The Journey

Having been driven to the banks of anxiety, my journey of late has been a worrying one, no matter how hard I have tried to ignore my reality and looked to apply the Word of God to my situation. It is one thing to say you believe the words of God but quite another to drink from them. We have all heard that “we can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink”. If it isn’t thirsty it’s never going to drink, even if there is a long stretch ahead where the wells will be scarce. Unless we are as wise as the camel we won’t withstand the journey. Lest we take in enough water to replenish all of our organs the passage would become an impossible quest.

We will face those types of journeys in our lifetimes. It is unavoidable if we are to reach the Promised Land and there is no skirting the toughest tests of life. It is true that everyone’s expedition must and will vary depending upon differing factors. A man cannot take fire to his bosom and not be burned and yet men like Job were blameless and look what God required from Him. So there are many differing influences that determine a person’s flight, but one thing is certain, all will have to travel the road to the Promised Land if we are to reach our final destination. Wisdom drives us to the Word of God (the Bible) if we are to eventually arrive. It is our lifeline in trying times and even our arch-enemy knows that and he will try to infiltrate the Word just as he did way back in the beginning as he uses wolves dressed as sheep to twist the truth of God’s Word. Therefore be diligent and on guard, just because a person may offer you water in your time of need does not mean that it hasn’t been doctored with poison. There must come a time in a believer’s life where he will have to understand the difference and make his stand.

Sadly for a long time now, even in my lifetime I have seen the “money preacher” preying on the weak; “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” (2Timothy 3:1-5) - God will have the final say; praise His name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!       

If you have been lead to believe that Christians should always be blessed, which we are, but not in the way the wolves present it. They say a person should never be sick for if they are they lack faith or if we suffer material want we also lack faith, this is not true in accordance of God’s Word as he is preparing his people for a far greater existence, a life of utopia and an eternity of son-ship where we will finally arrive. God the Father, the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit and heaven with all its glory has been reserved for the faithful. This means that our pilgrimage on earth will and must be filled with many testing times to prepare us for what awaits. These times will hone us into the image of our great Saviour, glorifying our great God as it silences the enemy. Job’s is the ultimate example, obviously after what our great Saviour needed to endure to set us apart. Therefore let us not shirk the trials of life but rather let us embrace them as an opportunity to grow in the grace and knowledge of our blessed Redeemer.

When the waters of life are on offer let us be quick to drink from them as it will sustain us through our desert expedition as we remember that there are many resting points along the way where life will be blissful. So wherever we are along that journey let us remember to hold fast onto the hem of our Saviours garment, the Word of God as it will sustains us, come what may.

Signing off

Tyrone

A reminder

As my understanding begins to deepen in light of God’s overarching plan of His production, “the bigger picture”! I find that I need to keep reminding myself that it is by grace I have been saved and in fact this truth mirrors our God and reflects His goodness; it had and still has nothing to do with my own merits. I was always a reprobate seeking my own lusts and desires as sin blinded me, even though I wore a cross around my neck in my unsaved state; it was impossible for me to behave in any other way, selfishness personified! Even though I wanted to believe that deep down I had a good heart it was rotten to the core; unlike a marred piece of fruit, which after being bitten into, the rotten portion could be cut out or eaten around, my heart was completely diseased. It is not easy to concede theses truths but very needful if we are to grow in the graces of our great God.

The song writer of arguably one of the greatest hymns ever written, “Amazing Grace” understood his/our predicament completely and this is why this hymn’s opening stanza begins like this; “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that save a WRETCH like me” a phenomenal observation but finally accurate. Immediately my mind wants to rush to my aid with a concluding thought that goes something like this; I was never a slave trader and yet I was a slave to sin; as we all outside of Christ. God requires this honesty from us and the Lord Jesus reminded the supposed teaches of the times about this truth; “And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."” (Luke 5:30-32) – Its not enough to say we are sinners but we need to actually understand how sinful we actually are and in need of God’s grace; we must cry out for help!

     

God is merciful and I suppose we grow into this understanding. The more our great God reveals himself the more we should appreciate our old condition.  I believe my understanding has deepened when it comes to God’s reasoning and His teaching relating to our repentance from dead works and faith towards Him. There was absolutely nothing I could have done to earn favour from God prior to the Lord Jesus’s sacrifice; He took the first step in reconciling man back unto himself. It was never nor could ever be the other way around. I hope you have all understood this, if not we will always be grappling at “stuff”, a little bit of this and that trying to find qualification on our own merits for God to hear our prayers. As soon as we begin to reason like this, we find a proudness that begins to overshadow the graces of God and we have now entered a state that God resist; “…Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1Peter 5; 5)

We have a responsibility to be meek but for this to happen it is crucial that we understand our position in God and who has enabled us to enter into heavenly places. Jesus Christ has begun and finished the work of salvation; it starts and ends with Him. We now rest in His achievements, not our own, and now with our faith locked upon these accuracies we march on trusting our God to get us home.

Sadly our old natures always looks for a pat on the back, it is part of our design. However we must absolutely realise that salvation is all of God and true Christianity, for there are many nominal Christian organisation that claim to be Christian when in fact they are not, is not like other religions that are filled with what the Bible refers to as “dead works” (efforts we make to find favour from God). It took God four thousand years to show our forefathers that our blunder in the Garden of Eden, the short circuiting of our awareness to both that which is good and evil in the context of His understanding has been thwarted by every effort ever made to repair our mistake. Even the First Covenant (the Ten Commandments) was concluded a schoolmaster to teach us that we needed God’s intervention and His salvation to overhaul our great grandmother’s mistake way back in the beginning. We are unable to cope with the knowledge of good and evil. We were never ready for it, and that is why I personally believe God withheld it from Adam, he needed to be schooled by God and not deceived by the devil and because of the outcome we now all have a skewed perception of what is good and evil.

This is an obvious supposition, sit around a table filled with differing personalities and bring up the death penalty and take a vote on who is for it or against it, and then dig a little deeper and you will soon see how skewed our perceptions are when it comes to implementing God’s Law! Everyone has their own ideas, not good enough! Let God be true and every man a liar! Therefore we cannot trust our own reasoning and must always trust the Word of God as our final authority. Even now as true born again believer we only see in part and need to be reminded of these truths.

Salvation begins and ends with God, without His intervention we would all be doomed to an eternity of wickedness. Why? Can one ever find unity when there are differing opinions on the same subject? Utopia can only exist in absolute unification and with God as the final authority; perfection has no blemish and does not make allowance for compromise, can light and darkness occupy the same space? We will all need to fit into His understanding of all things if we want to be blessed of Him. Thankfully God is a long-suffering God and He is far bigger than our puny egos. No one likes to be told they are wrong, unless wisdom is treasured more valuable than gold.   

We must guard against the beast that always looks to drives us towards pride, which parades itself in any form of boasting. The church at Galatia started well but soon erred on the side of error; they got saved but soon forgot these truths and needed some stern words to get them back on track; “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:6-8) – The long and the short of their struggle was that they had understood repentance but begun to move towards dead works to find their justification before God. They began to place their confidence in the law as they tried to earn their salvation; “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16) - The Apostle Paul stepped in with stern words righting their wrongs and this is why I love the Word of God and its ability to correct. I love my Jesus because He first loved me and there is no other way to cut this truth. I could never have loved Him if He didn’t first love me.

Repent from dead works and put your faith in God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, remembering that it is God at work and not our feeble efforts. However, we now have a responsibility to believe God and obey Him.

Signing off

Tyrone       

Reactions

To avoid a particular reaction a preferred action is required. A man cannot take fire to his bosom and not get burnt unless he is dressed in fire-protection gear; life has many such lessons it teaches us along the way. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and even some of the Psalms are written with such intent. They teach us how to avoid foolish responses to any given circumstance, teaching us to apply wisdom as the underlying motivator. Which when overlooked can all be summed up in this manner, “there is a way that seems right unto a man but the end thereof is death”. Unless we spend time studying those portions of scripture how will we ever know what it is that our “sister” wisdom looks to communicate? She is very wise; “Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," and call insight your intimate friend…” (Proverbs 7:4) – It is the insight of wisdom that steers the hearer away from certain death. It is all about our reaction to the knowledge we receive at any given time and it’s our reaction which proves our understanding in every facet of our lives. It is rather simple to work out if we would only be honest with ourselves, whilst looking to wisdom for guidance. We firstly need to trust God’s Word and then commit to it.

Although Solomon teaches us that if we take fire to our bosom we will get burnt, our intellects teach us that this is an obvious conclusion, even a fool would understand that. But we must always look a little deeper if we are to begin to take Wisdom seriously. There is the obvious lesson and then there are lessons within the message. However in order to see that our eyes must first be opened spiritually, we must be born again! However it does not stop there, that is only the beginning.    

Some of our lessons through the throes of life have been experiential and so some have had to learn the hard way, whilst others have simply applied the truth of God’s Word to their lives and are at peace. Solomon was a man who personally tested the arenas of his life and although he learnt much, with it came much despair. He has experientially skilled life, both the good and the bad, it shouldn’t be necessary for us to make the same mistake, although many of us do. Thankfully our Father is a gracious God, He is patient with us, praise His name! Science teaches us that with every action there is a reaction; so, should it be any different for us?

The Bible is filled with examples of a man having two choices and the outcome is always the same; folly and wisdom on offer, sadly our sinful nature often drive us towards folly, but now that we have been saved and are the children of God we have wisdom on our side and it is freely available. However every day we are faced with choices that will always have consequences attached to them…

The Lord Jesus often responded favourably to the recipient’s request with the right approach. Let me explain; if we read through the gospels we soon learn that a person’s attitude, when applied in faith was never overlooked by the Lord Jesus. But for me to drive home my point it would become beneficial to look at some examples a little further into this post.

A person’s faith was often the motivating factor that got the man Jesus to react sympathetically and although He has risen from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God it has always been about believing God at His Word. Faith in our God is the overarching ingredient that drives us to make the right decisions, which finds the complimentary outcome to any given circumstance. We must all be driven by faith as it is the only way we will ever find peace with God; “It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Romans 3:26-28) – Simply put, our dependency must always end with the Lord Jesus’ accomplishments and not our independence.  We must learn to depend on Him in every area of our lives. We must believe God at His Word. This must be our boast, that we believe God! If He has said it, it shall come to pass. Faith eliminates ifs and buts from every equation; doubt on the other hand generates exactly that.

Let me now drive home my point; there was a centurion soldier who was not part of the household of Israel but he teaches us how to apply ourselves to a particular dilemma he faced. Observe - “When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly." And he said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion replied, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.” (Matthew 8:5-10)

“The centurion was a great man, yet he owned his unworthiness before God. Note, Humility very well becomes persons of quality. Christ now made but a mean figure in the world, yet the centurion, looking upon him as a prophet, yea, more than a prophet, paid him this respect. Note, we should have a value and veneration for what we see of God, even in those who, in outward condition, are every way our inferiors. The centurion came to Christ with a petition, and therefore expressed himself thus humbly. Note, in all our approaches to Christ, and to God through Christ, it becomes us to abase ourselves, and to lie low in the sense of our own unworthiness, as mean creatures and as vile sinners, to do any thing for God, to receive any good from him, or to have any thing to do with him.

3. Observe his great faith. The more humility the more faith; the more diffident we are of ourselves, the stronger will be our confidence in Jesus Christ. He had an assurance of faith not only that Christ could cure his servant, but,

(1.) That he could cure him at a distance. There needed not any physical contact, as in natural operations, nor any application to the part affected; but the cure, he believed, might be wrought, without bringing the physician and patient together. We read afterwards of those, who brought the man sick of the palsy to Christ, through much difficulty, and set him before him; and Christ commended their faith for a working faith. This centurion did not bring his man sick of the palsy, and Christ commended his faith for a trusting faith: true faith is accepted of Christ, though variously appearing: Christ puts the best construction upon the different methods of religion that people take, and thereby has taught us to do so too. This centurion believed, and it is undoubtedly true, that the power of Christ knows no limits, and therefore nearness and distance are alike to him. Distance of place cannot obstruct either the knowing or working of him that fills all places.”  (Matthew Henry)

In like manner we must value the words of God as our final authority to any given quandary we face in our daily lives and we must not only believe what is written but learn to apply the necessary instruction to our lives. This will prove that we are learning to apply wisdom to our lives and it will also show God that we believe Him at His word.

Signing off

Tyrone

Renewing our strength

(Isaiah 40:29)  “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.”

For this truth to reverberate deep within a believer’s heart it must be far more than a simple understanding of whom it is that we need to consider for verses like these to come to life in our lives…

Who is this awesome God that we see with the eyes of faith? And yet although He cannot be seen with the naked eye there is proof wherever we look as nature itself breathes His brilliance whilst we are taught through scripture to trust Him at His Word. This is where it can get tricky with our independence driving our minds to rollick in the playground of “common-sense”; which at times can become our greatest enemy as it generates unbelief if left to run riot.

It is Isaiah the prophet that records this statement, a man called out by God to be His voice amongst men a long time ago and yet he still speaks through the volumes of this beautiful book, the Bible! He communicates tomes into the mind and hearts of those who understand that what he penned, which are the oracles of the only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; when the individual understands this, taking it as their own encouragement in trying times, it can be likened unto a breath of fresh air in a smog filled room. The pressures of life looking to choke the life out of us and yet when the eyes of faith allow us to believe it energizes the believer with a new found hope to press on and endure regardless of the prosecutions face throughout our lifetimes. It is a beautiful thing, the wisdom of God! Or at least when we catch a glimpse of His proficiency in the stormy trial; as our God continues to shape us into the beautiful character of Christ Jesus our Lord. Faith in our God is a key ingredient to help with this process. We must truly believe that if God is for us who can be against us and when faith is tested it demands this result.

Consider who it is that encourages; He is himself an almighty God. “He must needs be so, for he is the everlasting God, even Jehovah. He was from eternity; he will be to eternity; and therefore with him there is no deficiency, no decay. He has his being of himself, and therefore all his perfections must needs be boundless. He is without beginning of days or end of life, and therefore with him there is no change. He is also the Creator of the ends of the earth, that is, of the whole earth and all that is in it from end to end. He therefore is the rightful owner and ruler of all, and must be concluded to have an absolute power over all and an all-sufficiency to help his people in their greatest straits. Doubtless he is still as able to save his church as he was at first to make the world. (1.) He has wisdom to contrive the salvation, and that wisdom is never at a loss: There is no searching of his understanding, so as to countermine the counsels of it and defeat its intentions; no, nor so as to determine what he will do, for he has ways by himself, ways in the sea. None can say, “Thus far God's wisdom can go, and no further;” for, when we know not what to do, he knows. (2.) He has power to bring about the salvation, and that power is never exhausted: He faints not, nor is weary; he upholds the whole creation, and governs all the creatures, and is neither tired nor toiled; and therefore, no doubt, he has power to relieve his church, when it is brought ever so low, without weakness or weariness.” (Matthew Henry)

Isaiah finishes this chapter with such wonderful encouragement for those who don’t just give lip service to trusting in their God but make faith in Him their reality. Let me leave you with His encouragement; “but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Signing off

Tyrone  

  

The Battlefield

Today is a day that I have willing and consciously made a decision to stand up and be counted amongst my friends and contacts, but before that can be accomplished I have a duty to seek out your forgiveness for living a life so close to the edge of worldliness that it has brought much disrepute to the message of true salvation and the way a man ought to live after having his eyes opened to “the actual meaning of life”.

Over a period and at times I was wrong to live in such a way that after claiming to understand Christianity and what it is all about I lived with one foot in the world whilst the other was firmly planted upon Christian principles.

I came to understand at the age of 21 that I was a sinner and that I needed rescue from my sin. I truly found that reality 29 years ago, my life changed and it was obvious to all that something had happened, I did a 180 degree turn, the life I once lived, “wine, woman and song” was no longer what drove me but rather my new found understanding of who God is and what He is all about became my obsession. The Bible was by far my most prized possession.

Years went by and before long I decided to dabble back in the areas I had been saved from, with a warped idea that I needed to take the truth to others who were unreachable, those outside my closed nit circle of friends, who had already turned the corner and come to the light and were now Christians.  So I ventured into bars and clubs with music blaring and I would find a willing ear with a glass of soda in my hand and go about declaring my conversion to them. Over time, I was doing that with a beer in my hand and before long I was no longing sharing the Lord Jesus’ mercy with the masses but running with them. And as this may well have affected some of you, I ask for your forgiveness, I was wrong.  

Since then my life has run in circles, cycles of Christianity and then secularism with my odd habits running riot. Again some of you may have witnessed that madness, having been apart of that mayhem and for this I am also sorry as it has not stood you in good stead of a conviction of what true Christianity is all about, but rather the evidence of hypocrisy obvious to all. For this I too seek your forgiveness. Some of you have witnessed my entire life and the foolishness of it with two failed marriages and much more and there is nothing I can do about the past, except own the error of my ways and seek out forgiveness from all who have been offended. I was wrong!

In hindsight for those who think there was no price attached to my rebellion, I would remind them that if a man takes fire to his bosom he will be burnt. I have the scars in my body and how that will play out in eternity, God knows, but what I do know is that there will always be consequences attached to any form of rebellion.

 I have personally looked deep within my soul and owned my folly and I have confronted those closest to me and mostly found their forgiveness, but there may be others that I am unaware of that I have offended and I pen this post in the hope that I will reach at least some of you apologising for my past, a poor example of Christianity. However for some time now my soul has been at peace; by God’s grace I have made up my mind to be counted amongst God’s children and as a Christian my prayer and wish is that those of you, whom I have reconnected with via technology, Facebook and the like, may contemplate these truths. There is nothing else attached to this appeal and I have no hidden agenda, aside from, just as the goodness of God found me out, even in spite of all my weaknesses, I pray that He too will find you and help you see the light. That through the eyes of faith He will reveal Himself unto you as you see Jesus high and lifted up, seated at the right hand of God in heaven.

With that now out in the open for all to witness I must now declare that by the grace of God I have finally been brought to my senses and I am willing to stand up and be counted amongst the Children of God, come what may. Even if it costs me my life here on earth, I know in whom I believe. The reward which will be ours as Christians is far greater than any sequential damage that a Christian may need to face here on earth. The time for childishness has most certainly run its course in my life. When I was a child I spoke as a child, but as a man it is time to put aside childish things; it is time for men to stand up and be counted.

Some are driven to be doctors, others teachers and the like, I on the other hand have surprisingly been summoned onto the front lines where the battle is fierce. It’s not a battle where the blades of honed steel clash but rather a playground filled with lies, dressed as truth, as people blow out their opinionated ideas about the happenings of life after death on a whim.

Regardless of your take up until now on what you perceive as your truth, at least lend an ear to what I have to say; I do not speak on my own authority but I come in the name of Jesus Christ the (my) Lord.

  

This is now what I have to declare to all those who have been sold the lie that if we are good and decent people that God will accept us into heaven once we move from this life into the next. The bible is very clear that after death our spirits (souls) will live on and for some, they will escape the “second death” but for others, that death will drive them into a place of torment for eternity. That torment will never end; it will be heaven or hell, one or the other with no exceptions. Some may ask, on what authority can I make such a claim? On the power of the inspired Words of God found in the Holy Bible! I am not fabricating my own opinionated ideas but will have the decency to declare the truth to you even if I am hated for it; there are far too many people who believe the lies sold out in this world today, its time to take a hard look in the mirror! Do not take my word for it if that’s too much to ask, test what I say and examine the scriptures yourself.  

Here is the truth on the matter at hand; “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) – This verse is very clear regarding all those who are not found in heaven’s register, they will all end up in the Lake of Fire and there is no wiggle room or loop holes to what that verse teaches us. Like I have already established, this is not an opinionated idea that I conjured up but rather a direct quote from the inspired Word of God, the Holy Bible! With millions if not billions of copies of this book, which God has allowed most of mankind to get their hands on and seek out His truth.

God could have held His truth from us but He hasn’t! And yet so many of us have a copy of the Bible somewhere in arms reach but all it does is gather dust. It’s like a man who sits on a treasure chest of jewels with the key somewhere not too far out of reach, but all he does is dream about what his life could be like, not knowing that all he needs to do is open the trunk and there will be enough value in it to cover all his debt and more.

It’s often the bad news we face in life that drives us into action. All I am endeavouring to do is bring out some pertinent verses that topically relate to the voices of this world. One of which is for those who believe that if you are a “good person” then you will make it into heaven’s register, sadly you are wrong according to the Bible’s teachings; “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) – Therefore every single human being outside of the man Jesus has been classed as sinners, guilty of their breach towards God and His requirements. One may ask will I be classed in the same category as a murderer, the answer is in the text, we all fall short of God’s glory in one way or another and therefore we must all own our sin, understanding that we are in trouble before we will ever seek out salvation and without that mind-set we will never reach the desired place.

It’s only a sick person that seeks out the doctor’s aid and not the healthy. God’s love has offered a lifeline to all. How was this accomplished? In and through His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, God became a man, the creator came down to the level of His creation as He understood their dilemma and lived a life without sin and yet He was treated as the scum of the earth, go figure! Tried and then crucified for a crime he never committed, classed amongst sinners, although guiltless of any sin and punished as if he had sinned. Why did God allow this to happen? The answer is simple: to free men and women like you and me. Many have and some will continue to find salvation in Him and escape the exact point I have originally raised, the Lake of Fire! Will you be amongst that number?

The man Jesus was able to meet every one of God’s requirements and the penalty of our sin was placed upon Him, allowing sinners to call upon the name of the Lord and to be saved from the looming judgement. Outside of His sanctification (to perform a ritual or other act intended to free somebody from sin) we will all stand guilty before a holy God and be cast into the Lake of Fire. It’s simple mathematics! The only way a person will enter heaven is to have their name written in the Book of Life and for that to happen we must be born again. Let us not be thrown by that cliché, a phrase that has been discredited by so many, all it simply means is that we need to repent of our sin and in faith ask God to forgive us of our sin and believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. Here is the proof; “Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."” (John 3:5-8) – And we have already established that only those whose names are written in the Book of Life will avoid the Lake of Fire.

In conclusion the shout that is reverberating across the globe, which is “be good” in your own righteousness, is most certainly a different message to the one of the Bible. We are now left with a decision to make, will you believe the voices of those created or the voice of the creator. I have made up my mind, as for me and my household we will serve the only true and living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

I leave the sceptics with this thought, for there is a day coming where this will materialize according to the scriptures teachings; “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-14)

Signing off

Tyrone  

     

         

      

           

Self control

(Galatians 5:23) “…, self-control; against such things there is no law.”  

What drives you is a question that needs continual scrutiny. Snares and traps are everywhere and sadly we are so oblivious to so many of them. As beautiful as our God given senses are, they too are our biggest enemy when left to run riot.

Self control is a fruit of the Spirit which flows from the Second Covenant, a far better security than the First Covenant (the laws of God) – which in itself is very good but when stripped down in parallel to our lives proved to all of mankind that we are all sinners by nature and unable to live spotlessly under the first covenant and that we all are in desperate need of rescue. The Second Covenant (the finished work of the cross) when applied within the realms of the graces of God, which our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ has secured for us and for those who have been born of His Spirit, self control must begin to become evident in a believer’s life, although this is only one of the fruits of the Spirit it is arguably as important as the rest.  

When we use license to over indulge all we really prove is our lack of self control. Our natural senses taking control of the reigns as we once again walk with carnal mind-sets. The Apostle Paul goes on to conclude that those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Have we?

These types of thoughts are not meant to tickle our intellect but rather drive us towards God in faith helping us to understand our weakness outside of Him. Life is a training field for the life to come its as simple as that and although we might get caught up with all the wrongs in our lives, not to say we should ignore them, seeing that we have been saved by grace and use license to live decadently…

Moreover this in itself can also be used to consume us with legality. Where should we draw the line? It is a simple answer; “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25) – We must be consumed with our need to walk in the Spirit, its not enough just to claim salvation in and through the Spirit of God, for this is only one side of the instruction, we need to live and walk by the Spirit. Not one or the other but both truths should drive us towards self control. We must ask ourselves this question, can others see that I have been with Jesus?

Once again the Lord has helped me to see this a little clearer with the help of my belated brother in Christ, Charles Spurgeon and if we regard his council I am sure that self control will become more apparent in our lives.

“A Christian should be a striking likeness of Jesus Christ. You have read lives of Christ, beautifully and eloquently written, but the best life of Christ is his living biography, written out in the words and actions of his people. If we were what we profess to be, and what we should be, we should be pictures of Christ; yea, such striking likenesses of him, that the world would not have to hold us up by the hour together, and say, “Well, it seems somewhat of a likeness;” but they would, when they once beheld us, exclaim, “He has been with Jesus; he has been taught of him; he is like him; he has caught the very idea of the holy Man of Nazareth, and he works it out in his life and every-day actions.” A Christian should be like Christ in his boldness. Never blush to own your religion; your profession will never disgrace you: take care you never disgrace that. Be like Jesus, very valiant for your God. Imitate him in your loving spirit; think kindly, speak kindly, and do kindly, that men may say of you, “He has been with Jesus.” Imitate Jesus in his holiness. Was he zealous for his Master? So be you; ever go about doing good. Let not time be wasted: it is too precious. Was he self-denying, never looking to his own interest? Be the same. Was he devout? Be you fervent in your prayers. Had he deference to his Father’s will? So submit yourselves to him. Was he patient? So learn to endure. And best of all, as the highest portraiture of Jesus, try to forgive your enemies, as he did; and let those sublime words of your Master, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,” always ring in your ears. Forgive, as you hope to be forgiven. Heap coals of fire on the head of your foe by your kindness to him. Good for evil, recollect, is godlike. Be godlike, then; and in all ways and by all means, so live that all may say of you, “He has been with Jesus.”” (Charles Spurgeon)

When others look at us can they see that we have been with Jesus? Let us therefore make every effort to live in the Spirit because that is where our God subsists.

Signing off

Tyrone

   

To be led by the Spirit

(Matthew 4:1) Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness…

If the Lord Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit, the question I need answered is how much of that leading was generated by his own ability as a man? And then I realise where I have been going wrong for so long with regard to this reality, even now at 3:30 am, I too have been lead by the Spirit of God to my desk and computer to consider varying probing thoughts that need clarification.  Faith demands our dependence upon the finished work of the cross. There was no split personality in the Lord Jesus’ mind. He was about God His Father’s business and that was to prepare men (the Apostles) to proclaim the gospel and die for the sins of the world.

The flip sight of such focus would be; “a double minded man is unstable in all his ways”. Although the Lord Jesus was a man just like any other man, with a flesh and blood body; he bled like any other man. His emphasis was on something far greater than the cares of this life, he was tasked to accomplish a mission - to rid the world from the bondage of sin and allow men and women to find repentance for their sin and then to be freed up to serve God without that yoke shackling them like it once had.

Why then do so many Christians still battle with sin and their bondage to it? The answer in a nutshell is double-mindedness thrives in their minds! I confess that I have drifted in and out of that mind-set as I peruse through the chapters of my life; however today is a new day and the cry is “be gone double-minded man” there is no place for you in God’s kingdom nor in my mind for “I am a new creature in Christ”. This must be every Christian’s war-cry!

When the Apostle James teaches us about the double-minded man, he concludes that, that man is unstable in ALL of his ways. Now “double-mindedness” most certainly plays out in many arenas of life, or let me rather say that it potentially has the ability to affect varying aspects to our lives. But James concludes that if we waver in one area, all this proves is that we falter in all.

One may say the context of that verse does not warrant such a radical conclusion; well let’s unpack it…

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8) – James highlights a point about those who lack wisdom and how we as Christians are to find it; we must ask in faith and with no doubt. Wisdom drives us to trust the Word of God! – ALL OF IT! - What causes doubt? Unbelief or if you would like another interchangeable word that the bible sometimes uses; disobedience! There were those taken by this mind-set after being freed from Egypt when Israel lived as slaves. You see, all were freed from Egypt but many fell in the Wilderness to the snares of unbelief. They did not believe the promises of God and they never entered the Promised Land. We cannot live in a place of defeat, all that proves is one of two things, we are not saved and need to find salvation in and through repentance and the finished work of the cross or we are living in disobedience and discipline is just on the horizon. Once discipline arrives we will soon learn where we stand in God’s economy; “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.” (Hebrews 12:6-8) – The bible teaches us to be sober minded and just as I have examined my heart this morning I would encourage you to do the same; where do you stand in the frugality of God’s kingdom? Have you found your place? But above all do what needs to be done and do not wait until tomorrow.     

What has always hindered us from entering God’s presence? Sin! But the Lord Jesus Christ conquered sin, “once and for all”. Sin has been defeated. So what ever your nagging sin may be, it has been defeated. Christ has overcome. These are the facts according to the recorded documentation found within the Bible. However it needs to move from the sheets of paper into out hearts and minds as a living entity, which then affects every area of our lives. If this is not foundational in our lives we will remain babies in Christ never maturing into adults.

Here are some compelling facts that need to be embraced with all we have and although we live in a flesh and blood body, the Christian has moved on and we as believers need to travel in the right direction and get out of the starting blocks; This world and it luxuries -- “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) – The shift in our minds must be radical if we are to have peace with God, there is no such thing as an even balance between the Spirit and the flesh because the one promotes sin whilst the Spirit has conquered sin, which now lives within a believer and there is no room for darkness or “double-mindedness” in God’s economy. We are either in or out, we are either children of God or not. But for the Christian this is now our authenticity; - “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (Romans 8:9-14)

Just as the Lord Jesus was lead into the Wilderness by the Spirit we too must be sensitive to His leading in our lives, but remember God’s Word will always confirm His leading, we must establish every truth upon sound doctrine.

Signing off

Tyrone

A vital lesson

This morning I woke up with a very clear understanding of what I needed to explore on a doctrinal level. Throughout the night I wrestled with differing thoughts on how sin, grace, repentance and temptation play out on a practical level in a believer’s life, with all in question simultaneously tag teaming in the ring of my cognizance, with my mind floating from the one to the other and then a sudden calm. My restlessness a thing of the past with clarity now shrouding my understanding to a long life question I was unable to nail down with accuracy.  With a clear direction in my head it’s now up to sound doctrine to drive the reality home and hopefully change the way I perceive this very important focus and in turn help others with similar struggles.

I am wonderfully amazed how my great God brings light into the areas of mottled darkness. A garbled thought to begin with and then it’s as if the light switch is flipped in a dark room with the equation solved without the help of any doctorate. How I love moments like these, where God in His goodness helps me understand a particular concern I am tussling with; the wonders of God’s brilliance who can fathom it…   

From an early age we are called upon to fight and battle along our journeys in order to be noticed by our peers. Competition is fierce and only the top students and sports-persons ever really get recognized. Pride is instilled in us all from a very young age and it is up to the individual to put in the effort to be rewarded, it is as simple as that! With almost all concluding that hard work produces results. “You get out of life what you put into it”; worldly wisdom drives this truth home; it’s all about me, me and more of me. But the grace of God is all about unmerited favour. Two opposite extremes!

So up until we are born again and able to see God for whom He is through the eyes of faith and repentance from dead works we remain locked into the mentality of a temperament of self-preservation. And even after salvation many of us, in fact I would dare to suggest that the majority of Christians find it near impossible to relinquish in absolute surrender their struggles with pride, which is an enemy of the cross. I surmise that is why both the Apostle James and Peter had this to say about pride; "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." What I am about to unpack will be recklessness to some but it may just be life changing for others.

Firstly, let the Word guide us as we look to establish a few truths…

We must learn to separate our human rationale from our now God given Spirit which we received at our spiritual conversion; the day we were born again an awareness  to comprehended spiritual things had now became a part of our persona; whereas prior to salvation we were blind towards spiritual matters. No matter how hard we looked into divine truths we always arrived at a skewed conclusion with “self” always influencing the outcome of the equation. It’s who we are outside of the Lord Jesus Christ, blind to the bigger picture. There is no wiggle room for any ifs and buts, these are the facts! – Without God removing the scale from our eyes, although we have a perception of sight we are in fact blind. The Lord Jesus gives us this insight – “Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."” (John 3:3) - Our souls must be fashioned and enlivened anew. We must be born from above in order to see the deeper meanings to life with God on His throne; the Bible is what reveals these truths to us with God the Holy Spirit guiding us into all truths. But prior to “regeneration” we are not privy to these truths. However now that we have been “born again” it is crucial to understand the differing roles of the flesh and the Spirit in our lives. The flesh by nature will always govern us towards pride and sin whilst the Spirit of God leads us into the paths of righteousness with our reliance upon His graces.

This monster “pride” is a deep rooted seed that must be obliterated from our lives; an impossible task for those who have not found forgiveness and repentance through faith. For those who are yet blind to spiritual truths. As Christians we must understand the “how to” in the equation to be liberated from that beast. Pride is the utopia of all that is sinful; it exalts us to a point above correction. Satan was filled with pride and resisted God and was able to sway one third of the angels to follow him. And I would remind you that he is a spiritual being. We find so much concerning this topic in scripture I am not sure it is even necessary to expound the idea as all should be familiar with God’s view concerning the proud. Let me use some of Solomon’s wisdom to drive home the prominence of the point; “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)

Regardless of where we may find ourselves in our struggles against sin it is imperative that we understand that “humility” must be our launching pad as we approach the throne room of grace to be freed up to serve God with holiness as our objective. It must always be about looking to Jesus for sustenance. Pride in any form whatsoever excludes that delivery. If I accuse someone else of a weakness and excuse myself, pride is alive and well and the chance of me finding grace could very well elude me, a very real reality in our lives. Remember the account of Peter when he made his brash statement, which I believe was very sincere at the time; “Peter said to him, "Even though they all fall away, I will not." And Jesus said to him, "Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times." But he said emphatically, "If I must die with you, I will not deny you."” (Mark 14:29-31) – We all know the end of that account…. - And what of the man and Apostle Paul; he was a man like no other and he obviously understood this better than any other. Look at his delivery when contending for the faith against other Christians who opposed him as they forced him to pen these words- read 2Corinthians chapter 12 to get the full picture – but for the sake of time I have selected a single verse to stress my point;  “I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing.” (2Corinthians 12:11) – We have no boast outside of Christ. He has finished it all! We must understand this truth and it must be cemented into our personalities as we learn to use grace as a means to our end, God and heaven with all its glory.

With that now established how do we overcome the lessons of life with proficiency? It is obvious that we must repent from dead works (any thing we do to find favour from God on our own merits) and apply ourselves with faith towards our God. We must trust Him to get us home. Our dependencies must be locked upon Him and not have any confidence in our independence, our own abilities will only ever generate pride. Our enslavements to His provisions are a gift and not a work; “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)  - Therefore boasting (pride) in any form must be eradicated from our minds. It is the goodness of God that leads a man into repentance. David understood this after he had fallen into sin with the woman Bathsheba; “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” (Psalms 51:2-4) – However we must understand our breach with regard to our own actions pertaining to our own sinful natures. It is up to us to seek out God’s grace to be a part of our lives as we require His help to change our natures and not our own abilities to see us through.

The Christian has been afforded the privilege of finding grace to overcome. We are also instructed to come to our God and Father in confidence to seek that grace out. The instruction is clear; “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) - Let “us” (the Christian) “draw near” so that we may find a “help in time of our need” to get us through the trial which is God’s mercy and His grace. It is God who will decide our outcomes in and through any given trial. There is a responsibility placed upon us as individuals to learn this lesson and apply it correctly into our lives. I acknowledge that I am so far from applying this truth into my life with absolute proficiency, which in itself teaches me to be even more dependant upon my Lord and Saviour. Will we always end up as victors in our application? Sadly that answer is no, but we most certainly should be maturing as Christian in our application of our faith towards God.   

Temptation should drive us towards the lesson of our need to find God’s grace to overcome. We have one of three choices in the trial: try resist in our own strength, succumb to the pressure of it, or call upon our God to give us unmerited favour as we receive strength from Him to overcome and resist. This will be our lot in life on this side of heaven. However when we learn this lesson well it will leave us in a place of humility as we understand that it is the grace of God that has brought us through the trial. Boasting will never have any place in our minds as we understand that it is the goodness of God that has got us through whatever we face on a daily basis. If and when we fall, repentance must drive us to seek out God’s forgiveness for our sin. This will be an onward cycle that will be with us until we give up the ghost.

Let me end off with these encouraging words; “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) – God help us all to learn this lesson well, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone  

The coin

Coins are two sided and yet we only ever see one side of the coin at a time, unless we use a mirror to reflect the flip-side of the penny while viewing it. Our consciences are a tool which we have been given by God in spite of our sinful natures to keep us in check, especially as children of God. We know from Scripture that it is the Word of God that guides us into truth with God the Holy Spirit uncovering the areas of our lives which needs repentance. Those nagging zones which just don’t want to die! Ignore any sinful patterns for too long and a person’s conscience will eventually be seared the same way a hot iron dulls the nerve endings if accidentally touched; in like manner habitual sin will have a similar effect on the person involved, before long the sin that you despised will become the acceptable practice. If we have no fear of God when we habitually keep on sinning, we are of all men most foolish. Christ had conquered to free us from our bondage to sin. We are instructed to no longer live in it. In fact the Lord Jesus had this to say; “And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.” (Matthew 18:9) 

For us to be securely rooted upon the “rock that is higher than I”, (the Lord Jesus Christ, my beloved Saviour, the darling of heaven, the rose of Shannon and the Hero of all hero’s) we must have substance to our lives. There must be evidence to our claims of Christianity. Regardless of our failures, of which, over time and after my conversion I have travelled down the road of destruction. However there must come a time in every believer’s life where we take responsibility for our mistakes and cry out for grace in order that we like our great Saviour may also overcome the tests placed before us. It may well take us a lifetime with a particular sin but we must never take it lightly.

A man cannot claim salvation through the blood of the Lamb and continue as he once did. This would be a false conversion; an appealing thought some latch onto just to hedge their bets in case it is needed. Deception playing its part in that individual’s persona and the longer the pattern survives the worse off their conscience is seared. It then becomes an acceptable thing to believe that God will accommodate them on their own merits and because they verbally confess “Jesus as Lord” where in fact they obviously live a life of contradiction. Salvation should be a radical encounter; a person moving from total darkness into God’s marvellous light. If that’s not a radical experience then I am not sure we have understood anything. And I am not referring to our own pity filled light that we try to generate on own merits. With comments like, “I am not as bad as that person”, or “I give to the poor you know” - Blah-de-blah! – That is commonly known as a dead work, it will never generate eternal life, What I am referring to is a personal encounter with the living God which is so brilliant, darkness is forced to flee. God uncovers His glory and anything which opposes Him disintegrates into nothingness – Just a simple Word from HIM and destruction is imminent. For now, but for the grace of God, so much of what we see with our God given eyes remains as we see it. The sun rises and it sets day after day. However there is a day coming when the wrath of God will be revealed; the other side of the coin! Therefore it is crucial that we find grace to make straight that which is crooked in our lives.

It is not enough to have faith without works or works without faith. One without the other is not a true witness to an accurate convert, both faith towards God’s rescue and works must accompany our lives for us to have peace with God. We must strive against sin in our lives; no matter how long the same sin has knocked at our door. While we have breath we have hope, the one side of the coin, but there is a day coming when life as we know it will run its course, the other side of the coin – judgement after death or the wrath of God revealed here on earth as never witnessed before, whatever comes first…

Both sides of the coin (us as individuals) must be studied in detail, not by another, we must learn to examine our own lives and we will then soon cry out with David, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” (Psalms 51:1-3) - David understood his sin and his need to find forgiveness from God is obvious and the only way this will ever be possible is through a deliberate action of repentance and faith towards God. And just like Nathan the prophet was needed to highlight David’s sin in order for his change of heart to kick into gear, his own conscience was not enough. Someone had to man-up and confront the king in spite of the potential consequence. The gospel is all we really have for a dying world; it is the good news that should be on the tip of our tongues for it is the only truth that will free us from bondage. We all have a responsibility to be accurate with that message, God requires it from us! Freely we have received and now we must learn to freely give to others. We must never skirt the sin issues in our lives or the lives of others. Sin is what has kept us from a relationship with the true God of the universe, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Just as the Lord Jesus laid down his life for us whilst we were still enemies of the cross, we must also follow suit if we are to have the joy of the Lord evident in our lives. There is a day coming when the wrath of God will be revealed and this is part of the gospel message that must never be skirted. It is the other side of the coin.

God help us to be bold in these last days with that message and our willingness to find grace to break the shackles of sin.

Signing off

Tyrone

   

  

The snare of the fowler

I often get “lost in translation” when it comes to my independent struggle with the cares of this life and sin as it endeavours to take a strangle hold at any given time. I believe I am not alone when it comes to this reality in my life, many, like the Apostle Paul would share my sentiment when it comes to the weakness of our flesh. Human nature will always pull us in the opposite direction to the will of God for our lives. This is why I believe he arrives at this conclusion in the book of Romans; “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” (Romans 7:22-25) – With this in mind, let us never accommodate sin in our lives as an acceptable commodity.

Let me leave you with the words of a far greater gifted man than I could ever be as we pay careful attention to His God given wisdom…

 “Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler.” (Psalms 91-3)

“God delivers his people from the snare of the fowler in two senses. From, and out of. First, he delivers them from the snare-does not let them enter it; and secondly, if they should be caught therein, he delivers them out of it. The first promise is the most precious to some; the second is the best to others.

“He shall deliver thee from the snare.” How? Trouble is often the means whereby God delivers us. God knows that our backsliding will soon end in our destruction, and he in mercy sends the rod. We say, “Lord, why is this?” not knowing that our trouble has been the means of delivering us from far greater evil. Many have been thus saved from ruin by their sorrows and their crosses; these have frightened the birds from the net. At other times, God keeps his people from the snare of the fowler by giving them great spiritual strength, so that when they are tempted to do evil they say, “How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” But what a blessed thing it is that if the believer shall, in an evil hour, come into the net, yet God will bring him out of it! O backslider, be cast down, but do not despair. Wanderer though thou hast been, hear what thy Redeemer saith-”Return, O backsliding children; I will have mercy upon you.” But you say you cannot return, for you are a captive. Then listen to the promise-”Surely he shall deliver thee out of the snare of the fowler.” Thou shalt yet be brought out of all evil into which thou hast fallen, and though thou shalt never cease to repent of thy ways, yet he that hath loved thee will not cast thee away; he will receive thee, and give thee joy and gladness, that the bones which he has broken may rejoice. No bird of paradise shall die in the fowler’s net.” (Charles Spurgeon)

So wherever you may find yourself take encouragement from the hope that we have in our God. His Spirit will lead us into all truth concerning our conduct as Christians, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone