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

Election sure

(2Peter 1:10) “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”

“Make you election sure” is an encouragement given to the believer by the Apostle Peter and he attaches a promise to it and if applied correctly we “will never fall”, wow! Time to sit up and take note; for far too long have I been duped by the lie of “its OK you only human”. We are new creatures in Christ and our conduct must prove that truth. You shall know a particular tree by it fruit. To name a variety of fruit trees without the evidence of their fruit attached to their branches would be far more difficult than if they had produce ready to be plucked and eaten. To differentiate one fruit tree from another by their leaves alone would require a skilled eye. Hence the Lord Jesus made this statement; “you shall know a tree by its fruit” and not its leaves. The Christians testimony must be above reproach; something I have failed dismally in, throughout my lifetime, however if and when God begins to renew a right spirit within an individuals heart, who can halter the God given change that begins to germinate? I Praise God for that. Excuses for living in the flesh and succumbing to the temptations we face throughout the day as the norm, is not the way forward for the Christian, but rather a corrupted understanding of a twist on Christian life. A mind-set that now robs us of our victory in Christ is this lure, “has God said”; Satan’s lure to confuse a Christian’s conduct.

It would be good for the one who claims Christianity as their own and often makes these types of confessions; “I LOVE YOU LORD” to pay careful attention to what Peter is teaching us. He summonses us to obverse the divine nature of Christ of which we have been privileged to share in; if understood and heeded we will escape this world’s corruption and its sinful desires. Until then we will be like the man who constantly falls into that dark ditch, a place most Christian have ended up somewhere along their journey. Sadly the slow learners like me have taken some hard knocks because of it. However, God is long-suffering towards His called, which even now I am eternally grateful for. Without His protection I truly understand that that dark ditch would have been my lot in life. But praise God for His willingness to discipline His children. Thank you Father for the love that you have bestowed upon me, I can see a lot clearer now.

To believe that “once saved always saved” if not understood correctly will trick the pretender into believing that they are in fact safe when they are not. There has to come a time in a believer’s life when it is obvious to all that they in fact do belong to the Lord Jesus, no differently to the fruit tree that has fruit on it. A believer may find themselves in the throws of discipline and only the mature believers will understand if their faith is in fact real. For the sake of the gospel we must all move through those transition periods in our lives as fast as possible. How is this achieved? Obviously everything is linked to the grace of God, but Peter gives us some instruction on how this can be accomplished. In order for us to escape the corruption of this world with its sinful desires and “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2Peter 1:5-8) – If and when we lack these attributes in our lives he concludes; “for whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.” (2Peter 1:9) – However if we begin to live under the guidance of the Spirits counsel correctly, this promise will be ours; “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” (2Peter 1:10)

The called will learn to live under the rule of God’s Spirit and God will get them home, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Without sin

(Hebrews 4:15)  “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

With the sun still nestled below the horizon and with the darkness of night concealing the shapes that are easily seen in the sunlight as I peer through my large glass sliding door my thoughts are taken to the consideration of the Lord Jesus Christ putting on his own mind. We (Christians) have been called to put on the mind of Christ but He was and is Christ. It was his mind and his dedication to it that now allows us to follow in His footsteps. What was that like I wonder? He understood the call that God His Father had placed upon his life like no other and yet he was clothed in a human body, which needed food and clothing for its sustenance. There were times in his life that he drew aside and fasted before confronting the enemy; denying the flesh its demands, hunger cravings and the like to strengthen the Spirit within, a valuable observation for our consideration.   

He was driven by faith, but a faith that could see clearly, understanding His dependency as a man upon His Fathers provision. His vision was not marred as ours at times are. He was consistent with a face of flint set on the will of His Father. He allowed no distraction to thwart his quest, praise God!  

He grew in the same fashion as all the other boys around him, pimples and the like must have been part of his experience. And yet as he grew whilst the pressures of life began to press in on him, he never committed a sin. Fascinating is all I am left to conclude and I know this to be true for the scripture thus teaches us this certainty; “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” – This indicates that he didn’t have any super powers per say, he bled like everyone else, with Satan and all his demonic soldiers from the spiritual world that is as real as the keyboard I now punch away at, which eludes the concepts of mankind’s carnal sight. Nevertheless these forces pressed in upon the Lord Jesus with such force and with a single intention to get him to sin, they failed! The man they could not get to breech one of God’s laws; a man who always walk in the Spirit regardless of the fleshes demands whilst nullifying the power of God's law over him. When a man learns to walk in the Spirit there is nothing that will catch him off guard. Once this truth is clearly understood I trust we will hold sin and the power it once held over us in a new light.

Even now as Christians we fight a raging battle against the lying tongue of sins entrapment. The promises of empty lusts only ever temporally satisfy, it will never be enough, sin cannot gratify. Ask a wealthy man what drives him, and you will soon find out the answer to that underlying truth, “MORE”!  The Spirit on the other hand promises truth and a lasting satisfaction which is encapsulated within the fruits of the Spirit, which are; “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” – The Lord Jesus obviously lived under the rule of the Spirit leaving the power of the law useless against his flesh. A phenomenal consideration if we only begin to get a glimpse of what that actually entailed.

Through the throes of life his journey was like every other; birth, suckling, teething, subject to his parent’s authority, God in the flesh allowing his creation to instruct him under the law of “children honour and obey your parents”; puberty, adulthood and manhood. He never breached a commandment of God, and under no circumstances ever told a “white lie” or having a misplaced thought that lead to intent. This is miraculous in itself and the point we must not miss it that because of it all Jesus Christ our risen Saviour has earned the stripes to wear the t-shirt of understanding the struggles of our human weaknesses and this is why these words have been penned to help us realise that He really understands the human body and its frailty; “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses.” God became a man for this very reason, to right what Satan had wrong, praise God for His victory as a man; “Jesus in my place”, a song that I love to sing from the very core of my gut.

When we face our temptations throughout the day all we need do is to cry out to Jesus for he is capable of sympathising with our struggles. Grace is needed to overcome the trial, when we succumb to the temptation of sin, in that very moment we prove that we do not hold Christ’s sacrifice in high regard and we value the sin more that we value His sacrifice; it’s as simple as that. We have all erred in this area of our lives, but we must resolve to put on the mind of Christ seeking out His grace in time of need, and always ask the Holy Spirit to remind our minds what it cost the Lord Jesus Christ to buy us our freedom, a cruel Roman cross and all that went with that; God the Father rejecting His only begotten Son as He paid the price for our sins, a time of complete despair for our great redeemer. Just imagine what he must of felt at this exactly moment; “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"” (Matthew 27:46) – An event in Jesus’ life that actually happened. And he did it for you and me, for all those who now confess Him as Lord; He has bought us our freedom.

It is now up to us to mortify the deeds of our flesh, to take revenge on that which once had us enslaved to sin and the power it once wielded over our engagements. Christians now have the mind of Christ, when we say “I cannot”, we only prove that we still live under an element of unbelief and we lack faith in the finished work of the cross. The “giants” in our lives are greater that the promises of God, which is a lie! Do you remember the account of Joshua and Caleb and the other ten spies? The typology of that account has much to teach us concerning our mind-sets on this topic.

Jesus understands our human frailty, he lived in a human body, but he also understands and has proved the workings of the Spirits power over the weakness of our physical appetites. Just as he learnt to live under the Spirit influence over his regular human thirsts, we too must follow suite if and when we want to please our heavenly Father. Grace is needed to overcome and it is available to all those who confess Jesus as their Lord. Do not let the deceitfulness of sin beguile us into believing that we cannot overcome, it is simply a lie that has robbed me of far too much.

Signing off

Tyrone

Bound

(2Timothy 2:9) “… But the word of God is not bound!”

There are many ways to bind individuals and for many varying reasons. A thief is sentenced to a term in jail and is bound by the constraints of his punishment. He must serve a term of imprisonment and abide by the rules of that institution if it is to fair as well as can be expected. When the criminal does the binding it has a similar effect it keeps his victim at bay while he loots. Sin and its power have this effect on mankind, its sin that binds a person to do that which he also hates and when the damage is realised regret sets in. There are many examples that we could glean from and whether the motive to bind is honorable or dishonorable we understand the effect of “binding”. However the Word of God cannot be bound, praise God for that. We must learn to depend upon it as our lives rest on its instruction.

The Spirit of God cannot be bound or either swayed to preform actions regretted, He always acts out of righteousness. He is the light of the world, who leads men and women into truth. It’s when we learn to appropriate what He teaches into our live that we will become useful, if salt looses its flavour what use is it? As Christians we have an enemy that always looks to plunder and rob us of this privilege, the Christians call to duty is to put on the mind of Christ, which will always lead us towards His truth in any given circumstance. But in order for this to happen we must apply what is taught into our lives on a practical level.

This is where an individual will find freedom and not in the traps of society that have been designed to misguide our thoughts as it endeavours to captivate us with its snares; money and the lies it is able to formulate in an individuals mind is one of the biggest lures of all. Covetousness, simply means; to want what somebody else has. The mind of Christ teaches us this truth on the subject; “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” (1 Timothy 6:8) - Do you see the extreme opposites at play, one is driven by the lust of our flesh whilst the other by the Spirit of God. Easy measures to establish were we are on the subject. We must be honest with ourselves and we will soon see how we fair on this topic.

God has been merciful to me concerning the reality of the lust of money and how its sway drives individuals away from God and not towards Him. Not only has He help me understand matters of the heart concerning money, but has placed me in a situation for some time now where on a practical level it has been more that a thought but I have been living its reality. We habitually need these types of examples in our lives for the lesson to stick. Our flesh drives us in this direction, the move we have the move we want; “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10)  

The Spirits lesson on the other hand is the less we have the less we actually need and the happier we are. God’s ability to use the opposites to teach us the basic fundamentals of the Christian life often astounds me and how brilliant He actually is. Ever wise all knowing God, the only true and living God, Jehovah, the great “I AM”, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and also the God and Father of all those who confess Jesus as Lord and believe in His resurrection. To put on the mind of Christ in this area of our lives means; “But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.” (1 Timothy 6:11)

Please help me Father God to find the spirit of gentleness when I am confronted by these snares that looks to throw me off course. They are often not far from home and sadly the flesh and my old nature is often stirred away from gentleness instead of towards it, I seek out your forgiveness and ask you to renew a right spirit within me concerning money and our necessity of it. Continue to help me put on the mind of Christ in every area of my life and not only the parts that are more conclusive to change.

One thing I am persuaded of is that you are in perfect control and we have been called to live by faith and when you decide that enough is enough in a particular area of our lives so it shall be. And if not, we must find contentment wherever we find ourselves, thank you Lord Jesus for your perfect example, and thank you for drinking the whole cup that has set so many free, whilst helping others realise the freedom that you have bought for them in your finished work, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

A morning post

“They weave the spider’s web.”

- Isaiah_59:5

"See the spider’s web, and behold in it a most suggestive picture of the hypocrite’s religion. It is meant to catch his prey: the spider fattens himself on flies, and the Pharisee has his reward. Foolish persons are easily entrapped by the loud professions of pretenders, and even the more judicious cannot always escape. Philip baptized Simon Magus, whose guileful declaration of faith was so soon exploded by the stern rebuke of Peter. Custom, reputation, praise, advancement, and other flies, are the small game which hypocrites take in their nets. A spider’s web is a marvel of skill: look at it and admire the cunning hunter’s wiles. Is not a deceiver’s religion equally wonderful? How does he make so barefaced a lie appear to be a truth? How can he make his tinsel answer so well the purpose of gold? A spider’s web comes all from the creature’s own bowels. The bee gathers her wax from flowers, the spider sucks no flowers, and yet she spins out her material to any length. Even so hypocrites find their trust and hope within themselves; their anchor was forged on their own anvil, and their cable twisted by their own hands. They lay their own foundation, and hew out the pillars of their own house, disdaining to be debtors to the sovereign grace of God. But a spider’s web is very frail. It is curiously wrought, but not enduringly manufactured. It is no match for the servant’s broom, or the traveller’s staff. The hypocrite needs no battery of Armstrongs to blow his hope to pieces, a mere puff of wind will do it. Hypocritical cobwebs will soon come down when the besom of destruction begins its purifying work. Which reminds us of one more thought, viz., that such cobwebs are not to be endured in the Lord’s house: he will see to it that they and those who spin them shall be destroyed for ever. O my soul, be thou resting on something better than a spider’s web. Be the Lord Jesus thine eternal hiding-place.?" (Charles Spurgeon)

A concern

(Matthew 6:21)  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

There are many commodities in life that we take for granted, but Gold and precious stones is not one of them. That which is not easy to come by often has a higher value than the rest of the necessities needed to soldier on through life; in a parched land water jumps from the bottom of the “taken for granted” scale to the top. As Christians our values begin to change, it is the reforming work of the Spirit in our lives. However I have seen a powerful lure at play, which is not driven by the Spirit of God; the desire for so many wanting to be rich and sadly this reality that has motivated those with a similar mind-set will suffer loss in eternity. How do I know that? Anything that drives us from Christ and not towards Him will in the long run end up robbing the believer and when the books are opened our works shall be judged in righteousness. Both the believer and the heathen shall stand before the judgement seat of God. The unbeliever will be judge for their sin, whilst the believer will have their works judged. So the sooner the Christian learns to value this lesson the freer we shall be, for our lives depend upon it; “where our hearts are there I treasures will be also.” The more I am honest with my deliberation concerning this teaching, the clearer I am able to see; Am I content with food and raiment? If not I am still under the sway of the lure of “the love of money”. This may be a hard pill to swallow but needful if we are to move past this “giant” who enslaves so many; “where have all the good saints gone”, what of the puritan mentality? The pressures of life certain play their part in this church age of Laodicea; a comparison easily deduced when we examine the free world, it democracy and the voices of the so called Christian.

I cannot but be reminded about the ten virgins; five were wise whilst five were foolish, but they were both classified as virgin. Typology of the saved cries out from that analogy with the emphasis on “virgins”. The wise were ready to meet the bridegroom, whilst the unwise were late.

There is much to do about money and its ensnaring power penned in the Gospels and the Apostles Epistles and it would be wise for us to sit up and take note of their teachings. The Spirit has no need of monies entrapment, and to prove this point the Lord Jesus sent out His disciples in faith with no money; "And he said to them, "Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics." (Luke 9:3) - But the flesh on the other hand craves what it has to offer. Here are just some of those warnings mentioned; "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)  - “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” (Timothy 6:10)

This is an unavoidable truth that needs to resonate with our understanding and we must find grace to live in accordance with God’s will in this area of our lives, if not it will cost us in eternity. – The next point we must observe is what we do with the money we have been given; I have squandered so much of this in my life but exceedingly grateful for the eye-salve God is now imparting to me to see where I have gone wrong and what I need to do to right my wrongs; We must use what has been specified to sustain our bodies and no more, the rest must be used to glorify our God and the furtherance of His Gospel.

Understanding faith equips us to be governed by this truth; “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

How many of those who you know and have known over time, recipients who responded to God’s wonderful gospel message have been swayed by these truths? Sadly I can recall far too many even now as I type away at my keyboard. Money may be a necessary evil but far to much emphasis is placed upon it. God help us to see the wood from the trees in this area of our lives.

Signing off

Tyrone

"I AM"

(Exodus 3:14)  “God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM."”  

Light is a remarkable gift that God has afforded mankind. Without the light of God we remain constantly in the dark. We know that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth; but when it comes to the origins of God our attentions are unable to venture into that domain and if explored it is impossible to produce any tangible evidence that satisfies our probing minds. It has not been revealed to us yet, all we have been told is that God is and will always be, he has had no beginning nor will He ever come to an end. When God was asked who he was by Moses, this was His reply, “I AM WHO I AM”!

We are only permitted to explore what we have been given and no more. For a man to waste his energies on things to great to ruminate would be a rather futile exercise. A place where the heathen’s unbelief is often rooted in doubt; Satan’s playground! Faith has an opposite influence which drives us towards God and His Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.

However there is a day coming in the not to distant future when we will see our God as He is and understand much deeper mysteries, but for now we see through that glass dimly, however we see enough to believe what is needed to get us home, praise God for that. It is faith in Christ which drives our hope which longs to be covered by the Love of God and is. It was the love of God that nailed Jesus to the cross and without that understanding as our consideration we will never truly be driven by the measure of faith needed to lay aside the sin that so easily besets or the cares of this life that that hampers our attentions. We must be governed by faith; we must be engulfed with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord and depending on how clearly we understand that will determine our conduct from day to day.

When this truth becomes the over-arching highlight of my day, my sight that is driven by faith will become a lot clearer and the things of this world will begin to grow strangely dim. Thank you God my Father for the love you have extended to me. Assist me in replicating a measure of that love, so that all men may truly know that I belong to you. There are many amongst us who claim salvation but in fact are no more than thieves looking for opportunities to pillage. There is a day coming when the books will be opened, praise God for that.

As my mind now travels to my hope in you I am pointed to the love of Jesus and how he has chosen us, loved us, bought us, cleansed us, robed us, kept us and soon will glorify us. He is the light of the universe and we see such beauty there. Without light we learn that no radiance flashes from the emerald, just like all the beauty of the saints stem from Jesus. Just as planets reflect the light of the sun our Saviour is the reflection of our righteousness and if His glory were veiled our glory must expire. There is a day coming when our knowledge will be perfect but there will be an unchanging truth that thankfully will never die as the Lord Jesus is the fountain of it all, praise His name now and forever more, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone 

A reminder

(Romans 8:28) “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.”

It’s a wonderful thing to have ones destination set; a sure thing is something we all desire and it is delightful to be reminded by other brothers in Christ about these and similar truths even if they have moved from this life into the next. 

“Upon some points a believer is absolutely sure. He knows, for instance, that God sits in the stern-sheets of the vessel when it rocks most. He believes that an invisible hand is always on the world’s tiller, and that wherever providence may drift, Jehovah steers it. That re-assuring knowledge prepares him for everything. He looks over the raging waters and sees the spirit of Jesus treading the billows, and he hears a voice saying, “It is I, be not afraid.” He knows too that God is always wise, and, knowing this, he is confident that there can be no accidents, no mistakes; that nothing can occur which ought not to arise. He can say, “If I should lose all I have, it is better that I should lose than have, if God so wills: the worst calamity is the wisest and the kindest thing that could befall to me if God ordains it.” “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” The Christian does not merely hold this as a theory, but he knows it as a matter of fact. Everything has worked for good as yet; the poisonous drugs mixed in fit proportions have worked the cure; the sharp cuts of the lancet have cleansed out the proud flesh and facilitated the healing. Every event as yet has worked out the most divinely blessed results; and so, believing that God rules all, that he governs wisely, that he brings good out of evil, the believer’s heart is assured, and he is enabled calmly to meet each trial as it comes. The believer can in the spirit of true resignation pray, “Send me what thou wilt, my God, so long as it comes from thee; never came there an ill portion from thy table to any of thy children.” (Charles Spurgeon)

“Say not my soul, ‘From whence can God relieve my care?’

Remember that Omnipotence has servants everywhere.

His method is sublime, his heart profoundly kind,

God never is before his time, and never is behind.”

Signing off

Tyrone

Another year

A year has passed since I posted a blog entitled “Trimming the sail”, so the time of reflection is once again upon me. Time to compare where I stand today in light of where I stood one year ago; from a financial point of view I am worse of than I was back then, but from a Spiritual growth point of view I am “to blessed to be stressed” and I have not been called upon to beg bread. So a verse that by experience has become more of a reality to me today than it was a year ago is this; “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” (1Timothy 6:8) – There was a time when I was driven by money, I can honestly say today it is not so; God has been merciful to my understanding. Nevertheless in order for me now to make such a pronouncement learning this vital lesson in life did not come inexpensively. I also understand that I have only begun to scratch the surface with what it means to be content with food and clothing, but by the grace of God that door has been cracked, praise God! I trust I will be total delivered from that vice that once captivated my life. I too with Paul want to be able to echo these word with a clear conscience before God and men; “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” (Philippians 4:11)

Putting on the mind of Christ will bring us to the places in our lives that we once held dear to our hearts, but now we realise that so much of it is in fact nothing more than craziness. Once driven by the lust and desires of our heart, always striving but never achieving, with the flip side of that condition, a place of contentment with what God gives us. The irony of the opposite extremes, chasing money and always on the edge of panic, as opposed to having just enough to survive and living a life filled with peace. I have made up my mind on where I want to live from here on in concerning money. As I trim the sail in this area of my life, I am thankful to my heavenly Father for the valuable and yet very costly lessons he has taught me along the way. Thank you Father God for the discipline you instil in my life, I am truly grateful for it.

Another concern I had was not finding forgiveness for the blunders in my life where I lost it all together and lived a life of debauchery. A man troubled by so much, filled with a restless spirit, rebelling and looking to shirk the responsibilities place on the Christian. Although I had turned that corner and the grace of God had forgiven me, I found it hard to accept His forgiveness. The account of the prodigal son, repeated over and over again in my life. But God has tarried with me; today is a day where I have been freed from all guilt and condemnation, even though I was guilty as charged, praise the work of my glorious Saviour, sweet Jesus. The burden of guilt has been lifted by my God, He has renewed a right Spirit in me and I am also thankful for this.

God is not a God only to those who seem to have it all together; His brilliance is reveal in and through the change of heart in those people whom others often right off. He is willing and able to renew a right spirit within their hearts, only cry out to him, and take the blame for you sin, own it and watch our great God bring about an everlasting change to the once weak and feeble believer. We must all learn to wear this encouragement upon our hearts; “admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” Just as God has been patient with so many of us let us remember from where we have fallen.

It is through these changes in our lives that we witness the Spirit of God working in and through us, ultimately glorifying our heavenly Father. When we see no change it is obvious that our lives are dominated by our flesh and we need a radical shift in our understanding, my prayer is that God would discipline all those in need of His discipline as I have understood in part the benefits to that discipline. Father God begin to shake is my prayer and send our beloved Saviour to fetch your children, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Blood of bulls and goats

(Hebrews 10:4)  “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

The laws of sacrificial offering were introduced by God through Moses way back in the early stages of Judaism. And yet with such a detailed account given to the children of Israel in which they needed to religiously follow, the conclusion that the writer of Hebrews arrives at is this; “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” So many years of habitual practice and yet the very thing that it was designed for, to help the children of Israel find forgiveness for a particular trespass was only ever a temporal solution, but with an over-arching truth that many so called Christian organisations of today have adopted similar practices. A religion that is driven by the flesh and its repetitions; with a similar outcome that just like the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin; religious organisation that look to approach God in the flesh can never free those in their congregation in finding true forgiveness. A tickling of the conscience, which is in fact a total waste of time when it comes to finding the will of God for their lives.

Why did God spend some much time on the sacrificial ordinances throughout history? There are obviously many facets to this question that we can explore but for me the greatest truth that springs to life is simply this; God was proving over time that because we are fallen beings, born into sin and that we are naturally anti-God, the law was a teacher to demonstrate that we needed a Saviour. It proves how helpless we are within ourselves and how futile our own efforts are.

Satan on the other hand looks to hone in on the efforts of particular individuals like mother Teresa, a person that is hard to fault when we compare her efforts to the worlds; this was on of her quotes “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”  A contradiction to the Lord Jesus instruction on how we will find peace; “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.” (John 14:27) – True peace has nothing to do with us being linked to one another but rather an understanding that our sins have been forgiven in and through the finished work of the cross. One train of thought derives from an understanding that comes from the flesh whilst the other through the Spirit of God. We must start right in order to end correctly; Simple mathematics.

Who will resist the point I raise, will it not be those who are driven by their flesh? There have been many other great examples that lure us always from the truth of God’s Word. Gandhi or Nelson Mandela, great example of the revolts of their times, but how often did you ever see them point you to Christ and the finished work of the cross? Peace was the message that drove their intentions. They were driven by their own efforts which glorified themselves and not the Lord Jesus Christ.    

The said that drives is what I have been contemplating over the past week or so, which is; the flesh and the Spirit and how they cannot be mixed in the same bowl in order to be favoured by God. We have already established that those who live in the flesh cannot please God, and no matter how we slice it, our attempts in the flesh are futile, with an outcome that never changes; “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:8) - An impossible quandary to avoid if we remain in that mind-set and we must learn to live here; “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” (Galatians 2:20-21)  

The opposite of walking in the flesh is someone who understands what it means to walk in the Spirit, as they find victory in the finished work of the cross in their lives; this is a fundamental that Christ has established for every believer; those who are sanctified by His blood; all those whose names are written in the “Book of Life”.

It is becoming very obvious to me what is meant by these words; “you shall know a tree by its fruit”. Regardless of the season that trees needs to endure, it has to have seasons of palatable fruit. Its fruit must glorify God and it will never achieve this from a platform of the flesh (our own efforts). The root of that tree, Jesus Christ must be the one nourishing the individual and the way this is achieved is through the Spirit. Even the Lord Jesus, God in the flesh, taught us this principle; “And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” (Mark 10:18) – Any effort done whilst walking in the Spirit will glorify God and not the other way around, with our own efforts bringing praise to ourselves.     

Signing off

Tyrone