Quick and Easy!

My step-dad was in hospital again, he has reached that age where his body is starting to fail, if it is not cancer it’s something else. The rules of life’s arrangement reaching a climax, which we will all eventually confront; the throes of death looms for all for we are born to die! Sin has taken care of that!

Along the journey of life we have been taught to seek out quick and easy fixes; people gravitating towards new diet pills and the like, just as long as it works without too much effort. “Quick and Easy” a way of life for many! Something totally contrary to ongoing sanctification in Christ for the Christian; God does not work with “no more nails” as an easy alternative, the lessons we are taught along life’s journey is painstaking and carries with it many tears. But God who is rich in mercy is persistent with His children and continues to nurture us even when we are brazen! We have to “learn obedience through suffering”, this is the only way we will learn true obedience. “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” (Hebrews 5:8-9) - A very foreign concept to our natural understanding but perfectly worked out in God’s brilliance.  We must remember that God is perfect in everything He does; “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)  - This means that there can be no better way to learn obedience! Suffering through the trials of life will work out perfect obedience when it has run its course, Wow! When our minds are unable to reconcile certain truths, this does not mean we should not believe the written Word of God. In fact faith demands our commitment to the Word of God, if we oppose it in any way all that proves is our unbelief!

Our lives should not be filled with quick and easy fixes, although we are always looking for them. We ask brothers for 10 step programs and even our pastors teach us application through their ministry. “Give me a list of what to do” is our cry! Many believe that if we follow a list we will achieve true obedience. Surface Christianity will never take us any deeper; our lives must become saturated with the gospel; it is about life and then some as we believe in our perfect Father God to work it out in our lives. HIV, cancers, heart attacks, unemployment and the grind of life are all working for our good and the Word is very clear on this. It is time for us to start believing the actual Word of God over our own pathetic suppositions and all the negativity of erratic voices from a dying world.

It is important that I qualify this thought; it is only for the good of those who have been saved by the blood of the Lamb. To those who have been called by the most High. If there are those who have rejected the message of the gospel then the same things that work together for our good are working together for their destruction. Nevertheless God is glorified through both, molding and fashioning the universe in accordance with His sovereign will. The sooner we learn to accept this reality the happier we will be. Everything we see unfolding through life, both the good and the apparent evil will always end up glorifying our God! How do I know this? Because He is perfect, and perfection cannot be tainted in any way, even though I may not understand it completely, this changes me and not God, praise His glorious name now and forevermore, Amen and Amen! Faith demands our loyalty to this truth!

Here is a verse that proves my point; “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)  - Therefore the lovers of God have a journey to march and at times that excursion will get rough, but whatever happens along the way, it has been designed for our eternal benefit. Yes even death, disease and retrenchment are all working together for the believers good and to the glory of God. Faith demands that we accept this truth even when our mind through circumstance wants us to believe something else.

Just before I am misunderstood, I have not ever implied that if we have cancer we must not acknowledge our cancer and blame the disease on unrepented sin in our lives. We must not be chumps! It is no more than a lie, false doctrine and a ploy from Satan. God forbid we even think like that! We must all eventually learn through our most difficult times to give God the glory for everything that happens; it is for our good! Did you know that Elisha, the man who received a double portion of the prophet Elijah blessing, died from a sickness, which had nothing to do with the sin in his life. Sickness may result from disobedience in our lives, but not always! Remember Job! And even if we are dull of hearing hardships and illnesses are often there to teach us to open our ears as we learn to depend upon our God and not to rely on our independence, which we have all in some form or another been hoodwinked into believing that she is our kin when in fact she is the enemy. True Faith depends on God and takes Him at His Word; it does not rely on our independence to get us through any given situation, this type of reasoning proves unbelief and we must repent from it!  

Signing off

Tyrone      

There must come a time

There must come a time where I (we) stop telling the stories of other and we start living our own! Not that we would ever dare to stop telling the Gospel story, for that is where the power of God lies. This was the Apostle Paul’s legacy; “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)

Everything we do must revolve around the true Gospel of Jesus Christ! I have notice throughout scripture that the accounts of Godly men, often spoke about their exploits, even though they were intertwined with the accounts of others.

Who wrote the first five books of the Bible? It was Moses’ was it not? It most certainly was! And yet under the unction of God the Holy Spirit he pens many great accounts involving himself. God was please to record his faithfulness and to record it for us so that we can learn from his example. With the intent for us to now follow in his footsteps.

When we continually refer to others and their accomplishments I think it excuses us of similar exploits. We say he was a great man of God and we are just simple men; there is nothing we can do that can compare, really! Are we not covered by the blood of the Lamb, are we not the children of the living God? At the very least we have it in our power to close the door praying with humble intent, with faith in our God and saturated with hope. The Apostle James has this to say, pay careful attention to it; “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” (James 5:16-17)

We admire men and woman with penned stories of their great undertakings and we are impressed by them, it is time like never before to look at our own lives as we begin to model them after Godly men. We must become doers and not hearers only! “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22) - We must cry out to God for His favour in order to achieve exploits that will be well pleasing to Him, which in turn will bring Him honour and glory.

I’m tired of the negativity, the lack of faith I see ruling my world and people’s opinions that breed unbelief. What will please my heavenly Father? What will bring Him glory? What will silence the enemy? We have already proved from scripture what we could be doing to improve our relationship with our God and Father. My thoughts are drawn to Hebrews chapter 11. Faith in action is what is appreciated by God and we know that lukewarmness is frowned upon by the Lord; “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” (Revelation 3:16-19)

Money and our standing in the community is the enemy, it gives us a false sense of security! Chasing a dream of retirement on an Island and the like is also the enemy. We must repent from such mind-sets and begin to apply ourselves with zeal towards the light. Wherever we see His light (God’s instruction) let us learn to run to it and not from it. Forget the rationale of the mind and all its trappings. More often than not they are the enemies of the cross.  

What must we become in Christ? We must lose our lives in order to eventually find them! Do you see it? Is it beginning to resonate, God’s ways are different to the worlds traditions, when we learn to walk by faith trusting in Him, He will then reward us, not necessarily with money but with the fruits of the Spirit, which are; “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:22-25) – There is a new way of life for the Christian, why have we been so hoodwinked? The majority of us have got it wrong, God help us to see this clearly!

But before we make another mistake let us affirm the only reason we have been perceived by God is because we have been covered by the blood of the Lamb, we have been sanctified by what the Lord Jesus has done for us on an individual level. Salvation is all of God and it is a free gift! But because we have freely received we must begin to freely give to those in need. True Christianity is about laying down our lives for others and this must become a way of life for us all. I realise that this thought in itself can be daunting, it scares the living daylights out of me at times but I am convinced it is the way for the Christian. Our God will come alongside and supply all that is needed. Christianity is all about trusting God and we no longer have to implement our own to plans. When we put something else in place of faith, just in case it doesn’t pan out, we prove one thing, our unbelief!  

Why then are we still so caught up with our own lives? It is obvious we haven’t understood the call of salvation and the way of our Master. Bad teaching has played its role but we also have our own agendas that we continually contend with and this is why we keep rehashing the stories of others instead of writing our own stories whereby we glorify our God.

The writer of Hebrews pens stories about men and women who God honoured by mentioning them, some by name and others by deed. Nevertheless they pleased God; we must diligently begin to sanction that we live by faith. Forget the lies of this world and the opinions of the gainsayer. We must make it our goal to please our heavenly Father by trusting Him in every area of our lives and until this happens we will continue to feed that void in our lives. It is no more than unbelief, which feeds our anxiety!

Where must we start in rectifying that which the cankerworm has eaten? Firstly, let us dress for battle; let us put on the whole amour of God – read Ephesians chapter 6! How often have I put time aside to fast and pray? “And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:36-38) -Today may be a good day to start! We all have many unsaved members in our families and it may well be a worthy time like never before to start crying out to our God for their salvation!

Time is short and the curtain is drawing shut on those who will not respond to the free gift of salvation, but while we have breath there is still hope! When God shut the door to Noah’s Ark there was no more hope for those outside and they all drown!

Signing off

Tyrone

  

      

Overcoming evil with good

(Romans 12:21) “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

“Be not overcome of evil. Let not the evil of any provocation that is given you have such a power over you, or make such an impression upon you, as to dispossess you of yourselves, to disturb your peace, to destroy your love, to ruffle and discompose your spirits, to transport you to any indecencies, or to bring you to study or attempt any revenge.” He that cannot quietly bear an injury is perfectly conquered by it. (2.) “But overcome evil with good, with the good of patience and forbearance, nay, and of kindness and beneficence to those that wrong you. Learn to defeat their ill designs against you, and either to change them, or at least to preserve your own peace.” He that hath this rule over his spirit is better than the mighty.” (Matthew Henry)

This verse is for all but only fits those who have matured in the Spirit. It is a fundamental reality that we need to make our own. It is the brilliance of God personified in a people that were once lead about by the whims of sin. It proves the maturity of a believer, I suppose we can obviously prove that Christ achieved this throughout his lifetime and it came to a head when He died on the cross overcoming evil once and for all! There have been many others who have shown similar traits to our great Saviour. Stephen was martyred and this was his testimony; “And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:59-60) – He overcame the evil that he faced with these words, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." It is beautiful to behold, and God is glorified with such an act of love. In fact is was so pleasing to God that the Lord Jesus got off His throne and stood while He watched what was unfolding; "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

It is through these types of acts that I begin to understand verses like these with clarity; “so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 3:10) – Many of us look to justify ourselves when we have been wronged as we look to repay evil with evil, we claim it is our right, when in fact we have no rights and all it proves is we are yet babes in Christ! Regardless of how long we have been saved, the command is clear, “overcome evil with good”!

We must wrestle for this to become a reality in our lives.

God helps us to put on the mind of Christ!

Signing off

Tyrone  

     

Endurance in Christ!

When we are physically verified, we normally get weaker as our endurance is tested. We have all watched the Comrades Marathon and you see it clearly, the gun sounds with all beginning their race, cheerful, laughing and with smiles on their faces but before long the grimaces are clearly evident. Even the most experienced athletes begin to show fatigue. Our bodies have been designed in such a way that the longer we plug away at something the harder it gets. But it is not so for the Christian, sure many may blunder along the way, I suppose for many of us this is needed to teach us to depend upon our God. Nevertheless through it all the Christian grows in strength as the journey progresses. Our faith is strengthened the longer we walk with our Saviour; “They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.” (Psalms 84:7) – The harder the Christian is pressed the more they depend upon the grace of the Lord to get them through any given situation.

It is not so for the natural natures of the common man, more often than not the harder they are pressed the more they look for escape. I have not received a monthly salary for many years now and I still have bread on my table. There were times when the pressure got to me and I reasoned with my natural mind ending up in debauchery, this type of reasoning by the grace of God has run its course and that place I never want to revisit. It is filled we sin and hopelessness. This is why we have such a high rate of divorce, alcoholism and drug addiction throughout the world. Our natural minds are slaves sold under sin!

But God who is rich in mercy has afforded the Christian different parameters to govern their lives. It is only when we lose sight of our hope that we find ourselves in the pigs pen eating the slop with the pigs. I know for I have been there! But my God, the forever faithful One has even used those situations to teach me my dependency upon His provision to get me home. Never lose sight of that reality. We are weak and frail, but He is ever powerful and we belong to Him, we have the mind of Christ! This miracle became our reality when we were born again. “He is for us and not against us”! What a wonderful truth, let that resonate deep within your souls.

This is our reality…

“They go from strength to strength. There are various renderings of these words, but all of them contain the idea of progress.

Our own good translation of the authorized version is enough for us this morning. “They go from strength to strength.” That is, they grow stronger and stronger. Usually, if we are walking, we go from strength to weakness; we start fresh and in good order for our journey, but by-and-by the road is rough, and the sun is hot, we sit down by the wayside, and then again painfully pursue our weary way. But the Christian pilgrim having obtained fresh supplies of grace, is as vigorous after years of toilsome travel and struggle as when he first set out. He may not be quite so elate and buoyant, nor perhaps quite so hot and hasty in his zeal as he once was, but he is much stronger in all that constitutes real power, and travels, if more slowly, far more surely. Some gray-haired veterans have been as firm in their grasp of truth, and as zealous in diffusing it, as they were in their younger days; but, alas, it must be confessed it is often otherwise, for the love of many waxes cold and iniquity abounds, but this is their own sin and not the fault of the promise which still holds good: “The youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.” Fretful spirits sit down and trouble themselves about the future. “Alas!” say they, “we go from affliction to affliction.” Very true, O thou of little faith, but then thou goest from strength to strength also. Thou shalt never find a bundle of affliction which has not bound up in the midst of it sufficient grace. God will give the strength of ripe manhood with the burden allotted to full-grown shoulders.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Before long we shall see Him for who He is and what a day that will be!

Signing off

Tyrone

         

Christ our treasure

(2Corinthians 10:3)  “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.”

My thoughts have begun to bud new foliage and it is rather exciting as they are new to me. I have reached a point in my walk where the scenery has changed and it is exciting. Third Day sings a song with these lyrics; “we have to walk through the valley to get to the mountain top” and once we get through the valley and stand on that mountain top looking back over the terrain we have travelled, it takes on another dimension and it is beautiful to behold!

The more I ponder a thought, which the world propagates about independence and getting ahead in life, the more I begin to understand what a lie it is. It is fleshly and devilish! The father of lies, the devil has put this thought into the minds of people and Christians are lapping it up.  

Let’s now attempt to prove that by the Word of God…

John Piper makes this point; our lives revolve around stuff and we make the things of this world our treasure when in fact the Lord Jesus Christ is our treasure. We all have to learn to appropriate this truth into every area of our lives. There is much work to be done!

For most of us it is Christ and… when in fact it should be Christ alone! Let’s break it down. Christ is real to every Christian, He has to be! But much of our Christian walks involve the mundane things of life: work, food, clothing, cars, holidays, and the like. Although they are real issues and we all need them what I have come to realize is this; they take our eyes off our call to obedience. We believe that as Christians we need to be involved with stuff to survive in this world. Money plays a large role in our existence. Needless to say the more I examine the scripture the further I understand that we have been hoodwinked by these types of thoughts. We think that we are justified by being diligently faithful to our jobs. However if it is at the expense of our spiritual call to walk in newness of life we have been deceived. We place far too much misguided emphasis on this verse; “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” (2Thessalonians 3:10) – I am not for one minute suggesting that we must be slack and lazy, on the contrary, we must be diligent when opportunity presents itself but God must lead us and not the other way around.

Pay careful attention and do not miss this. We worry so much about survival that we miscue the instruction and all it proves is that we lack faith; “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 6:30-33) – It is our fleshly needs that rob us of faith!   

We believe that we must do paraphernalia for God, in other words life is about sacrifice when in fact it should be about obedience. We do not realize as we should that Christ is there for us and not the other way around; He is the one who looks out for us and intercedes for us! Our awareness on this is restrained but we need to understand the complexities of what this actually means; “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 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. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:26-31)

Faith never needs any other alternatives, it is self-sufficient! It drives us to depend on God’s provision and not our own abilities. All the great men of God teach us the same lesson; their dependency on God and not their own abilities. Read Hebrews chapter 11 and it will be clear.

Jesus Christ is our treasure and if we can learn to live like this in totality it will be well with our souls, no more striving for temporal things and the burden of independent will be lifted from us. No more competing with the Jones’ will be necessary. God will supply what is needed I am fully persuaded of this!

The flesh drives us to wage war in the flesh, it is a deception, put it off child of God as we are no longer children of the flesh but the sons of God. We have been commanded to walk in the Spirit; this means that we must trust our God in every area of our lives and the sooner this becomes a way of life for us the fuller our joy will be. It is not stuff that determines how blessed we are but rather the joy that beams from our faces and our lives which proves how well we have learnt to obey.  

Signing off

Tyrone 

Perfect in Mercy

Who appreciates a gift the most? Obviously those who need it best! That is just common logic, pure mathematics! Give a king a loaf of bread and see how thankful he is; but give a beggar the same loaf and watch the glee light up his face. Cure a sick man of a terminal illness and see his gratitude light up the room. Offer a man a tablet to guarantee no more hair loss and it will mean nothing to him if He has a full mop of hair on his head, bid it to a balding man and watch him make sacrifice after sacrifice to win that bid and keep his hair.  Free a cruel man of his sinful nature and watch him love like no other. These are just some of the reasons why the Lord Jesus teaches us this truth; “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven--for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." (Luke 7:47) – Therefore my conclusion; for us to be effective in God’s Kingdom we must understand our sinful natures and be repulsed by them if we have any chance of effectively laying down our lives for others. I am convinced that we could almost measure the gravity of this on a scale. Understand the extent of your forgiveness and watch the love ooze out toward others. Consider yourself morally above average and it may be hard to find love in your heart for those in need.

Can angels understand mercy? They obviously have a conception of mercy but certainly never understand mercy as we do. How could they? They are in God’s presence day and night and continually see Him as He is; Jehovah God the great I AM! Angels in heaven have never known sin and failed in this area of their lives as we have, without the perfect intervention of our great God extending His mercy to us, time and time again. This must be hard for them to comprehend. What of the fallen angels? They understand sin as they chose to follow Satan over God and for that were cast out of heaven waiting for their destiny to arrive, the Lake of Fire. They do not understand mercy but are vexed by it as they see God’s mercy in our lives and yet it eludes theirs, no wonder the angels of darkness hate us so and look at every opportunity to trip us up. Be sober, be vigilant, we have an enemy and he is the roguish enemy of God, however he has already been defeated, praise the glorious name of Jesus Christ our Lord and because of it he is twisted with bitterness. By the grace of God let’s not be lured by his flattering lips that are only ever full of lies, for he is the father of lies. We Christians are forever grateful for the mercy that covers our lives, even flippant with it at times, God forgive us, which He does; praise His name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

How could an angel ever understand forgiveness as they have never experienced such mercy? We have called out in desperation at times and God has come to our aid. Having understood our sinful natures it has constrained us to cry Abba Father! Obedient Angels speak about the holiness and justice of God; they sing the righteous judgements of the Lord; “And I heard the altar saying, "Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!"” (Revelation 16:7) – They understand who God is; they understand that He is true and just but mercy they have not known as we have because they have not known sin. We alone have been tainted by sin and therefore understand the forgiveness of God. Now those who have not responded positively to the gospel can neither understand the mercy of God because they do not recognize their sin for what it is. We must understand our sickness in order to seek out a remedy to heal our condition. Only a sick man seeks out the aid of a doctor; “And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."” (Luke 5:31-32)

Angels have no need of repentance, in fact that is not on offer. The mercies of God have melted my heart, how I now long to react with obedience with more proficiency and yet I have so far to travel, but God who is rich in mercy patiently continues to work with a wretched sinner like me. It boggles my mind! Needless to say I will forever be grateful because He is merciful! It is our sin that drives us to seek out His forgiveness, WOW!

When we are in trouble we need certain attributes more than others, this is our constitution. When we are hard pressed we need comfort, when we suffer lack we need supply and so on. It is the mercies of God that come to our rescue! It is God’s mercy that confronts our need at any given time. His justice demands judgement for our wickedness but it is His mercy that has now made a way for us to escape that wrath. His mercy compelled Him to make a way of escape for sinners like you and I. Because He is perfect in mercy, it has driven Him to be merciful, this is such a massive thought and yet wonderfully refreshing.

We were lost and without hope, already condemned because of one man’s sin; Adam introduced us to death but God’s mercy has thrown out a lifeline to all. While we were the enemies of God, He sent His Son, who knew no sin to pay for our sin. Why? Because He is perfect in mercy! This is the God who has ransomed me, I am forever grateful for who He is. How far does that mercy extend? Who could ever measure it for it has no end! But the Apostle Peter has this to say; “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (Peter 3:9) - Having understood that God is Sovereign and perfect in all His attributes how does my mind reconcile some people being saved whilst other will end up in hell? I will not suggest understanding where mercy and justice meet, but what I am convinced about is that somewhere in God’s perfection they unite. It cannot be any other way for if it was that would make God imperfect but we know that He is perfect and nothing can ever be added to perfection for if it could be that would prove one thing, imperfection.

Our God is perfect in every way; praise His name now and forever more!

What have you done with God’s mercy?

Signing off

Tyrone    

       

      

Our enemies

(Matthew 10:36)  “And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.”

Salvation is the best of all possible gifts, there is no greater gift available to mankind than the gift of new life in Christ. For us to be forgiven for our sin is phenomenal, it is so far removed from what we have been geared to believe through the throws of life: our lives are filled with merit attached to commitment in varying fields. Study hard and then get rewarded for those studies, become a doctor and then reap the rewards of the medical profession, drive a Porsche! And yet salvation is a free gift outside of our own virtues; “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved—“ (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Salvation belongs to the One who has the power to forgive whomever He wills and yet it has nothing to do with the one receiving the gift, outside of us understanding in one form or another the merit of the free gift, which is this, that it is all of God and no one has ever earned the right to find His favour other than the One and only, the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are obviously different shades of grey when we gaze across our globe. Morally some are whiter than others and therefore we instinctively place them on a higher pedestal of honour but God views us all dressed in filthy rags and in need of His mercy. We have all been branded as those tainted by sin, and we are classed as sinners. Sinners can never in themselves enter into His presence, which would be impossible. No differently to a leprous person banished to a Leper Colony. God needs to step in and make us as white as snow; He does the saving in and through the finished work of the cross and all we need to do is accept that gift with open arms.

Boasting has been excluded! In other words we are all sinners in need of a saviour, regardless of our moral standing within our communities; “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)  

    

With that established we are now numbered amongst the sons of God and need to learn obedience through the sufferings we face in our daily lives. It’s these very trials that teach us obedience, we must learn to face our assessments and not shirk them, this does not come naturally, and it must be done through the Spirit. He will change us into the image of God if we pay careful attention to His guidance. God is for us and not against us! We no longer have any rights, and selfish wills have been bought by the blood of the Lamb. Therefore because we have freely received God’s free gift of salvation, reconciliation must be high on our agendas. We must make every effort to preach Christ and Him crucified to those who are lost and still blinded by their sin.

Not all will receive this instruction with gladness, nevertheless if we endure correction where needed we will be numbered amongst the saints. The sooner we learn to appreciate God’s voice at His Word the happier we will be. Everything He has purposed both past, present and into the future will come to pass just as He has declared it. One of the reasons we can take assurance of this fact is because God is infinite and He is perfect in all His attributes. There is no blemish in Him, it is who He is! He has had no beginning, He always was!

When we reason like men we must conclude that we are flawed and therefore our best efforts on a moral level may at times get us close to perfection but there will always be room for improvement, it is not so with God for He is perfect. The reason for this is that outside of Christ we have death looming over us. God can never die for He was and is and is to come. He is not bound by time, we on the other hand will expire, that is our flesh will die. We must learn in totality to put our faith in the One who is perfect. This concept is so foreign to our conditioning that outside of the realms of faith it will be impossible to achieve. God has given us the wherewithal to operate in the realm of faith in Him; this must become a way of life for us all. Read the Bible carefully and you will soon learn that God has never commended anyone for their independence. His voice echoes through creation commending only those who lived by faith. Read Hebrews 11! I have lived long enough and made far too many mistakes not to understand this! We must totally depend on the One who is perfect, for we are far from impeccable. In Christ alone we must depend, breathe and live!

Those closest to us outside of Christ will always have a different agenda; they are blind to the things of heaven; “Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."” (John 3:3) – This is why when the pressure really begins to mount they will always look for self-preservation even at the expense of betraying their own family member to save their own skins. To them heaven may be a nice thought but it will never be their reality, they are blind to heavenly things and if God has declared it, it will come to pass. We must be prepared for that certainty.    

All we must do is fall to our knees and beseech God for mercy so that they too may find forgiveness for their sins. Nevertheless not all will find His favour. Our loyalties must lie with God above even the closest of our family members. This is a requisite God has placed on all of His children and some may be tested in this area of their lives, even to the point of death; “Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:21-22) - It will be worth it all!

It is never pleasant to consider the severity of these types of possibilities but if we have knowledge of what may happen we can prepare ourselves for the inevitable. I would rather be warned of the storms on the horizon than to put my head in the sand like an ostrich pretending that all will be well, when in fact disaster may be looming. Without oil in our lanterns we stand no chance against such onslaught. It is now time like never before to strengthen our relationships with our God. We must fight for whatever is needed to accomplish obedience in Him.

Signing off

Tyrone

   

  

Perfection

(Psalms 50:2) “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.”

Having now understood God for who He is, He was never created, but has always existed. All His attributes co-exist in perfect harmony. The triune God in total unity with every decision He (they) has ever made. There has never been a need to vote, or to debate over a split decision pertaining to creation and all which energizes its existence. God uses Himself as a yardstick when evaluating that which needs improvement, for He alone is perfect in completion. We know that some of God’s creation was created in perfection in one area but not in totality. Satan (the king of Tyre) is referred to as perfect in beauty, that is to say He was created perfect in beauty after his kind; "Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: "You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” (Ezekiel 28:12)   

But God alone is perfect in totality!  I know that thought is almost inconceivable because of who we are; we have been tainted by the sin of one man Adam, but we who now belong to God because of what Christ achieved on our behalf, have received the mind of Christ. We now have the capacity to search out spiritual truths.  

How refreshing it is when we learn a new truth about our awesome God and Father. Somewhat similar I suppose to Moses’ experience, where He gives us glimpses of His beauty. It is obvious we do not understand His attributes as we ought, but that which we see is spectacular. One day we will see Him as He is, “when we all get to heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be”. To see Him for who He is, the great “I am” in all His glory! But until then we have a responsibility to search out the scriptures seeking out glimpses of His splendid attributes.

God shines forth in perfection, perfect in justice and mercy with His sovereign power reigning supreme. The throws of life, filled with wickedness look to denounce that truth. People posing questions like, “if God is love how does He allow such wickedness to reign throughout the land”. O foolish man what right does that which is created speak out against the creator of all things! “Does not the potter have power over the clay?” The time will arrive when all things will be set to order and then His plan will be evident to all. For now we see through a glass darkly, our vision has been marred and yet God’s perfect mercy has been extended to all; “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17) – What have you done with God’s mercy? Have you embraced it with open arms or do you still shun His goodness? The day is soon approaching when that mercy would have run its course and the offer of salvation will expire. I implore you not to put it off any longer; “For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." 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 10:11-13)

Therefore the beauty of God’s mercy has been declared to all, for God sent His son to save sinners from themselves. The question remains: do you understand your need for a Saviour or will you save yourself? It is only the fool who has said in their heart that there is no God!

Look to God’s mercy as it is available to all who call upon His name, but call you must!

Signing off

Tyrone  

  

    

Be sober be vigilant

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

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

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

NOW WATCH WHAT HE DOES!”

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

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

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

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

  

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

     

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

Be sober, be vigilant…

Signing off

Tyrone

The free gift of God

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Signing off

Tyrone

         

Mercy and Justice

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Signing off

Tyrone   

Love conquers all!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Signing off

Tyrone 

God's brilliance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Signing off

Tyrone