Faith believes God!

Faith believes God for who He is and then proves that by action. This morning I woke up with a durable thought and as it resonates through my mind I know I need to dissect it to get a clearer understanding of its message. My first point of call must always be prayer and then to cross reference all those ideas that resonate with the bible. No notions may supersede the Word of God; if it does it must be dissuaded as a vain imagination!

How do we help someone in need? Obviously there are many differing applications to comfort a person in want and I am sure we could all fill in the blanks quite comfortably. My objective is but one and with the help of God the Holy Spirit to show you who the Lord Jesus is! He is the only true Christ and before any true miracle can take place people must believe that emphatically!

Let me prove this to you from scripture, the writer of Hebrews has this to say about faith; “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.” (Hebrews 6:1) - Why do so many look to reinvent the wheel; programmes, course and other tools to try and conjure up more faith, when in fact it is really very simple, “faith towards God” will do! No need to add salt to the recipe! Commitment to the sound Word of God is all that is required.

Let’s explore what it means to have “faith towards God”; “a firm belief of the existence of God, of his nature, attributes, and perfections, the trinity of persons in the unity of essence, the whole mind and will of God as revealed in his word, particularly what relates to the Lord Jesus Christ. We must by faith acquaint ourselves with these things; we must assent to them, we must approve of them, and apply all to ourselves with suitable affections and actions. Observe, (1.) Repentance from dead works, and faith towards God, are connected, and always go together; they are inseparable twins, the one cannot live without the other. (2.) Both of these are foundation-principles, which should be once well laid, but never pulled up, so as to need to be laid over again; we must not relapse into infidelity.” (Matthew Henry) - An unbeliever could never believe all of those truths that Matthew Henry so accurately points out for us, they are spiritually blind! Nevertheless they must at the very least understand that it is God who has the power to heal. They must have faith in His ability and no one else!    

The problem I see with the world today is very simple, many Christian communities do not witness true miracles because they do not believe God at His Word and they doubt His ability to heal, which in turn only proves one thing, their unbelief! It’s not that they don’t want the miracle to happen, they do but their sight is shifted onto the wrong source. How so? They look to the man and not to God! People flocked to TB Joshua and a building collapsed. Men will always be unseated; God will never be dethroned that is impossible! Do you believe that?

Now let’s look at some actual examples from scripture to prove that “faith toward God” is where the power lies; Let me use one of the greatest illustrations to prove this; The Roman Centurion heard about the man Jesus of Nazareth, he was so convinced that He had the power to heal that he made every effort to be seen by Christ.

Here is the account; “When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly. And he said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion replied, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith." (Matthew 8:5-10) – From the outset it is evident that the soldier understood the Lord Jesus’ authority, His power to heal is obviously understood by the man – his “faith towards God” in action! Proving that he believed God at His Word, this is a true understanding of what it means to have “faith towards God”. If God says it, it will come to pass; nothing else will ever be needed. WE MUST UNDERSTAND THIS! There must be no hedging of our bets! It is up to us to make this very clear to people when we pray for them!

I have by the grace of God resolve to no longer pray for someone without helping them understand this truth where possible.

If we go back in time we see that men no longer honoured God for who He IS and therefore God withdrew from them. Society is so warped that it is our responsibility with the aid of God the Holy Spirit to steer men and women back to God, but we must declare Him as the great “I AM” nothing else will cut it! No other men or gods can ever be entertained.

Here are the verses that prove this thought; “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. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. (Romans 1:21-24)

My conclusion is that we must get those in need to understand who God is before we pray for them so when He decides to respond to our prayer that there is no mistaking the source of the miracle. When God puts on a show, it is magnificent!

Signing off

Tyrone    

Diligence

(Proverbs 4:23) “Keep your heart with all vigilance (diligence), for from it flow the springs of life.” – Here is a great insight from the law of wisdom.

How can we measure a person’s commitment? By their assiduousness to a specific task! Diligence is a word referred to in scripture and carries with it great intent. It is our hope that feeds our commitment with meticulousness and allows others to partake of fruits that flows from that commitment, which in turn will nourish their hope in Christ.

What then does it mean to “keep your heart”? It funds our resolve to wrestle with God in order to find grace to overcome so much opposition in our lives. It means that we must keep out all the evil thoughts of our hearts and ponder on the good ones. It reminds me of the daily battle that takes place in my soul and every time I look for victory I am reminded about Jacob’s encounter in the desert and he teaches me this lesson; “And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."” – For all who make it to heaven have this hope; “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.'” (Revelation 2:17)  

Theoretically it is easily understood but to find the means to methodically carry it out is quite another altogether. Diligence then the key to finding victory and yet we must never forget that this must always be carried out within the constraints of God’s grace, no other methodology will do! If not, boasting will be our lot in life. These are the tricky nuances that need to be juggled correctly. Our first port of call in achieving the correct bearing, which is heaven bound, must always start with “GOD FIRST”; This way we get the order of our priorities straight and the rest will then follow as it ort.

It is God who has given us souls; we have the charge over them and we must learn to be good stewards with them. There is so much work to do! I get dizzy just at the thought of it, but then I am remind to tackle one thought at a time and then one day at a time. I am yet to tick the box whereby I can say I have arrived in this area of my life, but while we have breath we most certainly have hope. If we understand anything about our sister wisdom, we will embrace her advice with open arms. And it is with “diligence” (resolute commitment) that we must pursue her instruction if we want wisdom to be our companion. The instruction is plain and must be received as the author has intended, nothing mystical, plan and simply understood; “Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.” (Proverbs 4:24-27)

We all seem to have a different Achilles heel but we must never sweep that sin under the carpet, ponder upon it day and night, wrestle with it to find grace through it and then that which is crooked will be made straight. This is wonderful advice and our sister Wisdom illuminates the burrs that rob us of our victory in Christ, paying careful attention to her voice will leave the soul well nourished. God help us give “her” due benevolence!    

   

“Diligence” is an attribute well worth pursuing, from it will flow many precious palatable fruits. God’s commitment to mankind is clear for all to see, God sent His Son to save those who were lost and His commitment to us is amazing. He is perfect in wisdom and He has led the way, we owe Him our lives and at the very least diligence should be our resolve. I understand it is a process but we must look to our God to find grace to become more astute with our perseverance in Him. Sin and darkness will always look to steer us in the opposite direction, but we have the mind of Christ, may God help us learn to arm it with due diligence!

Signing off

Tyrone

        

Believing God at His Word!

(Exodus 17:10) “So Joshua did as Moses told him…”

We have been taught that “obedience is better than sacrifice”, but what does that actually mean? It means to simply obey what we have been taught to follow! To trust God’s Word and then to submit to what it instructs us to do. “So Joshua did as Moses told him.” Although I give my body to be burn and I have not love I am like a clanging cymbal, an out of tune racket! Sacrifice often leads to “dead works”; when we do something to justify our standing before God, we try and earn points with Him and also from others. We forget that we have been justified through faith which is by grace and it is a gift of God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Sacrifice often leaves us boasting! Look at what the great Apostle Paul had to say: “I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows-- and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2Corinthians 12:1-10)

Any form of boasting puts us in the driver’s seat and it takes away from Christ’s accomplished on our behalf. It takes us to a place that can only ever end badly, it puffs us up and we know how God reacts to pride; “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."” (1Peter 5:5) – Opposition may often leave us having to endure far more than we ever needed to because of our pride.

With that established let us seek Gods face and learn to obey His Word above any other priority that may rear its head. “Joshua did as Moses told him.” Simple and yet profound, nothing complicated about it, this is why I believe we sometimes miss the clear instruction of God’s Word, sadly we feel that we must do more! Christ has done it all! Let us be constantly reminded of that truth, praise his name now, into eternity and beyond, Amen and Amen!

My prayer is that all of God’s children would be like Joshua; there is so much to learn from his example, if God has said it, BELIEVE IT! There will always be the naysayers that speak out against God’s Word; I suppose we will all need to find grace to combat doubt. Life teachers us to be realists, but faith believes God at HIS WORD! When the chips are down and there is no food on the table, if we obey God’s Word and seek His righteous we will be fed, no debate! God has said it, it will happen! If we are taught not to be anxious for tomorrow, let us obey and live for today, as unto the Lord, for tomorrow will take care of itself. There is enough we have to get through on a daily basis, when we worry about the future we get swallowed up by anxiety. If that happens we haven’t obeyed God’s instruction; “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34)

Obedience is far simpler than I once thought it to be, we must stop second guessing the Word of God, because it is our downfall. All it does is proves our unbelief. Pay careful attention and examine what I say now; Gods Word is not linked to our faithfulness but to His, our unfaithfulness may keep us from the benefits of His faithfulness but He will always remain true to Himself. He is the great “I AM”. God is perfect in Himself and it is impossible for God to lie. Think about that and it may wonderfully free you to take your trust to a far deeper level. How I long to learn to trust God’s Word like Caleb, Joshua, and David or many of the other great examples we find in scripture. Look at Abraham’s example; he was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac because He believed God at His Word. God had made a covenant with Him and Abraham had faith toward God, end of deliberation!

Obedience is much nearer than our carnal minds would lead us to believe. Ask yourself this question; has God ever said anything that He hasn’t carried out on what He has settled his mind on? That will never happen! How do I know that? Because God has said it! And whatever God says will eventually come to pass; “so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” (Hebrews 6:18) – This truth has now also been record for us on a doctrinal level, so we can be confident with trusting God at His Word; He himself has confirmed it through the writer of Hebrews.

When we believe God at His word we feed our hope, when we place our current predicament above the Word of God we lose sight of any hope…

Signing off

Tyrone

       

    

   

One flame at a time...

HOW I LOVE THE WORD OF GOD! The Word of God sets my world of fire one flame at a time as it burns away at the chaff. An illustration of the power of God’s Word in the lives of those who were once lost to a world of sin. Thankfully the Lord Jesus has taken care of that! Our battle against sin is an ongoing mêlée and yet we have been given all the armour needed to survive this corrupt dying world. Even when hypocrisy plays its part in our lives, there is hope for the Christian so long as we never condone sin as the norm. What an amazing God we serve, praise be to Jesus Christ our Lord and King!

A week or so ago I was shown very clearly that our faith can be measured by our obedience to the Word of God, with our commitment to it, especially when the chips are down and to trust God’s Word in spite of our apparent circumstance. I made reference to this verse last week; “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) – A verse that shakes us to our core when things have not gone the way we had planned. Calamity playing it part in our lives teaching us to trust our God in spite of! A very valuable lesson for all! Its verses like these which builds character in our lives. It adds in strengthening our faith as we learn to take the Word of God at face value. If God has said it we will believe it!   

However I have seen another great truth that we have all be a part of, repentance plays a massive role in a believers life. Equally as important as enduring hardship we too have instruction regarding sin in our lives that only the Christian is privy too. We often find the distraction of sin playing its destructive part in our lives; it somehow creeps up on us, deceiving us in one form or another and then begins to wreak havoc if not checked. Here is some great news, so pay careful attention to it; “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.” (1John 1:8-9)

Therefore when we venture down the wrong alleyway and darkness surrounds us and we find ourselves indulging in forbidden fruit, there is an out for the Christian, just as there is instruction for when we are hard pressed, both these types of verse are God’s Word and we must learn to embrace both with commitment. We must trust it and rely on it. Regardless of how we may have fallen, our Saviour makes intersession for each and every one of us who has been drawn by the Father and we have this privilege, no more than that! We have been given the right because of the perfect work of Calvary, which was a once and for all time sacrifice, which paved the way for the sinner setting him free and what Christ achieved on Calvary, never recurrent like the sacrifices of the Old Testament. Done and dusted and never to be repeated!

The Lord Jesus is my only true hero! Who else is able to come to our rescue like He has? We can cry out to our God and ask for forgiveness, praise His name and when we ask, “HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE OUR SINS”. You see it’s about what God is prepared to do, not what others may think in that sense; if God forgives us who can lay a charge against us? He has given us an instruction concerning sin and repentance and we must learn to appropriate it to our lives just like Romans 8:28!

We serve the most wonderful God and heavenly Father; once again I am in awe of His brilliance. I love Him so!

In light of what has just been penned, I feel that this insight from Charles Spurgeon would be good for us to appropriate into our lives and not to look for the faults of others for we have many faults of our own that needs addressing. Pay attention…

"The judging faculty is best employed at home." 

Our tendency is to spy out splinters in other men’s eyes, and not to see the beam in our own. Instead of beholding, with gratified gaze, the small fault of another, we should act reasonably if we penitently considered the greater fault of ourselves.

It is the beam in our own eye which blinds us to our own wrongdoing; but such blindness does not suffice to excuse us, since it evidently does not shut our eyes to the little error of our brother. Officiousness pretends to play the oculist; but in very truth it plays the fool.

Fancy a man with a beam in his eye pretending to deal with so tender a part as the eye of another, and attempting to remove so tiny a thing as a mote or splinter! Is he not a hypocrite to pretend to be so concerned about other men’s eyes, and yet he never attends to his own?

Jesus is gentle, but he calls that man a “hypocrite” who fusses about small things in others, and pays no attention to great matters at home in his own person. Our reformations must begin with ourselves, or they are not true, and do not spring from a right motive.

Sin we may rebuke, but not if we indulge it. We may protest against evil, but not if we willfully practise it. The Pharisees were great at censuring, but slow at amending. Our Lord will not have his kingdom made up of hypocritical theorists, he calls for practical obedience to the rules of holiness.

After we are ourselves sanctified, we are bound to be eyes to the blind, and correctors of unholy living; but not till then. Till we have personal piety, our preaching of godliness is sheer hypocrisy. May none of us provoke the Lord to say to us, "Thou hypocrite"! (C.H.Spurgeon and copied from one of Pyromaniacs posts) http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2015/01/woodworking-101.html

Signing off

Tyrone

    

  

    

To be wise and gentle at the same time

This morning I thank God for life and the way it unfolds; God has chosen to use the base things of our existence to confound the way of “Mr Worldly Wiseman”. Life although tainted by the corruption of sin is a catalyst that helps us walk in the Spirit with the mind of Christ teaching us the way when we place God first in our lives. Somehow I have missed the emphasis that the Lord Jesus places on us to be as gentle as doves but as wise as serpents! I suppose this is the next chapter I must now consider and it is imperative that I get it right!

Therefore let the Word lead the way…

"Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) – Wisdom then is the key! Let us not be fooled into believing that those outside of Christ will be on our side when the chips are down, we would be foolish to trust that. They are unconsciously driven by that which is unseen; “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) - They are enlisted in the army that prior to salvation we also belonged to; unwittingly lead about by our noses without any actual understanding. It would be imprudent of us to put our reliance in such men or women. With that said I understand that God is for us and whatever He determines will come to pass. He controls even the evil forces; they cannot go beyond the bounds of His instruction. We have been taught that very clearly from scripture and the book of Job gives us great insight to that fact! However when we begin to put our trust in uncertain riches, beware! We must place all our confidence in our God! Of all lessons, I believe this is one of the most important classes we can learn from here on earth, faith toward God! In spite of these physiques of death, flesh and blood forms that age and then eventually die a death of humility. We must learn to have faith toward our God as the only supreme ruler, remembering that our great Saviour has led the way; “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8)   

What do we do as Christians when we find ourselves partnered with unbelievers? It is hard for most of us to avoid such conditions of employment.

Let us explore further…

The context of this verse Matthew 10:16 is obviously under the bearing of ministering the gospel, the Apostles were sent, and they were given a particular objective, to preach the gospel. Not many of us have been sent in that sense. But we all have been commissioned to preach the gospel within our own circles. If we have been saved and have the mind of Christ we all have a certain measure of that gifting; “we have freely received now freely give” is the instruction. How then do we marry the two; working with unbelievers and preaching the gospel? It would be foolish to trust an unbeliever; we have already proved that they unwittingly belong to the enemy. They are blind due to sin, just as we once were! We must be diligent with what we have been called to do, with commitment as unto the Lord. But we must always have our wits about ourselves, trusting God and no one else. This is certainly a lesson that will keep us from disappointment. God has already promised to give us what we need if we seek His righteousness as our first point of call. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:33-34)

To be as wise as serpent but as gentle as dove and understanding that it is better for us to suffer wrong when doing the right thing than to take up vengeance for ourselves; “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:19-21)

There is much for us to consider and this topic is far from over, My God open my eyes to wisdom in this area of my life is my prayer, Amen! I am in desperate need of your help my great Father God.

Signing off

Tyrone  

  

   

  

Fear Not!

(Genesis 15:1) "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield;”

Fear is part of life and yet it needn’t be! So long as we apply the Word of God to our lives, when we believe in Him it will be well with our souls, trials will be ostensible and yet fear will be kept at bay so long as we learn to trust the words of God! If God says something, it will come to pass. Period! There is no supposition with God’s will. Guess work never enters the equation! If He has settled something in His heart and mind it will happen. It is pointless hoping against the inevitable. You have more chance of winning the Lotto than wishing against the Word of God. People have tried and they will continue to stab and disprove God’s Word, the Bible. But they will always fail as it is an impossible task! Why do you think that the Bible is the greatest seller of all times? It holds the keys to eternal life and the answers needed for the trials of life are found in the good book. It is a guide for all willing to put their trust in it. In fact this is what the Apostle John has to say about the “Word of God”; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)

And yet there are many families that have a Bible on their bookshelves gathering dust. That will help no one; it’s like going to a gunfight with no bullets in the magazine and an unloaded chamber! We must pick it up and read and then read some more. Even if you are amongst the sceptics, do not take the word of other people, you pick up the bible and read it, make up your own mind. Do not be like the ostrich, burying your head in the sand saying all will be well when surrounded by predators. That is the way of the fool!

We all make mistakes and who hasn’t blundered in one form or another, there was only ever one man who made no mistakes and He is the “Word of God”, the Lord Jesus Christ, became a man and lived a perfect life without sin, paying the price for sinners so that they could go free! “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:12-14)

  

How was it that I received faith to believe that God is who He says He is? Through the Word of God! Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. It was a miraculous miracle! I have failed many tests along the way, hypocrisy playing its part in my life, but only so far and no further is now my cry! Thank God for His mercies that is never ending! The Word of God (Jesus) is faithful, trust in Him we must!

Abram was a man that showed favour to men and no greater favour can a man show his friend than point them to the Word of God, for when they find it, it will free them from the clutches of death and destruction. There is no greater power on heaven or earth than the Word of God! It was the Word of God that created the universe, God speaks and it happens. It is up to the individual to trust God at His Word!

Regardless of what seems to be our lot in life, when we learn to trust God at His Word it will be well with our souls. Even when ours worlds begin to fall around us, if we can trust the Word of God we would have begun to learn the lessons of life which will prepare us for the life to come.

Here is a good example which the Apostle Paul teaches us about believing God at His Word; “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) – Regardless of the throes of life and what appears to be happening when we take verses like these and appropriate then into daily living, it proves that we walk by faith and it will equip us to face the onslaught, come what may.

Considering that it was the Apostle Pauls testimony that played a part in him penning those words; “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one--I am talking like a madman--with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” (2Corinthians 11:23-30)

Paul was a man that should have been afraid but because he trusted His God, fear had very little hold on his life, HE TRUSTED THE WORD OF GOD! We must also follow suite! May God give us the resolve to find grace to appropriate His Word to our lives especially when the chips are down! Glory to God alone forever and ever, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

  

A world that is passing away...

(1 Corinthians 7: 31) “…for the present form of this world is passing away.”

How many of us really live believing this verse as our veracity? To some degree every Christian and even some from other philosophies live lives that reflect that truth but very few breathe that existence as if nothing else actually matters. Sadly we have been swallowed up with the bustle of life and yet while we have breath we have hope and it is still possible to rectify our wrongs. Today is the day of salvation and we have all been afforded the opportunity to make straight that which has become crooked. Charles Spurgeon had this to say about our Christian struggles; “find the Lord where you lost Him”, in other words go back to the place in your life where that light that once burned bight and clear and search high and low until He is found. Did you lose Him to a particular sin, if so then repent, was He lost to money or some other trickery that has taken pre-eminence. It is no use sweeping that under the carpet it must get dealt with. We all have some areas in our lives that need attention. The beauty of this thought is God is for us, He is on our side and will be quick to come to our rescue where needed, all that is needed from us is to cry out unto Him. What a glorious God we serve, praise His name!

Regardless of how we may have blundered He is slow to anger and quick to forgive! What other philosophy has this mercy attached to it?    

We have the truth and it is time for us to strip away so many mundane things in our lives, I suppose life with all its trapping has taken care of our eyes becoming dull. Sadly we place a greater emphasis on earthly things and the future. The further we venture into the throes of life the greater our anxieties become. The older we get the more we worry about retirement and provision for it. The younger we are the more we are driven to conquer our world and get ahead in life; a trapping which takes our eyes off the fact that this world is passing away. When asked about the life to come we are all quick to acknowledge our hope but how many of us actually live life helping others understand the truth of eternity. We buy, we sell we build our own empires regardless of the size of it, we live as if there is no tomorrow.

The men and woman of faith referred to in the bible lived very different lives and God was pleased with them, in fact he was so pleased with them that He got a man to mention them in the canon of scripture. The writer of Hebrews had this to say; “And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-- who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 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. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:32-38)

May God help us uncover all that takes our eyes off Him!

Signing off

Tyrone 

Worship

I love to sing gospel songs as I go about my business. Songs like, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever, I will SING!” Mankind is obligated to worship God but for some that is not their reality, however manhood has a need to devote themselves to someone or something, it is part of our design. We all adore something!

Some worship money while others are obsessed with themselves, and the list is endless. There are many different forms of worship, even the atheist is obsessed in worshipping his own persuasion and makes a point of letting those around him know that he is an agnostic. So many opinions and yet each gravitate to their own form of worship, but be assured all worship in one form or another.

Why do we have the need for worship? Because God has created us with that desire to be quenched! A parched mouth requires water to quench its thirst, so too, humans need to adore something, that craving must eventually be satisfied! I find this thought reasonably fascinating and yet rather wonderful!  Take an engineer; he designs a foundation with a particular purpose, his design must be able to comfortably support the weight above it, no differently in principle to God with man. God requires and expects us to worship Him! Do you recall the demise of man, they no longer worshiped or honoured Him as God; “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. Claiming to be wise, they became fools…” (Romans 1:21-22) – Therefore it is only the fool who refuses to worship God!

Satan has had his role in skewing the worship of many and it all started in the Garden of Eden where he deceived Eve into believing a lie; the birth of sin, which is no longer an infant but rather a fierce beast which has distorted mankind’s worship. Although it is obvious that through creation God’s power is clearly seen, so all of mankind is without excuse; “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

It is imperative that we honour God for who He is, He demands that from His creation and another word for this would be WORSHIP! WE must learn to worship God for He is worthy of worship! Take this truth away from someone and you will see that worship enters another realm as something or someone else gets the worship. But as for me and my house we will by the grace of God give our God due benevolence and worship Him from the rising of the sun to the setting of the same. Having said that and wanting that to be true with all my heart, life still looks to distract us from our objective, GOD FIRST!        

Many Christians sing songs, it is a form of praise and it is part of worship and every true born again Christian will sing songs to their God. It depicts their appreciation for His mercy in their lives. What hinders our worship? The trial of life! But it has been designed to increase our worship. The harder the trial the sweeter the worship, when we begin to understand the journey that has been set before us. The trials of life shaping us for our roles in eternity! That must remain in the forefront of our minds and it will eventually run its course. Everything in the process of time has a beginning and an end, pass the test and reap the reward. Fail it and do it all over again while we live but once we breathe our last that is it, no more chances to put things right. That’s it! Heaven or hell for all eternity!

It is only the fool who refuses to worship something else other than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the great I AM, He had no beginning nor will He ever have an end and He has lavished His love on mankind by sending His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to pay a debt that was not His own but ours. God’s love on show for all as His Son died in our place and paid the price for our sin. What will you do with that sacrifice? Will you reject it and continue to worship whatever you feel is of utmost importance to you at the expense of honouring God through worship and reject His offer of salvation and remain amongst the fools or will you fall to your knees and cry out to Him, repenting of the error of your ways and honouring God as the only true God? My prayer is that the latter will be your testimony.

To God the ever wise God be glory now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone      

Distractions

Life is filled with so many distractions; although we know part of the theory on how we ort to walk in the Spirit, which keeps our eyes fixed on the goal, there will always be something that looks to justifiably distract. I believe this is why the Word of God doesn’t go into “physco-babble” when it comes to walking in the light as opposed to succumbing to the traps of darkness! Formulas are not learnt and then applied to arrive at the correct result. The orators of scripture very seldom go into details concerning the “how-to”. That is a technique of the flesh, be weary of it. Christians will need to learn to trust God as we learn to walk by faith!

The Bible is full of instructions, it is true and full of light and we need to heed the full council of the scriptures. It reveals the character of God. Easier said than done if we walk in the flesh, but doable when we walk in the Spirit! There is no darkness in the Spirit of God, just as there is no light in the flesh! Can this statement be proved? This is our problem; we see our tainted flesh as good! Even after salvation, this thought continually haunts us all. As soon as we put trust in anything besides the Lord Jesus we have failed! This reality really rocks our independence.

Let me ask a question; who needed to free us from the separation of God? The Lord Jesus! He alone accomplished that amazing act of love, reconciling sinners back to God. Those who were once enemies of the cross are now God’s allies. Light was sent from heaven to the earth, born through the womb of a virgin and there the Lord subjected himself to the will of his Father, laying down his eternal authority, exposing himself to the laws of the flesh; he ate, he grew and he lived without ever yielding to sin. Light shattering the shackles of darkness! Hence this statement; “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 taught; “in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” (Romans 8:4-9)

Therefore when true Christianity begins, when we are born again, something miraculous happens. We receive the Spirit of God; He takes up residence in us. This is what differentiates the Christian from the unbeliever. Unless the Spirit of God dwells in you, even if you claim to be a Christian you do not belong to God, period!

Light and darkness does not share the same cosmos. It can’t! And yet we find a continuous war within our souls, at times we see the light so brilliantly it is almost blinding and then at times we feel so alone and afraid as darkness lures us into its trap and ensnares us; times when personal sin is easily understood by the believer; these are the stints when walking in the flesh are highlighted and easily understood as works of the flesh. But what of the epochs when we believe what we are doing is walking in the light when in fact we are walking in darkness. It is these subtleties that we must guard against. We have been given clear instructions not to walk in the flesh, which would imply that it can become our reality, it is feasible! The confrontation then rages on; there is a difference between the ally and the enemy, my concern is when we as Christians see the enemy as our partner. In other words; when we see the works of the flesh as a helper who gets us to walk in the Spirit, we have been hoodwinked.

The only time our judgments become clouded is when we forget to put God first! Independence is an enemy and not our friend. May this certainty become our actuality! “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.” (1John 1:6-7) – If we see blatant sin in our lives or in the lives of others, it is easy to acknowledge the darkness of it. However if we look to justify our self-worth as an add-on we still walk in darkness. Let us not be fooled by the trickery of the evil one when it comes to this. Our total dependency must start and end with the finished work of Calvary; just as we trusted our God for salvation, so too must we trust Him to get us home as we learn not to rely on our own independence. These are very murky waters and it may well be time for chlorination.

Let us remember our first love, the Lord Jesus and let us begin to do the first works, like we did when newly saved and it will be well with our souls! Forget what you think you know, but like newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that we may grow by it and peradventure our great God will have compassion upon our unbelief as He shows us the error of our ways. We need only approach His throne in a spirit of humility and belief that He will supply all our needs to these areas of our lives and it shall be done, praise His name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

God first from the rising of the sun to the rising of the same, one day at a time!

Signing off

Tyrone       

   

  

Overcoming distraction!

What causes a man to become distracted? Our lives have many disturbances, but let’s rather than singling out certain instabilities, let us reasonably go to the root of what diverts our attention from the task at hand. It was a dream last night that helped me understand this a little clearer and then on consideration of God’s Word the way has now been illuminated. We must always receive confirmation from the Word of God!   

Without going into the detail of the dream which was full of confusion, the point I am able to hone in on is this; when we lose our way we end up making mistakes. This is when we are at our weakest!

Key an address into a GPS and see how often it takes you on a roundabout way and now with so many closed roads and boomed areas due to the crime in South Africa, we may often ended up at a road that has been sealed with a fence and then have had to start all over again to reach the required destination. Life is very similar! It is when we lose our way that we find we end up making mistakes.

The journey for the Christian is no different; if we stay on course, if we remained focused with the task at hand we will never lose our way and we will not be trapped by the distractions of life. GOD FIRST in our daily activities keeps us focused, therefore that must be our first point of call when we open our eyes every morning. We must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and it will be well with our souls. Again I realize that it is not difficult to remain focused if we remain true to that call.

We have been bought with a miraculous price and our Saviour the Lord Jesus has done all the work; it is up to us to remain faithful to His finished work. Grace is on offer for every true child of God to enable us to get through the trials of life and we must tackle it one day at a time. If we try and bite off more than we can chew, this is when the water becomes a little murky and we end up losing our way.

We must trust the written Word of God and it will be well with our souls. We needn’t reinvent any other process to help us along our journey.  Faith in our God demands that loyalty!

Here then is David’s formula and we must learn to imitate his example; firstly we must lift up our souls to the Lord, all this means is we must wake up and cry to God as our foot touches the floor. We must then declare our trust in Him, knowing that we will not be put to shame regardless of the enemies exult on us. Praying for God to teach us His ways and asking Him to lead us in His truth as we depend upon His grace throughout the day. Instead of me breaking up psalm 25 let us learn from it…

“Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD! Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me. Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.” (Psalms 25:6-22)

In Conclusion whatever our troubles may be we know that we have a God who cares for us, therefore lets us remember to remain humble before him. He is for us and not against us. He is greater than any difficulty we may ever encounter and our faith in Him will keep us safe; come what may!

Signing off

Tyrone  

   

Teach me your ways O God!

(Psalms 25:5)  “Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation…”

My son asked me “what does it mean to lay your life down for the Lord?” He is at the age where his whole life lies before him. Questions like studying and career is obviously in the forefront of his mind and he wants to make the right choice. I confess this was a question I struggled with for many years but as time has progressed and years have begun to tick away, this is now a lot clearer. It is in fact not a difficult question to answer. Simply put, we must put Him first in every area of our lives! Money, food and shelter must be a spinoff of our commitment to Him and not the other way round. Nothing in our lives should be given pre-eminence over our dedication to Him. Our natural minds like to find justification to put the Lord on the back banner, we use education and work commitments to justify our actions but they are no more than trappings from the evil one! This world is full of what we like to deem as justifiable actions. Even our family commitments must revolve around His will for our lives!

We no longer have rights as it were, we have been bought at a great price! “For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1Corinthians 6:20) – When we use terminology like, “God will understand”, we have been deceived! Faith demands our sole dependency upon the finished work of the cross. This is the lesson David teaches us in his psalm. Anything outside of “God first” is destructive and will only ever leave us unsatisfied and stagnant in our spiritual growth. Many questions will probe away at our minds, looking to justify our independence, do not give them any place but rather let us learn to trust our God for our daily needs; He knows what we need, far better than we ever could!

In principle we must act like the disciples and not like the rich young ruler. Simon Bar-Jonah was a fisherman and busy casting nets into the sea, for he was a fisherman. Jesus called out to him; “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." The recorded response is the lesson; “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Matthew 4:20) – If anything in our lives forces us to take supremacy over God’s call for our lives we are in danger of this as we look to hang onto the trappings of life. “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."” (Mark 10:21) – For this man money was his life, for others it may be something else, but, we are to understand David’s encouragement in this psalm, if we have learnt anything, we must understand that God must take pre-eminence in every area of our lives. Have I arrived? Most certainly not, but I can say with assurance that I have resolve by the grace of God to learn to put my trust in him even more as I see the day of His soon return inching closer.

Let us lock hands as we encourage each other to trust our great Saviour as we learn to shed our own independence like a snake sheds its skin. More of Jesus and less of my selfish wants is my cry, receive my cry my great God and Father. Please help me lose my selfish character. I also pray for all who confess Jesus as Lord of their lives, make this truth clear to us all. Glorify your name for you alone are worthy of all praise, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

     

At the feet of Jesus!

We face so many different daily decisions and yet how often are we disappointed with our antiphon. It happened to me yesterday, I lent some of my tools out for the fitting of the new shop and in order to keep tabs on them, I didn’t want my tools to go missing, so I went to collect them. When I was asked to leave them at the shop for more work needed to be done, my impulse response was, “I am going to use them today”, and it was a lie! I had no intention of using them but I wanted to keep them safe for I was afraid that they may be stolen by the staff. I hadn’t planned my answer, I hadn’t intended to lie, it happened without any arrangement; proof that the “old man” if given an opportunity will always rear his head if cornered.

To some this may be classed as a small sin, a white lie, but in God’s eyes sin is iniquity and it is tainted with darkness, it represents the characteristics of the enemy who has already been defeated through the broken body and shed blood of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ! We must learn to put on the mind of Christ in every area of our lives, seeking out God’s grace to achieve this bringing Him glory with our example in the hope of influencing others as they examine themselves in the light of our testimonies.

Having said that I am reminded of these verses; “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"-- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." (James 4:11-15) – However our lives must be filled with self-reflection, not filled with accusations; we must not be distracted by those around us that we feel should behaved differently. It takes our eyes off ourselves and distracts us from serving God the way we ort too. Be on guard for you adversary, the devil is always looking to distract the child of God!

I am so thankful for times like these, were God the Holy Spirit leads and guides me into God’s truth. Were He helps me trim the sail of truth and gets my thoughts steered in the right direction.

A few days back someone posted a question on Facebook and it read; “where is your happiest place on earth”? It made reference to a holiday destination, my reflex response was this; “at the feet of Jesus”! The more I think about this, the more I realise how accurate it is, there will never be a better place for us to travel. And the beauty of this statement is that as Christians we can always foldaway to that destination. He has afforded us this privilege! Praise His name!

If you are troubled, travel to the feet of Jesus, sit there for a while and listen to the flowing water of that calm stream, lend an ear to the leaves rustling in the gentle breeze and before long you will hear a small still voice whisper into to your ear and it will be well with your soul! The feet of Jesus is a place of peace and tranquillity, you need only resolve in faith to venture there and He will settle you; “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Philippians 4:19-20)   

Signing off

Tyrone    

       

Faith towards God

(Matthew 8:11) “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”

There is a drum that I have been beating, a particular tune that by the grace of God is becoming my reality and how I love that melody. The harmony is full of faith, with not even a hint of independence and it is teaching me volumes. Tomes of God’s grace oozes from its lyrics and I love it so! Its title, “faith towards God”!

Many schooled Christians teach us that we need a balance with our application in faith toward God. They are wrong! That concept in itself will only ever result in us flying the flag of independence! - “Faith And”! – Remember what Abraham did to help God with His promise, he slept with Hagar. It only ever brought him heartache! He was compelled to banish his son!  

The sooner we learn to follow in our forefathers footsteps, in our application with faith, the happier our existence on earth will be. Note, I did not say the richer we would be! If we think with our carnal minds we will always remain in the camp of the old man’s domain. We will be glued to the floor unable to move into the room of freedom, a lounge filled with the grace of God!

If you find that your past has anchored you to the floor of carnality, you needn’t trouble yourself with all the opinionated voices that fly across that room. Block your ears, settle your mind and then believe God in accordance with His Word and apply your faith to His promises and see how easily that which had once been set in stone no longer latches you to trappings of worldly sorrow, which will only ever produce death. Forgiveness comes from God but we must trust Him to forgive, and then once forgiven we will be fit for the Masters use! And then when we hear those words, “go and sin no more” we will be equipped to find grace in time of need.  

First faith and then we will be set free to serve Him in the demesne of faith and grace. Not the other way around, that is independence!

There is a table prepare for the faithful, and it radiates hope for the Christian. There will be a table furnished with the kingdoms delights and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be on the guest role. The Lord Jesus chose to speak of this upcoming event when a gentile proved his faith in Him. The promise of God was to Abraham and his seed, the Jewish nation was called and not the Gentiles! However we as gentiles have responded in faith toward God and we too will be part of that celebration, just as long as we remain faithful! The Lord Jesus made reference to this feast when He witnessed the faith of a Roman soldier, he was not Jewish! The brilliance of God’s plan in action! The Only ever wise God covering ever base that needs wrapping in accordance with His perfect will! I am learning to love God’s techniques as I begin to catch glimpses of His genius. Imagine when we see Him as He is, in all His splendour, WOW what a day that is going to be!

Let us learn from Roman soldier’s example…

“I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; let it be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment.” (Matthew 8:11-13) – We see no independence from his side; apart from making every effort to stand before Jesus. That may well have been a tiresome journey; nevertheless he arrived at the feet of Jesus! He placed his faith in the Lord Jesus’ ability to heal and no one, nor any other program or philosophy. And we must learn to follow suite in every of our lives. The sooner we relinquish our independence the happier we will be.

Let go and let God…

Signing off

Tyrone    

  

        

God works ALL things out for our good

Theoretically when I am placed under any form of pressure, I am cognizant that it is for my benefit. God’s Word is very clear on this! Let’s face it, who enjoys being tested? The first person my mind runs to when the pressure is on is Job! As I sit at my desk in the very early hours of the morning due to sleep eluding me, I find myself pondering my predicament and I grasp that I am nothing like Job! Sadly our characters are worlds apart! Thankfully we do share the same favour from God and without that reality in my life I would be of all men most miserable. But that has nothing to do with my accomplishments, Jesus Christ the Lord has afforded me that opportunity, praise His name!

Job was a man of his eon that was like no other, he stood head and shoulders above the rest, but not the way we would deem someone to be cool as it were. He was not one of the boys, but he was God’s man for the hour. God singled him out to glorify His own name. Great honour befalls such a person, needless to say that with that rectitude great affliction will follow. A person cannot expect to be blessed of God if He is not willing to walk the talk! “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22)

This was Job’s CV; “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” (Job 1:1) – I am nothing like Job, but I most certainly long to be more like him in character, he was a man who feared God and “turned away from evil”. This is a massive declaration from God about His character, he “turned away from evil”! How often do I turn from evil? When I strip this down to it core, how much tolerance of that which is wicked do I allow in my life? I may understand what I should avoid in principle, but how much of that do I put into practice? Far too little I would suggest! God forgive me!

Now without yesterday’s event unfolding the way they did, I know I would still be fast asleep and not pondering these life changing thoughts. Like I said it is one thing to pen something, and even if what was said was accurate, it is quite another entity altogether when it becomes that individual’s reality. Will we pass the test? Job most certainly did but not without a lot of inner turmoil! But God brought him through his trail, more blessed on the other side. Go read it for yourself if you think life is treating you unfairly.

Now for some perspective, the trial of my faith is but a fraction of what Job was called to face and yet it presses hard, it looks to rob me of my faith in Christ. Many questions flash through my mind; five steps forward and thirty backwards, WHY? It is not important to find the exact answer, all I need learn is that God is for me and not against me and that these verses must be believe through the most difficult of times; “And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:27-28)

When I step back and view my current survival from a distance, I want to laugh at the trivia of it all, so small and almost trifling in comparison to so many other men and woman of the faith, those who have carried God’s banner through their lives. However when I step back into my little world it is my actuality that needs conquering and not theirs. I Thank God for His grace and that He care for me. I may not like my current position, sadly I may even mumble under my breath at times but I am convinced that it will be worth it all, come what may! Whether we, through our own folly bring about God’s chastisement into our lives or God conveys it for some other reason, I know this, it is good for me and it will ultimately bring Him glory! I now need no more explanation, if God is for me all I need to do is look for His grace to settle me wherever I find myself. I must learn to be constant in flying that flag for today, tomorrow and up until I breathe my last breath.

Signing off

Tyrone