Redemption and Mercy

Posted on by korgrocker

“Don’t let me suffer the fate of sinners. Don’t condemn me along with murderers. Their hands are dirty with evil schemes, and they constantly take bribes. But I am not like that; I live with integrity. So redeem me and show me mercy. Now I stand on solid ground, and I will publicly praise the Lord.”
Psalm 26:9-12 NLT

It is commonly said that we live today in a season of grace, where ” … God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins”(Romans 3:24). We deserve judgement and punishment, but through Jesus we have been freed from the penalty for our sin, and, instead, we have been granted His righteousness. But David wrote about God’s mercy, not His grace. Grace is God’s unmerited favour, giving us what we don’t deserve, while mercy is God’s withholding of what we do deserve – specifically, the punishment for our sins. Through His grace and mercy, David asked God to redeem him from his enemies, who were harassing him with their threats, lies and hypocrisy, and in the process show him mercy. David knew the Lord, and how good He was to him. We read another David Psalm, Psalm 145:8, “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love“, a psalm he wrote calling everyone to praise God every day, but David didn’t know the risen Jesus personally. David knew about the coming Messiah, and he wrote prophetically about Him in Psalm 22, so in a sense he did know about God’s grace, personally experiencing many times the outworking of God’s unmerited favour.

In modern times we use the word “redeem” in ways such as redeeming a loan, meaning to pay up the outstanding balance. The word crops up in relation to other business transactions and someone making use of a pawnbroker may return later to redeem the article pawned. But there is a great example of redeeming in the Book of Hosea. God asked the prophet Hosea to “marry a promiscuous woman”, a prostitute, and for a while his new wife, Gomer, had Hosea’s children and the marriage existed as a sign to Israel and Judah that God loved them even in their prostitution to idols. But Gomer left Hosea and returned to her old profession. Hosea pursued her, found her, and bought her back from slavery to prostitution, redeeming her from the consequences of her old ways. Hosea’s life was symbolic of God’s intention towards wayward Israel, showing them a path towards redemption and their status as His people in the land promised to them. But in spite of Hosea’s warnings the people just mocked him and ignored his warnings. The Jewish exile followed soon after.

We pilgrims today are a people who have believed and obeyed the warnings given to the peoples of our age. In Acts 2 we read at the end of Peter’s sermon about Jesus and His crucifixion, “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.’ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation’” (Acts 2:37-40). That call to “repent and be baptised” still hangs in the air today, as God’s grace and mercy prevails in our wicked world. There are many in our society and generation today who need to heed Peter’s warnings and pleadings. 

It is so sad that so many lovely people today have rejected the King of glory, Jesus Himself. In this season of grace they have the opportunity to be redeemed from their sins but have turned their back on Him just as Israel turned its back on God in the 8th Century BC. Hosea warned them with his messages time and time again but the people ignored him. Peter warned the people in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost to “Save [themselves] from this corrupt generation”. Many accepted the call but equally many turned away. But all is not lost, because we pilgrims carry the message of God’s grace and mercy wherever we go. People everywhere have access to the Gospel and have no excuse for turning their backs on God.

We pilgrims are a thankful people because we have, in our spirits, seen the Lord. His Spirit lives within us, leading us, guiding us, encouraging us, filling us, and empowering us. What a blessed people we are! We are free to go to church, joining in the fellowship meetings, engaging in the Communion services, listening to God’s Word expounded and living a life of God’s blessings. A life Utopian in its potential, but sin is always lurking at our doors, seeking to destroy us and drag us back into the evil world around us. But we have the opportunity for embracing God’s grace and mercy, because He has redeemed us from our sins and one day we will enjoy His perfect presence forever. A time for God’s grace and mercy is with us. The news headlines may preach their messages of transient doom and gloom, but it will not always be that way. Secular messages spawned in the devil’s newsrooms and in evil people’s hearts may be promoted in the media but there is a higher power and authority with His hand on this world, a hand full of grace, mercy, love and compassion. Shout it out, Folks! This world needs to hear Good News. It needs God’s grace more than at any time in our history. We pray for revival and a new awakening, and look to God to fulfil His will and purposes for this generation.

Thank You God for Your grace and mercy, unwarranted favour to sinners like us saved by Your grace. Thank You. Amen.

The Fate of Sinners

Posted on by korgrocker

“Don’t let me suffer the fate of sinners. Don’t condemn me along with murderers. Their hands are dirty with evil schemes, and they constantly take bribes. But I am not like that; I live with integrity. So redeem me and show me mercy. Now I stand on solid ground, and I will publicly praise the Lord.”
Psalm 26:9-12 NLT

David asked the Lord to spare him from “the fate of sinners”. In David’s society, people who committed crimes suffered some form of punishment. Leviticus 24 lays out some examples of punishments for lawbreakers, who committed crimes such as blasphemy, murder, theft, and injury, where we read the punishment was “a fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Leviticus 24:20). Stoning was usually used for capital offences. But in the Psalm 26 context, David appeared to be considering behavioural issues – “their hands are dirty with evil schemes and they constantly take bribes”. There was in those days, and still is today, a level of moral lassitude that falls just below the radar of a definition of being a crime but is sin nevertheless. Jesus brought such behaviour to the fore in Matthew 5:21-22, “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell“. The problem for humans in all generations is that sin in God’s eyes can only be discerned by Him. So David cried out to the Lord to not let him suffer the fate of sinners because “It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).‭‭

But what is the fate of sinners? The Old Testament, pre-Jesus, belief was that when someone died they went to a place called Sheol. Faced with the fabricated evidence that Joseph had died as the result of an attack by a wild animal, we read of his father Jacob’s reaction in Genesis 37:35, “Then all his sons and daughters attempted to console him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “I will go down to Sheol (the place of the dead) in mourning for my son.” And his father wept for him”. Both good and bad people went there and it seemed to be some sort of holding area for departed spirits. David also believed that the wicked ended up in Sheol. Psalm 9:17, “The wicked will turn to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), Even all the nations who forget God”. So David and his generation would have no doubts about “the fate of sinners”. Jacob considered Sheol to be a place of mourning, but little was written about what it would be like until Jesus came, and provided some teaching. But one thought spans all the Biblical scriptures, and that is that after a person died, they went to a place of conscious existence, and there are hints that there were degrees of comfort there, depending on whether or not the person had led a good or bad life in God’s eyes beforehand.

In Luke 16 Jesus told the story of a Rich Man and a beggar called Lazarus. Some claim that this was a parable, but Jesus offered no explanation and the story was not about a natural environment that people could relate to, such as sheep and arable farming. It was a statement of fact presented in a way that fitted in with Jewish thought at that time. Basically, the Rich Man had a good life and ended up in Sheol (Hades in the Greek) where he found a place of torment. We can refer to it as “hell” because it was hot – we read, “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames'” (Luke 16:24). So there was communication of sorts with the other compartment in Sheol where the poor man went when he died. We can call this place heaven, because Abraham was there. In the next two verses we read, “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there'”. 

The New Testament belief is based on the Rich Man and Lazarus story, in that people who have died end up in a place of conscious existence, depending on how they lived their natural lives. Believers end up in a place Jesus called Paradise (Luke 23:43). Unbelievers end up in a place of torment that appeared to be another compartment in Hades. Jesus introduced another name for this place – Gehenna, a Greek word used in Mark 9:45. But Hades or Sheol, the Biblical view is consistent with David’s fear about the “fate of sinners”. One place of conscious existence divided into two compartments – paradise (a preview of Heaven) or Gehenna (a preview of hell).  

And then the story gets tragic and sombre. One day all these souls in Hades will be resurrected and judged, as we read in Revelation 20:13, “And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades (the realm of the dead) surrendered the dead who were in them; and they were judged and sentenced, every one according to their deeds”. Thankfully, believers will already have been resurrected by this time and will be living with the Lord in Heaven. 2 Corinthians 5:7-8, “For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord”. 1 Thessalonians 4 provides further details. 

David called out to the Lord to save him from “the fate of sinners” and he could do that because he walked with integrity and was redeemed by the Lord. Through his faith in the Lord I’m sure that we believers will probably have the opportunity of speaking with him one day. But we mustn’t rest on our laurels because there is a society full of people who, like lemmings, are rushing headlong to the wrong place. I keep banging on, I know, about reaching out to the lost, but these are serious times. Every day on my prayer walks I ask God beforehand to lead me to opportunities where I can share His message of hope. We don’t know if the next seed we plant might be in the heart of another Billy Graham.

Dear Father God. You are the only true righteous and holy God, full of grace and love. Lead us we pray to those who are perishing in their sins, so that we can share about all You have done for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Lord’s Sanctuary

Posted on by korgrocker

“I wash my hands to declare my innocence. I come to your altar, O Lord, singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders. I love your sanctuary, Lord, the place where your glorious presence dwells.”
Psalm 26:6-8 NLT

David wrote, “I love your sanctuary, Lord, the place where your glorious presence dwells”. In his day this had to be the Tabernacle, because the Temple wasn’t built in his life. That momentous occasion had to wait until Solomon was sitting on David’s throne. We can read all about the Tabernacle, and its construction, in the Book of Exodus and the account commenced in Exodus 25:8-9, “Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you“. God wanted to come and live with His people, and He provided instructions as how that would be possible, with the Israelites being a nomadic people at that time. A tent of some description was all they physically would be capable of, but what a tent it was. Eventually it was finished and we read, “Then he hung the curtains forming the courtyard around the Tabernacle and the altar. And he set up the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard. So at last Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. Moses could no longer enter the Tabernacle because the cloud had settled down over it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle” (Exodus 40:33-35). That was the glory that David experienced whenever he entered the sanctuary. He found God there.

There is some confusion about David’s sanctuary, if he was referring to the Tabernacle. Some Bible scholars maintain that there were two Tabernacles, with the original one located at Gibeon, and David’s located in Jerusalem, where the Ark of God was installed. About Gibeon being the location, we read, “Meanwhile, David stationed Zadok the priest and his fellow priests at the Tabernacle of the Lord at the place of worship in Gibeon, where they continued to minister before the Lord” (1 Chronicles 16:39). But we also read, “They brought the Ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the special tent David had prepared for it. And David sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord” (2 Samuel 6:17). But wherever it was, David loved it, because He found God and His glory in that place. 

What sanctuary do we pilgrims have? In past days, wonderful churches were built in the UK with impressive stained glass windows, statues, beautiful architecture and so on. These were, and still are in most cases, places where God is worshiped in His sanctuary. At the last count there are over 16,000 of them in these British islands. To the Jews, there was only one place where the glory of the Lord could be found and that was where His Ark was located. After Solomon’s Temple was constructed we read, “When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up the Ark. The priests and Levites brought up the Ark of the Lord along with the special tent and all the sacred items that had been in it. … Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim” (1 Kings 8:3-4, 6). And then came the crescendo – “When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple. The priests could not enter the Temple of the Lord because the glorious presence of the Lord filled it” (2 Chronicles 7:1-2). Sadly, we can read about the subsequent events that led to the destruction of this Temple and the final one in AD70, after which the Jews lost their focus for the glory of the Lord.

But what about us pilgrims? Where do we find God’s “glorious presence”? Where is our “sanctuary”where we find, and worship, the Lord? We know the answer of course, because something of earth-shattering importance happened a few centuries later. Jesus came. “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son” (John 1:14). John and the other disciples saw His glory, the glory of His presence, and He dwelt with them. They didn’t have to go to Jerusalem or anywhere else to find the glory of the Lord, and neither do we. In the same way we don’t have to go to an ornate building where there is a table covered with a decorated cloth and furnished with a candlestick or two. When I was a small boy, this was a place where I thought God lived, somehow under that tablecloth. People who were passing by genuflected and spoke with bated breath and in low tones. But did I see God’s glory there? Some say that they did but my experience of the Lord and His glory came much later in a different place.

We pilgrims know and love Jesus, and when He left this world He left His Spirit, who now lives within every believer. Paul wrote, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself” (1 Corinthians 6:19). That’s where we find the Lord’s Sanctuary – in the hearts of ordinary men, women and children who are faithful, redeemed, and obedient, servants of God. So we handle the Lord’s Sanctuary with care and love. After all, we can’t mistreat the place where the Lord lives, can we?

Dear loving and gracious Heavenly Father. We praise and worship Your holy name and turn our hearts and minds towards You this day and every day. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Clean Hands

Posted on by korgrocker

“I wash my hands to declare my innocence. I come to your altar, O Lord, singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders. I love your sanctuary, Lord, the place where your glorious presence dwells.”
Psalm 26:6-8 NLT

David made a declaration about his innocence before God by washing his hands. Why should that be of any significance? We earlier considered Psalm 24:3-4, “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god”. In Biblical days, the washing hands had several meanings. The Pharisees were obsessed with hand washing, as we read in Mark 7:3-4, “(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the market-place they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles)“. The first mention of Biblical hand washing was in Exodus 30:18-21, when the Lord gave instructions to Moses. “Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the Lord, they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come”. The Jews have maintained this tradition right up to the present day, particularly before eating bread. In strictly Jewish homes, the dining table has become a replacement for the Temple altar, which was destroyed in AD 70. 

But the washing of hands was not just a Jewish ritual and like them we wash our hands to rid them of contaminants that might do us harm if we ingest them. Physical hygiene is not just a modern phenomenon. But in Biblical times hand washing was also a sign of spiritual cleansing. James 4:8, “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded“. ‭‭Hand washing was associated with inner purity, to some a ritual but to others a necessary means of focusing minds. There are other parts of a Christian’s liturgy that do the same. Human beings seem to sometimes need something that connects them to God and His demands. In a conversation with religious leaders, Jesus reset the meaning behind hand washing. “Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ‘Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!’ Jesus replied, ‘And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:1-3). The disciples asked Jesus for an explanation, and we read His response, “‘Are you still so dull?’ Jesus asked them. ‘Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts – murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them'” (Matthew 15:16-20). 

Another reason for hand washing was demonstrated by Pilate at Jesus’ trial. Matthew 27:24, “Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”” That very act has survived in our language today with an expression such as “I wash my hands of this”, signifying that we are giving up on something because it is something we are unable to change. Think of a rebellious teenager’s bedroom for example.

Before David could come into God’s presence, though, he was careful to clean his hands and ensure his innocence. We pilgrims have to do the same, not by literally washing our hands, but by confessing our sins and cleansing our hearts. We sing the song, “Purify my heart” and it continues, “Cleanse me from within and make me holy“. Nice sentiments, but I wonder sometimes what the congregants really understand what they are singing. But the lyrics are an accurate reflection of what we as believers must do. As we read in Psalm 24, only those who have “clean hands and a pure heart” can enter the Lord’s presence. But as we pilgrims know, it is hard, even impossible, to generate within us a pure heart in our own efforts. We need God’s help. After the Bathsheba debacle, David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). We may not have broken the three commandments that David did on this occasion, but we still need that “clean heart”. John, the Apostle, wrote, “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). And there we have it. We are light dwellers, reliant on the blood of Jesus for cleansing us from our sins. There is no other way into God’s presence.

Dear Heavenly Father. From You comes the light we need to be able to dwell in Your presence with clean hands and hearts. We thank You for the blood of Your Son, Jesus, through whom our cleanliness is assured. Amen.

Evil Gatherings

Posted on by korgrocker

“For I am always aware of your unfailing love, and I have lived according to your truth. I do not spend time with liars or go along with hypocrites. I hate the gatherings of those who do evil, and I refuse to join in with the wicked.”
Psalm 26:3-5 NLT

David wrote that he distanced himself from those who were liars and hypocrites and who engaged in what he called “the gatherings of those who do evil”. In his day there would have been occasions when the people organised orgies, and similar gatherings, pursuing hedonistic goals and pandering to their sinful human desires. How do I know? Because that has been human nature since the Fall, and would have been much the same in David’s day as it is in 21st Century society. Baal worship, practised in Canaan by the indigenous peoples there, was also a religion that involved excesses of a sexual nature amongst even more wicked manifestations of evil. David kept himself apart from such gatherings because, when compared to what he knew God expected of him, they were evil and wicked. Such behaviour also violated the Law and teachings of Moses and over time introduced a moral decline that led eventually to God having to take action against His people. 

The problem for David was that, by failing to engage in the evil and wickedness around him, he became a hated figure in his society. We can just hear the accusations of him being a “do-gooder” accompanied by false rumours and gossip designed to drag him down to the level of the liars and hypocrites. But David stood firm, living “according to [the Lord’s] truth” and refusing “to join in with the wicked”. However, we know that David was not immune from the same sexual temptations as the people in the evil gatherings, as we saw from the Bathsheba episode. Paul wrote, “As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “They rush to commit murder. Destruction and misery always follow them. They don’t know where to find peace.” “They have no fear of God at all.”” (Romans 3:10-18), a concise series of quotes from the Psalms and Isaiah, but a damning and accurate description of the evil and wicked people that David refused to spend time with.

There is little different today in human behaviour. Yes, Western 21st Century societies are more sophisticated, or so the people claim, but the behaviour is no different. And God’s people, the believers who live in these societies, are facing into the same issues that David did. The internet provides an opportunity for wicked and evil gatherings through social media and pornographic sites. Private parties behind closed doors act out depraved and sinful behaviour and desires. Night clubs dance on until dawn in some places. No difference really to the society in David’s day, except for one big factor – Western societies today have largely rejected God and His ways and have no moral compass to steer them in the right ways. 

But we pilgrims are like David, in refusing to engage in evil gatherings. We avoid hypocrites and liars where we can and try to live our lives God’s way, always on the alert for the temptations that will lead to the evil and wickedness lurking below the surface of human consciousness. And when we discover that we have acted sinfully we come to the Cross and ask for forgiveness. Jesus, like David, refused to follow the practices of the society around Him and that ultimately led to His death at the hands of those who rejected His call to a life with God and without sin. We pilgrims find as well that when we meet others, in the office or at social gatherings, we can be shunned and maligned. Accused of hypocrisy. Excluded from the office parties. Pushed to the margins of a wicked society who resent our moral standing. 

In this life we will have trouble, Jesus said, but He went on to state that He had overcome the world, and aren’t we pilgrims so very grateful. We may find ourselves harassed and persecuted in our day to day lives, but the time span is infinitesimally small compared with eternity. We live in a Kingdom of people chosen by God. Paul wrote, “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory” (Romans 8:29-30). Paul continued, “Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself” (Romans 8:33). And the climax comes with Romans 8:38, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love”. David knew all this many years before Paul, because God never changes. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. And so we pilgrims trudge on towards glory, in a bubble of God’s love, looking beyond the temporal problems, avoiding the temptations of evil gatherings, with our eyes fixed on the One who made our salvation and future all possible. 

Dear Father God. How can we thank You enough for all You have done for us. We thank You for leading and guiding us in the right paths, and keeping us safe on our journey. We worship You today. Amen.

Test My Heart

Posted on by korgrocker

“Declare me innocent, O Lord, for I have acted with integrity; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart. For I am always aware of your unfailing love, and I have lived according to your truth.”
Psalm 26:1-3 NLT

David was looking for self-vindication in these first three verses of Psalm 26. He laid out before the Lord His unwavering trust, his integrity, and his life lived according to God’s truth. Surely he was a man innocent of any wrongdoing, as David asked the Lord to confirm. But that was only his perspective. Jeremiah prophetically set out what the Lord thinks of the human heart, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Of course, this doesn’t apply to a human’s physical heart, that amazing pump that keeps us alive for our “three score years and ten”. It applies to our spirits within us, that part of us where our emotions and desires dwell. The Bible mentions this spiritual organ many times and we can assume that even God has a heart, as we read in 1 Samuel 13:14. Samuel was speaking to King Saul, “But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command“. If David was a man after God’s own heart, this implied that everyone had the same. The problem is that sin, evil and wickedness has destroyed the perfect that God intended, and as Jeremiah wrote, mankind is universally cursed with a deceitful and desperately wicked heart. No exceptions even for David – look what happened when he spied Bathsheba taking a bath.

But David was keen to be vindicated and at this point in his life he wrote “test my motives and my heart”. He must have been pretty sure of his ground to write that. However, as we read in Jeremiah 17:10, God has His eye on everyone’s heart, “But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve“. Jesus had something to say about human hearts, as we read in Mark 7:20-23, “And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you””. Ouch! We all have a heart problem, no matter how much we try to deny it, and the NHS has no remedy available. We are unable to go and acquire a doctor’s prescription to cure a personal heart problem. No psychiatrist has a solution to the evil within a person; instead they can only try to fool patients into the conclusion that they don’t have a problem if they think a certain way. Quackery in God’s eyes. Jesus said that the problem of a failing heart exists within a person, but even they can’t see a problem because they have been deceived by themselves. We know the problems we have and we try and rationalise them so that we can live with our sinful hearts. Sadly, through our thoughts and intentions, we have a tendency to feed our heart on things that increase the evil within. We know it all. “Just one more glance” or “surely another … won’t matter” (fill in your own speciality). But an evil and wicked heart, suffering from all the conditions Jesus described, needs feeding, and that is where our hearts can be cleaned up, with much help from God of course. If we stop feeding our hearts with the things that destroy, then those qualities will shrivel and die. So if a thief stops dwelling on thieving, then his thoughts of stealing will gradually disappear. But there is only so much that a person can do and God’s help must be engaged. 

Sometimes, people describe an emotional person as one who wears their heart on their sleeve. But aren’t we glad that all that is within our hearts is invisible to anyone we meet. I look at a random stranger and I have little or no idea about what they are thinking, and neither do they about me. But God sees all, and why He still loves human beings after that, instead of recoiling in horror at what He sees in our hearts, is one of life’s mysteries.

Ezekiel wrote, “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart” (Ezekiel 36:26). In the end it is only God who can fix human beings and that redemption process started with Jesus and our faith and belief in Him. Through His death at Calvary, He took on our sins and started us on the journey to acquire that new heart Ezekiel told us about. Paul wrote, “For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved” (Romans 10:10). Our heart surgery starts quite simply with Jesus. There is no other way to find a remedy for all the evil that is within us. The wise philosopher wrote, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23). Sound advice that we would do well to obey.

Father God, we lift our hearts to You, exposing all and asking for forgiveness and the surgery needed to clean up our inner beings. Only You have the remedies we need and we thank You and praise You for all You are and for Your unlimited love and grace. Amen.

Unwavering Trust

Posted on by korgrocker

“Declare me innocent, O Lord, for I have acted with integrity; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart. For I am always aware of your unfailing love, and I have lived according to your truth.”
Psalm 26:1-3 NLT

Do we pilgrims “[trust] in the Lord without wavering”? You see, there is a whole Bible full of the promises of God, but do we trust in them? Do we actually trust in our Creator God for all we need in life? Or do we pay lip service to the Scriptures and continue to live our lives our way, full of problems and anxious moments, without any reference to the promises of God? There is a section in Matthew 6 that records the words of Jesus about worry and the needs of life, and He said, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs” (Matthew 6:31-32). Do we trust in what Jesus said? 

There is a connection between “faith” and “trust”. Faith is described famously in Hebrews 11:1, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see“, and there then follows a long list of Old Testament saints with evidence of their faith in God. Faith does not put trust in bank account balances, headline news, or the doctor’s report. Paul described what we should do instead, “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18). In the following chapter we read, “For we live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). And the importance of faith is exposed in Hebrews 11:6, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him“. So the practical, living-day-by-day, outworking of faith in God is trust, trusting Him with our lives, trusting Him for all we need for life, such as a roof over our heads, the food on our tables, and the clothes we wear. Trusting Him for a solution when the going gets tough. And ultimately we trust Him to bring us across the Great Divide into His presence. We do so because we have faith in our amazing and wonderful God.

Sadly, there are many Christians who aren’t too sure about God and His promises. It is easy to trust God and have faith in Him when all is good. The Sunday meeting’s worship elevated us to new heights of praise, the message from the preacher encouraged us greatly, but then Monday morning came along with some bad news. A loved one has an incurable illness. The boss calls us into his office and gives us some terminal news about our jobs. Or just some simple and seemingly insignificant occasion drags us into despair. It is so difficult sometimes to extend Sunday’s euphoria into the mundane of Monday and beyond. James wrote about such people, “ …  be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do” (James 1:6b-8). Do we believe in faith that God is there for us regardless of what is happening around us? Paul wrote, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 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” (Philippians 4:6-7). Isaiah wrote, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock” (Isaiah 26:3-4). 

But we pilgrims, on our journeys to glory, find day by day that God can indeed be trusted with our lives. We fall, but He picks us up. We sin, but He forgives us. We pray, and He answers. And slowly, we learn to trust Him with more and more. In faith we reach out and see the results of our faith. So the newspaper headlines scream out doom and gloom, but we live in an oasis of trusting in God, unmoved by the panic around us. So the doctors tell us bad news but we respond as a friend of mine told me about recently. In his office the doctor him that he had cancer, but my friend shared his faith and testimony, putting the bad news into the background and instead he talked about the One in whom he had put his trust. Many years later, my friend is still with us, and there is no sign of the cancer.

Er read in Psalm 20:7-8, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm”. We could write our own versions of those verses, but in the end we vocally declare our trust in God alone. We sing the hymn, “In Christ alone, my hope is found” and the first verse ends with “Here in the love of Christ I stand“. But in all the hassles of life, the last verse is a public declaration, containing these words, “No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand“. We will no be immune from the challenges of living in this sin-ridden world, but we can rise above them with “unwavering trust” through Jesus, who made it all possible.

Dear Father God. We worship You, the Centre of our universe, and the Saviour of the world. Amen.

Ransom Israel

Posted on by korgrocker

“O God, ransom Israel from all its troubles.”
Psalm 25:22 NLT
“Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles!”
Psalm 25:22 NIVUK
“O God, redeem Israel, Out of all his troubles.”
Psalm 25:22 AMP

‭‭‭‭”Ransom”, “Deliver”, or “Redeem”. Three different words yet they mean the same thing for a nation in bother. David prayed for his nation, that it would be saved from destruction. Ever since their fathers founded the Jewish nation, they have experienced troubles, usually, though, of their own making. The Jews taken into captivity and living in foreign lands were nearly destroyed by the ploys of Haman – the full account is recorded in the Book of Esther. As we read through the Book of Judges, we see the oppression experienced by Israel from the nations that surrounded them. In more recent years the Jews have experienced antisemitic pogroms in Russian and ethnic cleansing by Hitler as he tried to eliminate the Jewish race entirely. Even today, there are so called historians who deny the holocaust even happened, another antisemitic attitude. Antisemitism is rife in today’s world, probably bolstered by Israel’s attempts to eliminate Palestinian and other terrorists. But such antagonism against God’s chosen people has always been there ever since their origins. We pilgrims know why, of course, because the enemy of all the children of God wants to eliminate them and destroy them. However, once a believer in God is in His Kingdom, the devil can never get at their souls. He may destroy and harass their physical bodies but their souls are off limits for him. And the Jewish nation will prevail over all the devil’s ploys. 

So David’s prayer was partly prophetic in that he saw coming more “troubles” for his nation. The prophet Zechariah had much to write about concerning Israel, and we pick up his prophecies in Zechariah 13:1, “On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity“. A day is coming, he said, when Israel will be redeemed. We pilgrims know when that was, with Jesus coming to redeem mankind from their sins. But there was more to his prophecy if we read on and in verse 8 we find, “Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die,” says the Lord. “But one-third will be left in the land“. That didn’t happen when Jesus came so we must assume that Zechariah was referring to a time far into the future, a time we read about in John’s Revelation. Verse 9 then tells us what will happen to the third spared from being “cut-off”, “I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God’”. Regardless of all their troubles, and after many years, there will come a time when the Jewish people will rise up victorious over all their enemies, and, more, will be restored to the relationship with God that they should have had all along. 

We pilgrims, as far as I know, are not of Jewish origin, but we are so blessed to be included in God’s plan anyway. Jesus said, “I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd” (John 10:16). We look back to that Cross on Calvary’s hill and kneel before the crucified Lord in deep gratitude for His redemption. We have embraced His offer of salvation for all eternity and respond in love and thanks for His grace and mercy. 

Today, if the word “ransom” comes up, it is usually with extremely negative connotations, connected to “ransomware” or some other form of extortion, providing yet another example of how the devil has twisted and manipulated our lives for his own anti-God purposes. Paul wrote to Timothy and included these words, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time” (1 Timothy 2:5-6). Human beings were, and still are, in captivity to the forces of darkness but Jesus paid the price to ransom them from the devil’s clutches, should they choose to follow, and believe in, Jesus.. 

There is an old hymn I still love to sing, and first verse goes, 
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
To his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!

“Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven”, four words that describe our redemption through Jesus. We indeed do praise the “king of Heaven”, the “everlasting King”. And will do forever.

Dear God. We praise You today, our wonderful Creator Father. We have been restored to how You intended us to be through Your Son Jesus and we are eternally grateful. Amen.

Integrity and Honesty

Posted on by korgrocker

“See how many enemies I have and how viciously they hate me! Protect me! Rescue my life from them! Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge. May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you.”
Psalm 25:19-21 NLT

Integrity and honesty seem in short supply these days. As an example, what do people think of the political class in any Western country? I’m sure such words as “integrity” and “honesty” would not appear on the list of descriptive adjectives for most. David claimed that “integrity and honesty protect [him], for [he has] put [his] hope in the Lord”. He had a point, because those who behave in such ways will avoid most of the troubles that come from living in a society that is rife with lies and deceit. It says in Proverbs 10:9, “People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed“. From a slightly different angle, Proverbs 11:3 records, “Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people“. In fact, the Book of Proverbs contains quite a few verses about integrity and honesty, and their opposites, lies and deceit. Proverbs 12:19-20, “Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed. Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil; joy fills hearts that are planning peace!” The wise old sages in Israel knew all about the value of telling truth and avoiding lies.

According to “gotquestions.org”, “In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated “integrity” means “the condition of being without blemish, completeness, perfection, sincerity, soundness, uprightness, wholeness.” Integrity in the New Testament means “honesty and adherence to a pattern of good works””. A comprehensive, Bible-based exposé of the qualities necessary to enjoy God’s security and protection.

The best example of a person with integrity in the Bible is Jesus. As both God and man, He was without sin, totally without blemish of any kind. There was no deceit on Him at all, as we read in 1 Peter 2:21b-22, “… [Christ] is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone”. We read the accounts about Jesus and find a sinless man of complete honesty and integrity. Hebrews 4:15, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin“. We read about the temptations of Jesus, where the devil caught Him in a time of weakness, and see how Jesus stood strong and resolute, standing on the integrity of Scripture to fend off the temptations that would have led to sin. We pilgrims, believers in Christ, are called to be like Him. We knelt at the Cross, confessing and repenting of our sins, and Jesus took them upon HImself. But here’s the wonderful thing, He then gave us His righteousness, His sinless righteousness, so that we could become His brothers and sisters, adopted children of God. How amazing is that! So we too aspire to walk in integrity and honesty, just as Jesus did. No! More than that. In faith we do walk in integrity and honesty, resisting all attempts and distractions to corrupt us and lead us into sin. Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father”.

Of course, it is inevitable that we will stumble and fall. We are human, and always the focus of the devil and his minions who want to lead us into sin. Sadly, we will on occasion fall for one of his scams. But we have a remedy. 1 John 1:9, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness”. There you have it – back on track again walking in integrity and honesty. In God’s Kingdom we are new creations. Paul wrote, “throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:22-24). We walk in faith towards the goal of perfection and holiness through Jesus. We will never get there in this life, I fear, but we try, in the knowledge that our loving Heavenly Father is there helping us every step of the way. One day we will be like Jesus – Paul wrote, “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29). Amen?

Dear God. We aspire to walk in integrity and honesty just like Jesus did. Please help us, we pray, and please forgive us when we fail. We want to become more like Jesus. In His precious name. Amen,

Feel My Pain!

Posted on by korgrocker

“Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress. My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins.”
Psalm 25:16-18 NLT

David called out to the Lord to “feel [his] pain”. David highlights in the previous verses in this Psalm the hassles from his enemies, and potentially wrong responses (“disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others” – verse 3), but he then goes on to remind God about His “compassion and unfailing love“, His mercy, His goodness and righteousness, and that He is “a friend to those who fear Him”. But all this was a build up to what was really bothering David and he cried out to the Lord – “Turn to me and have mercy”. An impassioned cry for help as he found himself in deep trouble facing insurmountable problems. He ends up asking God to empathise with him, feeling his pain and seeing his trouble. Have we ever been in a place like that?

Human beings were never created to be lonely, devoid of companionship and love. Such a person never appeared in God’s plan for humanity. Adam never chose a wife because God chose one for him, saying “it is not good for man to be alone”, and that relationship ticked all the boxes that were in God’s blueprint for His children. But sin has distorted and destroyed relationships everywhere, leaving people universally devoid of anyone prepared and willing to take an interest in them and empathise with them in their troubles. Thankfully Jesus came as a remedy for man’s sin, and restored the order that God intended. So in our fellowships, and with other believers, we care for one another. Paul wrote, “Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15), a verse that encourages relationships that are selfless and loving. Peter wrote in similar vein, “Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude” (1 Peter 3:8). This is God’s blueprint for His children, believers everywhere. David cried out to God to “feel [his] pain” but we New Covenant believers have a wonderful God who has experienced what we have experienced. Hebrews 4:15, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin”. Jesus has gone before us and has shown us the way. Look at His love for His disciples, as He knelt before them, washing their feet. And He loves us just as much as well.

We pilgrims may be going through a painful experience at the moment. It could be the death of a loved one. It could be a debilitating illness. It could be a financial emergency. But whatever it is, there is One who feels our pain. One who died for us that we might have life, both in this world and the next. And if we know someone who is going through such experiences we must get alongside them and feel their pain as well. The old Apostle John wrote, “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?” (1 John 3:16-17). Jesus promised that He would always be with us and we can feel Him close especially in times of need. When He left this world, He sent the Holy Spirit, who now lives within every believer, and in His love and compassion He will even send His spirit in human form, as another believer gets alongside us. Jesus knows and understands our pain because He has been there, and so when troubles strike, we have a Comforter who “feels [our] pain”. We relax in His love and feel it as a cloak smothering us, and compassionately dealing with our pain. The problems may never go away or reduce in intensity, but with Jesus along side of us, they will never be as bad.

Dear Father God. You know and understand that our lives can sometimes be painful in a world blighted by sin and evil. But You have a remedy for all our pain and we reach out to You once again, basking in Your love and compassion. Thank You. Amen.