romans 10:13) – Will you cry out unto Him in repentance for your sin or not?

Signing off

Tyrone