Children of the Promise

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children. For God had promised, “I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins.”
Romans 9:8-10 NLT

We continue to work our way through Paul’s thesis on Abraham’s children. He was making a very clear distinction about the status of Abraham’s children and the special place enjoyed by the descendants of Isaac. In previous verses, Abraham’s other children, such as Ishmael, had no birth right to be a “child of the promise”. But what was this “promise”? 

In Genesis 17, we read about how God appeared to Abraham and made a covenant with him. The first two verses read, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants””. And then in Genesis 17:19 we read, “But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant”. The covenant, or promise, that God made with Abraham was to be implemented through his son Isaac. And in Genesis 17:7-8 we see what the promise was all about, “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God”.

God specifically said to Abraham, in response to his question about Ishmael, that this son would not be a part of the promise. And, by implication, neither would his other children. Isaac was the man through whom God was to build a mighty nation; all pure-blooded Jews, like Paul, were descended from him. Note that this covenant is eternal, everlasting and one that God will never abandon, no matter how much His chosen nation rebels.

What an incredible position, and responsibility, this put the Israelite nation under. Specifically chosen by God under the terms of an “everlasting covenant”, to be His chosen people. But here it would stay, as an interesting historical fact, if it wasn’t for Jesus. God’s plan was that His Son would come to this world and, through His sacrifice at Calvary, widen the “promise” to include all who believed in Him. Paul joins up the dots in his letter to the Galatians. We read in Galatians 4:22-23,  “The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfilment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfilment of his promise”. Paul goes on to describe how Isaac was the spiritual fulfilment of God’s promise, and he continues to write, “And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac” (Galatians 4:28).

Are we pilgrims guilty of the same action as Abraham, trying to hurry God along, or presuming a course of action outside His will? It is always tempting to rationalise a course of action when we should instead be patient, and full of faith that God will bring about what He promises.

So we pilgrims are included in God’s spiritual kingdom, as “children of the promise”. This doesn’t, of course, bring us under the Jewish Law – in Galatians 5:1 Paul wrote, “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law”. God through His wonderful grace, of which we are totally undeserving, has adopted us into His family has His children. And just as God promised to Abraham that his descendants would be given the land of Canaan, we spiritual “children of the promise” look forward to our inheritance in Heaven. We don’t know when that will be, but it will come to pass one day, perhaps sooner than we think.

Dear God. We look forward to receiving our inheritance in our coming promised land. Please help us to live out our lives dedicated to You, running the race to reach the finishing line. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

Abraham’s Children

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Well then, has God failed to fulfil his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people! Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,” though Abraham had other children, too.”
Romans 9:6-7 NLT

A Muslim man I once worked with said to me one day that we were really spiritual brothers because we both worshiped the same God. But these verses in Romans 9 are clear about the distinction between Abraham’s children. The Jewish nation was descended from Isaac alone. Although Ishmael was Abraham’s son, he was not part of God’s promises. We Christians also claim to be “children of God”, but most of us aren’t descended from Isaac either. Does that mean Muslims and Christians are outside of God’s favour? No it doesn’t, because the Gospel message in the Bible is clear, that everyone has the opportunity to become members of God’s family. This is true for both the Jews and non-Jews. Remember the verse, “For God so loved the world …”? No-one is excluded from God’s grace. We are all part of the “world”. Everyone is able to kneel before the cross at Calvary in repentance for their sins, and receive forgiveness and mercy. We read in John 1:12, “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God”. Jesus primarily came to bring His message of the Kingdom of God to His own people, the Jews. In Matthew 15:24 we read, “Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel””. However, in John 10:16 Jesus seemed to imply that He was the Shepherd of other peoples as well. We read in John 10:16, “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”. In 1 John 2:2 we read, “He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world”. 

By the way, referring back to my Muslim work colleague, his claim that we both worship the same God isn’t valid. The differences between the. two faiths is most stark with the Christian belief in the Trinity, God the Father, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The Muslim God, Allah, is a single being, and any talk of the Trinity is blasphemy to them. They consider that Jesus was a prophet, but not God.

But that is not to say that a Muslim cannot find Jesus. God Himself said through Paul in his letter to Timothy that everyone has the opportunity to be saved. We read in 1 Timothy 2:3-6, “This is good and pleases God our Saviour, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time”. 

So, sadly for my Muslim colleague, we are not spiritual brothers at all. But we pilgrims must never build a wall, keeping us separated from society around us. We are of course not of the world, but the lost and hopeless people we are in contact with, our friends and neighbours, need to hear about the love and grace of God. Unless they hear it from us, they may never hear it at all.

Dear Father. You gave us an important job to do in this lost and dying world. Please embolden us to share Your message of Good News with anyone You lead us to. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Covenants

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.”
Romans 9:4-5 NLT

We mustn’t forget the Covenant, made between God and His people. We read in Genesis 12:1-3 how God established a special relationship, a covenant, with Abraham; “The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you””. We read in Exodus 19:4-6 God’s message to Moses, “‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel”. An awesome responsibility for the Israelites. To support the Covenant, God set out rules and regulations, the Law, that had to be followed, and we can read about that in Exodus 20 and throughout the Books that constituted the Jewish Torah. However, regardless of how the Israelites behaved, and their success at keeping their side of the bargain, the Covenant God made with Abraham and the nation he fathered was unconditional.

We Christians, with the benefit of our Bibles, can look back at two Covenants. The word “Covenant” means an agreement or promise, often underpinned by a legal document. And God has committed Himself to making a Covenant with His peoples everywhere. God cannot lie or break a promise, so the Covenant that He made was everlasting. So when Paul wrote about God making covenants with the Jews, His people, that meant there was an eternal agreement that would never be broken. 

The Covenant that God made with the “people of Israel” included “wonderful promises“. He gave them territory, and promised that the Jews would be a nation that one day will bring blessing to all the families on earth. The Israelite nation were chosen to be His adopted children, with all the benefits that result. Deuteronomy 28 lists the blessings that will be enjoyed by the Jewish nation if they keep the Covenant with God. Many of the Biblical prophecies about the Jews have not yet been fulfilled, but they will be because what God has promised will come to pass. 

But perhaps the biggest and most important promise that God made to His chosen people was the Messiah. Isaiah prophesied, “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’)” (Isaiah 7:14). And Isaiah 9:6-7, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” With the benefit of hindsight, we saw that happen with the birth of Jesus, bringing salvation to a lost people and a dark world. And yet the promise of the Messiah won’t be fully fulfilled until we see Jesus reign for all eternity, a government bringing peace that “will never end”.  

Jesus came, ushering in the New Covenant. Jeremiah prophesied that it would happen, ““The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah” (Jeremiah 31:31). About Jesus, the writer of the Hebrews said, “That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant” (Hebrews 9:15).

God never breaks His promises. His Covenants are eternal. And we pilgrims can be part of God’s covenant promises. Forever.

Father God, we thank You for Your faithfulness. It is everlasting, full of love and grace. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

The People of Israel

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.”
Romans 9:4-5 NLT

Paul continues to write about his fellow Jews. And without a doubt they have had an extraordinary past, a heritage that continues into the present day. What other race of people has ever held together without intermarrying with other people groups? Paul himself claimed to be “pure blooded”, as we read in Philippians 3:5, “I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law”. Paul could trace his ancestry all the way back to Benjamin, who was the youngest son of Jacob and Rachel. Benjamin became the leader of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. His was a tragic birth, because through it his mother Rachel died. We read in Genesis 35:18, “Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named the baby Ben-oni (which means “son of my sorrow”). The baby’s father, however, called him Benjamin (which means “son of my right hand”)”. But by claiming to be “pure blooded”, Paul knew that no non-Jew had sullied the family line.

But how did the Jewish race become God’s chosen “adopted children”? We read in Deuteronomy 7:6, “For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure”. Perhaps God, seeing down the corridors of time, wanted a particular race of people into whom His Son, Jesus, would be born. The Old Testament details the lengths God went to, to hold His people together. Imagine what it must have been like, on that four-decade journey from Egypt to the promised land. The sea parting at Moses’ command. God leading the people with a pillar of fire by night, a pillar of smoke by day. Manna, a daily food supply. Water pouring from a rock. Surely an incredible display of God’s glory and provision, for many men, women and children who could have numbered as many as five million, numerically the population of Scotland, according to some estimates.

What do Christians today, pilgrims like us, make of the Jews? The nation especially chosen by God to represent Him on Planet Earth? We look back over history and see incredibly sad and cruel persecution of God’s people, much of it in so-called Christian nations. In recent memory, the Holocaust is just such an example. Even today, anti-semitism is rife in Western nations, and even in the UK, as recent political events have shown. But we need to remember that the Jews were, and still are, God’s chosen people. We know too that salvation comes through the Jews – Jesus said so, as recorded in John 4:22, “You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews”. Jesus’ statement was fully confirmed by His death on a Roman cross on a hill called Calvary, a few short years later. Jesus, the Jewish Son of God, was sacrificed so that we could be made right with God. Whatever the Jewish nation is going through, or doing, in the end they are God’s chosen people. There was a prophetic word spoken by a Jewish High Priest and recorded in John 11:50-52,  ““You don’t realise that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation. And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world”. So we pilgrims pray for the Jews, and thank God for Jesus, because without Him, where would we be? Amen?

Dear Father. Thank You for Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. And we thank You for Your people, the Jewish nation, who have taught us so much. Amen.

The Jews

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.”
Romans 9:1-3 NLT

After the dizzy heights of Romans 8, Paul turns a page in his writings, and thinks about his fellow Jews. Paul was of course, by his own admission, a Jew. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:5, “I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law”. Not only was Paul a Jew, he was a particularly fanatical adherent to Jewish customs. But his meeting with Jesus on the Damascus Road (Acts 9) turned his life around to the extent that, referring to his Jewish heritage and way of life, he wrote in Philippians 3:7, “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done”. The Bible version quoted for this verse (NLT) uses the word “worthless” but the Greek word for this was rather vulgar and consequently avoided by the translators. Paul had turned his back on his Jewish roots. But that didn’t stop him grieving for the rest of his race, his people, his Jewish brothers and sisters. Paul had discovered salvation through Jesus, and was in a state of “bitter sorrow and unending grief” because most of his countrymen hadn’t. In Acts 13:47, we read, “Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles”. Paul tried to get the Jews he met to accept the “word of God” but he was rejected and turned to the Gentiles instead. But that didn’t stop his feelings of intense regret.

Why was Paul apparently so hung up over the obstinacy and outright rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, by his fellow Jews? Why would he rather be “cut off from Christ”  if the Jews would accept salvation? Because he knew that, regardless of their behaviour, the Jews were, and are, God’s chosen people. This has been, and still is, a problem for many Christians because they believe that because the Jews have rejected Jesus as the Messiah, that have relinquished their right to be God’s chosen people any more. But we perhaps forget that the very Messiah, Jesus Himself, was a Jew. Born of Jewish parents, with, as we find in Matthew 1, lineage that could be traced all the way back to Abraham. Following an extensive list of unpronounceable names, we read in Matthew 1:17, “All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah”. I love the order in the three sets of fourteen – the symmetry and multiples of the use of the God-number, “7”, to me just puts God’s fingerprints all over the plan for the Messiah’s first coming to Planet Earth.

Christians have quoted the verse, Matthew 21:43, to justify their claim to replace the Jews as God’s chosen people. We read, “I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit”. But there are two problems in drawing this conclusion. Firstly, Jesus didn’t say that the Jews will not be God’s chosen people anymore. He implied that at that particular time in history, the Kingdom of God was not available to them because of their choices. Secondly, Jesus was speaking to the religious leaders who happened to be in His presence. We read in Matthew 21:23,45, “When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right? … When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realised he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers”. As we read in Matthew 21:46, the ordinary people, the “crowds”, had a very different opinion of Jesus, “They [the religious leaders] wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet”. 

Paul desperately wanted His people, the Jews, to be saved. His zeal carried him through many challenges and difficulties during his missionary journeys. Everywhere he went he met fellow Jews, the diaspora living throughout the Middle East at that time. On occasion they listened to his message and put their faith in Jesus. But on others they abused Paul badly. He never lost his love for his people. But what about us pilgrims? Do we have the same zeal and longing to see our fellow countrymen saved? Do we share Paul’s “bitter sorrow and unending grief” for our neighbours and friends? I know that they have to be free to make their own choices but we must share the love of God with them. What else can we do?

Dear God. We pray for our families and friends, that a new awakening by Your Spirit would draw them out of their spiritual slumber into the light of Your love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Totally Convinced (4)

Posted on by Adrian Clark

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. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NLT

Paul finishes his musings about God’s love and what could get in the way with it, by writing a catch-all statement. Just in case he had missed something that might possibly block him from experiencing God’s love, he included the thought that there was nothing that God had created that would apply. And because God created everything, that was a very complete and conclusive statement. 

But in all of Paul’s thoughts, he missed out one very important entity that will block us from God, and that is our sin. It won’t stop God from loving us, of course, but a sinful human being can never enter His presence. The purity and holiness that is God’s very essence can never be soiled by sin in any form. The rebellious devil and his angels were evicted from Heaven because sin could never be allowed there. Heaven is a very real place with very real conditions, and sin won’t be one of them.

Are there ever any times when we pilgrims feel isolated and forgotten by God? Have we ever felt that our prayers never go beyond our ceilings? Just when we need God in a situation, does He seem to have gone on holiday somewhere? However, we can be assured that God will never forget us, or leave us. What God said through Joshua in Joshua 1:9 applies just as much today as it did then. He said, “This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”. Some of the last words Jesus spoke before He ascended into Heaven were the reassurances that He will always be with us, His disciples. Matthew 28:20, “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age”.

So if God has never left us, how is it that we can feel that He has? Sin may get in the way, of course. And our enemy, the devil and his forces, may have a part in it. But sometimes that is how things are. At times of apparent spiritual isolation, it is our faith that keeps us going. God is always there for us. So we continue to pray, read our Bibles, fellowship with other Christians, because that is what faith does. We perhaps evaluate what we’re doing, just to make sure that a spiritual error of one kind or another hasn’t crept into our devotional lives.  But sadly, I have known people who return to their old lives in a sinful world, because of their doubts and lack of faith. Instead of pressing through they turn around on their journey, complaining that God’s demands are too hard for them, perhaps convincing themselves in the process that God doesn’t exist anyway. We who are strongest in our Christian walk need to encourage our weaker brothers and sisters to keep the faith. 

Paul wrote that nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love. That is a statement that underpins our faith. It is a pillar on which our future is built. If the Bible has recorded such a statement we cannot ignore it. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write it. Perhaps He is inspiring us to heed it.

Father God. We know You are always there for us. Thank You. Amen.

Totally Convinced (3)

Posted on by Adrian Clark

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. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NLT

Paul goes on to write, “not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love”. Why should that be a problem to pilgrims like us today? Are we afraid of hell? Do we think that the prospect of hell will really get in the way of our experience of God’s love? Some declare that hell hasn’t yet been prepared so what is there to fear. Others minimise the concept of hell, declaring it as being an archaic hangover from the Middle Ages and not appropriate, or without any relevance, in today’s sophisticated societies.  

But the Bible is clear that hell is a place being established for the ultimate incarceration of the devil and his angels. God created them as immortal beings, so they can never die. But they can be consigned to a place where they will do no more damage to God’s creation. In Matthew 25:4 we read, “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons’”. Although primarily prepared as a place for the devil and his cohorts, there will also be room for the devil’s earthly followers. And the scary thought is that the default place for mankind at the end of time is hell. We have to make a choice about wanting to go to Heaven. If we put off making a decision for Christ then the danger is that we will end up in hell.

But, as Paul indicated, the thought of hell seemed to have then potential for power over him and the early Christians. By definition, God’s love will be totally absent in hell, of course. In Paul’s day, hell was a place much to be feared. The worry of ending up there because of some misdemeanour, unrepented of, was perceived as a real threat in Paul’s day. And perhaps should be for us as well. In the process of warning His disciples about the coming dangers being threatened against Christians, Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). There are other warnings Jesus gave about hell; He considered it a real place with real consequences, and one from which there is no escape.

Thankfully, there is a way that we can choose, to avoid spending eternity in hell, and that is through believing in Jesus. Paul wrote in Romans 10:9-10, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 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”. Note though that this not a magic incantation; the assurance of salvation from an eternity spent in hell comes from “believing in your heart”. There is no other way.

Paul was convinced that hell had no power over him, and therefore would never be able to block him or distract him from God’s love. And for us pilgrims, the answer is the same. We have chosen the narrow way that leads to life, not the broad way that leads to destruction.

Dear God. We agree with Paul that there is nothing, not even hell itself, that can get in the way of Your love for us. We are so grateful. Amen.

Totally Convinced (2)

Posted on by Adrian Clark

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. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NLT

Paul continued to write about the things that convinced him could never separate him from God’s love. He considered life and death, angels and demons, and now writes about fears and worries. Paul was a man who had first hand experience of life’s troubles, but he never seemed to stop and think. He was a driven man, desperate to share the Gospel regardless of his personal safety and comfort. Regardless of what he thought, though, he accepted that fears and worries were an issue. 

Have we woken up this morning, stomachs churning with fear because of what we are facing into in the day ahead? Perhaps the boss at work wants to see us about an issue that could result in our dismissal. Or perhaps the bailiffs are due, to collect an unpaid debt. The doctors in hospital want to talk to you about a sick relative. Further afield, some live in constant fear of the authorities, waiting for that knock on the door. Perhaps we have received a threatening or bullying message on social media. There are countless issues that could be causing “fears for today”. 

Paul continued to write about “our worries for tomorrow”. That too can be debilitating. People worry about things like, “Will I have enough money to pay the utility bill that’s due next week?” College students worry about the looming exams. The list of potential worries coming down the tracks of life can be seemingly endless.

Fears and worries can be debilitating, and they snatch away any thoughts of God and His love and provision, impacting our joy in the process. But in the context of eternity, our anxieties are irrational. However, just saying that is ok when we don’t have anything to worry about. It’s a different issue when we fear for our physical comfort and safety. When we have problems with finding the resources to buy the food we and our families need, or heat our homes. Having “fears for today” and “worries about tomorrow” manifest themselves in many ways. Sadly, I know people who are unrepentant worriers. Even when they have nothing to worry about, they pause and start worrying that there is something to worry about that they don’t know about yet.

How do we pilgrims join Paul in his state of being “totally convinced”? Paul wrote in Philippians 4:11-13, “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength”. Paul’s relationship with God superseded anything life was going to throw at him. His calling was solid and indisputable.

God promises us that He would supply all our needs. We read in Philippians 4:19, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus“. If we are honest with ourselves, we will find that many of our worries come, not from our needs, but from our wants. So we fill our homes with gadgets and other “stuff” and then start worrying about our possessions. To mitigate the worries of ownership, we take our expensive insurance policies. Paul learned to live a life of faith in God, trusting in Him to supply all his needs.

We can’t leave the subject of “fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow” without referring to Philippians 4:6-7, verses that are much quoted, and which read, “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“. Somehow, when we are on our knees in God’s presence, “the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace“.

Dear Lord. You care for us, and we respond to You with grateful hearts. We worship You today. Amen.

Totally Convinced (1)

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“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. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NLT

Paul finishes Romans 8 with an amazing statement of faith, that has been quoted and requoted many times since he wrote it. Through his experience of God, his faith in how much God loved him had transformed him from a vague hope to a position where he was “convinced”. Paul had no doubts that God’s love for him was total. And he was equally convinced that nothing could separate him from it.

Paul lists a number of things that he knows won’t get in the way of God’s love for him, things that perhaps give us a little insight into Paul’s character. He firstly had on his mind his mortality, writing that “neither death nor life” mattered when God’s love was considered. We know that Paul apparently had a total disregard for his personal safety, even expressing his will to leave this life and move on to a new life with Jesus. He wrote in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better”. He was “convinced” that God’s love for him would not be any different whether or not he was dead or alive.

Paul goes on to next mention “angels or demons”. I wonder why they were on his mind? In 21st Century Planet Earth we don’t talk very much about supernatural beings, of any flavour. But Paul’s spiritual insight was acute and he was very much aware of benevolent and malign spirits. In Acts 16:16 we read, “One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes”. The rest of the story in Acts 16 describes how Paul ended up in prison. To Paul, this was a matter of fact encounter with a demon, and he dealt with it there and then. No prayer meeting. No exorcism ritual. No pleading with God. He just dealt with the problem using the power and authority God had given him. So Paul was “convinced” that no spiritual power from anywhere, be it Heaven or hell, could interfere with God’s love for him.

How about us pilgrims? How convinced are we about God’s love for us? And does it make any difference whether or not God loves us? Are we motivated and empowered by His love or are we just living a life that includes an occasional encounter with God on a Sunday in a church meeting, where we sing a few songs or say a few prayers from the prayer book? The fact that God loves us was why Jesus came to this world in the first place. We read again those words in John 3:16, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life”. There is no love greater than that. God’s love for us is not just an abstract thought, a few nice but irrelevant words in the Bible. His love for us has the capability of transforming us from ordinary human beings into a people who, like Paul, have no regard for personal safety and who are desperate to share that love with those around us. God’s love motivated Paul; does it motivate us?

Father. We know your love for us is limitless. We humbly respond and say we love You. We know that without You we are in a hopeless and dark place. But Your love shines within us with a light too bright to extinguish. Thank You. Amen.

Christ’s Love

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”
Romans 8:35-37 NLT

Paul muses for a while on how much Jesus loves him. He runs through in his mind all the circumstances that he has experienced on his long and often tedious missionary journeys. The abuse he has suffered. The privations forced upon him. The insults hurled against him. The beatings and stoning. Even shipwrecks. The list is endless, seemingly. And he ponders for a moment, wondering if all the negative experiences that have come his ways mean that Christ has deserted him. Do we feel the same sometimes? Do we think God doesn’t love us anymore when we experience difficulties? Do we feel God has deserted us when the prayers for a sick loved one seemingly go unanswered? Or when there is too much month left at the end of the money? Has Jesus left us when we have a road traffic accident, or when we get fired from our job?

We pilgrims are natural human beings, predominantly living a life embedded in the here and now. Most of our thoughts are focused on the natural and physical circumstances in which we live. The food we eat. How we feel. The clothes we wear. But we live in a world where all of this is badly affected by sin. So it should be of no surprise to us when we feel sometimes that the world around us is a hostile and loveless place. Paul, though, had even more reason than us to feel aggrieved by his circumstances. But he could then make that extraordinary statement, “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” An amazing conclusion. Paul had learnt the practice of lifting his eyes. Instead of guddling around in the mud and the mire of life, he had embraced what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 40:2-3, “He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord”. 

Paul had learnt that his altitude was established by his attitude. As he lifted his eyes to Heaven, he could imagine Jesus there, cheering him on. Heavenly reassurance that all was well. His legacy in Heaven was safe. Lack of love on earth did not mean God didn’t love him anymore. We Christians have many challenges in life. I can look back and see on several occasions, with deep gratitude within me, how God protected me from life’s difficulties and circumstances. But there were times when He didn’t. But He still loved me. And He still does today. And I can still stand assured on the solid Rock who is Christ, with an assurance that regardless of what life throws at me, God is still on His throne in Heaven and Jesus is sitting at His right hand pleading for me. 

We pilgrims are all walking our own paths to the promised land. Some roads will take us through difficult terrain, with apparently insurmountable obstacles in the way. But God is there with us, always helping, always loving, always holding our hands. And we can sing with many of our brothers and sisters, who may be experienced troubles, “a hymn of praise to our God”. 

Heavenly Father. We do indeed sing a hymn of praise to You today. Your love for us is boundless. And we declare with Paul that victory through Christ is ours. In Jesus’ name. Amen.