How to Overcome Spiritual Darkness with God’s Truth

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Golden sunbeam streaming through a ceiling opening onto old stone floor in a dim room

“Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark. They will go from one place to another, weary and hungry. And because they are hungry, they will rage and curse their king and their God. They will look up to heaven and down at the earth, but wherever they look, there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness.”
Isaiah 8:20-22 NLT

If a person walks into a room at night, there is no light there. So, they look for the light switch and turn it on. Simple, really, in our modern days. Not so long ago, the equivalent would have been a candle or an oil lamp, but any action to introduce light into a dark place involves two things. An understanding that there is darkness, but with a remedy, and then the application of an action to introduce light. But it seems that in Isaiah’s day, people were “in the dark” about what was happening to their nation and about God’s role and remedy. Instead of asking Him, however, they headed for the mediums and necromancers to obtain an answer. To return to our earlier analogy, the person entering the dark room would understand that they were in a dark place, but instead of turning on the light, they had forgotten what they needed to do to illuminate the room. And they would then have started asking other people, equally “in the dark,” for a solution, even to the point of seeking out dark and demonic spirits to see if they knew anything. Perhaps the person looking for a remedy to the darkness only had a very dim memory of a light switch, or had even completely forgotten what it was, and instead of asking the owner of the house how to illuminate the room, they started to ask other sources, such as the internet, Google, or even ChatGPT, for a solution. A very simple analogy, I know, but it illustrates that the people, God’s people at that, had forgotten that God was there for them, with an answer to their darkness. 

The problem was not that God is hiding the truth by keeping them “in the dark”. It was that His people would not receive it. In other words, Isaiah said that those who will not hear the revealed word of God live in darkness. They rejected the light, and the light did not come. The day of their understanding of the truth never dawned. Paul picked up this theme in Romans 1:18-20. He wrote, “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. Ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God”. We pilgrims all know the tendency that people have to reject God and His ways, despite all the evidence. Paul pointed out that there is much evidence for God in the natural world, and so there is. Even atheistic scientists admit that the Earth is located, in stellar terms, in what they have called the “Goldilocks Zone”. The conditions for human life are precisely established: the right temperature for water to be a liquid, the right amount of gravity, the right amount of oxygen, the right amount of light, and so on. That all that happened by accident beggars belief, and yet “sinful, wicked people [have suppressed] the truth by their wickedness”. The same problem exists today just as it did in Isaiah’s day. To believe God and His “instructions and teachings” and, consequently, the truth about their existence, means that people will have to abandon their sin and live their lives God’s way.

The modern equivalent of the consultation of mediums and necromancers is a plethora of self-devised theories and explanations, such as evolution, big-bang theories and so on, all designed to replace God and His creation with a pack of lies. Sadly, just as in Isaiah’s day, the lies are propagated into lifestyles that deny God, and all sorts of social and religious error have crept in and corrupted our nation. 

Isaiah prophesied that people would become hungry. Not for food but for the truth. Starvation would come later. We see a parallel in today’s society: it has permitted Godless laws and practices, and people have started to rage at each other because of their different beliefs and ideologies, and because they are all wandering around “in the dark”. Social cohesion has become a forgotten light switch in a Godless nation. People have been starved of the truth about God and even effectively rage against Him in their ignorance. And our churches and denominations, who should be the arbiters of God’s truth, have largely failed in their mission. But there is hope, just as there was in Isaiah’s day. Isaiah proclaimed God’s message, even though the people didn’t want to hear it. They could never claim before God that they were totally ignorant of the truth. 

Fortunately, we pilgrims know where the spiritual light switches are located, and we diligently and counterculturally push back the forces of ignorance with our message of the truth. The people around us may not want to hear the Good News about Jesus and His selfless act of salvation, but without it, they will find themselves in a lost eternity. Jesus made a truthful statement that we can read in John 8:12, “Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life””. An unequivocal statement, I think we can agree, and the people around Him, who heard that message and ignored it, would have continued to walk in darkness, as so many people do today. 

So, wherever we are, we pilgrims must proclaim the light of God to the people stumbling around in darkness, believing lies and ignoring the truth. 

Father God. We pray once again for the boldness we need to proclaim the Good News about Jesus and how He will forever illuminate people’s lives. Amen.

Isaiah’s Message: Trusting God Over Mediums

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“I and the children the Lord has given me serve as signs and warnings to Israel from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in his Temple on Mount Zion. Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?”
Isaiah 8:18-19 NLT

The Jews today, looking back to the days of Isaiah, must thank God or him and his family, because they stayed strong in their faith in a time when most had turned away from God. And more, Isaiah kept writing down his prophecies about the disasters that would fall upon a sinful and rebellious people. We know from Isaiah 6:13b that, “… as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down, so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed”. There would be a remnant of the people who, like Isaiah and his family, would not have succumbed to the pressures of the sinful lifestyles of those around them; instead, they would ensure the continuation of the nation of the “descendants of Jacob”. Though the people of his generation would not respond to his preaching, the hope of Isaiah’s messages rested in this “holy seed”, pointing to the coming Messiah who would, as we know, bring salvation to the world. Isaiah’s mandate, first given to him after his vision of the Lord “high and lifted up” in the Temple, was to “serve as signs and warnings to Israel”, a mandate given to him by the “Lord of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in His Temple on Mount Zion”. Did God really live there? Isaiah thought so, and he knew that was the case because he saw the Lord there.

It appears that, in their concern about what was happening in their nation, the people of Judah were given to asking the mediums “and those who consult the spirits of the dead”. And they really expected that this would result in instructions as to what actions they should follow. Quite rightly, Isaiah asked, “But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?” I came across a headline in a newspaper the other day that said, “ChatGPT convinced me to quit my job. I wish I hadn’t listened”. I’m not saying that ChatGPT is the same as a medium or a dead spirit, but the principle is the same. There is only one person who sees the end from the beginning, and that is God Himself. Why would someone ask a piece of computer software, even if it is supported by a huge dataset and very clever algorithms, a potentially life-changing question about their employment and believe it would be acting in their best interests? As I say to people today, artificial intelligence is a helpful servant but a terrible master. 

But people today still consult sources of data that are not from God. Take horoscopes, for example. Or the palm readers and others who frequent fairs and other similar events. God specifically told the Israelites, “Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:31). It was so sad that the Jews had forgotten the basics of their faith. God Himself continually reached out to His people. Through Isaiah, He said, “My care for the people of Judah is like the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, but they have rejected it” (Isaiah 8:6a). There was a remedy from the distress to come, but God, their Source, was ignored.

The Bible bulges with helpful verses that explain God’s relationship with His people. Even before they crossed into the promised land, God warned the people. “Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him” (Deuteronomy 7:9-10). Ever since, God has been reaching out to His people, even to the point of sending His Son, Jesus, to die for them. The Apostle John wrote, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognise that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. … Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him” (1 John 3:1, 4-5). 

Such love! God made a covenant, and he has never broken it. And because of Jesus, we have a remedy for our sin and can be assured of our future, regardless of the storm clouds that might be massing on our personal or national borders. Whatever we are facing today, we know that God is there just waiting for us to reach out to Him for more of His love and grace. There may of course be hard times ahead of us in our lives, but we know the One who is with us and who will support and encourage us every step of the way. 

Father God. We don’t have to concern ourselves about the future because we know that You know what is ahead and have the resources to help us reach our ultimate destination. And so we look to You today and every day, assured of our salvation and Your love and grace. Amen.

Preserving Biblical Truth Against Modern Challenges

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Preserve the teaching of God; entrust his instructions to those who follow me. I will wait for the Lord, who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my hope in him.”
Isaiah 8:16-17 NLT

“Preserve”, “entrust”, “follow”, “wait”, and “hope”. All words that define our relationship with God, or should do. There is something in these words and in today’s verses that provides a picture of God: dependable, unmoving, reliable, alive, active, and the One who should determine our course of life. And yet, in today’s secular societies, there seems to be great efforts to do the opposite. The “teaching of God” is eroded and distorted by some people and even denominations, so that it aligns with a worldview considered more acceptable to the people of our day. “His instructions” are largely ignored because people think they know better, and anyway, they want to live their lives following their own agenda, free of external influence. Such people certainly don’t want to follow God, because they have a distorted, or even downright wrong, view of who He is. The next verse is equally ignored because the concepts of waiting on and hoping in God are foreign to most of the people we live among today. 

Jesus taught about the ways of the world compared to God’s Kingdom in His Sermon on the Mount. He said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Pictorial language that was picked up by John Bunyan many years ago in his book, The Pilgrim’s Progress. John Bunyan used the broad and narrow ways to represent two opposing paths in life: destruction and eternal salvation. The narrow way represents faith in Christ, which is straight but difficult, whereas the many broad ways represent the easy, tempting roads of the world. Early in the story, the character Goodwill introduced Christian to the narrow path. He explains that this road was laid out by the patriarchs, prophets, Christ, and the Apostles. Goodwill warned that many wide, crooked paths intersect with the narrow way, making it very easy to get lost. The broad paths represent the various worldly philosophies, sins, and distractions that lead to ruin. It’s a fascinating book to read, and can even be found brought up to date with more modern language. John Bunyan wrote the book from a jail cell in Bedford after the monarchy cracked down on religious separatists, but it had a marked effect in furthering the Protestant faith in the 17th Century and became the second-best-selling book of his age.

The “teaching of God” we find in the Bible is expounded by Godly men and, through the Holy Spirit, supported and implemented in the lives of faithful pilgrims everywhere. The Bible is, as someone once said, God’s only written work, and it has survived many generations and the tests of time to bring Godly counsel to Christians today. The problem for many today, including people in some denominations, is that Biblical teaching contradicts what they want to believe, presenting truths that are countercultural and opposed to the beliefs in the society around us. But Isaiah wrote that such teaching is to be preserved, and it is, both on paper and in the hearts and minds of God’s followers. Intuitively, someone who follows God will know what is true and what is false, because the Holy Spirit lives within them. 

In the lives of us pilgrims, the “teaching of God” leads us in His paths day by day, and the Holy Spirit is constantly at work helping us to do what we should, veer away from what we shouldn’t, and keep us close to Him. Isaiah said he would continue to wait for God to keep His promises to those who are faithful to Him. And that is where we pilgrims are today. Waiting. The Bible is full of His promises, and they will be worth waiting for, even if some are not realised until we are in His presence. In Isaiah’s day, God had turned away from “the descendants of Jacob” because of their sin and idolatry, but Isaiah would wait for Him by placing his hope in God. 

Dear Heavenly Father. We, too, put our hope and trust in You and Your Word. Please guide us along the narrow way so that we do not get lost in our journey to the Heavenly Promised Land. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Understanding the Rock: God’s Eternal Strength in a Chaotic World

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Hiker on a rocky trail near a large monolithic rock formation with a colorful sunset sky

“Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe. But to Israel and Judah, he will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare. Many will stumble and fall, never to rise again. They will be snared and captured.”

Isaiah 8:13-15 NLT

Our planet is made of rocks presented in different forms. We have the dust and small particles that can cover large areas, such as in our deserts and seashores. There are pebbles used for roads and paths, and for decorative purposes.  There are even heavy monoliths forming structures like Stonehenge, a monument to a bygone religious custom. Rocks are dressed and used for building purposes, walls and houses, and even the Egyptian pyramids. But much of our planet consists of rock, solid and immovable. But, fascinatingly, these rocks have formed in different ways; however, a lesson in geology is beyond my abilities and the scope of this blog. 

The Lord is described as being a Rock, because He is unchangeable, a secure foundation and a place of safety. Malachi 3:6 reads, “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed”. Psalm 18:2, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my saviour; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety”. We have these lovely words that fill us with a sense of security, words such as ”fortress”, “protection”, “rock”, and “Saviour”. But why should we feel so? In our world, in our societies, and in our towns, cities and villages, there seems to be no place of ultimate security. Yes, we can visit our churches and cathedrals and find a little peace, but then we find that even the insecurities of our world have penetrated within their doors.

Today, there is a hunger in society, particularly amongst young people, for peace and security. The world around us is fast-changing. New customs, more technology, and changes in government that never seem to make any improvements. Just more of the same old problems with promises that they will be fixed, but they never are. Jobs are not secure any more. The list of woes seems endless. Such societal distress calls for a solution, and our churches are seeing an upsurge in people seeking meaning in our meaningless world. But in all the chaos, there is a Rock who never changes and who promises an eternity that will be marked by the peace and security that cannot be found in the kingdoms of the world. 

The people in Judah found that they ignored the Rock, who is the Lord, at their peril. God is like a large, stable rock: a secure foundation and place of safety. To those who do not honour the Lord as holy, that same Rock, a cornerstone, becomes something of a tripping hazard. God’s truth cannot be denied, any more than a person can walk through a boulder. For those who reject Him, God becomes a “stumbling rock.” He’s something they cannot help but trip over. Everyone who tries to succeed and thrive apart from the Lord eventually falls and does not prosper. And for everyone who honours Him as holy, He is the solid rock on which they build their life.

Isaiah declared that the Lord would become the stumbling stone for both houses of Israel. That meant that both the northern ten tribes, Israel, and the southern two tribes, Judah, would be destroyed. The Lord would become a trap and a snare even to the people of Jerusalem in the end. They refused to honour Him, and that would ultimately bring them misery and destruction.

In Matthew, we find the account of a conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees, and at one point, He told the parable of the Evil Farmers. Jesus engaged the religious leaders by asking them the question, ““When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”” (Matthew 21:40). Having drawn an answer from the Pharisees, Jesus quoted the verses from Psalm 118, “Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’ I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on”” (Matthew 21:4-44). The Pharisees quickly caught on to what Jesus meant, realising that it was they He was referring to as the evil farmers. But there had been no change in attitudes to God since the days of Isaiah, and the Jews would once again experience what it meant that God was a Rock over which they would stumble, and it would ultimately fall upon them. In AD 70, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and many Jews perished.

There is a simple principle that applies to all mankind and has always done so. There is a God in Heaven, who is eternal and real and who put human beings on this planet for one purpose: “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever” (Westminster Short Catechism). The people hearing Isaiah’s prophecies chose to ignore that and suffered the consequences of stumbling over the Rock, ending up “snared and captured”. We pilgrims have a mission as builders, building on the Rock that is the Lord in ways that will bring order into this chaotic world. Only God has the answer for those who intuitively know that he is there, but for many, they cannot find Him unless someone opens the door into His Kingdom, where they will find Jesus, and His saving grace, a fount of blood that will cleanse all from their sins. 

Dear Heavenly Father. You are the only Source of peace and security. Only You are the Rock on which we can be founded. In today’s chaotic world, we choose to stand firm on a foundation that will never move, and we give You all the glory and all the praise. All the thanks and all the worship. Amen.

Understanding the Fear of God in Today’s World

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe. But to Israel and Judah, he will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare. Many will stumble and fall, never to rise again. They will be snared and captured.”

Isaiah 8:13-15 NLT

Of all the things we fear, and there could be many, the most important is God Himself. But if we pause for a moment in our busy lives, what do we fear the most? This will differ between people depending on their age, circumstances and even family connections. An older person may fear the onset of dementia or some illness that mainly comes later in life. Perhaps they are afraid that their eyesight will fail to the point that they are unable to drive anymore. A younger person might fear losing their job or being evicted from their tenancy. A child might fear being bullied at school. In a war zone, there will be a fear of death or destruction. At any point in life, fears can emerge seemingly out of nowhere, bringing consequences that are debilitating and difficult to handle. But whatever our circumstances, Isaiah wrote that only God should be feared.

Jesus said, “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear” (Luke 12:4-5). And that’s the thing. Any fears that a human being may face are ultimately temporal except for the fear of what might happen to them after they cross the Great Divide. And yet, that is one fear that people generally don’t seem to have. Speak to someone about life after death, and they generally don’t seem to care that much. Yes, people are sometimes afraid of dying, even Christians, but replies are often flippant and dismissive, like the man I met who said, “I’m not afraid of dying. I just don’t want to be involved”. 

What does it mean to fear God? Instead of being terrified, the Bible defines this fear as deep respect and awe. Think of it like standing at the edge of a giant ocean. You respect its power, but you also trust that it is beautiful and real. Proverbs 9:10: “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment”. If people had a clear idea deep within their souls that their choices in life would define how they spend eternity, then perhaps some of the daft things that they do wouldn’t happen. But then, human nature being what it is, there is always the temptation to rationalise the potential outcome. For someone speeding on the motorway, there is always the thought that they will never be caught. A burglar or shoplifter might feel that they will never be found out. But with God, He sees all and keeps a record of every thought and deed a person commits. Revelation 20:12, “I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books”. 

But those who have the proper deep respect and awe of God will know the consequences of their behaviour, and this will, as the writer of the Proverbs put it, lead to wise choices being made. 

The people in Judah were afraid of what was happening, as an invading army ravaged their countryside and people. They failed to realise that it was the Lord who was bringing about the destruction that they were starting to see. Isaiah could see that it was the Lord who should be feared, not the Assyrians, and if the people in Judah had realised that as well, perhaps the death and destruction about to happen would be averted. 

Do we have a modern parallel to the happenings in Judah? We probably do, because the judgment in Judah didn’t happen overnight. It took a generation or two, or even more, before what the people feared would become reality. It is the same today. Bad, Godless laws being applied in our legislatures will not be judged immediately because God is patient and He gives people time to repent. But does His lack of action over, for example, the horrors of abortion, mean that he approves of such heinous acts? Of course not! This generation may have escaped the consequences, as may the next, but there will come a time of reckoning, even if only before the Great White Throne.

But we pilgrims are a God-fearing people. We have the benefit of knowing right from wrong from God’s perspective. He leads and guides us through His Spirit. Jesus said in John 16:13: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future”.  Our lives in this world differ from those of most people around us. But we have a message of hope that will change people’s perspectives. We know that regardless of what happens in this world, there is a world to come that needs to be planned for. And so we must diligently let those heading for a lost eternity know the consequences of their choices. 

Dear Heavenly Father. The time is short, and we have so much to do and people to tell. Please lead us to the right people who need to hear the Good News about Jesus and salvation. Amen.

Confronting Groupthink: A Biblical Perspective

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said, “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble.”

Isaiah 8:11-13 NLT

The first two verses from our reading today, in isolation, seem very modern in their intent and application. Our society today is plagued by people who have abandoned their own thoughts and desires in favour of adopting the thoughts and ideologies of others, just so that they can conform. We call it “groupthink”. This is a psychological phenomenon in which a group of well-intentioned people makes irrational or suboptimal decisions because the desire for harmony and conformity overrides critical thinking. Members self-censor their doubts and avoid challenging the consensus to keep the peace. We see this across all walks of life, particularly in business and political environments, even amongst church leadership teams, and among groups drawn together by similar problems or concerns, such as those pursuing an eco agenda or those who feel marginalised in society because of their gender. Then we have political activists who organise protest marches, such as those in support of the Palestinian people. About the latter, some people supporting a recent march were asked if they understood the slogan on the placard they were carrying. The response was disappointingly vague, with an almost complete lack of understanding, it being more of a social occasion for them than a genuine protest. Well-intentioned they may have been, but if they had a critical understanding of the cause they were supporting, they might have stayed at home. One frightening feature of “groupthink” is when thinking is driven by people with no moral compass. Instead, the people involved wind each other up until something illegal is proposed, at which point they fail to confront the situation, and the members of the group end up in court. 

There was a problem in Isaiah’s day: evil practices and the abandonment of God became the norm, to the detriment of society as a whole. Perhaps excuses such as “everyone does it” began to emerge, and God’s people failed to understand the consequences of their choices and actions. 

Was “groupthink” a problem with Isaiah and his society in Judah? It seems so, because he received a warning from the Lord “not to think like everyone else does”. This was also a problem in the first century, to the extent that Paul had to write the following to the Roman church: “Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2). And that is the root of the situation. Human thinking is flawed, deeply impacted by sin, and a society built on it will not end well. There is only one “groupthink” allowed, and that is when God is involved. His people, pilgrims like us, need to change our thinking, even when it is at odds with the collective thought within our society. The Pilgrim Fathers fled this country in the 17th century because of religious persecution. They believed the Church of England was beyond saving and wanted to form their own independent congregations. Under English law, it was illegal to worship outside the state church, forcing them to hold secret meetings. So, refusing to comply, they ended up in America via the Netherlands. Was their “groupthink” wrong, or was the Church of England really beyond saving? Some would say today that they made the right decision.

The next verse in Isaiah 8 refers to conspiracies. Isaiah quotes the Lord telling him not to believe the conspiracy theories that circulated among the people. No specific conspiracies were mentioned, but human nature has always tried to explain difficult circumstances in overly simple terms. Sometimes those explanations have no basis in reality. Today, there is a real problem with conspiracies, because the internet and its global reach can quickly circulate a theory that is based on something, a comment, for example, taken out of context, and then used to build a whole “conspiracy theory” to the detriment of the people in general. Conspiracies usually involve assigning secret motives to those in power. They can also be suggestions that those who seem powerless are secretly in control of everything behind the scenes. When such conspiracies take root among a people, they can cause immense panic and damage. The priority of knowing what is true gets lost as people get caught up in fear. Some such theories are almost laughable in their content, such as the one that the Covid vaccination was being used to implant a computer chip in people so that the government could control them. Another conspiracy theory that has been around for a long time is the Flat Earth Society’s. In one media report, the sentence “The belief that the Earth is flat has been described as the ultimate conspiracy theory” appears (Huffington Post, October 29th 2012).

But we won’t dwell on the obvious. Isaiah wrote, “Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble”. This verse emerges as a breath of fresh air and as a remedy for many of society’s ills. Who is the One who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow? Who is the One who never changes? It is God we need to trust so that godless theories fall into disuse and out of memory. And more, we need to acknowledge Him with awe and trembling, because He is the source of all truth.

Father God. You are the Truth. You are the only One worth following in this life. Thank You for Your Word. Amen.

Immanuel – God With Us

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Therefore, the Lord will overwhelm them with a mighty flood from the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria and all his glory. This flood will overflow all its channels and sweep into Judah until it is chin-deep. It will spread its wings, submerging your land from one end to the other, O Immanuel. “Huddle together, you nations, and be terrified. Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, but you will be crushed! Yes, prepare for battle, but you will be crushed! Call your councils of war, but they will be worthless. Develop your strategies, but they will not succeed. For God is with us!”
Isaiah 8:7-10 NLT

We take a second look at the impending invasion by Assyrian forces. Because the people of Judah had rejected God’s care, which Isaiah, in his prophecy, likened to the “gently flowing waters of Shiloah”, the invasion would be like a mighty flood that would immerse the land of Judah so that it was “chin-deep”. Why was the overflow not total? Because Jerusalem, the “head” above the chin, was going to be spared. The first part of the prophecy ends with a reference to “Immanuel”, reminding the people that God’s protective presence was still there despite their rejection of Him. 

In verse 9, Isaiah prophetically challenged all the foreign nations that wanted to attack God’s people. He warned them to prepare for battle, but promised that they would be “shattered” (destroyed). The next verse continues in that theme, pointing out that the enemy’s strategic planning was pointless “for God is with us”, which is the meaning of Immanuel. 

Do we pilgrims today believe that God is with us? Is His presence helping us through the difficulties and problems that seem to be part of living in the 21st Century? There seem to be many media reports of the increasing cost of living, tax rises, a lack of social cohesion, but then, adding to the woes, there are wars and strife and threats of the same elsewhere in the world, all painting a picture of a flood of problems that threaten to submerge people everywhere. Where is God in all of this, some ask? But it is easy to see the problems rather than God’s provision. We are surrounded by plenty. Here in the West, the supermarkets are well stocked, and power cuts are rare. Very few people have nowhere to lay their heads at night, even though homelessness is a problem for some. Jesus said, “… For [God] gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike” (Matthew 5:45b). This is a verse that goes far beyond just watery drops from the heavens, but also points out that God shows people His favour, including all that we need for life in this technological age. Back in my days as a small boy, all children in my primary school had to attend a morning service, where a hymn was sung, and prayers were said, and I can remember that some of the prayers were thanking God for His provision, and for council workers like street cleaners, who made our society a pleasant place in which to live. Just because school assemblies have been largely dispensed with in our multi-cultural Britain, it does not mean that God has stopped showing His favour. We do not have to look very far before we see that He is indeed still with us. 

We pilgrims must never stop praying for our countries, thanking God for His presence and favour. We have much to thank Him for, each and every day, but even in the dark times, God is still there with us. I always feel so sorry for those without a belief in God, and who drift through life like a ship without a rudder. When problems come their way, they are like the man who built his house upon the sand. Matthew 7:27, “When the rains and floods come, and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash”. Such people can be found in a doctor’s office, listening to a bad diagnosis. Or facing an unexpected bill, knowing that they lack the funds to pay it. I met a man recently who, now in his late seventies, said that he was glad that he only had a few years left to live, because his life was one of misery and depression. There is a poem about two prisoners looking through the bars of their cell. “One saw mud, but the other saw stars”. We pilgrims are star gazers, looking up into the Heavenly realms from which our hope and help originate.

We’ll finish today with a Psalm for pilgrims everywhere. Psalm 121: “I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.” That’s all about my God. Does it describe yours?

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your grace and favour, providing for our needs, and giving us hope for the future. Amen.

Hope Amidst Destruction: God’s Promise in Isaiah 8:8

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Narrow village street with stone buildings and a stream flowing through center

“Then the Lord spoke to me again and said, “My care for the people of Judah is like the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, but they have rejected it. They are rejoicing over what will happen to King Rezin and King Pekah. Therefore, the Lord will overwhelm them with a mighty flood from the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria and all his glory. This flood will overflow all its channels and sweep into Judah until it is chin deep. It will spread its wings, submerging your land from one end to the other, O Immanuel.”
Isaiah 8:5-8 NLT

God cared for His people. Time and time again, He offered His love and compassion to a people who consistently rejected Him, a people who preferred to rely on their own resources in times of trouble. The people could never say that they had been given no warnings about what would happen to them. Prophet after prophet brought warning messages from God, and His patience endured long after it would have been expected to. The “gently flowing waters” paint a picture of peaceful and constant care, with provision and healing implied for generation after generation. So why would the Israelites have rejected such an offer? Why indeed.

Because they decided to behave in a way like the nations around them, with their idols and evil practices, their reliance on their own armies and other resources, God had to let them face into the consequences of their choices. It beggars belief that they thought they could go their own way instead of God’s way, but that is how human beings behave. In C S Lewis’s book “The Great Divorce”, the inhabitants of hell, ghosts, were given the opportunity for a day trip to Heaven with a potential second chance. But once there, they preferred to rant and rave at the inhabitants of Paradise rather than humble themselves and repent of their sins. Fiction I know, but the point is that human nature can become so selfish that it destroys itself.

After the building of the Temple had been completed, “… the Lord appeared to Solomon and said, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place” (2 Chronicles 7:12-15). Perhaps, as we read in Isaiah 6, the prophet recalled this Scripture and went to the Temple in the knowledge that God would hear his prayers.

But, sadly, the Israelites’ attempts to defend their country through alliances and their own resources were not going to end well, because the Assyrians would soon overrun their land, overwhelming the inhabitants, with the result previously described in Isaiah 7:20, “In that day the Lord will hire a “razor” from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—and use it to shave off everything: your land, your crops, and your people”. But there is a note of hope at the end of verse 8, “it will spread its wings, submerging your land from one end to the other, O Immanuel”. Despite this total destruction, God leaves a promise. The land ultimately belongs to Immanuel (which means “God with us”), offering hope for a future.

The “gently flowing waters of Shiloah” were a reference to the Pool of Siloam, the water source for Jerusalem, a spring that never ran dry. But like such things, even today, it was taken for granted. When was the last time we thanked God for the water supply that appears when we turn on a tap? Or the air we breathe? These are basic commodities that support and sustain human life, and have done so ever since Adam appeared on this planet. 

But there is another source of God’s care and compassion, and that is Jesus, who shed His blood that we might have life, and life eternal. In Zecharia 13:1, we read, “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”. What else could that have been than Jesus’ blood, that has been cleansing believers ever since the soldier plunged his spear in Jesus’ side after He had died on the cross. People in previous generations revered the unstoppable availability of Jesus’ blood for the cleansing from sin, even writing hymns such as “Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace; / Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise,” a hymn written in the mid-18th Century. A William Cowper hymn of 1770 was, “There is a fountain filled with blood / Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins, / And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, / Lose all their guilty stains.”

Today, we hear little about the blood that Jesus shed for us, pilgrims. We worship in a more sanitised environment, it seems. But back to basics, because that is why we are here. We are God’s children, and Jesus gave His life for us. 

Father God. We worship You for all You have done for us, and particularly with thanks for Jesus, who shed His blood for us. Amen.

The Signboard of Isaiah: Messages for a Modern Society

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Wooden sign reading 'Ancient Pathways to Oldwood Village' overlooking a mountain village

“Then the Lord said to me, “Make a large signboard and clearly write this name on it: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.” I asked Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah, both known as honest men, to witness my doing this. Then I slept with my wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said, “Call him Maher-shalal-hash-baz. For before this child is old enough to say ‘Papa’ or ‘Mama,’ the king of Assyria will carry away both the abundance of Damascus and the riches of Samaria.””
Isaiah 8:1-4 NLT

Isaiah 7:17-25 outlines the prophecy about what will happen to Judah because of King Ahaz’s stubbornness and lack of faith in God. It is grim reading, as “ … the Lord … whistle[s] for the army of southern Egypt and for the army of Assyria. They will swarm around you like flies and bees” (Isaiah 7:18), and the picture develops of a land, desolate and unpopulated. “The entire land will become a vast expanse of briers and thorns, a hunting ground overrun by wildlife” (Isaiah 7:24). There are a few people remaining, however, and with the abandoned sheep, cattle and goats, they will have sufficient food to sustain them. But the land of finery, prosperity, rich people and the partying and drunkenness is no more.

We now move over to Isaiah 8 and find Isaiah doing something strange. He makes a signboard with the slogan “Maher-shalal-hash-baz” written on it. To emphasise his message, he enlisted the witness of two honest men, Uriah and Zechariah. He didn’t include what he then did with his signboard, but the message was “Swift to plunder and quick to carry away”. Imagine today if someone had such a placard with those words written on it, and they started to walk down the local High Street. At best, people would stop them and ask what the message was all about. But I suspect that, in today’s society, most people would hurry past them and ignore them. Messages written on placards as part of our seemingly frequent demonstrations and marches today are mostly understandable and convey the message behind the event, so a cryptic message or statement with no apparent meaning would be unusual. 

Perhaps the signboard was to be located in a prominent place in Jerusalem, where passers-by would be constantly reminded of the warning Isaiah had written. But almost to emphasise the message, Isaiah and his wife had a son, and they gave him the same name. Poor wee chap, we think, having to be called that name for the rest of his life, but the message was clear. A time was coming when Israel would be plundered, and all the spoil carried away with the people into exile. “Damascus” and “Samaria” refer to the Syrian and Israeli kings. 

Isaiah wasn’t slow in proclaiming God’s message to His people, who had lapsed into apostasy, idolatry and sin. They were living lives of luxury, apparently unaware of the storm clouds gathering on their borders and of the warning Isaiah had issued. Were all the people living sinful lives, or were there some who “had not bowed the knee to Baal”? Throughout history there has always been a remnant of people faithful to God, and Isaiah’s prophecy at the end of Isaiah 6 records, “… But as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down, so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed”, and in the verse 22 in the next chapter we read, “Nevertheless, there will be enough milk for everyone because so few people will be left in the land. They will eat their fill of yogurt and honey”. 

Today, we pilgrims mostly live in an increasingly secular society where there are many parallels with society in Isaiah’s day. Many people live a life of plenty and luxury, but fail to acknowledge the One who has blessed them with the means to enjoy what they have. Talk of God and who He is falls largely on deaf ears. But it wasn’t so long ago when people everywhere here in the UK flocked to their churches without a thought of denying God. Here in the centre of the city where I live, there were fourteen churches and congregations in the 17th and 18th centuries, and most of the buildings remain today as “signboards” of a past move of God. The remaining churches are marked by a small number of people in large buildings. But God is still on the move, with new congregations springing up in out-of-town warehouses and industrial buildings. God always has a remnant of people faithful to Him. 

We pilgrims are representatives of God, and we pray that there will once again be a new awakening to God, and that people will reach out to Him as their Creator and their God. We are the “signboards” in our generation and communities proclaiming a message similar to that of Isaiah. Perhaps ours would be “Repent for the end is nigh”, or “Jesus is the answer”, or something more scriptural like “Jesus came to save the lost”. Even John 3:16 might be an appropriate message for our “signboard”. Or, as a friend of mine does quite frequently, we try to engage people and give them a copy of the Gospel or a simple tract that might lead to their salvation. But however we proclaim the message about our wonderful God to our society, we realise that what we have to say will go largely misunderstood or ignored altogether. The same hindrance that Isaiah was warned about still applies today (Isaiah 6:9-10). 

Father God. The message we proclaim to the people around us, repentance and belief in Jesus, contains words and actions as we live out our pilgrim life in our communities and families. Please lead and guide us in Your ways, and to the people who You want us to reach. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Lessons from Isaiah: God’s Sign to King Ahaz

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yoghurt and honey. For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted.”
Isaiah 7:13-16 NLT

Isaiah is frustrated with King Ahaz because he refuses to ask God for a miracle to save his country. Isaiah points out that Ahaz is not just testing the patience of human leaders but also God’s. But isn’t that like some people, who stubbornly stick to their sinful and selfish ways, even when they know that they are wrong, and ignore the advice or counsel about the right way? We have people today who choose a lifestyle that does them harm, physically and mentally, even though they know it is wrong, even admitting as such when challenged. But that was King Ahaz, and he probably knew the old Frank Sinatra song, “I’ll do it my way”, down to the last note. The second verse sums up Ahaz well, “I’ve lived a life that’s full / I traveled each and every highway / And more, much more / I did it, I did it my way“.

But Isaiah continued by giving Ahaz a sign from the Lord Himself. It is a famous verse, much used in the season of Advent, because it prophesies the coming of Jesus. A virgin having a child was a very rare event, and we marvel at such a prophetic foretelling of Mary and the Christmas story, something that has been a cornerstone of the Christian faith. But was there perhaps a second, more immediate, meaning for Ahaz that day? Isaiah explained how this sign from the Lord worked as a “timer” for the war. The boy would eat simple, everyday foods like “yoghurt and honey“. Before this child was old enough to know right from wrong (roughly age 12-13), the two kings threatening Judah, along with their lands, would be destroyed. This historical timeline was likely tied to a baby born during Isaiah’s time, providing immediate proof of God’s Word. 

We cannot leave these Scripture verses without turning to Matthew’s Gospel. A young peasant girl called Mary was engaged to be married, but “she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit”. “Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly” (Matthew 1:19). But God had different plans and the account continues, “As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All of this occurred to fulfil the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”” The same prophecy from Isaiah was quoted by Matthew, and we know the rest of the story, with Jesus, God’s Son, being born in a Bethlehem stable.

Did Jesus fulfil the next part of Isaiah’s prophecy, that “By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yoghurt and honey”?. There is perhaps a fulfilment of this, because we know the event that happened when Jesus was twelve years old. He went missing at the time of the Passover festival and was found in the Temple speaking with the religious teachers. “His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son,” his mother said to him, “why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.” “But why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they didn’t understand what he meant” (Luke 2:48-50). Was that the time when Jesus began to be aware of His mission, choosing what was right and rejecting what was wrong?

We pilgrims, with the benefit of hindsight, see how the Biblical prophecies were fulfilled and how foundational they were to the first coming of Jesus. We know that He will return again, and many prophecies apply to the event yet to come. But are we ready and prepared as prophecies work out in our lifetimes? Jesus said, “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42). Peter wrote, “But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight. And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved …” (2 Peter 3:13-15a). 

The question, “Are we ready?” hangs in the air and impacts every facet of our believing lives, day by day. We must do all that we can to be faithful to our calling.

Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your prophets and their messages of events yet to unfold. Help us to stay near the cross of Jesus so that we will be ready when the day comes, pure and blameless in Your sight. Amen.