Looking to Jesus

(Hebrews 12:2)  “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith …”

Looking to Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith is the instruction, for we have not been instructed to look to men or organisations, or even Christian communities, which can at times be our mistake. Why the instruction? Well I suppose there are many differing factors we should consider, so here goes; Men a fallible, even when they may think that they are exempt. There is something in us all that loves to value our opinions and views above those around us and it can be at times fuelled by pride and arrogance. There is not one amongst us who hasn’t originated from fallen flesh. Our minds have been tainted by sin, through our own thoughts and not the views of another. It’s all what our eyes and ears have been exposed to along life’s journey. Our God given senses are rather phenomenal but can be twisted and misused, exploring forbidden pleasures that are sinful and an abomination before a holy God.

SIN is the cause of it all; therefore we have been instructed to look to the ONE who has no sin, our great Saviour the LORD JESUS CHRIST! For He is the founder of our faith, the One who knew no sin and the One who died for sinners like you and I. Not only did He live a life that was sin free through the trial of it all, but He learnt obedience through suffering; perfecting the path to righteousness and the conduits we as Christians have been instructed to follow. Following men could set us up for a fall, we could be caught up by one of their “hobby horses” believing it to be gospel and the outcome of that journey could bring with it great despair with lots of repair work needed to mend certain truths. Thankfully our God is long- suffering and He is patient with us all. Christianity is a marathon and not a sprint. Our eyes need to be fixed on Christ; He is the start, finish and everything in-between.    

Men and women who fly the Christian flag are not without the blemishes of sin and therefore at times have chinks in their minds eye when it comes to their “pastimes”. The Lord Jesus had one “hobby horse” and that was to do the will of His Father and nothing else, regardless of the cost to His flesh, praise His name. Without His singleness of eye we would all be heading for a Christ-less eternity and the Lake of Fire. He has given us a hope that will eventually be achieved, heaven with all its glory.

The Apostle Paul had this to say; He commanded those whom he taught to follow his example, but only as much as he himself followed Christ.

The Lord Jesus is not only the “founder” but the “perfecter” of our faith and no one else can claim that position. He alone walked that road, and this was one of His summations concerning His journey; “Foxes have holes and birds have nests but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head”. He has been given the right to free us up to serve God and there is no one else who can complete that miracle. It is the sole purpose of mankind to have their gaze fixed upon the finished work of the cross. The rest of our lives are filled with so much clutter that we will lose sight of this at times when we shift our gaze. Satan’s objective is for that to happen and so he lures us with all kinds of counterfeit traps; fear, doubt, sin and hopelessness are just some of the fuel use to feed the fire. It’s the Word of God that rights our wrongs, and our great Saviour is that Word. Hence the instruction; “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith …” The Lord is faithful and His tribute which has been penned for all who would dare to seriously explore between the covers of the Bible will understand. He will not turn one away who is thoughtful with that endeavour, of this I am convinced.     

Having established our necessity to follow Christ and His example under the direction of His Spirit’s guidance we are also instructed to observe like minded individuals and to learn from them so long as they are truly grounded upon the Rock, the Lord Jesus Christ; “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.” (Hebrews 13:7-9)

Many of our loved ones have crossed over the river Jordan and into the Promised Land where we will once against meet up with them, if we hold onto the finished work of the cross with all we have, looking unto Jesus the founder and the finisher of our faith. Have nothing to do with the waves of uncertainty they will only ever fuel doubt which in turn will lead to unbelief.

Signing off

Tyrone 

Rich in mercy

(Ephesians 2:4) “But God, being rich in mercy…”

With mankind’s position established and understood by those willing to learn from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and for us who acknowledge that God is true and that every man who opposes His Words is a liar; we are now in a position to bask in the goodness of God and His rich mercies. This is why Paul brings us to a place of understanding of where we were in our plight to find God in our lives prior to God being rich in mercy. Its God who was merciful and not mankind that is wise, sin had taken care of this actuality. Somewhere within the Christians existence here on earth our lives began to take on new meaning and the life we once lived began to shift; for me it was “wine, women and song” and it was brought to an abrupt halt; in hindsight it is obvious that it was God’s guiding me with a gracious hand which was and still is filled with mercy toward a person who was once dead in my trespasses, twenty something years ago Christ became far more attractive and everything else was placed on the back-burner; an impossible self propelled shift in my understanding with new found deliberations my reality. The Word of God was now the champion in my life, nothing else really mattered. How did this happen? “But God, being rich in mercy…” There was no “quantum physics” attached to me being born again, save the miracle of God having mercy upon my soul. We have no platform to boast from concerning our involvement in our salvation. How could a wretch like me have any boast in his involvement towards God’s mercy?  

“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) - If it wasn’t for God’s intervention in our (the Christian) lives we would still be dead in our trespasses and our sins (even when we were dead in our trespasses), its from that state that we were made alive together with Christ; a miracle of mammoth proportion. And then Paul rounds his hypothesis off with a truth that is unavoidable and it must never be overlooked, even through our arrogance and pride likes to accredited salvation to our choice at times; “by grace (unmerited favour) you have been saved”.

Once we understand the passive role we had with our Spiritual birth and the mechanism used to impart the Spirit of God into our lives, the One who gives us eyes to see Spiritual things in the correct perspective, it is then easy to understand the mercies of God in our lives as an astounding phenomenon. We did nothing to deserve His mercy; in fact we did everything to force God’s judgement upon our lives with the Lake of Fire looming as our punishment. BUT GOD was RICH in MERCY! Thank you my great God and Father for you love towards me and I also speak for all those who believe that you raised your beloved Son from the dead and for those who now confess Jesus as Lord. Some may only understand this in part, but you mercy covers us all, praise your name!

Father God you are truly Merciful and we thank you from the bottom of our heart for remembering us, all honour, power and glory belongs to you; Hail KING JESUS for the work of Calvary. How I long for the day when I will see you as you are, without any veil protecting my perishable flesh from your brilliance. But until that day arrives, continue to renew a right spirit within me is my cry, there is much still to be done, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Dead - Children of wrath

(Ephesians 2: 3) “… And were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

We just like the rest of mankind were never exempt to the curse of sin, and so many of us in times past loved to play, “I’m the not so bad” card, hoping to excuse ourselves from the wrath of God; just another magic illusion found in Satan’s bag of tricks which the world loves to hold onto with all they have got. Test if what I say fits; how often are you quick to shoot someone down for there disgraceful conduct? And yet when God looked upon us we were the disgraceful ones, guilty as charged. Sure, the rapist and the murder will be judged but so will the fornicator, or the gossiper and what of the one who is filled with fits of anger, or the converter and so on; all of us guilty before a holy God. And until that penny drops we will never apprehend what it is we (the Christian) have been saved from. Like I have mentioned many times before blinkers where designed for race horses and not humans and yet sin blinds its captives with varying illusions that others often recognize while the perpetrator is blind to their own breach.  

What amazes me is how seemingly successful the psychologist is when they get their patients to take ownership of their own actions when looking to repair damaged lives and yet Satan has blinded the world to their own pity-filled states before a Righteous God. A prodigious quandary the human faces, trapped by their own sin; “and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” A fact that should never be overlooked as a “light thing”! Sin is extremely destructive and it is what kept us (the Christian) from finding the true meaning of life.

This is how the miracle of repair happened; Jesus Christ the man came to live a life without sin influencing him, which in itself was filled with unspeakable opposition looking to derail him. Satan failed, and the Lord Jesus was victorious breaking the shackles of sin, once and for all time; but only for those who are born again and have been covered by the righteousness of His finished work upon the cross of Calvary. Those who are now sanctified by the risen Saviours shed His blood; those who where once blinded by the traps of sin. God became a man to rectify what Satan had destroyed, WOW! Do you understand this? I pray that God will expose our hearts concerning this truth and renew a right spirit in us where needed. 

Last night I had the most disturbing vivid dream; it was so tangible that I felt trapped by the weight of it. I was in a hopeless state and I could do nothing about it. The damaged had been done and it was time to face the music. The wake of destruction that it left in its path affected so many people. I was travelling in a vehicle with a loved one in another car which shadowed me. And just like any dream we never remember how we arrived there, that’s were it started; we were in transit travelling at a snail pace. Something urges me to exit the vehicle, and so I did without engaging the handbrake and before I realised what had happened my automobile was tearing down the embankment and gaining momentum. The other driver was in the process of trying to bring my vehicle to a stop using the other car as a barricade, it was a hopeless scenario, the harder she tried, the more havoc she incurred, it was no longer one car crashing through a campsite but two and eventually the damage done couldn’t be undone.

Sin is exactly like that, we try and conceal it and we go to specialists to deal with the damage created by the sin of others and the results of our own foolishness but all we will ever achieve is a band aid repair for a fatal wound (Jesus is the only solution for true freeing forgiveness). The joy of waking up and realising that what I had been apart of was only a dream; it was the most reviving feeling I had for some time now. To be freed from the weight of that experience was most welcome, whilst the dream was not wanted at all if I had any say in the matter.

The curse of sin is like an unwelcomed dream, it finds us out, regardless of how we feel about it. Hence the words of Paul referring to each and every one of us; “and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” It’s only once we wake up to the fact, that we are indeed sinners and in desperate need to be saved from our sin that the penny drops and we find relief. We must understand that it’s not our neighbour’s sin that has kept us from God but our own.

This is a crucial step in our conversion, without it we will view our rescue from the wrath to come, a “light thing” and hence the reason for Paul highlighting our standing before God prior to Him extending a lifeline to those who were helpless and doomed to face His judgement because of our sin against Him. It has been penned for us to sit up and take note, so let us remember who we were prior to the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. “We owe it all to Jesus”, praise His name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

The struggle of the mind

I have most certainly notice how we may believe something to be true but not favour the reality of that truth unfolding in our lives. I say that “God knows best” and that He is in control of all things which is obviously an indisputable fact. But as soon as my life pans out in what seems to be apparently an adverse outcome I get my hackles up. I may have cultured the concealment of it rather well, but I know my heart on the matter. The question of “why” begins to dominant my thoughts all over again. I then begin to play my works out against my rewards. O wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death? I need to be freed from myself and the wars within. The consolation I find whilst reasoning it all out, is that I am not alone on this score, as I look around I see others fighting similar battles; the war within continually rages.

Struggling and suffering of all kinds is part of God’s design to help us understand the hope which we have in Him, that one day we will be like our great Saviour. We will not only be with God, in his presence, but we will be LIKE HIM. No more struggles with the flesh, no more pity parties and so on. In my experience the clearer we begin to see this reality as our actuality the tighter the screw on the trials of life will tighten. The whole of creation was created to bring Glory to God and reveal His character. Sin has interfered with that process, or so it would seem, where in fact even sin will be used to the glory of God as it drives people to Him in and through repentance because of its destructive power. Even creation has been effected by sin. Look at a rose, filled with aphids, or a dessert without vegetation, its all because of the effect of one mans sin and His rebellion against God. However even in the chaos of it all, God is in perfect control and this is what I find at times hard to comprehend.

When life is running smoothly and all of its challenges are systematically slotting into place without to much resistance, life is bearable and manageable. But when it seems to capitulate towards hardship beyond the norm, this is when our faith is severely tested and if we faithfully come out on the other side without doubt dominating, God is glorified and His name is lifted up.

The sole purpose of God’s creation is to bring glory to Him. If this is an obvious fact why do I still struggle with the “no” answers to my prayers? Why is there this constant war that always looks for a reason why something hasn’t panned out the way I had hoped? Is my selfish ambition looking to dominate or not? Introspection is something every Christian is summonsed to do. We must judge ourselves so that we shall not be condemned with the world. It is important for the Christians survival, but when that gets thwarted out of perspective, it then can become unhealthy. Where do we draw the line? This is my struggle, back and forth with these thoughts, over and over again. Always looking for some formula to apply that may stick and have a positive outcome to my current predicament.

The answer is obvious even if my mind looks to overlook it at times and find something deeper which is nothing more than humanism rearing its head. The answer is God first and His righteousness and then the rest will follow according to His good pleasure. With unpredictable tests alone the way which will examination our faith. There will be times where we will nose-dive but the times that we find the grace to thrust through it all, they will be sweet and will strengthen us beyond understanding. We need to regularly trim our sails when it comes to the trials of life and the reasons for them, if not we will soon find ourselves groping in the dark and asking the question “WHY?” over and over again.

When I say God is in control, hoping that I may find a favourable outcome concerning a deal that I am hoping for and it doesn’t pan out as expected, this is when my battle begins. Exonerate me Father as I try to force your hand. At the very core of my heart I am hoping that you will intervene and act favourably and when it doesn’t happen I am disappointed, forgive me! But I would also be lying if I didn’t say that release is often a comforting emotion which releases tension.

Help me to rest in you is my prayer and I also pray for all those who face similar struggles, all honour and glory belongs to our God and to our King, praise the name of Jesus Christ the Lord now and forever more, Amen!

There is a day coming when the whole of creation longingly awaits its change, where sin will no longer be consequential, and what I find amazing is that day will only ever arrive when the saints are changed into the likeness of Christ. The universe in its entirety, the seen and the unseen worlds of this universe waits for our (the Christians) transformation before it will receive it conversion, Wow! We serve an awesome God who is filled with unmeasurable mercies and we await an inheritance that we have no actual idea of.

Our current sufferings are a light affliction in comparisons to what will one day be ours in Christ. Christian focus on the hope that is set before us and we will get through another day and each and every other day that then follows. But we must remember to continually “trim our sails” with the WORD of GOD.  

Signing off

Tyrone

The chicken or the egg

(Acts 2:39) “…everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."

How often have you heard reference made to the chicken or the egg? What came first the chicken or the egg? This is a fabulous example of what should be an obvious deduction of the Christians relationship with the only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is obvious the chicken came before the egg; God created and then “they” (all of His creation) were instructed to go forth and multiply. The chicken first and then the egg, God first and then the saved individuals change in character. It is impossible for it to happen the other way around. If you are amongst the sect of Christians that believes that you chose God before he chose you, or God could see how good you would become in the future on your own merits and this is the reason why you can now claim to be a Christian. It cannot be so, I am convinced that it has nothing to do with us and everything to do with Him.

If it’s the egg mentality that looks to dominate your reasoning all that illustrates is that you are still acting out of a carnal understanding pertaining to humanism, which lacks faith altogether. How so? It is the same mind-set of the chicken and the egg. What came first and if you are one that gravitates towards the egg, it denounces creation as we have come to understand through the teachings of the book of Genesis. Without God’s intervention there would be no egg. This is a point we must grasp with clarity, if not we will be opening ourselves to a whole lot of potential dangers when it come to our pride an arrogance. Until we truly understand that it is God who chooses and calls and we can only ever respond favourable when He initiates that call. Until then we will never see Him for who He is. This understanding frees our minds up to honour Him with due benevolence.

Let us reason this out; why do we pray for loved ones that aren’t saved. We need God to hear our prayer and intervene on our behalf. If this was not so, we could send a lifetime with well constructed deliberations to try and persuade people to see what we have seen, that Christ is the only true answer to our existence. How often have you been shut down when you have approached loved ones with that type of presentation? God must initiate life into a person that is dead in their trespasses and their sins before the light switch is flipped. Saul who later became Paul is a classic example of this truth. A man who persecuted the church and had Christians killed, hell bend on his own ideas of what he thought was right until God intervened in person; “Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”” (Acts 9:3-5) – Its when we understand this that we will be free to serve God without any hint of pride feeding our attentions with that nagging voice that we once believed that salvation had something to do with us. God is merciful and gracious and without His role in our conversion we would still be groping in the dark for the answer to life.      

We need Him for everything in our daily lives. The sooner this becomes our actuality, the easily life will become to bear whatever is thrown in front of us. “If God is for us who can be against us?”

With this understanding in tow, let us explore David’s psalm; “A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” (Psalms 23:1-6) - David certainly understood this…

Spend time in this Psalm and see what God reveals to you about His interference in your life Christian and it will be sweeter that honey, praise God for His involvement in our lives, without it we would still be dead in our trespasses and our sins, praise His holy name now and forever more, Amen and Amen! Thank you Lord Jesus for the call that you placed upon my life, you are truly worthy of all praise and honour. Boasting has been excluded. I am truly a by-product of your grace and please continually remind me of this fact, which will keep me humble, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Dead 2

God has reckoned every person ever born to a woman except for the Lord Jesus Christ, dead and trapped by the power of sin and unable to approach him in righteousness. His rescue was an event that needed to happen in order to change the dilemma of mankind; Hence, the miracle of the Lord Jesus Christ, salvation now available in and through the finished work of the cross.

Verse one of Ephesians chapter two makes this very clear; “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins”.

Verse two then addresses the Christian reminding us that we also once walk like the rest of the world; “in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—“ (Ephesians 2:2)

Lets us unpack this in more detail…

There are three plugs that need to be understood concerning our state before we found forgiveness in Christ. - The first point that needs to be unpacked is that we were no different to the rest of civilization, even though we all chose our identity within the differing sects offered to us in the world. I was one that liked to be associated with the jock, whilst others liked to roll as an academic. The rich makes fashion the be all and end all of their existence and so on. And then there are those on the breadline who will at all costs want to be associated with the rich by wearing branded clothing, even though they can barely sustain their bodies with the necessary supplements required to keep them in a healthy state. The list is endless, I am convinced that no one is an original, we all take on an identity that we think fits us the best and then we do what we can to live within that reality. If honest with ourselves, we all need to conclude that we all once walk after the course of this world. Secondly unknown to us back then, we were all swayed by the devil, sin had taken care of that; following the prince of the power of the air, each and everyone of us was under the sway of the devils influence; Resulting in an obvious fact the same spirit that now works within the sons of disobedience; all those outside of God’s influence.

We are by nature bond-slaves to sin and Satan; it is obvious that the devil has some power over mankind (by God’s permission) here on earth or in the lower regions of the air. There he is at hand to tempt mankind and to be as destructive as he can. Prior to us receiving the Spirit of God as our helper when we were “born again” or truly saved through our repentance for our own sin if you prefer; where we found the light switch to God’s existence and it was flipped becoming our new found reality. Nevertheless we were all once under the sway of the devil. Do not think for a second that this was not your truth. It important that we understand this, for if not we will also miss the wonderful rescue that is now ours in Christ. It’s the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ that has saved us from Satan’s power; the mercies of God, who can fathom them?

Therefore, once we start to see what we were prior to our rescue from the world’s sway, Satan’s influence and our hopelessness outside of God’s intervention in our lives, we will understand the miracle of salvation in a new light, with the mercy of God in the forefront of our minds.

Let us never forget where we have been saved from; a place of absolute despair and destitute for damnation. BUT GOD felt a need within the character of His mercies to intervene and save some of us, all praise belongs to our God now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Dead!

(Ephesians 2:1) “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins”.

The promises of God are steadfast and sure, they can never be breached. His treaties will speak into the ages of eternity, of this I am persuaded. It has nothing to do with the faith that I have been given to believe in my great Saviours finished work. His promises remain true, and only because God is who He is, the great “I AM”! Praise God for this certainty in a believers understanding, God will see His children through this life and into the next. Faith drives our hope which will be encapsulated for all eternity by the love of God. Faith and hope will pass away, but the Love of God will remain forever.

If honest, I suppose there is a thought that plagues my conscience as it looks for justification in and through my own works. When I am doing what I think is required from me I have peace with God, but when I stray onto the curb of God’s highway my faith is challenged. This is why we need the Word of God constantly reminding us of His truths which reveals His character. We serve an awesome Father who is filled with merciful attributes. However for us to understand the gravity of His mercy in our lives we first need to understand who we were and if unsaved who you are outside of Christ’s finished work on Calvary. Without this observation illuminated with extreme clarity we will miss God’s beauty altogether.

We serve an AWESOME GOD! And we are a privileged people who have His Spirit housed in corruptible flesh, which now entitles us (the Christian) to cry ABBA FATHER, Wow! This means “my Daddy”! God was willing and able to send His Son to die for those dead in their own trespasses and sins; opening a door that was once locked and impenetrable for pathetic sinful creatures like you and I.

I need you to stay with me now as I endeavour to unpack what Tyrell Hagg unpacked so well in our weekend’s morning service. The portion of scripture that needs unpacking is our understanding of Ephesians chapter two; these were some of his thoughts, with Ray Comfort’s deliberation of repentance interwoven into my understanding of the subject and then of course the greatest influence of all, the Holy Spirit, who quickens my brain cells in conjunction with the scriptures, without whom I would remain brain dead on all of Gods matters.

It would be good for us to spend some time here, so God willing we will break this up into a number of posts so that we do not miss the richness of God’s mercy.

The more desperate our plight the greater the rescue; the evidence of hopelessness begins to snuff the life from us. Most of us can relate to those types of experiences somewhere within our journeys here on earth. But in order to survive something needs to drive us towards a motivated mind-set. Whilst in the marines many years ago, I can vividly recall falling ill with Pneumonia and whilst being drilled I collapsed with my drill instructed having much to say about how pathetic I was. He assured me as well as the rest of the platoon that I would not qualify as a drill instructed, “I didn’t have the salt for it”.

When I arrived at Oudsthoorn Infantry School where I was to complete my infantry leg of my marine training and although I still had a note from the hospital excusing me from training because of my infection; a sick note excusing me from all strenuous activities for the next week but all I could visualize was my instructors mouth pronouncing off on how I would fail. It was enough to motivate me; “I’ll show him”, so I crumpled up the note and later finish the course with distinction. On returning to Simons Town, the marine head quarters I can recall the adulation I felt as I looked him in the eye as an equal. All I needed to motivate me was pride, which in itself is sin; in hindsight proof that I was dead in my sins.

This is the fact of our existence outside of Christ; “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins”. Prior to salvation everyone is dead, spiritually dead regardless of what we or others may think about our own spirituality. Religion as a whole lies to us on this matter. Until we understand our state before a holy God and until the hopelessness of our plight dawns upon us we will never appreciate the life we now have in Christ. “Born again there has really been a change in me”, is a song the Christian now sings with true understanding.

However until this reality births upon us, we will never truly understand what it is we have been saved from. We were dead and our sinful actions proved the fact. Hagg used this example which has thrown many off the true understanding of what that really means. We could be shark or spider bitten dead, one is easily seen because of the destruction to the corpse whilst the other a pin prick bite not easily seen and yet both just as dead. Prior to salvation we were all dead in our trespasses and our sins. Whether we were guilty of murder or whether we thought our lives were squeaky clean, with a minimal amount of sin attached to it. Both, in God’s reckoning, just as dead!

God willing we will unpack this in a lot more depth over the next few weeks.

Signing off

Tyrone

  

     

It's Time!

(Hosea 10:12) …for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

Consequences to our sinful behaviour needs a recompense to right our wrongs, this is a requirement that God in His righteous character demands. It would appear that the righteous of God cannot act outside of what is holy; He is the yardstick whereby that measurement is dignified. It cannot be trusted to another, He alone has reserved that judgement. Mankind has had there judgement impaired by the intrusion of sin, which is in total contradiction to God’s personality and His laws. It is easy to test the power of sin in our own lives, even if we are oblivious to its destructive power. When caught in an act of embarrassment, something done behind close doors, what is our natural response? We lie to cover it up and go to great lengths to hide what we understand as a crime, if not we would be open with it. A detective is employed to find clues to unravel a mystery with the perpetrator looking to cover their tracks. A kid is caught with their hand in the cookie jar and they blame their brother; “he told me to do it” and so on. It doesn’t take much retrospection to conclude that we are naturally sinful from a very young age. The Bible is clear that every sinful act shall be judged!     

History teaches us this principle with unequivocal certainty, read the Old Testament and God’s dealings with His people and their enemies and it will become obvious that nothing passes by unnoticed.

Courts have been setup to run countries which are there to bring law and order. However, well trained defence attorneys use the law to their advantage to lessen a sentence or even get a guilty party acquitted. It is not so with our God, He misses zilch and He will bring every action that is in breech to His commandments to the fore and it shall be judged in righteousness. He shall do the judging, saints on the other hand shall judge angels; “Do you not know that we are to judge angels?” (1Corinthians 6:3)

This is why the greatest story every told is the account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the only true Saviour of the world. God sent His righteous Son to die for unrighteous sinners. There is and will never be a greater act of love ever witnessed through the ages of eternity. God chose to rescue those who prior to salvation would have had their spot reserved in hell. For those who do not find forgiveness for their sins in and through the Lord Jesus Christ will suffer His wrath. The offer has gone out and the invitation still stands, what have you done with it? Have you heard the Gospel message and disregarded it as a “crutch” for the weak or have you seen the urgency behind this wonderful offer of love? Is the Lord Jesus Christ a precious treasure to you, or is He a tiring repetitive name that you disregard for “those people”. He is the most valued treasure of my life and I am forever thankful for the rescue He has afforded me, praise His name now and forever more, Amen!

There is a voice that has gained momentum and is in full fight and the louder the knock of death the more prevalent it becomes; mankind trying in their own strength to do righteous acts which will always be tainted by their own sinful deductions on what is right and wrong, in the hope that they will escape the judgement of God, that will never happen! The Bible has spelt out this truth with certainty; “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13) – Its God who will do the judging and it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. The only way to avoid this judgement, the sentence for our sins, is to have them covered by the blood of the Lamb and to have our names penned into the Book of Life; “And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15) – And the only way that our names will ever be inscribed into that glorious book is if we own our sin, confess it before a holy God and believe in the finished work of Calvary; His death, His burial and His resurrection. It is not a complicated message to understand but we all have a choice to make, I have by the grace of God made mine and I confess Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, I belong to Him just as He belongs to me.

To all my friend that are still on the fence, Bandit, Paul, David and even Richard the time for God’s reckoning is just over the horizon and it is time for you to reconsider your stands on life and the alternatives that have been thrown out there, they are all lies and will lead you to a Godless eternity with the Lake of Fire as your final destination.

Please be merciful to them Father God just as you have been merciful to me. Praise, glory and all honour belong to my Saviour, your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone  

   

          

                                    

Contentment

(Philippians 4:11)  “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”

Ball sports teach us that timing is everything when it comes to finding the “sweet-spot” of any particular game, only then can we claim that we are in the “zone”. Golfers, tennis players, cricketers and even authors would know what I am talking about, a time when everything just seems to “click”.

Christianity is no different if we begin to view our experiences throughout life with the right mind-set. But in order for us to arrive at a place of harmony; we need to have ears attentive to God’s instruction. They must be tuned into being able to differentiate between “yes” and “no”. Just because we are capable of attaining certain spoils throughout our lifetimes, if and when our timing is off it will result in disaster. But if God say “GO” nothing will stand in our way and our quests shall be blessed.

A case in point would be the most beautiful story ever told, the gospel. God send His only begotten Son the Lord Jesus Christ to die a cruel death to set repentant sinners free from His upcoming judgement. However in order for me to find deliverance, the Lord Jesus’ life was filled with intrigue and he was hard pressed as a man. He confessed, “Foxes have holes, birds have nests but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” Even his life needed His Fathers timing attached to his endeavours. There is a time and a place for all season in our lives and we must learn to openly accept this truth. God teaches his children “the way of the Master”- our Saviour knows best. It is through our own experiences that these lessons will be learnt.

Remember his very first miracle when he turned water into wine, a request from Mary his mother; “When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come."” (John 2:3-4) – The request of her timing was off even though He accommodated her request. We too must come to a place in our lives as Christians when we understand the timing of God’s intervention in our lives. The Apostle Paul understood this well, he knew that his existence and the call that God had placed upon his life was all about the furtherance of the gospel. Our lives are no longer our own, they have been bought by the blood of the lamb.

“For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content”. For a man to make this claim and actually mean it speaks volumes. Can we make such a statement? Our journey through life should drive us towards this understanding. There must be a time of abundance and times of suffering want. However, along the way we must learn to become content with what we have. This is where we will find rest in our Saviour.

We have a natural tendency to force God’s hand when we are in need. But when urgency begins to dominate we will be restless. The peace of God is found when we have learnt this lesson well and it’s only through the trial of life that we will begin to understand.

Thank you Father God for your patience’s with me and I pray that you will continue to teach me these spirited lessons along the way, for they are for my benefit and when understood in full they will bring you the glory; of this I am convinced.

Money is something we all need to survive in this day and age, but when our drive for it is thwarted we will never find peace; of this am I also persuaded.

Faith is needed for us to learn this lesson well and we must have ears that are fined tuned to the voice of our God. King Saul feared the people over the instruction that God gave him when it came to the slaughter of Amalek and it cost him his kingship. We must all strive to be like King David, a man after God’s own heart, this then is my prayer; renew a right spirit in me. Thank you for the trails of life and the way they teach me obedience.

I love you Father, all glory and honour belongs to our Saviour and His total commitment to your instruction whilst here on earth, bless His name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Warnings

The scriptures are full of one-liners that are filled with a wealth of truth, which implies no escape from its deductions. However once we view them through the eyes of righteousness, we will find rescue. Misguided analysis or mistaken application will always end badly. If we want to power up an appliance we need electricity, a plug serves its purpose rather well with a cover which conceals all the dangerous wires, and the pug socket protected with it own cover keeps danger at bay; handling electricity is dangerous if we ignore the “warnings on the box”.

Ignore the cautions at you own peril. In like manner if we ignore the caveats in scripture it will cost us. We must learn; I must seek out God’s guidance to become more diligent with certain instructions found in the Bible. A case in point would be verses that are not easy to swallow but nevertheless mentioned by the One who had no sin, the Lord Jesus Christ. If He felt the need to point them out, we must conclude that they have their part to play; if the shoe fits we must wear it, but if we refuse it will cost us.

When we let sin prioritize some of the key decision in our lives it can have dire consequences; our consciences bearing witness to our folly when we hide it from the onlooker. It’s only the Spirit of God that has the skill to root out the rot. The Word when used skilfully will bring an individual to a place where a decision needs to be made. Illustrations that highlight the hidden agendas of the heart can be easily observed in these two examples; observe the deceitfulness of our hearts when we seek out truth with a hidden agenda or ulterior motive.

“And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."” (Matthew 19:16-22)

With such a clear instruction, why are so many being sway by a false Gospel message where wealth and prosperity is the pivot of its existence? The enemy proves a point that the Words penned in the Bible are life changing and all he needs to do is to get people to miss its schooling and twist the emphasis of it and he has won the skirmish; he may win battles along the way but he will never win the war, that victory belongs to our God. 

The text teaches us a great lesson, where our hearts are there our treasures will be also. But in order for us to learn this lesson well we must first be stripped of that which keeps the message at bay and in this case our comforts must be stripped and money must become scares if we are to have any chance in understanding the core of our hearts when it comes to our dependency upon coinage. These types of thoughts are never easily welcomed, but needful if we are to grow up in the stature of our Lord and Saviour; if we are to mature with the mind of Christ concerning our dependency upon Him and not to have confidence in our own independence.

When we examine the scriptures with intend we find a principle that is core to the ultimate test which proves out loyalty to Christ, but how often do we simple glean over them not respecting their teaching as we ort too? We forget to place ourselves in the scene as the one who needs addressing. This is when we glean the most from Christ’s teaching; when we ask ourselves, “What is this teaching ME”?

Another hard pill to swallow is this; "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:34-37)

These are examples of what it means to respond favourable to the Lord Jesus’ call on our lives and it will soon become evident in a persons life where they stand on these issues. We must never forget that “if God is for us who can be against us”. When we make this truth our own, examples like these will help us understand our need of Him. Faith demands our obedience to God’s instruction and if we ignore the warnings it will be for our own account.

Signing off

Tyrone

To never thirst again

(John 6:35) “…whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

Another intriguing thought that has germinate this morning, is those who rebel against the word of God will always end up on the loosing side. Deceit leads us to believe we have won when we have in fact lost. Satan and his cronies will always endeavour to lead the believer into his web of simulation. Just enough to lure us in and just enough to keep the individual hooked on whatever door has been opened to them. Lust will never be able to be quenched, it is impossible. Our need for water proves the point rather well, we drink when we are thirsty and over a period of time the thirst subsides; until we are thirsty again and so the cycle continues. It is no different with the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh or the pride of life. We are always looking for our next fix; it cannot be any other way, our sinful natures have taken care of that.

However when we come to Christ, He is the eternal water that refreshes, He alone has the power to achieve this; once we have truly been born again and drunk from His cistern, we will never thirst again. What do I mean by this? It’s not as if we will never have to be refreshed by Him, which must happen on a daily basis if we are to keep our guard up. But we will never seek out any other answers concerning the kernel of life, which is too call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved from the billions of varying lures of our flesh. He is the eternal water who unquestioningly satisfies. Other religions may keep your attention drawn to its teaching, it may tickle your ears just enough to appease your consciences, but that’s all it will ever do.

“Jesus is the way, the truth and the life” and no man can approach God the Father in any other way. Satan is aware of this and tirelessly throws out decoys looking to deceive. Sadly he goes around like a roaring lion seeking to devour as many as possible, but his days are numbered.

Money is one of the greatest lures and it leads to a serious sinful mind-set which is covetousness. Sexual lust another, the list is endless. Nevertheless the point I hone in on is that which will equip us for the trial of life and it is this; “Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”” (John 6:35)

This is a fact that will always satisfy, find Christ and you will know what it means to live.

Signing off

Tyrone

Power belongs to our God

(Revelation 19:1) "…Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God”.

Salvation is to be found in Christ alone, glory belongs to our God and the power to break the shackles of sin can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Law was introduce to show mankind what God requires concerning His standards and to teach us that we could never live up to it in our fallen states, Eve’s sin had taken care of that. We are therefore born into a yoke of slavery were sin is our lot in life and from a very early age we prove that we are sinners by our actions. As we grow our sin becomes a lot more prevalent and if left to run riot we degenerate further into its web of deceit; enslaved by the power of sin is our lot in life; this is the Apostle Pauls understanding regarding the power of sin; “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (Romans 7:15)

The only weapon that is capable of breaking the shackles of sin is to be covered by the finished work of the cross and to receive the Spirit of God as our captain who now guides and leads us towards truth and enables us to find grace to walk in the Spirit and overcome that which once enslaved us, sin with all its trickery was how I was governed prior to salvation. As new creatures in Christ we now have an ability that we never had before and that is to break the power of the bonds of sin in our lives, PRAISE GOD! The Lord Jesus Christ defeated sin and its control once and for all and He did it as a man. ALL HAIL KING JESUS!

With that established, there were those you lived blamelessly concerning their implementation to the letter of the law. In other words they followed its instruction guiltlessly. When the law demanded a certain decree concerning their breach to it, they applied themselves to it. Saul was a man who claimed to be amongst that sect of individuals, a man who walked blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord; there were others; Zechariah and Elizabeth also fell into that category; “And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” (Luke 1:6)

Throughout scripture we see examples of individuals that followed the letter of the law blamelessly. Quite a remarkable feat when we consider how this was achieved, in and through their mental states of mind, but not without a measure of faith attached, they needed to believe that they would be forgiven from a God invisible to the naked eye. Having to apply oneself to a set of ordinances without ever wavering is quite phenomenal, but obviously possible, if this was not the case, verses like these would not be penned; “And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” (Luke 1:6)

 

It was obviously conceivable to follow the letter of the law; but obviously impossible not to fall into sin along life’s journey; ““What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”” (Romans 3:9-11) - Hence the reason for the Lord Jesus Christ becoming a man and living a life without sin and then dying to break its yoke, once and for all.

The law was a teacher to guide those selected out by Him into a way of life that God expected from them. Prior to Christs victory on the cross provision through varying sacrifices was afforded the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, commonly know today as Jews. The Law of God through Moses was therefore introduced – However any one of those sacrifices was only ever a temporal solution of their breech to God’s laws. Although the decrees of God’s instruction to Moses on Mount Sinai would have certainly covered Gods personality, it reveals His character and the way He conducts Himself with His creation. It was not a set of rules for one and then an exemption for another. It’s important for us to understand this. The sons of God (the angels) that breeched his commandments in heaven were also cast from heaven; they never receive a second chance, hence Satan and one third of them are now his enemies and they continue to deceive mankind as they look to keep as many as they can from finding salvation in Christ and the finished work of Calvary. Their intention is to trip mankind up and take as many as they can with them into the Lake of Fire, which was a place originally prepared for them; "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matthew 25:41) - This is the war that rages! But there is a day coming when God’s judgement will bring an end to this conflict.  

Both the Gentile and the Jew, all of mankind were born under the curse of sin and we all need a salvation that is permanent and not temporal. This is why there can never be any other way of finding our way to heaven; PRAISE THE NAME OF JESUS! He alone is the One who has broken the shackles of sin and therefore if we do not find forgiveness for our sin in and through Him and not another, our final destination will be everlasting torment with the Lake of Fire as our eternal home.

The call has gone out and it still reverberates across the globe, have you heard the call? If so, what will you do with God’s invitation? Will you shelve it, or do you understand the urgency of it? God has spoken! “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” For tomorrow might be too late and the doors of forgiveness may close, I therefore urge you to fall onto your knees and to seek out Gods forgiveness for your sins, as He will not turn one away; “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)   

"Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God”.

Signing off

Tyrone