Home Safely

Posted on by korgrocker

“Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.”
1 Peter 3:18 NLT

Consider the life of Jesus and how He was treated. He endured hunger, thirst, temptation, shame, persecution, nakedness, bereavement, betrayal, mockery, injustice and death. Jesus went through it all just for us, so that our sins, and the sins of everyone else, would be forgiven. As Peter wrote, “He never sinned” but that didn’t stop Him leaving the comfort of Heaven to become a man and to die for us at Calvary. The love of God knows no bounds. He was there when He created the world and He is still there today. Tomorrow will be no different, because God desires to “bring [us] safely home”. Christ suffered so that all who believe in Him will have an eternal home to look forward to.

We often send away our visitors with a good bye and the request that they drive safely and get home without mishap. There is something comforting about home. Familiar surroundings where we feel safe. A place where, somehow, the world’s troubles seem to be a long way away. We value our home very highly, and feel saddened and frustrated when we hear about people who are homeless. Life choices and other factors combine to exclude them from having a home. But when we pass on through the Great Divide, we leave our earthly home behind us. In 2 Corinthians 5:1 we read, “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands“. Jesus Himself promised us a home in Heaven. He said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:1-2). 

It is a painful thought to know that all those who have rejected God’s offer of salvation, and consequently a Heavenly home, will be homeless when they die. These people will probably include some of our dear friends and family, and so we do our utmost to persuade them to make the right choice. There will come a day when they will start their journey away from their current home, with a homeless destination awaiting them. And so we describe to all who will listen how wonderful our new home will be. Our message of hope, our faith that God will provide for us what He has promised, will help them make the right choice. Jesus said, “ … I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Only through Jesus can we get home safely. 

Dear Lord. We thank You for Your love and grace, as You build us our future Heavenly home. We worship You today. Amen.

Suffering

Posted on by korgrocker

“Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!”
1 Peter 3:17 NLT

Does anyone not experience some form of suffering in their lives? There is the pain of an injury or illness. There is the grief associated with the loss of a loved one. The emotional pain when a relationship breaks down. Of course, there are many degrees of suffering, but we have all experienced it at one time or another. Peter, in today’s verse, added the thought that we can even end up suffering for doing a good deed. In today’s media there is the sad story of a man who was attacked and killed by two dogs because he was protecting his elderly mother. A good deed ending in a person’s death. We must also remember that doing a bad deed will often result in some form of suffering, as the civil authorities take action and prosecute a person for breaking a law. Note that Peter did not say that suffering was inevitable, but he contrasted the suffering resulting from a good deed with that gained by doing a bad deed. If the suffering was the result of a good deed in line with something that God wanted, then that was the better place.

On a more global scale, modern media brings to our attention disasters, wars and other events that bring much suffering, and all in real time. So almost at the same time as it happens we hear about the devastating earthquakes in Morocco or the floods in Libya. Events that have brought other people’s suffering right into our thoughts through our smartphones or TV. “Why does God allow such suffering to happen” is the clarion call that goes out in response. Jesus Himself warned about such world events. In Matthew 24:7-8 we read, “Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come“. The Book of Revelation details the plagues that will occur on Planet Earth as the End Time events take their course. Why? Because we live in a sad and dark world blighted by sin. Are the floods, famines and other natural events the result of mankind trashing the planet through the exploitation of natural resources? Perhaps, but one day God will explain all to those who ask. At such times we pilgrims turn to Scriptures, such as Psalm 46:1-3, “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge“.

At a more personal level, suffering can result from our life choices. But in it all, we start to see some answers when we turn to God. The Book of Job is dedicated to suffering and is well worth a read. But neither Job or his friends could see a reason for his suffering. In the end he was silent before God, still in the dark about the purposes, but realising that through it all he had to trust in God. When we go through times of suffering, the natural response is to turn our backs on God, blaming Him for the situation we are in, but in times such as these our only response is to turn to Him, because he will stand with us in our troubles and support us through them all, step by step. 

Dear Father God. We trust You through all our trials and tribulations. For that we are deeply grateful. Amen.

A Good Life

Posted on by korgrocker

“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.”
1 Peter 3:15-16 NLT

What does a “good life” look like? As a start, a person considered “good” is one who obeys the laws of the land, is a conscientious worker, probably does a bit of charity work, is a valued and loved family member, and overall is respected by friends, neighbours and all. The same person, if they believe in a heaven, would expect to get there purely as a reward for their “goodness”. A “bad” person would fail to meet expectations in one or more of these areas. We all recognise someone who society considers to be good.

However, the “good life” Peter was writing about is more than how the world sees it. There has to be a difference, because the “good life” he describes is “because you belong to Christ”. So what difference will that make? The Christian life is full of faith. Faith in God and faith that through the Holy Spirit we are developing the fruit of “goodness”. A believer’s “good life” starts at the cross, in repentance of sins, and believing in Jesus. The divine exchange takes place and in return for taking on all our sins, Jesus gives us His righteousness. We can then stand before God, meeting His definition of “good”. For all those people who claim to be “good” we must consider that even Jesus Himself would not take on board that title. In Mark 10:17-18 we read, “As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good“. Of course, we know that Jesus was, and is, divine, so He knew that He could claim to be good, but for the benefit of the man before Him He didn’t muddy the waters of his understanding. To be good in God’s eyes involves being holy, pure and righteous. Impossible qualities for human beings because, through our own efforts, we can never attain the standard that God requires. 

Those who are “good” in God’s eyes therefore must propagate that goodness to others, as Paul wrote in Galatians 6:10, “Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith“. Peter, in today’s verses, pointed out that the “good life” we lead must be visible so that those who “speak against you” will be ashamed. Our goodness is a visible quality that has a strong counter-cultural content. Belonging to Christ elevates us into a realm that is represented by light. In John 1:5, we read, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it“. That light is Jesus, and as His followers we reflect that light into a dark and depressed world. As a small boy I remember a chorus we used to sing in Sunday school. “Keep me shining Lord…”. I didn’t understand it too well then, but it has stuck with me ever since. So we pilgrims, every day, have the opportunity to switch on our Jesus-lights and make a difference in our communities. Our “goodness” will illuminate many a dark soul.

Dear Father God. Only You are good, but through Jesus we can stand before You with His righteousness. There is no badness in Your presence, no sin or evil. So we thank You that one day perfection will be found with You. Thank You too for Jesus, because if it wasn’t for Him we would die because of our sins. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

A Clear Conscience

Posted on by korgrocker

“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.”
1 Peter 3:15-16 NLT

Our consciences are deeply embedded within our minds, and they are a very important driver of our thoughts and actions. A person without a conscience doesn’t exist, but a conscience can be trained to be more or less sensitive to certain behavioural patterns. Our thought processes can rationalise what we do and override our conscience-generated feelings and emotions. But, generally, our consciences make us feel bad when we do wrong and feel good when we do right. A big driver of how we feel and behave is related to our morality. The modern ideology of “if it feels right just do it” is a conscience-busting principle where our personal morals have failed in keeping us free of guilty thoughts.

So we must ask the question – what is our moral or values system? Where do we find the standard which we can use to programme our consciences? This is where the world view clashes with the God view. There is obviously some behaviours that are essential in society, driven by a pragmatic understanding of what Jesus said in Matthew 7:12, “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets“. This, called the Golden Rule, cannot be disputed even by those who are not believers. Bluntly, we don’t abuse our neighbours because they would then feel entitled to do the same to us. 

We must operate a system of self-evaluation within us, but we know that we can’t depend on ourselves in this process. We read all about this in Jeremiah 17:9-10, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve“. We need that external guidance to eliminate any possibility of our consciences being tarnished by our own deceit. Paul, on more than one occasion, publicly declared that he had a clear conscience. Acts 23:1, “Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began: “Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!”” 

So we pilgrims must work hard to maintain a clear conscience, and the only source of the data we need to ensure our consciences are in line with what God requires is through His Word, the Bible. We must constantly read the Scriptures, because we forget and are often in danger of being subtly lured away from the straight and narrow path by the whisper of the enemy bringing half-truths into our thoughts. Remember what the serpent said to Eve? “Surely God did not say …”. Thankfully God’s presence is always with us. By constantly flushing our thought processes with the water of His Word we will maintain a soft heart.

One final thought. There will be others around us in the family of God who will perhaps not be in the same place as us when it comes to matters of the conscience. We pilgrims treat them with love and compassion, as God does with us. 

Father God, we thank You for the way we are “wired”, with a conscience aligned to Your Spirit. Amen.

Our Hope

Posted on by korgrocker

“But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”
1 Peter 3:14-15 NLT

If the average person in the street was asked what they hoped for, I would expect a whole raft of responses. Perhaps someone might say they hoped to get married, or get a new home. A new job or promotion. I met a man recently who has never worked and, now in his forties, with a life blighted by alcoholism, he confessed that he would really like to get a job, though sadly for him, a hope never likely to be realised unless he can turn his back on his addiction. There may be flippant or unimportant responses, such as a hope for a nice day tomorrow, or for a white Christmas. Perhaps our person in the street, driven by tv advertising, is hoping to buy a new pair of designer trainers or afford a new phone. A materialistic hope would perhaps be commonplace. People generally have “hopes” in their lives, but what would they say if they were asked about any hopes they might have for the time after they die? Most unbelievers wouldn’t waste much time in thinking about such a “hope” because they would prefer to put their heads in the sand and hope it will never happen. A fear of dying is commonplace, though someone I once knew said he wasn’t at all afraid of death – he just didn’t want to be involved. But a hope for a post-death future is mostly only talked about amongst believers.

A worldly “hope” is nothing like the hope Peter is writing about in his letter. Peter referred to the “hope as a believer”. Is this different? There are many Scriptures that refer to “hope”. The go to New Testament verse is Hebrews 11:1, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see“. A believer’s “hope” involves faith in God, that what He has said will come to pass. And as we go on to read the rest of Hebrews 11 we see examples of men and women who have died full of faith in God, though failing to fully realise their hope. The fruition of their hope came with Jesus.

God says much in the Bible about who we are and what our future will be. Through faith we believe that what He has said is right and true. There is no room for doubts about God’s Word. The believer’s “hope” is therefore much more than what the world understands from the word. Our hope is based on the certainty that what God has said He will bring to pass. The believer’s hope is of course too good to keep to ourselves. We must share it with the sad and dying world around us. We are, or should be, full of joy, part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And others around us will see that joy and take note. We read in Acts 4:13, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus“. Do those people around us recognise that we too have spent time with Jesus? Some cynic once asked the question – if we are arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict us? No doubt about that with Peter and John before the Sanhedrin. With the hope that we possess, oozing out of our every pore, there should be no doubt with us either. To us pilgrims, our hope is a reality. We use the word “hope” because the evidence of our faith hasn’t happened yet. But the reality isn’t far away. Eternal life spent with God is coming closer with every clock tick. And then we will become “knowers” not “hopers”.

Dear Lord Jesus. We know that You are preparing a place for us to live with You. From what You said to the adjacent thief at Calvary, we know that it will be Paradise. We look forward to the coming day, where we will join You, the Living Hope. Amen.

Christ is Lord

Posted on by korgrocker

“But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”
1 Peter 3:14-15 NLT

Peter instructed His readers to “worship Christ as Lord of [their lives]”. But what does it mean to do this, as is it a relevance today?  We might bristle a little at the thought of a lord, who we might imagine as being the inhabitant of a large stately home who attends the upper house in the UK parliament. A person who speaks with a “posh” accent and seems divorced from the pressures and problems experienced by ordinary people. But that is not the sort of “lord” that Peter was writing about. A “lord” is someone with authority and control over others, a ruler and someone worthy of respect. In the days before Jesus’ death and resurrection, referring to Him as “Lord” was just being respectful, as we read in Matthew 8:25, “The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”” But we remember the exclamation from Thomas in John 20:28, after he at last accepted Jesus’ deity, ““My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.”

The recipients of Peter’s letter had never met Jesus and yet Peter instructed them to make Him Lord of their lives. This means that they were to submit to His authority, doing the things He asked them to do. Behaving in a way honouring to Him. Being in submission and obeying His every word. And the same applies to us pilgrims today. We too have the same opportunity to follow Jesus, making Him Lord of our lives. Jesus exemplified much of what this means as He made His way around Palestine, teaching the disciples and the people, and healing all who came to Him. And He even washed His disciples feet on one occasion, and we read in John 13:13-15, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you“.

We pilgrims today read the Scriptures and find there all we need to properly honour Jesus as our Lord. But it is an attitude of mind and deed that we have to work at, and always being aware of the warning that Jesus taught, “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). ‭‭It is indeed not good enough to go through the motions of religiosity, without sincerity in our hearts. Jesus can see right through us to the very inner workings of soul and mind.

One day everyone in Heaven and on earth will have to bend the knee before Jesus and acknowledge His Lordship. We read in Philippians 2:9-11, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father“. Much better to live a life devoted to Christ as Lord in this life, than wait for an hour full of regret when a missed opportunity becomes an eternity without Him.

Dear Lord and Father of all mankind. Forgive our foolish ways, we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Good-doers

Posted on by korgrocker

“Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats.”
1 Peter 3:13-14 NLT

It’s all about perception. Some people will view our good deeds as an intrusion or even downright harmful. For example, administering a dose of foul-tasting medicine to a young child might be perceived, by them, as doing them harm, and the accompanying “it will do you good” isn’t really believed. In the adult realm, refusing to serve one more drink to a drunk at the bar will not be considered, by them, as being good. Doing something to or for another person that goes against their wishes might be considered good by everyone but them. On a national scale, the current drive towards “net zero” is considered a “good” policy but there will be much pain and cost associated with it and many will rebel against something that is “good”. 

We do good deeds for other people out of the kindness of our hearts. We see a need in others and, often to personal cost to ourselves, we do our best to meet their need. In my own community, the old lady across the road is totally flummoxed by anything technical. So when her tv misbehaves and confuses her channel selection, or after a software update changes the interface, it is me she calls on to help her out. And I’m sure she does the same for others in her own way with the gifts she has. Her next door neighbour is a wonderful pastry cook and often supplies her with delicacies. These are all acts of kindness and common actions in our society. If these things happen in secular society, how much more they should happen in God’s family. We read in Galatians 6:9-10, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith”. Jesus taught about doing good for others – we read what He said in Matthew 6:1 and the following verses, “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven”. Note that His association with good deeds was preceded by an expectation of “when” rather than an “if”.

For pilgrims such as ourselves, doing good to others is expected to go beyond what society would normally expect, and this is what will ultimately cause us trouble. We believers can campaign for “good” causes and incur the wrath of both the authorities and our fellow members of society. For example, in the State of Victoria in Australia there is a law that makes praying for, or counselling, someone going through some form of gender dysphoria a crime. A good deed involving genuine caring criminalised. In the same way, a lady in the UK was recently taken to court, charged with an “offence” involving her silently praying on her own outside an abortion clinic. A good deed or a crime? But God knows the right from wrong in the abortion issue and she will be rewarded by Him, I’m sure. Some years ago a man once asked me for money to buy a cup of tea. I gave him some loose change from my pocket but was immediately afterwards challenged by another man, irate because he was convinced the first man would just use it to buy alcohol. A good deed for one was considered a bad deed by the other.

We don’t know what was in Peter’s mind when he wrote the verses that we are considering today, but we believers are counter-cultural and receive our guidance about what is “good” from our Father in Heaven. Inevitably there will be a clash with society’s values perhaps followed by contemptuous  accusations of just being “do-gooders”. Society will choose the “what’s in it for me” road while Christians will look to the good of others.

Paul encouraged his readers to do good to everyone, and particularly to those we know who are in the family of believers. Let us look around us today and seek out opportunities to do good. It may involve our time and money, or skills we possess, but we know we are doing God’s work, following His desires. Any good deed, no matter how small or seemingly trivial, will be rewarded by Him one day.

Dear Father. You are our good God, our lovingly Heavenly Father. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

The Lord Watches

Posted on by korgrocker

“For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.””
1 Peter 3:10-12 NLT

This passage of Scripture from 1 Peter 3 includes a quotation from Psalm 34. In this Psalm we read, “The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth” (Psalm 34:15-16). This is not the only Scripture that records God’s watchful gaze. We read in Psalm 121:5, “The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade”. Proverbs 15:3, “The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.” Jesus Himself warned about the outcome of God’s watchful presence, “The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear” (Luke 12:2-3). We may object to many security cameras and other devices intruding into our privacy, but nothing we do or even think escapes God’s scrutiny. 

Is such a thought a scary one? It may be for some, and of course we remember that God is recording it all in books to be opened on the final day of judgement. But more positively for us pilgrims it brings into play the picture of a loving Heavenly Father, who cares for us. He wants us to become more like His Son Jesus and through His Spirit He gently cleanses us, both in thought and deed. It won’t happen overnight and will take a lifetime to bring about any change for the better. But thankfully, as we confess our sins, God then forgets them. They are blotted out of His records. Through the prophet Isaiah, God said, “I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offences like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free” (Isaiah 44:22). He will never reject a repentant person, sincerely approaching His throne of grace.

We pilgrims should note as well that God is attentive to our prayers. The NLT translation calls them “cries for help”. Either way, because God is always present and approachable, He listens to what we are saying. A prayer need not be formatted in ecclesiastical fonts and riddled with phrases from a bygone era. “Thees” and “thous” are not obligatory. As we share our thoughts and words with God, He understands not only the words but the stuttering and perhaps confused thoughts behind them. He listens, and He answers, in one of three ways – “Yes”, “No” and “Not yet”. But sometimes we just need to share our difficulties and challenges, assured that he is there listening. We may not need or appreciate an answer. We just relax in His caring arms, feeling His warmth and presence. Feeling the breath of His Spirit bringing the assurance that we are not alone. And we remember that every time we pray there are three others apart from ourselves involved – God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

Peter didn’t include the last stanza of Psalm 34:16. About those that do evil, we know that “[God] will erase their memory from the earth”. And that is of course so very true. Evildoers are soon forgotten but those who do good are remembered and honoured. And there will come a day when the wicked will be briefly remembered, to be confronted by their evil before they are cast away for good into a place where there are no memories. The good will hear those precious words, “Well done …”. Those who do right enjoy the watching presence of God. As we pilgrims follow the right paths, He will care for us and protect us from evil.

Dear Lord. We pray “Deliver us from evil” every time we pray Your prayer. Thank You. Amen.

Maintaining Peace

Posted on by korgrocker

“For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.””
1 Peter 3:10-12 NLT

Peter didn’t just say be at peace or accept peace in a passive way. His advice was to “search for peace“, with the implication that it must be something we actively pursue. But in this world it seems peace is an elusive commodity. The war in Ukraine is still with us and the repercussions hurt everyone in Europe and beyond. The constant tension between different world ideologies occasionally bubbles up into a limited confrontation between nations. Even in our communities, a lack of peace is always with us – just read the local news. People yearn for peace but seem powerless to make it happen, because within us are desires and emotions that displace even the personal peace, an inner peace, that God has designed for us. Perhaps we can all echo Paul’s wail of frustration in Romans 7:24, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” A lack of peace is often the fruit of wickedness and a popular verse is found in Isaiah 48:22, ““But there is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.” But we know that of course – the world is under the jurisdiction of a person, the devil, intent in propagating wickedness and evil wherever he can.

There are many causes of a lack of peace in the lives of people. Even we pilgrims often find ourselves debilitated by internal strife. Thankfully, Jesus came to give us peace with God, and that is the most precious of all types of peace. In fact, in Isaiah 9:6 we read, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Jesus had the title “Prince of Peace” in Isaiah’s prophecy and He truly demonstrated that in His time here on earth. At the time of Jesus’ birth the angels announced, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased” (Luke 2:14).

We pilgrims discover peace with God through Jesus. Romans 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us”. When we find peace through God we have a foundation on which we can build a peaceful society. We may feel our own contribution is too small to make much of a difference, but Jesus asked us to be salt and light in our communities, amongst our neighbours and friends. Peace can be infectious, and a Godly influence can make a difference in the lives of many people. And when we find peace with God we find peace indeed that ripples through every facet of our lives.

Dear Father. You wish the world to experience Your peace. We have our part to play – please help us. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Tongues and Lips

Posted on by korgrocker

“For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.””
1 Peter 3:10-12 NLT

In today’s verses, Peter included a quotation from Psalm 34, a psalm written by David during a difficult time spent with the heathen king Abimelech. This is an acrostic psalm, where each verse started with a different letter in the Hebrew alphabet. But in all that, it contains some good advice, particularly with regard to what we say, hence the reference to tongues that speak evil and lips that tell lies. Of course, we know that these organs in our bodies are just the messengers. The real problem lies with our thoughts, and so often we can get into trouble when, or if, we speak them out. 

The Apostle Paul knew the problem with a mind that seems to drift so naturally into the realms of evil thinking. To combat that he suggested, “ …. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8). The Apostle James went a bit further and devoted a large section of his epistle’s third chapter to advise on the importance of controlling our tongues. He wrote, “Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way” (James 3:2). Almost in desperation it seems, he finished, “but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right” (James 3:8-10). But he had a point. On a Sunday we might be in church singing wonderful songs about Jesus, or speaking our prayers of love and thanksgiving to God, but on a Monday sharing gossip or making up lies about a colleague. James wrote, “ … you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring” (James 3:12b).

It’s all about taking control of our thought life, and discerning what is right and wrong. We may be tempted to create an effect by speaking out untruths. We may be driven to an improper reaction when in a place of stress or tempted to tell lies to get ourselves out of trouble. I’m sure we can all remember times when we have been in such a place, remembering occasions that bring a flush of shame to our cheeks. But we bring our sins before God and receive His wonderful grace and forgiveness. 

Jesus went through much abuse at His trial and the events leading up to it. On reading an account of His responses, we very quickly develop a picture of a Man totally in control of His tongue. No lies came from His lips. No evil from His tongue. Instead He gave measured and truthful statements when He had to, and at other times He remained silent. Isaiah prophesied, “He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

And so it should be with us pilgrims. We train our thought life to focus on things that are true and righteous, following Paul’s advice. And we will find that the temptation to lapse into evil and lying thinking reduces more and more. One day we will be perfect, like Jesus, as we join Him in our future Heavenly home. But in the meantime we follow in His footsteps, becoming more like Him.

Father God. We pray for more of You in our lives, because we know that when we are filled with Your Spirit there is no room for anything else. Thank You. Amen.