Hoodwinked

Before a fisherman throws his line into the big deep blue, especially when targeting sharks, he baits the water with entrails and vial smelling slop and blood. His reason, to entice the prey towards his baited hook…

I see so many similarities to the fisherman’s techniques in everyday life. It has become rather frightening on the one hand whilst on the other somewhat the norm to my inquiring mind as it probes from thought to thought in relation to what my eyes witness throughout any given day. In conclusion it is obvious that the undertones of so many underlying messages carry great weight with a hook so enticing that people are willing to bite at the same traps over and over, oblivious to the end game. What is needed by Satan to hook his prey? “The lust of the flesh”, it’s as simple as that. The Apostle John words it like this; “For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world.” (1John 2:16) – But before I take this thought any further we need to establish a truth that exposes and confirms the one behind it all.

“There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” His life was all about the will of God outside of his own selfish wants. He was a man that God acknowledged! Wow what a beautiful thought, to be acknowledged by the great “I AM”! However he had a family who were not like minded and it was all about satisfying their own carnal desires. Their lives were filled with self-interest and it was all about what they could take from this life and this world. Does that sound familiar when we gaze into our mirrors? Bigger houses, with more money and the like; Job was different in character and he shunned all that was evil! And it was God who put him to the test! This is how it happened; (see Job 1:6-12) - God looks out for His own, and Satan and all his fellow workers can do nothing to His children without God’s permission; this is a given! Why then do certain tests come our way? God understands our hearts, but we often skew a right understanding of who we are and what we are all about. It’s the trial of life that refines us into obedient children of God. Satan has one objective and that is to get us to curse God so that we too may die with Him in the Lake of Fire. But in order for Him to accomplish this objective He “chums” the waters in our paths to entice us to take the bait. He has become so skilled at this that even the professing Christian ends up believing that the “Prosperity Gospel” is of God and not from him, with bigger houses and more luxury for the Christian when in fact the opposite is true. True faith does not will us to have a cushier life, but it drives us to have peace even when we are surrounded by great trial. The Lord Jesus Christ is our example; with many other who have followed suit. This is how God views those who please Him; “... 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)

In God’s opinion the world was not worthy to have these characters living in it, because of their own unselfish wants at the expense of a right relationship with Him. Satan the mastermind, luring men and women away from God through the lust of their flesh! A cleverly thought out intention by Satan as he probes the world with a numbing to all things pure and holy. How is this done, rather easily in fact considering that the persona of my brilliant God and Father is pure and holy as He only ever reflects His own righteousness, He is the great “I AM” the One who has no beginning nor will He ever have an end, He has scripted His plan for time and beyond and we are characters within that script. He has so loved the world and given us His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ as our own personal sacrifice for our sins. But so many are led to believe that they are good people and in no need of a Saviour. Sadly this is the truth of our world today. Satan has lured them, as I too was once a part of that number, but God took pity on my soul in spite of who I was, a sinner in desperate need of rescue; and He graciously opened my eyes to these truths. Praise the name of Jesus now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

How then has Satan tricked so many people into believing his lies? Simply put, our love for sin is what drives the majority of the human race. And through the process of time we are in the throes of a downward spiral. It is getting to a stage of such proportion that we are now as a nation even honouring same sex marriages. Wow! However there will come a day in the not too distant future when God will say enough is enough and bring great tribulation upon the earth, in fact such tribulation that the world has never yet experienced. Considering that four thousand years ago God did destroy the earth with a flood and only eight souls were saved.

What is this “chum” I speak of? You needn’t look further than our very television sets to understand the corruption that is evident in our society today. A show like the modern family, with gay couples the norm, or women in leading roles ruling the world with their dominance and ruling men whilst twisting the Word of God and His order. No different to the beginning, in the Garden of Eden where he deceived Eve to disobey God; the evidence of Satan’s influence over the general population with human rights high on the agenda of most governments as they disregard the order of God. The devil has and is in the course of luring men and women into his deadly trap that will bring with it eternal consequences, hell the final destination.

However, today is a day where we still have hope and we can turn from our sin and cry out to a forgiving God as we seek out His forgiveness?

I will leave you with this thought; “As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."” (Hebrews 3:15) – In other words; “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."” (Romans 10:13) – But we must all call out to Him if we are to escape the hook of Satan with today being a day that His offer is still on the table, and yet there is a day coming that is almost to treacherous to speak about but nevertheless knowledge about it may just save us from it; “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.” (Matthew 24:21) 

Signing off

Tyrone

    

 

 

        

Knowledge

The resolve to heighten our knowledge is something we are all driven to do from our first breath. It is inbred into our makeups; it is part of who we are. A new born child soon learns what his mother’s teat is for and before long they know exactly where to go when hunger kicks in. And so life progresses and we all inquire after knowledge to equip us to better our existence.

What I find a rather interesting thought this morning is that the forbidden fruit placed in the Garden of Eden was all about the Knowledge of Good and Evil! The rest of God’s persona was never withheld from Adam. In fact God even allowed Adam to name all the beasts of His creation. Why was it held from their understanding, is the tenacious question.

I have a few pressing thoughts that drive home with a loud voice but before I unpack them I must first receive confirmation from the Word of God that they are in line with God’s voice and not my own imaginations. The Bible must confirm them before I can say with any certainty that they are accurate.

It is obvious that they were not ready to receive that knowledge at that time in their lives, for if they were, God would have allowed them access to it. Why were they not ready? When we consider the sons of God (the angels) who were created and who lived within the presence of God; they, just like Adam and Eve, saw God in all His glory and yet one third of the angels were banished from heaven for admiring Satan’s beauty over God’s goodness and for choosing evil over good. I suppose it may just have been a similar concern that God had with mankind, not allowing them to understand the difference so that they did not end up like the fallen angels, banished from God’s presence.

Why do evil people act on evil deeds? They actually believe it is more pleasurable to be evil than good. It becomes a way of life, but where we make the mistake is that we too believe that we are better than others on our own merits, when in fact we are by nature all drawn to sin because of the fall. No matter who you are, you are tainted by sin and have a skewed perception of what is good and evil.  Like the Lord Jesus taught, you may be faithful to your partner in practice but in thought ponder all types of indulgences, the conclusion, you are then guilty of adultery (God’s standard of what is good and not mans understanding of what he thinks is acceptable). That is the kernel of it all! There are no exceptions! Can I prove this? Yes! “As it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." (Romans 3:10-12)   

This knowledge that we now have, a skewed perception on what is good and what is evil (I speak as a man with a carnal mind-set and not with the mind of Christ) leaves mankind by default cleaving to that which is evil, even if they don’t know it! Which outside of Christ’s rescue, they are oblivious to their dilemma. You have been blinded by sin!

Let us go back into history to establish some important principles…

Prior to the flood God looked down upon mankind from the heavens and was appalled with what they had become and I must remind you that because of Eve’s noncompliance to God’s instruction in the Garden of Eden mankind had now ended up here and under the influence of the serpent (Satan), she short circuited God’s plan for mankind’s awareness of the true understanding of what is good and what is evil. They were not ready to receive the tuition about “good and evil” but she hankered after it regardless. Here is how the Bible records the state of mankind prior to the flood; “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them."” (Genesis 6:5-7) – Humanity had fallen very far from where it had all started no differently to the fallen angels that had been banished from heaven under Satan. And because of the state of mans heart (“his heart was continually evil”) God destroyed the known world by a great flood, except the few that found grace in the eyes of God, Noah and his family with the animal rescued in the Ark prior to His judgement.     

Therefore the law teaches us to apply ourselves to certain criteria and if we abide by Gods law we remain guiltless before Him. It is only when we break one of His laws that we stand condemned. This was the reason for the introduction of the Ten Commandments; it was to teach us what was required from us if we wanted a right relationship with God. God being merciful then introduced sacrifices to cover sins and once a breach happened in a person’s life; a sacrifice was required to cover that particular sin. God had singled out the Jews as His people and these laws then applied to them and this agreement is known as the “first covenant”. Which proved the point that it was impossible to overcome evil by our actions, the law was a tutor to teach us that we needed to find rescue. It was only after that had been established that God introduced a better covenant, the second, which abolished the first in and through the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice. “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)   

But in order for the second covenant to stand God needed to live as a man and overcome sin n the flesh. Which He did! Praise the name of Jesus now and forever more! – “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:28)

In other words the first covenant was something that needed to be continually repeated. A man sinned and then made a sacrifice unto God seeking out His forgiveness for that particular sin and so on. It was a repetitive requirement. That covenant has now been abolished because of Christ’s obedience. We have now entered into the era of the second covenant which is on offer for all of mankind and not only the Jew. Here is the proof; “But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.” (Hebrews 8:6-7)   

    

And yet I will remind you, that God as the director, was never caught off guard, as it was all part of His scripted manuscripts, which He penned prior to the creation of the worlds.  Which will eventually arrive at a conclusion, with all of God’s people living and praising Him with the true knowledge of good and evil and from there on in only ever choosing that which is good. The inhabitants within the New Jerusalem (the new habitat for God’s elect) will now be in a position to differentiate between good and evil as God sees it. Good triumphing over evil! Praise God now and forever more, Amen!

This then will be the end for the pursuit of the knowledge of good and evil. There will be a final separation of all that is good and evil; “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 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."” (Revelation 21:3-17)

In conclusion none of us in ourselves can claim to be good people; this type of reasoning is a twisted understanding of what is true before God’s eyes. But God has not left us to our own destruction and has made a way of escape for the “whosoever”; turn to the Lord Jesus Christ repenting of all your ‘dead works’ (trying to score points with God by what you do and have done) and call out to Him asking Him to forgive and save you from the eminent judgement that is on the horizon known as the Great White Throne Judgement. You must be covered by the Second Covenant if you are to escape the judgement for your sins. Hang onto the First Covenant and you will be judged by it and with a single breach to it, you will be found wanting, with hell as your final destination.

Signing off

Tyrone    

   

Biblical Hermeneutics

To hear the voice of God speak into my life is at present my highest priority but only after understanding the position I hold in God’s family, I am a son of the only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who is now entitled to call out to my heavenly Father in assurance knowing that I will be heard is most certainly a great comfort. To be known by God and numbered amongst the saint is of great privilege and to think it is only all because of God’s grace and His mercy. In spite of my pitiful character I have found rescue in Him, praise His name now and forever more, Amen!  

With that established what I really need now is to clearly hear the voice of God from here on in. “Noise” must be stripped from the equation for better results within our relationship and obviously it’s me that needs help. How can I be of more effectual service to my brothers and sisters in Christ without superficial confusion getting in the way is the pressing question?

If and when I want to remove background noise from an audio file I must evaluate the entire track in order to know what I need to deal. I could evaluate the track in sections and pull out the clutter as I progress but that would be a lengthy exercise. I recommend that we evaluate the problem openly and honestly and to the best of our abilities looking into a mirror.

So how do I hear the voice of God speak clearly into my life; firstly I need to remove any obstacle that stands in the way of His words reaching my ears. I need to remove the clutter. What then is the clutter? This is where the mirror of self-reflection is needed, not the mirror in your bathroom but the Word of God, the Bible is our mirror with God the Holy Spirit leading us into all truth. Its His Word through the pages of scripture that speaks into out lives.

Scholars teach us that we need to appropriate certain criteria to differing scriptures and this is known as biblical hermeneutics. I believe there is great value to their influence and yet I see some areas that may cause the clutter as our intellect looks to overrule the work of the Spirit. IT GETS IN THE WAY!

Paul instructs Timothy and it goes without saying that we should follow suit with our intent; "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15) – We must make every effort to understand what the author’s intention was in his delivery, grammatically and contextually, which is helpful when unpacking certain truths from scripture. They encourage historical references to culture and the like which most certainly has its place but at times can cause a lot of “noise” when trying to understand the correct interpretation of the authors intent. Do not overshadow tradition and historical cultures over the simple meaning of the text. In my opinion this at times has hindered us from hearing the voice of God. They do however encourage us to understand different portions of scripture and apply different techniques to understanding them, the scholar says we must interpret a prophecy differently to a psalm or a proverb which should be understood and applied differently from a law. They say applying these techniques will aid in helping us to interpret, understand and apply the Bible. I agree with it in principle! However when I then hear some background “noise” is intellect overshadowing the work of the Spirit? Did you know that God does not depend upon the degrees or a scholars intellect to further His gospel? We have been saved by grace through faith and that's not a work of ours or even the work or the brilliance of the man who leads us to salvation, it is a gift from God. The working of God by the Holy Spirit will never share His glory with another, and why would He? He is God and has commissioned Him to function under His Production (the unfolding of life with the earth and its inhabitants as key figures in His creation). So when we stand in the way of the Spirit’s work we hinder our progress and the progress of those around us. Not that we could actually hinder His work; we stun our own growth, failing to remove the wax from our ears! Here is what God the Spirit does in our lives according to scripture; everyone would agree that we receive Him as a gift after becoming a Christian, in other words He takes up His abode in us, He is involved in helping us understand God’s will for our lives. Therefore it is time to get out of the way and “let God”!  We only see “sin” as our enemy when in fact anything carnal is the enemy. Just in case there be some resistance to that statement here is the proof; “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:7-8)

God the Holy Spirit has great influence within a believer’s life whether you are aware of it or not; I can say with confidence that I am aware of certain areas in my life where He influences me; when certain scriptures are brought back to my remembrance without any effort on my part, it is obvious He lives. I do not learn memory verses to try and heighten my intellect. I just read and study the Bible and He does the rest; He brings verses back to my remembrance through any given circumstance where and when required. For this I am truly grateful! The Apostle Paul commissions us not to grieve the Holy Spirit for our salvation has been sealed by Him until the day of our redemption (see Ephesians 4:30) – He influences how we should lives. He is the unseen hero in our salvation! There is a lot more I could say about His functions, but time does not permit…      

With that established, this does not mean we go off at a tangent ignoring the author’s intent behind the text in scripture. That would be gross error and many are privy to such false interpretations. The hyper charismatics are guilty as charged! It’s all about their bellies and what they can get for themselves at the expense of others.

We must always stick to the text with literal Bible interpretation. I agree with the scholar’s most important law of biblical hermeneutics, which is that the Bible should be interpreted literally. Literal Bible interpretation means we understand the Bible in plain language. The Bible says what it means and means what it says. Mistakes are made when individuals try to read between the lines and come up with meanings for Scriptures that are not truly in the text. The prayer of Jabez a typical example of the many errors some fall privy to; Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!" And God granted what he asked.” (1Chronicals 4:10) – It was a request from a particular man that God honoured. However for someone to now jump to the conclusion and write a book teaching all that they are entitled to a similar claim from that one verse is a stretch of delusional imagination. This is a case in study which would prove the value of biblical hermeneutics.

There are however some verses that can be applied to all because they position all for the call; “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."” (Romans 10:13) – And another; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. – Here are verses that has been extended to all “everyone” and “whoever”. It is an open invitation to all, do you see the difference?

The goal of biblical hermeneutics is to point us to the correct interpretation which the Holy Spirit has already enthused into the text. The purpose of biblical hermeneutics is to protect us from unfittingly applying a Scripture to a particular situation. Biblical hermeneutics points us to the true meaning and application of Scripture; "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) – A correct understanding of Biblical hermeneutics helps when we remove our carnalities from it from getting in the way, which in turn will keep the sword sharp!

There is much more that could be said on this topic, however in conclusion, we must learn to be sensitive to the work of God the Holy Spirit in our lives and we must absorb a confidence in His leading through our application of faith toward God with a correct tender of overarching Biblical Hermeneutics to our understanding of what God is teaching us. We must rely on His work in our lives to bring about God’s will. And only then will our ears be truly free from any “noise” in our daily Christian walks.

Signing off

Tyrone

    

          

Be not troubled...

(Matthew 24.6) “…see that ye be not troubled…”

“Be not troubled” is the cry often heard for God’s people throughout scripture when calamity appeared on the horizon with God testing their dependency upon Him. It has never changed! “If God is for us who can be against us”! This does not mean we will never have opposition, on the contrary we will at times have fierce antagonism, but whatever comes at the believer will be no match for their God and Father. This is a truth that is irrevocably undeniable and our faith towards God demands our undivided attention when the smelting pot begins to bubble.

We all need to enter the “Slough of Despond” and breech the other side and the only way this will ever be achieved correctly as children of God is by our faith in Him. You will hear many voices whilst wading through your times of trouble and at intervals the sludge will look to swallow you up like sinking sand. These are the stints that will either make or break us as professing Christians. Then there will be stretches when we walk in gross disobedience hankering after our own sinful lusts blinded by sin and God will discipline us to get us back on track. He cares for us, praise His name! (See Hebrews 12:7)

It is obvious that whoever God has begun a work with will make it out on the other side, regardless of that individuals merits. God chooses and works all things in accordance with His will. Do not be fooled into believing that we have any influence to thwart His character in any way and misguide His master plan and derail it. Satan believed that and persuaded a third of the angels to rebel with him looking to disrupt God, with the earth and its inhabitants as his playground looking to misguide its populations with the lures of sin, although many will share his fate, God’s children will escape his lies. Their end is sealed; “and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10) – We must learn to align ourselves with the Word of God and not look for wiggle room. I cannot stress this point enough! If it says it, believe it and if your mind looks to doubt its authenticity, cry unto the King of kings and ask Him to help your unbelief. But never do what Eve did with the Word and give Satan a foothold to twist its original meaning when it is obvious what God has instructed us to do.

There is no other name under heaven save the Lord Jesus Christ, whereby a person may be saved. Any other way is a lie from the devil himself. Do not entertain fools who profess to be wise; their fate is sealed!

It is in the times of troubles that the true Christian will be of value to others, not when life is rosy. You may wonder why I make so many references to the word “true” Christian. Many proclaim to belong to God but in fact like the idea of hedging their bets just in case they are judged one day whilst others see the merits of the potential in “Christianity” with wealth and prosperity as their draw card. It is all about them!

We must learn to decrease so that the Christ in us may increase and we will then be of value to our brothers and sisters in Christ, pleasing our heavenly Father.

The trials of life that God brings across our paths are to hone us into something beautiful and we needn’t look much further that the splendour of Christ our beloved Saviour. How He needed to suffer to set us free, we too need to arm ourselves with the same mind. It is through these difficult patches of our lives that compel us to draw close to Him. These are the true tests for the true Christians.

If our works will be judged by fire when we get to heaven (see 1 Corinthians 3: 13), why then, if we have the mind of Christ, even now here on earth and we have His Spirit are we then surprised by hardship? I have to conclude that we are either babes in Christ or we must be false converts and the wannabe Christian will fall by the wayside. We must cement this truth deep within our hearts and minds; “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) – We have a Saviour who makes daily intercession for us and He is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. We can and must take our concerns to Him in prayer, He is on our side and He will come to our rescue come what may, of this I am convinced!

Signing off

Tyrone          

All Hail King Jesus

All Hail King Jesus, blessing and Honour belongs to my God, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. How many can with any assurance claim this truth for their lives? I most certainly can and will declare it to be true. Blessing and Honour belongs to the only true and living God who has no equal, He is merciful, kind and long suffering with those who are dull of hearing. How many times have you had to repeat yourself to me concerning a particular topic my gracious heavenly Father and how slow I have been to act correctly in accordance with your righteousness and not my rebellious selfish attitude of self gratification looking to find sinful selfish satisfaction? Where would I be if it weren’t for you endurance and kindness as my Father, This is a morning where I will declare to you that I refuse to take lightly what you have tolerated with me a difficult son. And yet I will be forever grateful for your loving discipline and you direction for my life, thank you for the trail of life, and for the correction that has lead me into suffering to teach me obedience and to walk by faith trusting You at your Word.

These are truths that I can claim as tried and tested! Where I have failed you, you have never changed and been a God of your Word, unable to be swayed by sin, a perfect God and Father who has extended a loving arm toward me in and through my beloved Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, even whilst knowing all things prior to them unfolding. Knowing all about my stubbornness and yet still welcoming me with open arms and giving me sight to see the truth behind Christ’s sacrifice on my behalf. Love personified!

O the depths of God’s love, who can measure it? If it could be quantified, could all the storehouses of the world be able to constrain it? Never! But wisdom has built her house upon the Word of God and faith is given to the believer when He trusts God at His Word. Help me to grasp this reality with a deeper intent I pray. I love you my God and I love your Word, which could never be separated from your character, you are your Word! We on the other hand often make great claims about what we will or won’t do, only to disappoint. No wonder the Lord Jesus taught us to never swear by an oath or get others to do the same; "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil.” (Matthew 5:33-36) – And yet how often I have erred in this area of my life BUT GOD who is rich in mercy has ever been merciful to me in spite of my rebellion. Thankfully we are all works in progress; sadly even Samson had to lose his hair and his eyes before the greatest feat of His life unfolded. Arrogance mingled with pride often robs us of the simple pleasure found in Christ and His Spirit. The fact is that we as Christians have the mind of Christ so we are now without excuse! There must come a time in a believer’s life when we hand over our selfish wills that always lead us down the path of destruction to our heavenly Father and to resign all to Him. A tall ask if viewed through the eyes of our flesh, but quite reasonable when we put on the mind of Christ. Here is the instruction; “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1) – It is a reasonable request! However we all need to be put through the fire to learn this valuable lesson. Thank you Father God, I love your undying love and perseverance with all your children and not only the apparent model examples seen in scripture. How I am learning to hate that which opposes your will for our lives.

There is so much work to be finalised but I am persuaded that you will see me through all the rot that looks to deceive and rebel in my daily sanctification. “Jesus in my place” how sweet those words are to my soul, THANK YOU!

Teach me to trust and obey in every area of my life my God, Hero and the lover of my life! May you continue to purge me with the trials of life to teach me the way of the Master, Amen and Amen! To God be the glory now and forever more…

Signing off

Tyrone

    

Purge me

(Psalms 51:7)  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

The entire concept of sacrifice in the Old Testament was to bring an offering of livestock, a male without a blemish, symbolic of the requirements God needs from mankind to be able to approach him because of who His is, perfect and Holy! Salvation has the perfect sacrifice all encompassed in the Lord Jesus’ perfect atonement for mankind’s sin. He lived a life without sin and therefore was able to approach the throne of God in person to pay the price for sin. It is a phenomenal achievement! Many other individuals throughout time lived for God, men sold out for Him, but they all lacked a certain ingredient, which was to live sinless lives. The prophet Ezekiel makes reference to three individuals that seemed to come very close; “even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.” (Ezekiel 14:20) – It is obvious that God saw their commitments but it may only have helped them and not the rest of their families. But the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice has covered a multitude of sin; God is satisfied to call us brothers because of what the Lord Jesus did on our behalf. Those who are truly saved, that is! Not the rest! It is God’s work that is needed to save an individual and to open their eyes to this reality.   

 

Flesh and blood, human wisdom and effort will never get us to a point of salvation, it is impossible. We must be sanctified by the blood of the Lord Jesus and Him alone. In other words we have to acknowledge His role in our rescue, if not we will drown in our own sins. If we call upon the name of the Lord we will be saved, why? Because God sees Him, the One who paid the price for an individuals sin and not our sin; we have His covering and this is why we are now acceptable within the beloved. Stop trying to find your own justifications from God to accept you on your own merits if that is what you are doing. It is an impossible task!

David in this Psalm asks God to purge him with Hyssop; he asks God to do the work. The Apostle Peter was the first of the twelve to see the light when the Lord Jesus asked them who they thought He was; How did it happen? Observe –“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 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.”” (Matthew 16:13-17) – Just as God opened Peter’s eyes to which the Lord Jesus is and what He came to accomplish and David understood that God needed to be merciful to him in order to be sanctified, we too need the same act of kindness bestowed on us if we are to see the light. It is God’s work and not ours!

We must seek out His mercy in order for this to become our actuality; prayer is the key to it all. Call upon the name of the Lord and you shall be saved, is the instruction. Our responsibility is to ask God to purge our sin and he shall; “for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If this call from God went out before the worlds were created and election took place prior to the intervention of mankind which the scripture is clear on; “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world…” (Ephesians 1:4) – It is obvious that God in His brilliance penned His script and then rested and watched His will unfold through the chapters of history, with each character playing their part as He intended. Unaware of their roles and yet finding God’s will for their lives through their lifetimes. Most cannot accept these truths as they are too big for our puny little brains in comparison to the genius of God’s brilliance, but election happened prior to the foundation of the world, the text is clear.

Where does that leave us in relation to sharing the gospel to a dying world? Charles Spurgeon had this to say; “If God would have painted a yellow stripe on the backs of the elect I would have gone around lifting shirts. But since he didn’t I must preach “whosoever will” and when “whosoever” believes he is one of the elect”. Rather simple to understand when we put on the mind of Christ.

The bringing of a person to salvation is all of God, it has nothing to do with our wills, and it’s all about God’s will! If it was any other way we could boast in our choice in choosing God but He chose us, praise His name now and forever more, Amen and Amen! Never let these realities leave our minds; praise the Lord Jesus Christ for His obedience to the call that God placed on Him. Without His accomplishments we would all be on our way to hell because of our sinful natures. But now the elect have been covered by His grace and we all look forward to a sinless eternity with our God and Father. Wow, thank you Father God for saving me!

Signing off

Tyrone

                                          

A basic fundamental

To be trained correctly is a goal that many aspire to as it holds us in good stead when it comes to the faculty we wish to excel in. We all have a drive that eventually works its way into our lives and directs our paths. It does when we are able to latch onto something within our quest which motivates our intent and it’s normally only then when we find a resolve to really excel. We need a trigger to get us motivated! It could be power, wealth, fame, pride and the like, which are all linked to sin if triggered by our natural minds; however without going into too much depth regarding the actually mysteries of God’s Spirit working within a convert, let me say this, when this truth is sealed within our minds we will find a freedom in applying ourselves to eternal matters, which will be for our benefit as well as those we rub shoulders with along life’s journey.

At salvation a trigger in our minds is flipped and our souls come alive and we see things for what they are for the first time in our lives; all the questions and the inward struggles that plague our silent thoughts are prioritised with Christ now in the forefront of our minds. This in itself is a miracle! Faiths mingled together with sound doctrine within the true gospel message and the heavy weight of our sin drops off our back and possibly believe we are the first person to unravel the truth to mankind’s existence. We can of a certainty relate to the man who was blind, who had an encounter with the Lord Jesus and then ran around shouting, “I was blind but now I can see!” Without a similar experience you may still be rapped up in the thought of religion. Have you been given the mind of Christ? It is a gift received at salvation! If not fall to your knees and cry out to the Lord Jesus and ask Him for His mind. There can be no doubt to whether you can see or not! If you have reservation, wrestle until you are sure God has saved you and given you His Spirit.

How is it that both the church of Galatia and the church of Sardis needed to be reminded of a similar truth; the Galatians were asked by Paul about their understanding and compliance to a Gospel that was grace centered to the exclusion of works. This was his question to them; “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” (Galatians 3:1-2) - In other words did they do anything to warrant the gift of grace from God? Did we do something to find favour in our own merits that lead us to Christ in repentance? The answer is obvious; we didn’t and could never do anything that could please God, period!

If that then is the way we as Gentiles found the only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob coming to save us from ourselves and our sinful natures, why then after salvation do we potentially forget this truth? Again the answer is obvious, we begin to reason with our natural minds and not with the mind of Christ which we now have as a gift given to us at our conversion.

There were those who had crept into the church at Galatia and were trying to enforce circumcision and Paul had to set them right on the matter. The warning to us is that we do not make the same mistake. Not that we are taught to now pursue circumcision per say but there is often hints from others and our own minds that lead us to look for justification in what we do that approves our worth with God. We say to ourselves “if we behave in a certain manner we will then be accepted by God”. After all, does the Bible not teach that you will know a tree by its fruit?

Here then is the trap that misguides our understanding; after salvation we are given the Spirit of God which now takes up residence in our mortal bodies but before long we often revert back to our carnal understanding as we look for justification which proves to others that we are Christians. Which is an obvious requirement; you will know a tree by its fruit! However, if we apply these truths to our lives from the “outside in” instead of the “inside out” we miss the mark entirely. We must understand that having begun in the Spirit we now need to be perfected by the same Spirit! Our pursuit of holiness must be driven by the Spirit of God and it must be understood as such. If we get it wrong all we will ever achieve is a sense of self worth that will eventually lead to death. It will cause us to become boastful against one another. Excusing ourselves and accusing others from failing to reach our level of false commitment. Here then is the proof of my argument; “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3)

I understand that this is a basic fundamental that every Christian should have engraved in their brains but I am not convinced that all have fully grasped this truth. We must learn to be lead by the Spirit of God and put on the mind of Christ permanently if we are to be successful in our plight as a Christian. It is clear that the old man (our natural application to life) is dead if the Spirit of God lives within us; “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans 8:8-10)

There is now new application to our lives that must become a way of life; “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)

Now the church at Sardis who had a reputation of being alive but was dead; “"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: 'The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. "'I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.” (Revelation 3:1-2)

Complacency or turning a blind eye to what we lack will never be good enough; God is perfect so at the very least we must seek out His will for our lives, owning our sin, in other words work out what it is that He requires from us in every area of our lives when it becomes apparent that there is a lack. Obviously we all have the same commission, which is to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ and yet we do not all have the same functions within that quest; we have each been given a specific role within His production! Remembering that all roles and skits have already been plotted out prior to creation by the Godhead; Mind boggling yet true! For us, it must be about what protagonists we are meant to play whilst fitting into our characters as God intended. It will obviously play out the way He has internalised, but for us on an individual level we need to work it out. We do not have His brilliance and foresight and yet we do have the mind of Christ, therefore when we walk in the Spirit we will by the Spirit obviously reap the fruits of the Spirit. This is why the Word of God is so crucial to our lives; imagine an actor having to play a specific role without a script, Impossible right? That is what our lives are all about, but when we are lead about by our own independence believing that we have the keys to our own destiny we will only ever produce fruits of the flesh, which highlights sin and our fallen states.

Therefore, as Christians, the sooner we tow the line as intended, the sooner we will finish our quests and be taken home. We only ever hang onto this life in this world because we are viewing things through the eyes of our natural minds; if we saw things for what they are we would never want to remain here.

Imagine a director having the perfect take with a particular actor and then deleting it whilst having to reshoot it over and over, what would be the point? With that in mind let me leave you with this thought; “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” (Genesis 5:24) – I would conclude, the perfect “take” finally arrived and God took Him home without him ever having to face death. He finally attained every lesson that God had willed him to absorb, wow! Praise God now and forever more Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

 

 

 

  

          

The "manipulation of sin"

(Luke 5:38)  “But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.”

Did you know that the “manipulation of sin” is a precipice so deep that it is impossible to breach? Try as you may, pay top dollar for the best psychiatrist with their twelve step programs and all you will ever do is bury the “deception” a little deeper as you are deceived into believing that you have found a key to unlock a step to freedom, when in fact its just another disguise mused as freedom.

As Christians we allow the Word of God to wash over our lives hoping for the change to happen. And because we do not like certain attributes to our lives we welcome most of its instruction with open arms. However there are certain strongholds that have their claws hooked deep into our lives and those are the areas we hang onto with all we have and mostly with denial mixed in as the key ingredient. Our own minds manipulating us into a deeper vortex of sin that becomes solidified the longer it is allowed to live. It is only when we see it for what it is that we will be allowed to confess our part in the breach and ask God to miraculously set us free, in and through the work of His Spirit. Try and conquer any other way and all you will ever do is some patchwork that will always be evident.

There are two realms that need considering, the carnal and the Spiritual, the body and the Spirit. They both have different entities that feed their survival. Unfortunately so many make the fatal mistake of trying to conjure up some concoction that will cater to both. Does oil and water ever mix evenly? No wonder the Lord Jesus seemed to spend so much of His time here on earth dealing with this topic; “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6) – Does not life itself teach you so many valuable lessons; we cannot put new wine into old wine skin for it will result in a massive burst! We cannot patch an old pair of pants with new fabric because it will tear the mend. Like for like is needed, new wine with new wineskins and so forth.

So many religious institutions make this fatal error. Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews and he hadn’t understood this, have you? The flesh (our natural commitment to life and their applications) can never feed our souls with sustainable food that is required for that part of us that will go on into eternity. That needs a different mind-set and application to work out in the positive. Just like our natural bodies had a beginning, so too our spirits need a beginning (to be born again) and only some have understood. Have you? God is the one that quickens our Spirit and gives them life. How so? Through repentance for our sin and acknowledging that Jesus Christ paid the price for our sin in particular.

Our natural bodies need food to sustain them, so too do our Spirits need food to sustain them.  Let us stop lying to ourselves about so many traps that trick us into believing that what we are on about is for our eternal benefits. If it is not from the Spirit then it will always result in disaster even if it is hidden so deep that we live under the spell of self denial, all that it is, is the “manipulation of sin” at work.

Here are some facts that should settle our minds on this topic; “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5-8)

In conclusion it is time for us to forget whatever we have learnt from family and friends if it does not correspond with the Word of God. If we want our Spirits fed correctly we must learn to trust and obey it in faith, believing God, for we are works in progress that will bring us great benefit and Him glory, come what may!

Signing off

Tyrone 

The Just!

Have you ever heard your name called out, whether audibly or consciously when the likelihood of that call coming was totally unexpected? Today was such a morning. Up and out of bed ready for training at 3:15 am. A call, I cannot pin point how I arrived at that awareness, whether in a dream or some other means I nevertheless heard someone addressing me by name. What was I to do, roll over and continue to sleep or to enquire after it? The latter was my persuasion. Why? I have in times passed been blessed in abundance through stints like these; the times when God used His amazing Word, the Bible, to speak into my life and fill me with an amazing amount of peace. Is today such a day? I eagerly await the outcome.

As it is written, “The just will live by faith”. – “The wise heart will know the proper time and the just way.”

It is time for me to unpack this verse, personalizing it and hopefully live by it like never before. But before that can be implemented a true understanding must be realized. If not, it will be misdirected and amount to nothing of substance.

My mind is now taken to the account of Moses and the burning bush; something persuades me that there is a lesson for me there; what I find interesting about this account is that Moses was away from the luxuries of life and tending his livestock and it was there that he came to Horeb (the mountain of God). I suppose we will never clearly hear the voice of God for our lives if and when our lives are filled with clutter and when we are busy with self indulgences. Moses saw a burning bush and enquired after it. He turned aside to investigate. It was through this action that God revealed Himself to Moses; “When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."” Observe and learn; have you ever been prompted to enquire after God’s instruction for your life but found a reason not to respond? It’s no wonder life continues like it always has with the peace of God eluding you. Let’s shoulder that there have been those times in your life but the thought of it was so ridiculous that you ruled it off as folly and nothing ever came from it. Moses was not like that “he turned aside to see”. There is a very valuable lesson in that, so let us learn from his example and follow suit whenever we hear that call, even if we are convinced it is our minds playing tricks on us. Nothing venture, nothing gained rings true.

I am not suggesting that we become perverse in our thinking as we go down every rabbit hole seeking out the gobbledygook of false religion. Looking for signs in misdirection; the Lord Jesus had this response to those seeking a sign; “And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."” (Mark 8:12) – We do not need signs as we have the Word of God as our reference, God has spoken in and through the Bible and we will find all we need in it. Study it to show yourself approved by Him. There is no need to test God at His Word, all that proves is that we are no different to the Pharisees of old. As Christians we have been given “the mind of Christ”! It is a gift that God has richly lavished us with. Bless His name now and forever more, Amen!

With that in mind how do I follow suit when it comes to the just living by faith?

It is an instruction to help us preserve our relationship with the only true almighty God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It will keep us on the right road which will in turn lead us to heaven and give us the wherewithal to overcome. For we know that not all who claim Christianity as their heritage will stand guiltless before a holy and righteous God on judgement day; “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Revelation 21:7) – It is imperative that we find grace to conquer and it is our faith towards God that will equip us to hear these words; “His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'” – As Baptist’s we like to ride on the back of “once saved always saved”, which is true for the true believer, but we have a job to do and that is to walk by faith! We will all eventually see the true convert from the false on that great day. Our lip service will account for nothing if we do not appropriate what God is instructing us to do as obedient Children of God.

Some may find themselves as I once did in a state of disobedience chasing the lusts of this corrupt world but there must come a time in every believer’s life where God disciplines us in order for us to return like the prodigal son seeking out His forgiveness for our folly. Because of His love toward us we will be disciplined for our rebellion, that is if we are a son indeed! Pay careful attention to these verses and learn from them; “And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:5-11) – Therefore if and when God’s discipline encapsulates your life, take joy in this truth that He is looking out for you. “You are in training”!  But if you are without correction then I fear for your soul, fall to your knees and call upon the name of the Lord and seek out His forgiveness for your sin and begin your journey with the One who has it in His power to condemn you to total destruction or pardon your sin and give you eternal life. There are sadly many who serve God for their bellies’ sake. Let us be sure that we are not amongst that number! And just in case you do not believe me here it is; “"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'” (Matthew 7:21-23) – And; “For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18-19)

The faithful do not set their minds on earthly things. Let us make every effort to have these truths inscribed deep within our minds for they will hold us in good stead for this life and the life to come. Just as Christ gave of Himself freely so too must we learn to give of our selves freely helping those in need and especially those of the household of faith.

In conclusion we must learn to trust God in and through every circumstance that life throws at us if we are to be amongst that number, to be part of the ones that God refers to as children who are just and live by faith!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with all the saints across the globe and may our loving Father continue to hone us into that beloved image of the darling of Heaven, our glorious Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone