Public Faith

Posted on by korgrocker

“Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world. God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son.”
Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT

After the initial greetings, Paul gets into his letter. And straight away he thanks the Christians in Rome for their faith in God. It’s ”being talked about all over the world“, he said. What an accolade! But how could their faith become so public? And what was there about that faith that made other people in the city talk about it?

Here in the UK, faith is often considered to be a very private matter. There is almost an embarrassment with some Christians, if asked a question about their church or what they believe. In the workplace, religion is a no go area for many, and in the lives of some Christians there is no clue that would indicate their faith. Such people behave the same way as everyone else Monday to Saturday, the only difference is that they will disappear into a church building for an hour or so on a Sunday morning, while others head for the golf course or some other activity. Such a faith is hardly what Paul is highlighting here in his message of thanks. And it is also not following what Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33, “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.” Such Christians may not be denying Jesus “here on earth”, but they aren’t “acknowledging [Him] publicly” either. 

How would we get our faith to become the subject of a public discussion? And to what extent should we? In my daily walks around the West of Fife, I try and take every opportunity to share my faith. Most people in my neighbourhood know what I stand for, regarding the things of God. In the office my fellow workers knew about my faith. But is that enough? A Christianity that is benign and inoffensive is hardly likely to be the subject of discussion. We Christians have a counter-cultural message of salvation that, when superimposed on this devil-controlled world, causes offence. We have a God-sourced opinion about sin and wickedness that those in the world find uncomfortable. Christians everywhere will soon find themselves publicly noticed when they stand up for the Biblical, God-breathed, principles of sexuality, marriage and the sanctity of human life, both before and after birth. And this is just a start. We may not be the sandwich-board evangelists, shouting out an in-your-face message of “turn or burn” or something similar, but there should be something about Christians that publicises the “salt and light” talked about by Jesus in Matthew 5.

Of course, there are positives about Christians that those in the world find attractive and for which people are grateful. For example, most food banks in the UK are run by Christian organisations. Christian charities are extensively glueing together the fabric of society, with benevolent acts, being “good Samaritans” to their friends and neighbours. Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-15, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Are we hilltop or basket lights?

We pilgrims have the opportunity to make our marks on the societies in which we live. By nailing our colours to the masts of our communities, we will become ridiculed, avoided, and even abused. But we know the future. The world economic machine, riddled with sin and wickedness, grinds on towards eternal destruction, but, through God’s grace, we have the counter-cultural words of eternal life. We have the message of hope that is denied to so many by their love of the things of the world. We pray for God’s grace to extend to those we meet, that His love will warm their hearts, and that another child of the enemy will be released from their life of sin into a new life as a child of God.

Heavenly Father. We pray for our friends and families, that Your grace and love will work transforming miracles in their lives. We worship You today. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Posted on by korgrocker

“And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.”
Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT

The structure of Paul’s letters is not something we use today. We are more likely to end our missives with sentiments such as “grace and peace”, rather than start them. But why did Paul think the Roman Christians needed these qualities. Both of these words define necessities for the human soul. Without them conflicts within and without us will lead to destruction. Medically, illnesses and conditions like heart attacks and strokes, can be caused by reacting to the situations around us without grace and internal peace.

Take for example a modern phenomenon called road rage. The occurrences of anger that is invoked when another driver behaves in a way that we think is dangerous, or unfair. Such events happen in road works, when another driver thinks he can jump a queue of traffic, cutting in dangerously and forcing another driver to brake suddenly. Without a supply of grace, the driver who thinks he has been wronged may react with anger, resulting in a rise in blood pressure and risking a stroke or some other heart-related ailment. There were no road rage incidents in Ancient Rome but there would have been other occasions where a similar response would have been common.

So what is “grace and peace”? Taking grace first, the Cambridge On-line Dictionary has several meanings, but the one closest to what we’re interested in is “approval or kindness, especially (in the Christian religion) that is freely given by God to all humans“. That definition is for something that theologians refer to as “common grace”, demonstrated by verses such as Matthew 5:45b, “… For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike“. In those terms, there is no advantage to being a Christian – God’s common grace covers all that mankind needs for life, and it extends to everyone. However, there is a much nobler definition of grace, and that extends to God’s willingness to forgive everyone of their sins if they believe in Jesus’s sacrificial death at Calvary. There He took on Himself the sins of mankind, exchanging them for His righteousness. And now those who repent of their sins before the Cross will experience the grace of God. A common acronym is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. So Paul asked that “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” gives us grace. We need it for our continuing relationship with God and we need it for living redemptively with those around us. And more of it, please God!

Similarly, peace is something much needed in our pilgrimages through life. We’re not talking just about peace as being the opposite of war. Again, our dictionary defines peace as being, “the state of not being interrupted or annoyed by worry, problems, noise or unwanted actions“. But this only partially applies to what Paul was talking about. Philippians 4:7 reads, “Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus“. Godly peace involves faith in God Himself. A faith that is built on the foundation that God is who He says He is, and that He keeps His promises. A faith that will sustain us through all the trials and tribulations of life. A faith that, through Jesus, we will one day be able to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. Now that is real peace. In John 14:27, Jesus said, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid“. Now that is real peace. More of it, please God!

Paul, in asking that God gives us grace and peace, was calling down a blessing as essential to the lives of believers as the food we eat. Real soul food that we need for our spiritual lives. Food that will sustain us through our earthly lives. And we need a constant supply of it. Day by day. And the amazing thing is that God’s grace and peace is unlimited. We only have to reach out and accept the gifts so tenderly offered to us by our loving Heavenly Father. Gifts far more precious than any shiny earthly bauble.

Dear Father God. We are so grateful that You know exactly what we need for a godly life, and have made provision for us to receive it. We purchase our soul-food direct from Heaven through the blood of Your Son, Jesus. Thank You Lord. Amen.

Gentiles Included

Posted on by korgrocker

“And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.”
Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT

There is much encouragement in these two verses. The word “called” occurs twice and it infers something special. Paul assures the Roman congregation that they are in a special place in God’s eyes. He knows them all. And this all the more remarkable because they were “Gentiles”, non-Jews who were feared and despised by a race who claimed the exclusive rights of a relationship with God. But through Jesus’s last instructions, as recorded in Matthew 28:19, God’s grace was extended to everyone. He said, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” 

But what is it like, being “called”? In a natural sense, it happens all the time. We call someone using a phone. A child calls out for their parents in the night. It is all part of the human interactions that we all take for granted. To facilitate the process of calling, we are each given a name, so that we can be identified, one from another. In a different sense, we sometimes observe that someone who is doing a certain type of work must be responding to a calling. Perhaps a nurse, or missionary. Doing work we couldn’t do, or wouldn’t want to, and we then assume that they were making a personal sacrifice to do something for the benefit of their fellow human beings. 

But in our relationship with God, the calling is something special. I don’t know about you, but I fall into the “Gentile” category. I do not have Jewish heritage. But I do know that God’s grace has extended even to me, because I know that I am one of His children. If anyone has any doubts about their eligibility to be a child of God, start with reading John 3:16-17, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him”. That is where we start our journey, with the thought, a glimmer of hope, that God’s grace extends to everyone, the whole world. That journey continues with the assurance that through repentance we gain salvation from the consequences of our sins. We read in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent”. I John 2:2 reads, referring to Jesus, “He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world”. And then we read Ephesians 1:4, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes”. In some timeless and eternal way, God sees all His creation, past, present and future, and yearns for each person to turn to Him during their lives here on Planet Earth. Everyone is called.

But are we listening? Do we hear His voice calling us? If not, perhaps we need to find a quiet place away from the clamour and noise of the world in which we live and just sit and listen. Quieten our thoughts before Him. Ask God to speak to us. And He will.

Dear Lord Jesus. We hear Your call today. And I pray for all those who will respond, that Your Holy Spirit will touch them deeply, securing their future relationship with You. In Your precious name. Amen.

Privilege and Authority

Posted on by korgrocker

“Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey Him, bringing glory to His name.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Paul is making a bold statement here. Because of his position as an Apostle he claims to have a God-given authority “through Christ”. Is that an assumption on his part or does he really have a mandate? The answer is that he received a clear mandate from Jesus at their encounter on the Damascus Road (Acts 9), an encounter that was so dramatic that it totally changed his life. To the extent that in Galatians 1:1, Paul said of himself, ” …I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.” That’s a mandate that nobody will mess with or deny him!

In today’s verse, Paul also used the word “us” rather than “me”. Paul therefore must have been writing this letter as part of an apostolic team, but the exact nature of who was in the team is lost in the mists of time. Regarding who originally established the early church in Rome, tradition has it that the foundations were laid by Christians, probably new believers, travelling there, perhaps on business, or on returning home – we do know that some Jewish visitors from Rome heard Peter’s Acts 2 sermon. (Acts 2:10). The Apostle Peter also is credited with having an influence on the nascent Roman church.

In his letter, Paul said it was a privilege to share his message, his Good News, with the Gentiles, the non-Jews, wherever he went. And he did so with every opportunity that he had at his disposal. By all accounts he was a confident and persuasive preacher, and won many an argument with the Jews he found in places he visited. But his real heart, his real mission, was to see the Gentiles converted to be followers of Jesus. And that to him was a privilege. Notice that his message wasn’t to tell the Gentiles what God had done for him, but what God had done for them. A difference in emphasis, but one we should note because it makes the sharing of the Good News more personal and relevant.

This verse finishes with the goal of Paul’s message to the Gentiles – “that they will believe and obey Him, bringing glory to His name.” Paul’s aim was not to have a cosy chat about theology with a few like-minded people. He was fired up with an urgency to get people into God’s Kingdom, and in the process, giving God the glory.

As we read this verse, we note that Paul said he was an Apostle. But surely the job description he wrote was more that of an Evangelist. The two roles can overlap but, as we see in many places throughout Paul’s letters, his heart was in establishing and nurturing churches, an Apostle’s goal.

We pilgrims too, in a sense, are Apostles and Evangelists in that we are tasked with serving our Master, Jesus, in sharing the message of the Good News of what God has done for us. It is important that we follow up our testimonies with encouraging new believers to become part of a Bible-believing, God-fearing, local church. And if there’s not one, then perhaps we should start one. That was how the early church was established. We read in Acts 2:46, “They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity”. Jesus confirmed such an approach when He said in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them”. If Jesus is with us, we cannot fail! Today, we call such Christian gatherings house churches. Not a modern phenomenon at all – the concept was well established before our ornate and vast church buildings and cathedrals were built.

So, pilgrims everywhere, go for it! “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Who indeed! In Acts 2 there was a day when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the early disciples caused absolute mayhem. People came running to find out what was going on. And at the end of Peter’s sermon we read, “Those who believed what Peter said were baptised and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all“. But before we talk down such events, we must remember that Peter was just a fisherman. Not a learned Bishop, or professor of theology. He was nobody special except for one thing – he had met Jesus. We pilgrims have met Jesus too. Haven’t we?

Dear Father God. We thank You for all You have done. We thank You for extending Your grace and love to all mankind. We reach out to You today, in praise and worship. Amen.

The Good News (2)

Posted on by korgrocker

“God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. The Good News is about His Son. In His earthly life He was born into King David’s family line, and He was shown to be the Son of God when He was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 1:2-4 NLT

So what is this Good News Paul was talking about? Here we are right at the beginning of a long letter, and he starts to talk about Good News. As we follow his thinking we find an amazing thread that starts in Genesis and is still there in Revelation. And it doesn’t even end there. The Good News about Jesus is simple but costly. And one word sums it up – love. God’s love. But there’s a journey involved in how to get here.

We have to start with God and His character. He is a God of love of course, but He is also a God who hates evil. Of course, He’s our Provider. Our Shepherd. And many other things that are contained within the character belonging to the Person who created the universe, our planet, and everything within it. But there can be a problem for many, because they want to extract those features in God’s character that they like, but reject those that they don’t. Deuteronomy 7:9-10 reads, “Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him”. People like the bit about God’s unfailing love, but are not so keen on the punishment and destruction side of God’s character. God is a God of purity and holiness, and within Him, or near Him, there can be no evil. One day He will have to judge all mankind to separate the righteous from the wicked. Two of Jesus’s parables worthy of note – the Wheat and the Tares, and the Sheep and the Goats. But we read in John 3:36, “And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.” In Revelation 20, we will find out what will happen to evil, sin and wickedness at the end of time.

There is this dichotomy between those who love God and those who reject Him. There is no middle ground. One way will lead to eternal life with God in Heaven, and the other to eternal life with the devil in hell. A stark and sobering choice. 

But here is the bit where God’s love prevails. He realised that mankind was incapable of living to a standard of holiness and purity that matched His. And He devised a plan before the creation of the world, that would involve His only Son and a remedy for sin. This plan, having been implemented, was the Good News that the Apostle Paul kept banging on about. A plan riddled with love and grace.

So what was God’s plan? The most famous verse in the Bible sums it up. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). And we see how events panned out during the thirty or so years that Jesus was on this planet. It started with His birth to a young peasant girl in Palestine, conceived by the Holy Spirit. God’s only Son, Jesus, was born. And the climax was when Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross at a place called Calvary, thirty or so years later. There, He took on Himself all the sins of mankind. So in response, God could look at those of us who have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus and believed in Him, and instead see us as being righteous and sinless. That has to be Good News! But the Good News doesn’t end there. On the third day after His death, Jesus was raised from the dead, resurrected to be able to return to Heaven. And we read in Hebrews 1:3b, “… When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honour at the right hand“. And we read in Hebrews 7:25b, “…. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf”. 

Paul devoted his life to telling any who were listening (and many who didn’t) about why the News of God’s plan was Good. There is coming a time of judgement. How that will happen is clearly shown in the vision given to John, the one which he wrote down in the Book of Revelation. Jesus went on to talk about judgement in John 3:17-19. “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil“. We read the story of the End Times in Revelation, the episodes of plagues and natural disasters, all imposed on mankind to grab their attention and encourage them to make the right choice. But sadly, and inexplicably, “people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil”. 

Like Paul, we pilgrims must devote every opportunity to share the Good News. There is no other way, because “He is Jesus Christ our Lord“.

Dear Father God, we thank You that there is Good News to share in a season of bad news. Please bring our way those who you want to hear it, and we ask for the boldness to tell our stories of Good News, as Your Spirit leads. In Jesus name. Amen.

The Good News (1)

Posted on by korgrocker

“God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. The Good News is about His Son. In His earthly life He was born into King David’s family line, and He was shown to be the Son of God when He was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 1:2-4 NLT

Paul didn’t waste any time in declaring what his mission was all about. It was telling everyone, whether they wanted to listen or not, the Good News of how God had touched mankind with something unprecedented. God had never done anything like this before, and will never do so again. His gracious contact with His creation included an offer so good, so life-changing, that Paul was just bursting to share it with everyone he met. And as we know from the stories of his missionary journeys in the Book of Acts, the outcomes, in terms of his personal wellbeing, were not always the best.

We live in an era of bad news. For some reason people seem to prefer to read or hear about bad things, rather than good things. And so many people I meet very easily drop into a pessimistic mindset – take this as an example. I said to someone the other day that it was a nice morning, and it was, because the sun was shining and birds singing. But the response was that it was nice at the moment but that it was going to rain later. For some reason a significant number of people generally don’t seem to want to live in a positive environment. If things are going well for them, they view this as a temporary state preceding something bad coming down the road. For these people, the light apparently at the end of the tunnel turns out to be the lamp on the front of an oncoming train.

But Paul genuinely must have been a very positive person, because he carried within him the Good News about Jesus. It was just bursting to get out. There would have been no idle chatter with Paul. Every comment, every conversation, would have been turned around to point to Jesus. We pilgrims, living in this technical age, where gadgets abound, find ourselves in a complex society that has shifted its focus away from the things of God. And in the process society has found that life has become the poorer. Joy a scarce commodity. Happiness transient. So we, like Paul, must propagate the Good News. We have an unprecedented opportunity through our access to various forms of media, to reach those around us. Yes, we may invite some abuse from FaceBook trolls. Yes, we may find ourselves ostracised in our workplaces, schools or elsewhere. Don’t forget – people generally don’t want to hear good news, especially, the Good News. But, like Paul, we must persevere, to fulfil our service to our loving Master, Jesus Himself.

Dear Lord. In You we have the Source of Good News. The Source of Joy. We are so grateful. Please bring our way opportunities to reach the hurting, cynics and sceptics around us with the purity of Your Good News.

The Apostle Paul

Posted on by korgrocker

“This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach His Good News.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭1 NLT

Today we are starting a journey through the Book of Romans. This was a letter, or epistle, written (or probably dictated) by the Apostle Paul, and addressed to the early Roman church. It is a cornucopia of good Christian teaching and essential reading for every pilgrim on his or her journey to glory. We start by noticing three things about Paul from verse 1. His person, his status and his mission.

Regarding his person, we know a bit about his heritage. He was originally born in a place called Tarsus, and his given name was Saul. He was of demonstrably Hebrew stock and was brought up to be a strict adherent of the Jewish religion, even being taught by Gamaliel, a renowned religious teacher in those days. He was very zealous of the purity of the Jewish religion and he embarked on a crusade to eliminate the early Christians, convinced that they were all members of a dangerous and erroneous sect. He was present when the first recorded Christian martyr, Stephen, was stoned to death. We read in Acts 8:1a, “Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen…”. Then in Acts 9 we read of the remarkable and miraculous conversion of Saul from being a Christian killer to a Christian lover. From being a denier that Jesus was the Son of God, to a preacher of salvation in His name. We can read about the twists and turns of Saul’s early Christian life and how he became an Apostle in the Book of Acts. And for those who wonder, he started to be called Paul in Acts 13. The first mention is in verse 9a, “Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit…”. And that is the name he was referred to thereafter.

Regarding his status, right here at the beginning of his Roman epistle, Paul called himself a “slave of Christ Jesus”. Why was that? A slave in those days had no rights and his or her master could do with them what they liked. In the same way, Paul was totally sold out to his relationships and service to Jesus. Everything he did was in accordance with his Master’s instructions. His life was aligned to that of Jesus, the Son of God, who had appeared personally to him during his Damascus road journey.

Regarding his mission, Paul claimed in today’s verse that he was “chosen by God to be an apostle”. When was that? In Acts 9:15-16 we read what Jesus said to an early Christian called Ananias, “But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake””. I don’t think there could have been a better description or confirmation of Apostleship than that.

Paul claimed he was sent out to “preach His [Jesus’s] Good News”. And that was the driver that drove Paul through extreme conditions, at times involving real personal danger. In Acts 14:19 we read, “Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead“. All he had done was heal a crippled man in the name of Jesus in the process of sharing the Gospel, as we read in Acts 14:15, “ …  We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them“. 

Preaching the Good News is a responsibility of all Christians, including us pilgrims on our journey towards our eternal home. We may not all be Apostles, though some will be. But we all have the anointing within us to discern what is happening in the society around us and proclaim the Good News in times of unremitting bad news. It may be counter-cultural. It may be inconvenient at times. It may be costly, in terms of our time and money. But, like Paul, we are all “slave[s] of Christ Jesus”,going about our Master’s business. Our faith is nothing to be ashamed about, because one day it will ensure our future with the Master Himself. But sharing the Good News is not something we can opt out from. We read what Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33, “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven“. Sharing our faith, our testimonies about what Jesus has done for us, is not a drudge. It is a privilege, and the joy that comes from seeing someone become a new member of our faith knows no limits.

Dear Father God. We thank You for entrusting to us the mission to spread Your Good News to those around us in our community, in our nation. Please empower us, and lead us into situations where we can move someone a bit closer to the door into Heaven. In Jesus name. Amen.

Come Lord Jesus

Posted on by korgrocker

“He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.”
Revelation‬ ‭22‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT

So we arrive at the very last verses in the Book of Revelation. It has been a roller coaster of a journey, taking us over six months to complete. But we have finally arrived at the end, with Jesus providing the last word. He reminded John that He has signed off the contents of this book, and He then said, “Yes, I am coming soon!”. 

If there is ever a witness with the absolute capability to be totally right, it is Jesus. He not only walked on our planet, assuming a human form, but He also has lived for all eternity with His Father in Heaven. A unique position, and because of it He is the only One who can reliably inform us of all the physical and spiritual events that have spanned more than time. They have spanned eternity itself. So His claim to be “the faithful witness” can be totally trusted.

As we journey through the highways of life, we pilgrims need a Guide, and the Revelator, Jesus Himself, fills that role exactly and totally. We follow Him. We obey Him. And, of course, we love Him. And amazingly, the Holy Spirit, writing through John, reminds us in the last sentence of this Book, of one attribute that God has, and that gives us hope for the future. His grace. The unmerited favour He has poured out on us. As the acronym says, God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Only Jesus has the words of eternal life, and because of His sacrifice at Calvary, where He, the very Son of God, gave His life for the propitiation of our sins, He gave us an escape route from the sin and wickedness of Planet Earth. A staircase into Heaven for those who embrace the grace and become a member of “God’s holy people”. 

John also used the word “Amen”. So be it. May it happen. And it will. Just as Jesus said it would. We echo the amen and tramp on, inspired, full of joy, and with our faces glowing, reflecting God’s light, love and presence, and by it illuminating the lives of those around us. What a Saviour. What a God!

Dear Father God. What can we say? On our knees we worship You today and every day. Amen.

A Solemn Declaration

Posted on by korgrocker

“And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.
Revelation‬ ‭22‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NLT

We have here a warning. Nothing must be removed from, or added to, the prophecies written in the Book of Revelation. And there are dire consequences in store for any who do. We read earlier in Revelation 22:6 the following, “Then the angel said to me, “Everything you have heard and seen is trustworthy and true. The Lord God, who inspires his prophets, has sent his angel to tell his servants what will happen soon””. So we know the contents of Revelation are sound. God-inspired. The contents of this Book can be trusted. So it begs the question, “Who would want to change the contents of this Book?” I suppose it is likely that people would want to remove the difficult bits, and perhaps add something that they think will be a better wording, or provide a description that better fits the narrative. But this is a sober warning to be seriously heeded. 

Does the warning extend just to the Book of Revelation, or does it apply to the whole of the Bible, including both Testaments? In Deuteronomy 4:1-2 we read that Moses said to the Israelites, “And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you”. And again we read something similar in Proverbs 30:5-6, “Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection. Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar”. I suppose some people question the authenticity of the Bible and its many translations, concerned that the truth contained within has been violated. But the Bible is an amazing collection of sixty six individual books. Although they had many authors, there is one over-riding influence, and that is the Holy Spirit. So when we read in Revelation 22:6 that everything written is “trustworthy and true” we can be assured of the dependability of what we read.

Also of concern is the emergence of sects that have added or changed some text in the Bible to suit their own ends, citing the inspiration of a “prophet” and revelations given to him. According to what we have read in Deuteronomy, Proverbs and Revelation they are heading for an unexpected but certain demise. But for me the traditional Bible has stood the test of time and we echo with Paul what he wrote in his letter to Timothy, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work”. (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

So what do we pilgrims think of the Revelation warning? We consider it carefully and soberly, ensuring that we read the Bible properly, even the difficult parts. And we pray that the Holy Spirit will bring to our attention anything we need to “prepare and equip” us for our pilgrimage to the future Holy City.

Dear Father God. We thank You for Your wonderful, and only, written work, The Holy Bible. Please help us to expound its truths at every opportunity. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

Come

Posted on by korgrocker

“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.”
Revelation‬ ‭22‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT

Just a few verses before in Revelation 22, Jesus had given John an invitation. He said, “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds.” (‭‭Revelation‬ ‭22‬:‭12). And now the invitation rings out again. Loud and clear. There can be no excuse that people never heard it. After Jesus it is the turn of the Holy Spirit to say, “Come!”. And just to make sure, the bride also says, “Come!”. Of course, we know that the bride is the church – we have read much about the Bride of Christ in previous Revelation Scriptures. So we have an alliance, a partnership, between the Holy Spirit and the Church; an invitation from Spirit-filled churches is powerful. And the next invitation in verse 17 is from all who hear the “Come” and repeat it to those around them. 

But those who respond to the invitation have to be thirsty. And the thirst must relate to the “water of life”, freely given by our wonderfully generous God. This “water of life”  is the same drink Jesus promised the woman at the well. He said in John 4:14, “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” Jesus gave the invitation again in John 7:37-38, “On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart’””. The invitation is there to be accepted. But as the old saying goes, “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink”. Unless people are thirsty for this living water promised by Jesus, they won’t drink it. They prefer the worldly drinks, even as the woman at the well discovered, finding out that anything of the world never satisfies and leads to a life of enslavement to drudgery.

Verse 17 in Revelation 22 starts with “The Spirit and the bride”. Notice that it is not the church on its own extending the invitation. Neither is it the Holy Spirit who is just saying “Come”. It is a joint invitation from the Holy Spirit and the Church. This may be an obvious point, but without the Holy Spirit, a church cannot effectively ask people to come and drink of the living water offered by Jesus. This is a because a church without the Holy Spirit won’t have a supply of living water. It will be as dry and arid as any natural desert. Sadly, the Holy Spirit left many churches long ago, but the dwindling and elderly congregations are still offering what they don’t have. And those in the world find out that there is nothing there for them. Perhaps all churches should ask themselves the question, “Would we know if the Holy Spirit left us?” The answer to that question could fill a book on its own.

So we pilgrims, those of us who have already responded to the invitation to “Come”, who are already drinking of the life-giving water, must extend the invitation to those around us. There are plenty of thirsty people around – I meet some every day on my morning prayer walks. We pray for the opportunity to connect people’s spiritual thirst with the life-giving water. Only Jesus can turn on the tap. And only people can propagate the “Rivers of living water” that flow from God’s throne. 

Dear Father God. We pray for a fresh filling of Your Holy Spirit today. We know You have more than enough living water to quench our thirsts. We are so grateful. Amen.