Either Or!

Either or, but never both at the same time! Can light and darkness share the same space, can they co-exist? Not unless there are other obstacles in the same space that obscure the light causing shadows. Only then I suppose the shadow could create a dark corner. But remove all impediments and darkness will instinctively flee from the light! We can draw from this example “in type” as a principle when considering our walks before God.

Can the flesh and the Spirit co-exist? We know that we have our treasure in an earthen vessel; we have Christ’s Spirit living in our very own bodies, if in fact we have been called by God, if we have truly repented and been born again of the Spirit. Look how the Apostle Paul stresses this point; “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. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:9-13)

Note:-

It is obvious that we are still alive and live like every other person, we eat, sleep and breathe air like all flesh, but something happens at salvation, God’s Spirit enters the believer and the body is reckoned to be dead because of sin. Christ lives in every believer; this is how we now are able to understand spiritual truths that were once hidden from us. Our spiritual eyes have been opened. This is not something we can be taught, it is a miracle. It is a free gift from God which encompasses His grace, which in some way is attached to repentance. Our physical bodies are reckoned to be dead; they live by the power generated by the Spirit. We must now understand and learn to live by faith, it must become a banner to our daily existence, and we must walk in newness of life. We must learn to flip the light switch of the Spirit as it were and all the rot will be forced to flee, in the same way darkness is force to flee from light. The flesh and the Spirit cannot share the same room, the way we conduct ourselves will be EITHER OR, never both at the same time! It is obvious that we can move between the flesh and the Spirit. But when we live by the rules of the flesh we can only ever produce fruits that bring death, we have all been called to live in the Spirit and in so doing something wonderful will begin to happen, we will start to kill off all the works of our flesh, that is a given, God has so ordained it! No ifs and buts! And by so applying ourselves to this understanding we will live with an abundance of God’s fruit of the Spirit ruling and reigning in our lives. This is what it will look like; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. An amazing prospect for every believer; why then do we at times lose sight of this reality? It is simple to understand if we would just ask God to show us what we need to do and here it is; “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (Galatians 5:16-17)   

We must learn to trust our Father in every area of our lives with this application, and we must stop hedging our bets by putting faith on the mantel piece as we make alternative arrangements for our lives. When we live with that kind of mindset we have not learnt to walk by the Spirit, you fill in the blanks.

Wherever we go, whatever we do, God not only witnesses it but shares in our actuality; look at this strong rebuke which I have most certainly been guilty of, I am sorry my Lord and King for my lack of understanding in this area of my life but thank you for your forgiveness, may even the hint of this kind of thought never ever enter my mind again; “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1Corinthians 6:18-20) – The only way we will ever achieve glorifying God in our body is to walk in the Spirit. May God open our eyes to the truth and may we grow from strength to strength with our application, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone      

   

Will the dust praise you?

As we grow into our characters and the years chip away molding each individual into whom we eventually become. Some will leave a legacy of greatness while other will sooner be forgotten. Look at the great Nelson Mandela, for most of his life he was not recognized and locked away in a prison on Robin Island. And yet he stuck to his guns, hoping to change the world was his dream, which eventually blossomed into a burgeoning tree seen and admire by the world. In 1994 he was set free and later became the President of South Africa, breaking down the partitions of apartheid. Loved by the world! Yet his dream came at great cost and it was only late on in life where he reaped his reward, prior to his fame he needed to endure much suffering, it was the way his journey had been mapped. It is obvious he achieved the goal he had set himself, a life well worth remembering. I wonder if we really saw his life for what it actually was, how many times he hit the wall, wanting to throw in the towel; God alone knows the depths of his struggle.

Is it any different for us? Life has many valuable lesson, some very painful and even near death experience are necessary to mold us into the person we ort to become. Thank God for the work of the cross, praise the name of Jesus, all other biographies fade into the distance in comparison to what He achieved for mankind. He broke down the partition of sin and made a way for all those throughout the ages who would call upon His finished work seeking out His forgiveness for their sins. Not only freeing the black majority of South Africans from the bondage of apartheid. All creeds from the world have now been invited to come and find freedom through Him. But the message is a clear one, through Him and no other. My goodness! When this penny drops for us, it should jolt us into action for the sake of God’s kingdom. We must all learn to “dress” the gospel for the sake of God’s glory; our lives must be driven to “adorn the Gospel” because it is the greatest message a man can give a dying sinner.

I love the words of David as He communes with His God; “"What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!" You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” (Psalms 30:9-12)

David’s reality must certainly become our actuality. If not what profit are we to God our great Father? We are no different to the dust of the earth dead and without voice. We must learn to praise our God and even more as we see that day approaching. If we remain silent why should He keep us around? The wonder of the cross, what the Lord Jesus has achieved on our behalf is phenomenal, and all because we have been sanctified by Him. The riches and the mercies of God our Father are beyond finding out, they could never be restrained and all because of Jesus Christ the Lord. All hail King Jesus! With that said, should that now give us license to rely on His mercies as we wallow in our self-pity, remaining silent for days on end, Nay let us learn like David to beseech the Lord to keep us alive, because we have learnt to praise and thank Him for His goodness in spite of what the day may throw at us. We have much to be thankful for!

Hear my cry O Lord and be merciful to me for I wish not to be silent so that my mouth may praise your name throughout today, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone  

Putting off all that robs us of our victory in Christ...

When we are caught up with trivia, the dregs of the chaff of life, the issues we make mountains out of when in fact they are small stones that the souls of most shoes would barely recognize, nevertheless at times we are so engulfed by them that they initiate an emotion in us crying, Woe is me! The mundane woe is me syndrome, an emotion which looks to rear its head up like a spitting cobra ready to strike. The scary truth to this reality is that it has often had victory over us which then robs us of our victory in Christ. It leaves us wallowing in the pigsty of self-pity. Our enemy then rubs his hands together crying, “Objective achieved”! However when we reason with the eagle’s eye of acumen, nothing in fact should ever rob us of our victory in Christ, for He has overcome all opposition. It fascinates me how it is so often the little foxes that soil the vine. And yet it shouldn’t surprise me, sin is at war with our endeavour’s to become more and more like our glorious Saviour, nevertheless when we walk in the flesh we most certainly remain a defeated foe. Every Christian has been called to walk in the Spirit. The Apostle Paul teaches us this; “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16)   

  

“Me thinks”, that the reason for our pity-parties is that we do not see ourselves for who we really are; Individuals that deserve hell and yet we have rather found mercy and now been covered by the grace of God; Jesus Christ paying the price for our sin! The believer has been set free from all destructive probes that oppose God’s judgments. When we understand this I suppose we will never demand any rights that we think we deserve. If we can settle our minds on this actuality we will then be a lot more useful in serving our Master. For us to reach a little higher than our groveling experiences we need to look to the Rock that is higher than us. It’s at these times in our lives that we need to cry out in prayer unlatching the bolts on our side of the door as I can assure you, the bolts on the opposite side have already been unlatched, Jesus Christ our Lord has achieved that once and for all. It would be very adolescent not to take advantage of this freedom we have now been afforded. Praise the name of Jesus now and forever more!

Let us now therefore put off all that robs us of our victory in Christ, let men be men bearing the reproach of our Saviour, it is the very least we can resolve to find God’s grace to accomplish in our daily lives; “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation-- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1Peter 2:1-3)  - There is a proviso for us to achieve this goal and that is we must have “tasted that the Lord is good”, why else would we look to be ridiculed, what would be the point?

May God quicken the importance of these truths to our hearts and may they become our dress for battle.

Signing off

Tyrone 

The reality of the Lake of Fire...

(Revelation 21:8)  “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

Once again I have been confronted with a sober thought that has sprung to mind, life in its entirety! Not just our existence here on earth but the full picture considered for what it is; our reality! The full picture and not only that which most have been deceived to believe about life on earth and then the apparent smell of roses for all that pass from this life into the next regarding our spiritual existence in eternity; a timeless reality after death but in a spiritual form. How often have you heard family and friends say that a loved one in now in a far better place regardless of the way they have lived their lives, irrespective of what God has taught us through His word, the Bible!  In other words we have all been born as babies then live life here on earth, then we die, are buried and because what happens after death is unseen; no one has actually live there and then lived here, save the Lord Jesus Christ after His resurrection; “"Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”” (Luke 24:46-28)  - These were eye witnesses that saw the Lord Jesus’ resurrected body after His death.

He proved to them that there is life after death, they handled his resurrected body, and it wasn’t an airy-fairy mystical body like “Casper the ghost” but very real and tangible. No different in likeness to what our bodies will be like when we pass from this life into the next. We do not die in that sense but move into a different realm, this is our reality! Our physical bodies will certainly die but our souls will live on. An Idiom like “I can sleep when I am dead” is a lie! And for most there will not be the smell of roses but sulphur burning in a lake of fire. Why? All because most will not yield to the message of the gospel! Some may embrace the idea on their own terms but this will never cut it. It will not help you escape God’s judgement! God has chosen to use the realm of faith as a key to get us to escape His judgement, He has made a way in which we may escape the Lake of Fire (hell), but only for all who will trust and obey His gospel. Why has He chosen to do it this way? Who are we to question God? We are His creation and we must align ourselves with His choices or pay the price. There is nothing complicated about that! Will we embrace the gospel or not? Will we follow the Lord Jesus example or not? Will you remain defiant as I have heard many speak like fools regarding the free gift of salvation? We cannot say we are good people because we are not, just look in the mirror with an honest heart and that will be soon realised. Expressions like, “I trust that the good I do will out way the bad I have done”, it will never meet God’s requirements that I can promise you! The Bible is very clear on that. “All have sin and fall short of the glory of God”. Only the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice was accepted by God and unless you are covered by His spilt blood, hell will be your final destination, period! But God has made a way for all who in faith believe His promises; seek out His forgiveness will earnestness and it will be well with your soul. Come God’s way and life for eternity will end well. Reject His mercy and it will end badly!

There is not only one death but two and the only way to escape the second death is to have our names written in the book of life. In order to be enrolled in that book we need to come the way of the gospel; “And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15)

To my dear friends, it is not enough to sit on the fence. I know this is a sobering thought, but lets us rather face this reality now because on the other side it will be too late and there will be no second chances. My prayer would be for you to surrender to Him, the One who is worthy of all surrender, even Jesus Christ the Lord, praise His glorious name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone   

"Faith in Prayer"

When we pray there must be a note of “faith in prayer” visible, without believing that our prayer will be heard or answered is not how we have been taught to pray! Fervency must be the anchor to all our prayers regardless of how we feel. “Easier said than done” one may say, whether we be on a hilltop or in some dark ditch, it shouldn’t change our anticipation to be heard. This was the way in which David expressed himself. His prayer never sounded like this; “Holy God if you choose to hear me please come through for me”. If was never passive but always honest with faith as its rock! Regardless of the sin or the hardship David faced whether by fault of his own or not, he knew in whom he believed. The only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob his Rock, his Fortress and he had learnt to put his trust in Him and Him alone. “David a man after Gods own heart”! He never lived a life of lip service but proved his faith in action; killing bears, lions and taking off Goliaths head with his own sword.

Teach me my great God the instructor in all truth, help me see as I ort to grasp, help me utter words with power and conviction, believing God as I pray and not “if and maybe” type of prayers, I realize I have a long way to travel in this area of my life, forgive me! but with that said I know in whom I believe and I pray that I will grow in strength with my “faith in prayer”, pleasing you heavenly Father and bringing glory to my God in and through the finished work of Calvary. Without the perfect gift of Salvation I would be blind groping in the dark at some arbitrary nonsense passing the time, even possibly increasing in knowledge or feeding the sin in my life as I flipped through the internet, but now I find myself crying out and communing with my Rock in anticipation that I will be heard as I am heard and all because of Jesus Christ my Lord, praise His name! God hears my cry because I have been sanctified by the blood of the Lamb; if that doesn’t get you to air-punch I am not sure what will!

There is no mountain too high or valley too deep that we will not conquer when we reason with a sound mind, “for if God is for us who can be against us”, Hallelujah and Amen!

“If God brings us to it, He will bring us through it”!

Regardless of the pressures of life our God is a Sovereign God and He rules with power and might; He reigns from heaven about and His ways are beyond our carnal minds finding out; they can never know the intricacies of His reasoning. Just trust and obey for we know in whom we have believed, period! Come what may, who will ever be a match for the King of kings? Not even death was able to keep Him in the grave and He is my God and your God if you confess Him with your mouth and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. I most certainly believe that to be true for I know it is true!

David was convinced of many truths concerning His God, let us learn to follow suit. Let us be quick to confess our sins and to forgive others who trespass against us. This is palatable fruit from the true believer, it is evidence that our God reigns within our hearts. You will know a tree by its fruit!

Thank you Father God for David’s example and for so many of the psalms that he has penned, I too pray make me a man after your own heart, quick to forgive those who may trespass against me, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone 

True Repentance

True repentance, what does it look like when studied under a microscope? It must be “true” to start with; it cannot be aligned with anything false, it must not carry with it any secret agenda with any ulterior motive. “I give because I got” or “I got because I gave” will not cut it! Or will it? It is obvious that if I give my tithes to the church hoping to get tenfold in return that I have an ulterior motive. We work in order to receive a salary. As a salesman if I do not make the calls I cannot get the orders, the more calls I make the greater the potential I create for more sales. I therefore need to call on customers to generate sales; my objective is to make money in order to live. I need to give of my time and energy to get a return.

However when considering “true repentance” it looks a little different when examined, how so? Firstly, repentance and grace need to work in harmony to justify the right result. Let’s say I see a man begging for daily bread and I have ten rand in my pocket, the price of a loaf of bread, the money is mine and not the beggars but I still have it in my power to give him the money or not; the choice is mine to do what I want with my money. I am presented with an opportunity to give or not to give. However if I give hoping to get a return then I have an ulterior motive but if I give expecting nothing in return I am then acting graciously. He has done nothing to deserve the money but I give it to him anyway. When we begin to operate in this realm we begin to understand the nature of our God. It is a free gift no differently in principle to what God has afforded me; His grace covered me and I found forgiveness of my sins, I did nothing to deserve it! God acted kindly to me because He had it in His power to forgive. This then is a free gift it wasn’t earned by anything I did or could do.

Salvation can never be earned the price is unobtainable. It is impossible to meet every requirement of God’s law. Only the man Jesus Christ was ever able to live a life free of sin. He alone now has the power to forgive mankind for their sin and He has chosen to do exactly that. But not all will find forgiveness for their sins. Why?

Let us reconsider the beggar, would I have given him my money if he hadn’t of asked? How would I know that he needed the money if he didn’t beg? It would be hard for me to second guess he was in need of my help if he did seek it. I suppose God has chosen to work in a similar realm, we must seek out His forgiveness in order to find His mercy in our lives. It is obvious that God understands that all need His forgiveness to escape eternal damnation. Why then doesn’t He save everyone? This is God’s domain and we as mere men cannot speak on His behalf, I certainly will not be that foolish. The Apostle Paul puts it like this; “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?"” (Romans 9:18-20) – God is Sovereign and will accomplish whatever He has set out to do, this is a given! He is the conductor of the entire universe and we as individuals are caught up in our own reality, we live, eat and breathe our own lives; we are accountable to God for them. We will not have to give an account for how our neighbour has lived his life; that is between God and them. But we will certainly stand before the King of kings and give an account for our own lives. This is very clear from scripture, whether you believe it to be true or not has very little bearing on this truth, God has so willed it! “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.” (Revelation 20:12)

With that covered what is the individual’s responsibility concerning true repentance? It is impossible for one to find favour in the sight of God on their own merit, “for all have sinned”. We must all come to the place just like the beggar and cry out for the forgiveness of our sin if we are to be covered by the grace of God. If not we will suffer want when we need it most, on the day of judgement.

I am reminded of the time when the masses gathered to hear from the Lord Jesus, some wanted food, others wanted healings but there were in fact a few who looked beyond their pitiful state in this life and wanted more, they wanted forgiveness. We can come to Jesus for many different reasons, what is your reason? I am thankful that He has forgiven my sins!

Now since the gospel has gone out to the four corners of the globe, we all have heard the gospel message and we have been left with a choice; do you see yourself as a sinner that needs forgiveness for your own sin? If so you must call out to God asking Him to show you unmerited favour; "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:12-13) - It is then obvious that we must call in order to be saved. Some will call while others won’t, but what will you do?

Signing off

Tyrone

    

       

God's Goodness

In times past people used to seek the king’s advice in order to find wisdom for any given situation or settle a dispute. It was at the palace that people needed to queue in order to be heard. But those days are long gone, even if you find yourself in a humble shack, we as Christians are not hindered by location, we can all cry out to the King of kings and seek at His wisdom. God has made a way for all who seek his face. If it is a dispute you need counsel on or a miracle in your life all one needs to do is cry out to Him. He is but a call away!

I thank God that not only the privileged have been invited to come, but the call has gone out to the “whosoever”. Do not look on your particular situation as dire, for it is far from that. Jesus is touched with the feelings of all who belong to Him. In fact the worse off you may be, the better your standing before Him actually is. We need to be needy to have His ear bent to our cry. God loves those you trust and rely on Him. He loves to be needed! And I love that I need Him! To be reassured of this one fact that the God of all creation is on my side and all because of the finished work of Calvary is a glorious thought. Praise the name of Jesus Christ my King!

Those closest to us may be dying of some dreaded disease, lost in the vortex of their sin, either way it is comforting that we are able to cry out to the One who has it in His power to heal and to save. Do not lose hope when our calls are not answered to our liking, know this of a certainty our God hears our cries. He will always act in accordance to His good pleasure and what father does not want to give “GOOD GIFTS” to his children, what joy we experience when we see a smile beam across the face of a loved one, how much more glorious must that be to a God and Father who sees life for what it is? He undoubtedly knows what is best for us. Let us not second guess His will for our lives, as He is in perfect control. The water of the seas stay the ground by the simple command of His voice, how much more will He care for those who are alive and seek out His obedience for their lives?

The trial of life is a very real reality but our God is Sovereign over all, let us never forget that. To walk by faith and not by sight is the call for every Christian; "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than fooAd, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 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 6:25-34)

Our God is an awesome God…

Signing off

Tyrone 

  

In God we trust

There is great temptation attached to any type of urgent need. The need to do something in order that results may be evident can and will often drive the needful into desperation, trying all sorts of alternatives until one actually works, may well be the way of the world but certainly not the way God works. I wonder how long it will remain the “straw-man trap” for even many leaders leading reputable churches. It is easy to become desperate, but I am persuaded that nothing slips God’s attention and I mean nothing, in fact even the hairs on our heads have been numbered! Our God is a God of precise detail; nothing has been overlooked as if He could be caught unawares. Whatever He has chosen to do will come to pass, period! There are absolutely no if’s and but’s linked to that equation. Every single “i” has been dotted and every “t” has been crossed; where we get it wrong is when we anticipate a different outcome to the one we have hoped for, it is at these times when we are vulnerable to error. It is the little foxes that end up soiling the vine. The giants are easily seen and rightly targeted and brought down by the knees.

Let me draw from some examples throughout scripture to help us understand how apparent the reality of God’s decision is… Davis slept with Uriah’s wife and she feel pregnant and Nathan the prophet was sent by God to expose his sin and once David acknowledged his sin and sought out God’s forgiveness for it, he found forgiveness but not without consequence to his action; “Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.'" David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die." (2Samuel 12:9-14)

We know the end of how David’s life ended because it has been recorded for us in scripture; His son soon died after birth and even though David wept and fasted for him, God still took his life. Absalom His son tried to overthrow his kingdom and David was constantly at war throughout his reign. His son Amnon slept with his half-sister Tamar and Absalom slept with David’s concubine in the sight of all Israel, it was public knowledge; “Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Go in to your father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench to your father, and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened." So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof. And Absalom went in to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.” (2Samuel 16:21-22) – We are able to conclude from scripture that there was most certainly a consequence to David’s sin and what God had determined by His judgment was irreversible. God always will have the final say! That may seem like an obvious statement but we as mere men sometimes hope beyond hope, it is always about His will and what we need to learn is to align ourselves with His will whatever that may be.

The Apostle Paul understood this without question; look at his reasoning in the book of Corinthians; “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1Corinthians 1:17-18) – using any other lure to arrive at ones goal will only ever end badly, we must always come the way of the cross and the way we have been instructed to come through scripture. The sooner we learn this as our own reality the sooner we will be able to find rest in our God. This is a principle we must apply to every area of our lives. Whatever our lack, we know that if we come God’s way we will arrive at a valuable conclusion. And even if we do not get what we want we will certainly receive what is needed.

Signing off

Tyrone  

Man of War

“To be or not to be” is the question I find myself pondering this chilly eve spring morning. Another early rise, as I wait with anticipation for my Heavenly Fathers voice to ring true. Sunrise yet a long way off and yet with baited breath I eagerly await His instruction! I am learning to love these early mornings as I know I will of a certainty hear the voice of my GOD. “Be still and listen” now rings true to my ear; just me, my thoughts and some running water outside my study window and silence, what bliss! Absolutely no disturbance from family or foe as my mind processes so many thoughts at the same time, looking to latch onto that which is now relevant. “To be or not to be?” Although this is one of Shakespeare’s famous quotes it could well be a banner for the Christian. It fits into so many building blocks within the Christians travels. That fine line that I have at times foolishly crossed, “being all things to all men” taken out of context and leaving many a scar; zeal without knowledge! And yet this also has been my journey and even those bad decisions molding me into the person I now am. Oh that God would save a wretched sinner like me boggles my mind and yet it deepens my gratitude, praise alone belong to my God and King!

Although I do not like David sit in some cave in the early hours of the morning searching the inner depths of his heart, I can somehow relate to his experience as he must have waited for God’s instruction for that day. Processing all his victories and failures along the way; to have but a snippet of David’s heart will suffice. May my dependence on the grace of my God grow in strength from here on in, is my prayer. To share in the experiences of my Lord and Saviour even now is what we have all been called to experience. This then is what the Christian has before him. Our natural minds looks to shirk our responsibility but the Spirit drives us to share in His suffering, so that we may understand what it meant for Him to die in our place; It is these actual experiences that hone and fashion us into His image. We must learn to be settled by them and not to continuously shirk them! O what love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be named amongst the sons of God, bless His name!

This then was the plea of the Apostle Peter, one who knew what it meant to wrestle with himself; “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” (1Peter 5:10) – In other words to consolidate us upon the call we have been called to. We are now at work and we need to understand the responsibility of that call, it is not a time for rest, that will come in the not too distant future but for now we are at war and we are to be men of war. It is a high calling and very foreign to the ways of the world. Their slogan is “only the strong will survive”, but ours is “turn the other cheek”. We have been called to go beyond the call of duty; “To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.” (Luke 6:29-30)   

    

It is easy to love those who love us as this comes naturally. The Lord Jesus loved those who crucified him and in his dying moments had this to say; “Father forgive them…” – "If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.” (Luke 6:32-33)   

   

It is now time for men to be men, or maybe I should rather direct this at myself, it is time to man up! May God give me the resolve to see it through is my prayer! I am persuaded that through these types of encounters I will experience the sweetness of what it meant for Christ to die for a wretch like me! This then is the call and I have heard the voice of my Father with clear distinction, it is one thing to hear and then to soon forget, but quite another to apply what we have heard to our daily lives, be merciful Father I pray, help me man up and be what I have been called to be, A MAN OF WAR!

Signing off

Tyrone

Oil from the oil press

Oil is needed for the light; no lantern can burn without oil but we must ensure that we purchase the correct oil, no man-made oil will do; we must seek out pure spiritual oil. Oil of the human kind will have no everlasting benefit; our example is the wise virgins who timeously bought oil for their lanterns. Our objective is to keep them full to the brim and not to become complacent with the free gift of salvation; “easy come easy go” must not become our slogan for life. It is very easy to become unperturbed as curators of our great God. I am finding it rather daunting as I look back on my life and see how I have been robbed of the role I once had in the body of Christ. So much wasted time on nothing more than sin! Slice it any way you like but this then is the cold hard fact of my reality. And I am convinced that I am not alone!

The time for the harvest is soon approaching so let us guard against the “little foxes”, home disputes that mean very little in the context of eternity. So much pathetic energy is wasted on what keeps us inattentive to our God and King. I thank God that He is so much wiser than us. What would I do without His mercy and His undying love, thank you Father God for who you are; “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” If God is for those who belong to Him who can be against us? This is the truth personified! However with that said scripture is full of warnings to the professing Christian and if we become lethargic the bridegroom will announce His arrival at an unexpected time. We know that some will be caught unawares!  If we as parents give our children an instruction that tuition is for all, both the foolish and the wise have been instructed to buy oil and to trim their lamps. But sadly only half in this parable respond positively. God’s sheep hear the Shepherd’s voice, they are aware of the pitch to that instruction and they respond positively to it. There is a distinct urgency to that tenor!

It is good to call on the saving graces of our God, to go back in history to those blessed times we had in Christ, those times when we felt the goodness of God surround us as we went about His business, yet we cannot rely on our past to keep our lanterns burning. We need fresh oil and we need to buy it continuously. It must become a way of life. This is one of the reasons why we have been placed by God into a body of believers, to be useful to our God and to others that also belong to Him.

I am finding a war raging as I have become rather independent and am far happier doing my own thing, I am wrong! God help me to seek His face with zeal becoming a way of life once again as that day draws even nearer.

We must be careful to buy the correct oil, although petroleum burns it is not fit for the Christians lantern. It must be the best olive oil that we seek out and that alone will suffice to keep our lanterns trimmed. “Pretended grace from natural goodness, fancied grace from priestly hands, or imaginary grace from outward ceremonies will never serve the true saint of God;” We must go to the olive press of Gethsemane and only from our Saviour and His sufferings must that oil be purchased. If we are to live with Him we must be prepare to die with Him, less of self and more for others is what is needed to keep our lanterns trimmed. This is not possible if we do not look to God the Holy Spirit to keep the purest of the oil presses oil in fresh supply. This must begin in our closets at home with the plea to our God for His graces to carry us home.

It is one thing to roll with the crowd as if we belong with our lamps trimmed with the wrong oil, dead works alive and well but quite another for us to die in order that we might live; God help us as we earnestly seek out His graces to equip us for the Masters use. The only oil that will stand us in good stead in the oil we find on Gethsemane's hill.  

Signing off

Tyrone

   

     

God has paved the way...

“Because He lives I can face tomorrow!” However today is the day of salvation “do not harden your hearts in rebellion”, as some did and many have! Our glorious King is alive and He intercedes for all who would dare to acknowledge their sin, repenting in need of the eventual crutch, yes Crutch! I have heard many shy away from that word when referring to their Saviour, He is much more than any “crutch”, and at the very least we should all acknowledge that He is our prop. He is the Aid of aids; which carries with it unwavering commitment. There is no pressure seen or unseen that will bend that staff. It is indestructible, praise His name!

Let us reason together; what is the ultimate goal for mankind? Is it not heaven and to be in a blissful state for the rest of eternity? We know that light and darkness cannot co-exist, they may share a room but they cannot mingle. This morning as the desktop lamp lights my work area I can clearly see my work space but if I look behind me into the opposite corner it is dark and the bookshelf is but an outline; light on the one side but dark and dingy on the other. I need a globe and electricity to generate light, a globe alone will be of no use to me and visa-visa. The idea of making it to heaven may be well and alive in our minds but unless I have the means to get me there it remains but a dream.

Can we who are full of darkness co-exist with a Holy God? Absolutely not! Unless I have the means to carry me into that light I will never end up there. My thoughts and hope will never be enough and only the fool reason like this. What then do I need to make it to heaven when I pass from this life into the next? I need a crutch or a vehicle, some sort of transport to give me access into heaven. GOD HAS MADE A WAY! He so loved the world that he has offered the sacrifice of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to be the crutch for all who will call and trust Him to get them there. It is His way and no other way will suffice! The Bible is very clear on this!

We have all been given logic to reason things out, even the simplest of us understand that we need supply to create; does a man say I will build a house without any bricks? Or can a person walk into a grocery store without any money and fill a trolley full of groceries expecting to walk out with them? No one will make it to heaven if they have not been washed by the blood of the Lamb, period! Only the thief goes into the store without any money hoping not to get caught. And we know that there will be thieves at the marriage feast of the Lamb who did not have their lamps trimmed; “But at midnight there was a cry, 'Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.” (Matthew 25:6-10) – it is imperative while it is still day that we learn to rely on God’s provision to get us ready for that day, that glorious reunion when all those who have oil, those who have believed God for His provision and made it their business to buy the oil needed for that great day. However for those who ignore this call, it will end badly; ““Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' But he answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.'”” (Matthew 25:11-25)

Lamp without oil is no different to a globe with no electricity. It is imperative that we buy oil now because no one can with any confidence say they know what the future holds. The wise man will plan for the future; it is only the fool that hopes beyond hope.

God has made the way and He has sent out an open invitation to all, what will you do with that invitation? I pray that God would be merciful and give us all the understanding to act upon this warning.

Today is the day of salvation, call unto Him and He will be merciful; He will not turn one away! But call you must!  

Signing off

Tyrone

 

 

There is victory for me...

Sin is like an aggressive cancer, but if caught early enough it can be stopped in its tracks. As a rule it is impossible to end something that enslaves us outside of the freedom we find in Christ. The Apostle Paul makes that very clear in the book of Romans.

Chemotherapy and radiation is hard on one’s body but in some cases are the only alternatives. However those types of treatments must be used timeously, before the cancer has caused havoc! It is no different for the Christian in principle; we must learn to nip any bad habits in the bud before its destructive roots seats themselves. But seeing that we have been freed from sin and death it would be good for us to live as those who have understood that sin should no longer have dominion over us. As long as we breathe sin will continue to fight for its right of dominance. Nevertheless we must seek out God’s grace to overcome whatever our particular challenge may be. Christians have the mind of Christ! “Not my will but thine be done on earth as it is in heaven” would be a good place to start. It will be impossible to live with Christ in heaven if we do not die with Him here on earth, that is a given!

I have yet, so much dying to do, God give me the resolve to seek your face when it really counts is my prayer! I have been found wanting in this area of my life, please forgive me! How this particular battle continues to rage but I know the end is near, there is victory for me just over the hill. “God will make a way when there seems to be no way”, praise His name! This He has proved throughout scripture time and time again! But more than, has He not proved himself to us as believers? Amen and Amen!

Faith must be envisaged prior to the victory in one’s life. Now some in authority teach this reality falsely, they say if you have an ailment you must deny the reality of it. You must not believe that you have the disease, you must not give it any place, and they say that even if clinical tests prove your condition, it is a lie. They are the ones who lie; we must look into the mirror and be real with our own reality. Unless you see your sin you will never have the need to find forgiveness from it! However having said that we must now not believe that we do not have the wherewithal to overcome, that too is a lie! Christ has overcome and we have His Spirit! The sin that once held us captive can be conquered! That is a given! But we must believe it with all our hearts prior to relishing in that victory. We must believe the promises of God, praise His name! Sin looks to rob us of that actuality!

In other words we must step out in faith believing God for the victory that is yet to happen; this is what feeds our hope. Our senses are called upon to implement this truth; with our eyes we have been called to look; “Look unto me and be ye saved.” With our ears we have been asked to listen; “Hear and your soul shall live.” But the scent of faith must drive us to action; do you remember the woman with the issue of blood? She said in her heart if only? If only what? If she could only push through the crowds and get to touch the Lords garment she knew of a certainty that she would be healed. Now that is faith in action! What a lesson for us all!

Unless we learn to eat from the tree of faith how will we ever be able to speak about the sweetness of its taste? “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalms 119:103) - “Except a man eat my flesh,” saith Christ, “and drink my blood, there is no life in him.” Without faith in action it will be impossible to please God! Faith must feed our hope of that which is unseen; it is “faith that will lead us home”!

Regardless of the mountains that we see before us we know that just over the hill we will have the victory. There must be a progressive application to this truth in our lives; faith must feed our hope, which will ultimately be heaven. But along the way we must believe God for snippets of that victory, whatever that may be for you and me. Our lives must begin to prove this authenticity! What good would it be if we continue to grovel in the mire of the sin that once held us captive, we then only deceive ourselves!

When the lion roars and it will rumble will we be able with Samson to sing his song? "Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet." – My prayer for all of God’s children is that we may trust Him in faith for our specific deliverance. God be with us all in our endeavours to glorify him, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone  

Unity of mind

(1Peter 3:8) “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind…”

Unity is strength; it is like pollen to the bee, the morning dew to the flower and the moon to the night, however, unity in Christ tops it all! It is the “Usain Bolt” of the 100 meters. Like a body of believers working together in unison bringing glory to God their Father in and through the finished work of Calvary.

What gives rope its forte? “A rope is a group of piles, yarns or strands which are twisted or braided together in order to combine them into a larger and stronger form”. Take a single strand and apply pressure to it and it will easily snap, but fortify it with the same strands and it increases in resistance, strength in numbers. It is like our natural bodies working together to help us function as we ort. Remove any body parts and we are categorized as handicapped. We (Christians) have all been given the mind of Christ; it is a gift of the Spirit and it is that truth we need to explore. Sound doctrine is the treasure. “They said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.” (Jude 1:18-19)

I tell you that there is an onslaught coming that will be so unified, fierceness so intense and with true Christians in the cross-hairs as their targets. There will be a unified plot against the Christian on a global scale, it will happen! “Sound doctrine” (the actual teachings of the bible and not that which appeases the natural mind which will always look for opportunity to live a life of sin) will be targeted on a more ferocious scale. The breach has already happened but will soon intensify; it falls under the banner of “Tolerance” and where there is no tolerance for sin then in accordance with God’s law that is known as “Hate Speech”. However this is not the unity I look to address even though it has already surfaced. We have been warned of this time and it must happen.   

It is the unity amongst believers that the Christian must embrace, but before we can find unity we must first understand what it is we need to be unified in; it must and can only be about the “mind of Christ”. We must learn to put off anything that opposes His mind, that is a daunting task but we now have His mind (“The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ” - 1Corinthians 2:15 -16) so it is most certainly obtainable. Look at the lack of understanding some of the Apostles had and Jesus’ response to them; it must never be about money, this type of mind-set must be the furthest thought from our concentrations. Judas betrayed the Lord for thirty pieces of silver and then hung himself. Peter was so committed to his master that he believed that he was doing what was right in his mind but in fact was doing the work of the devil: - Observe. “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." Note. Peter had at this stage already been spiritually awakened; “Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”” – He was not thinking with the mind of Christ but reasoning as a man! If we reason with our natural minds and we do not put on our spiritual thinking caps then we fall into the same category, we do the work of the devil! Our goal must be to understand God’s will for our lives; we must learn to forsake our wants for His will. We must make every effort to walk in the Spirit and to reason with the same. Our carnal minds will always oppose this truth. Scripture is given in order to test if our reasoning is that of the mind of Christ. If we are true to the text it will be easily understood. Keep it simple and it will be well with our souls! If there is doubt in our understanding, let us rather lean on the understanding of a child. What I mean by that is don’t over reason a simple instruction. Although we have been saved by grace, this does not give us licence to ignore the teachings of the law.

If we can learn to anchor the following instructions to our lives we will begin to learn like never before to put on the mind of Christ; “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:3-15)

Less of self and more of His character in our daily lives, He gave of Himself we too must now learn to give of ourselves and that list is endless, but it must be addressed with urgency if we are to be unified with the mind of Christ!

This instruction is simple but some of us may have lost our way and it may well be time to right our wrongs. May God help us all to find his mind, Amen! Even so come quickly Lord Jesus, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone  

 

 

"put on"

To “PUT ON” is something we do all day from the rising of the sun to the setting of the same. And it has such an influence of how our day turns out. Distraction is a lure that looks to divert us from what is important. You can fill in the blanks. For me to wake up in the morning prior to sunrise and to sit on my desk with an espresso and a pipe in hand with the bible open in front of me is a very happy place, it is probably the finest chunk of my day. However I have noticed the distraction that looks to rob me of this tranquil but insightful time. I now resolve to get my priorities right once again, not that they had drifted far from where they should be but even the slightest deviation in course will find us in the wrong place. “Ahoy there, trim the sail!” “Aye, aye Captain”, I have heard your voice my Lord and Saviour, thank you for your correction.

It is not enough to put off a bad habit; we must replace it with something good. In context we must put off every distraction that keeps our eyes off the Lord Jesus, period! “Easy said than done”, some may say; perhaps but only when we capitulate to the distractions. Here then was my very first thought after rubbing the sleep from my eyes, “put on the mind of Christ”. With that as my foundation I am now ready to build with confidence.

I (we) must now begin to reason correctly, faith must become the springboard for our reasoning; I have an old nature that always if given the chance looks to rob me of the victory that is mine in the finished work of Calvary. But the truth be told, I am no longer justified by what I do but rather what Christ has done for me. In other words I am no longer classed as a sinner although sin still drives hard at my heels looking to trip me up. Every single Christian whom God has saved is no longer justified by what they do but rather what Christ has done for them. Now there are those who claim to be Christians, who in fact are not born of the Spirit. Religion is just another distraction, a vaccination, just enough of the distraction to keep one from the truth! Many amongst the catholic faith fit this bill. I know as I grew up catholic!

We all get dressed in the morning prior to setting out for whatever the day may hold. As Christians it is no longer colours we need to coordinate by, rather to pay careful attention to these instructions; “The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Romans 13:12-14) – Regardless of where we may find ourselves in this Christian walk it is the same for all, the tug is real for all! But when we learn to dress properly and in the right order it will be well with our soul.

There is much to say on this topic but let us look to our King to resolve to put off the distractions, cry out to Him to help us see them clearly and then once seen to “PUT ON” whatever is needed for the time. We may need zeal when timid, of carefulness when in danger and the lists are endless but let us remember these words; “and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:24)

First thing in the morning prior to any other distraction looking to set you on the wrong course let us all learn to appropriate this counsel; “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesian 6:11)

As I punch away at the keyboard even now I see a burst water pipe distracting my efforts to focus on my Saviour, no water to even flush the toilets. Praise God for His confirmation in all things, bless His name! Remember the words of the Lord Jesus; “foxes have holes and birds have nests but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” It’s the trivial things that often distract us, but we now have the mind of Christ, let all who belong to Him learnt to right our wrongs and seek out his grace and goodness throughout today, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone