Personal Contact

Posted on by korgrocker

“One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.”
Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT

We look back at the mayhem of the last two years or so, with periods of “lock down” and societal restrictions caused by the Covid pandemic, and realise how much we depend on personal contact. The opportunity to speak to someone face to face. The opportunity to read body language as well as hear words. The times when a vulnerable person needs a kind touch or hug. Yes, technology helps with the video conference apps, but a lonely old person next door or along the street is denied such methods of keeping in touch. There is no substitute for in-person contact. Mankind is wired for social interaction. God planned it that way.

Paul, in his letter, seemed to be desperate to make personal contact with the Christians in Rome. He had heard much about them, snippets of news carried, word of mouth, by travellers making the long journey between Italy and the lands West of the Mediterranean Sea. Businessmen or merchants trading their wares perhaps. There was none of our modern technological aids in those days, and even paper-based media non-existent. And even no social media. How did they manage?

Paul wanted to visit the Roman Christians so that he could “bring [them] some spiritual gift that will help [them] grow strong in the Lord”. What a lovely reason for visiting. What an expectancy that would have brought to the Roman church. 

The people in Rome would have heard all about Paul. His exploits would have reverberated around the Middle East at that time. The stories of miracles and other events encountered on his missionary journeys would have made news in those days. So the idea that he was about to come with a “spiritual gift” would have greatly encouraged them. Life for Christians in Rome at that time wasn’t easy by any means, and any encouragement should have been greatly welcomed and appreciated.

What “spiritual gift” would Paul have brought? He mentioned faith in his letter, but is that what he had in mind? If a man or woman of God was visiting our churches, what “spiritual gift” would we find encouraging? I’m sure we are all at different stages in our spiritual journeys, but God knows what we need. And Paul, through his relationship with God, would have delivered the gift needed in Rome. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul provides a list of spiritual gifts. Gifts such as wisdom, knowledge, healing,  faith, miracles, prophesy, tongues and interpretation. At a God-level, the working of these gifts in people can be transforming, building up faith in the very One who is the Source of the gifts. And in 1 Corinthians 12:11, Paul wrote, “It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.” Paul, through the Spirit, was totally open to be God’s delivery man, equipped to bring to the Roman church what they needed to help them “grow strong”  in their situation.

What spiritual gifts do we pilgrims need? Jesus said, as recoded in Luke 11:11-13, “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him”. God has available to Him the greatest gift of all – the Holy Spirit, and He is unstinting in His willingness to give Him to us. But we have to ask. Is that how we start our days, asking for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit? By not doing so, are we missing out on the greatest gift of all time? How empowering it is to be able to go into our work-a-day lives with the Holy Spirit helping us at every turn. Giving us wisdom when we are faced with a difficult decision or situation. Knowledge when we need enlightenment. We can see an application for every spiritual gift that Paul listed, but we need to ask for the Holy Spirit to be with us, enhancing and building our faith that He will help us in every situation that we meet. We may need to take small, tentative steps, but as we do, our spiritual faith muscles are built up and extend to more and more of the life issues we all encounter. What a wonderful God we serve! A loving Heavenly Father, the Giver of good gifts to His children.

Dear Father God. We are eternally grateful for all You have done for us. We worship You today. Amen.

People Prayers

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

Paul, in his letter, reassured his Roman friends that he prayed for them. Apparently Paul was in Corinth when he wrote this epistle, and, in spite of his busy schedule, he found the time to pray for the Christians in Rome. I can just imagine him praying for each one by name, bringing before God their individual needs. And it wasn’t just a one off exercise. His prayers were “often” and took place “day and night”. Paul prayed for his friends in Rome, but his main passion and purpose in life was to spread the Good News about Jesus. 

Paul’s blueprint for life involved prayer and evangelism. Pastoral concern and seeing new people touched and converted by the love of God. Making a career in some lofty theological role in the Jewish religions hierarchy was not for Paul, though we do know from other places in the Bible that, when his, and his fellow workers, needs demanded, he went back to his old profession of making tents. Paul’s mission in life was “spreading the Good News about” Jesus. And nothing, even personal hardship and abuse, would divert him from this task. Even when incarcerated in prison, he still carried on – praying and writing was not denied him when his physical freedom was curtailed.

What is our blueprint for life? The normal process is for a child to be educated, train for a profession, get a job, get married, bring up a family, and fade away from this life through a (hopefully long) retirement. A cynical view of humanity? Perhaps, but like Paul, there are priorities to be assigned in life. The God-ordained process of living is governed by one overarching principle – we do what we do with Christ as our focus. Paul wrote to another group of believers these words, “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:17). And he goes on to write in Colossians 3:23. “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” A quote from David Pawson’s book, “Heaven and Hell. A Message of Hope and a Warning to Believers”, “The Lord is more interested in how you work than what your job is. Did you know that? Billy Graham’s wife put above the kitchen sink, “Notice: Divine service is held here three times every day.””

In times of drudgery, it sometimes helps to know that Jesus is there with us. We all go through periods of boredom, times of wishing we had a better job, better boss, better house and so on. But in some miraculous way, as we bring Jesus’ presence into our times of frustration and even depression, a ray of His light will change the perspective. The monochrome will become infused with wonderful colours. The mundane will be transformed and even translated into heavenly realms. Jesus knows what we go through – He went through it Himself on this earth. We don’t know much about His life before He started His itinerant mission to His people, but we do know He was a carpenter and had a reputation for His work. I’m sure the farming and other implements fabricated by His hands were treasured by those who received them. And I’m sure Jesus was continually asking His loving Heavenly Father, “Is it time yet?” We know now is the time, and with God’s help, we pilgrims continue our earthly journey heading for our Heavenly home, always aware of our “Divine Service”. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 6:2, “For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation“. There is no time like the present to tell our friends and families about the love of Jesus.

Dear Father God. Thank You that we know You. Not for us the ways of the world, leading to eternal destruction. Thank You for Your Son, Jesus, and His willingness to die in our place for our sins. We worship You today. Amen.