Overcoming Life’s Challenges with Unwavering Faith

Posted on by korgrocker

“Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you. But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.””
2 Corinthians 4:11-13 NLT

Paul quoted from Psalm 116 when he wrote, “I believed in God, so I spoke”. That Psalm is entitled, “Thanksgiving for Rescue from Death” and is an appropriate psalm for Paul to quote from. The Psalmist was in a place staring at death, “Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Please, Lord, save me!” How kind the Lord is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours! The Lord protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and he saved me” (Psalm 116:4-6). And as we read the rest of the Psalm, we can see how Paul must have found much comfort in it. We know from earlier in 2 Corinthians that Paul and his colleagues were in a dangerous place, to the point where they feared for their lives. But they, with the Psalmist, could claim, “I was facing death, and he saved me”. What connected the Psalmist and Paul? It wasn’t time, because they lived in different ages, separated by hundreds of years. They both attributed their salvation from death to God, but was there more involved? Of course, there was, and Paul put his finger on the missing element: faith. The Psalmist and Paul both had the same assurance of faith, that God would protect them in times of trouble. They both spoke out in the knowledge that God was there for them, close by, and able to save.

The writer of the Hebrews letter helpfully listed some men and women who displayed a faith so vibrant and real that it brought them through some terrible circumstances. Imagine having Noah’s faith, spending decades building a boat on dry land, a statement of faith to a nation that had never seen an expanse of water sufficient to float it. Imagine having David’s faith, heading out onto the battlefield armed only with a sling and five stones, facing a giant, a heavily armed opponent, saying, “The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” (1 Samuel 17:37a). But even today, imagine sitting by the bedside of a seriously ill child, one who the medics had written off, but having the faith saying and praying that God would heal, and seeing a miracle as a result.

Paul was a preacher who spoke out his message of the Gospel because he had faith that God would protect him until his mission was complete. But even if he died because of the Gospel, Paul still believed he would be resurrected, just as Jesus was. He had the same kind of faith as the unknown Psalmist did.

What about us pilgrims? Where are we at with our faith? Such faith will take many forms, each dependent on our own circumstances. Our faith is a statement to this hopeless world around us, because most of the people we meet have little or no faith in anything. We have to look up to a Higher Power far above our politicians and leaders to find the source of anything worth having faith in. We may not be facing death at this moment, but there will be other things that need us to have faith to overcome. God is interested in the smallest hurdle that we face, but we mostly seem to associate faith with the big things in life. 

There were three Jewish men who were faced with a life-threatening situation because they refused to worship the gold statue of a Babylonian king. We pick up the story in Daniel 3:16-18, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up””. That’s faith, that God will save even in impossible circumstances. But, and this is the “same kind of faith” that Paul had, even if God hadn’t saved them, the outcome would be better because they would have found themselves in God’s presence. 

Paul preached the message of eternal life through belief in Jesus to a deeply resistant andresentful people, and he suffered much because of it. But he was sustained by the faith that he had, because the “life of Jesus [would] be evident in [his] dying body”. Paul was aware that his time on earth would be short compared with eternity, so he made good use of the time that he had, even though his body was dying. Paul didn’t know what his future held, but he had faith in the One who held his future in His hands. Do we have that kind of faith? 

Dear Heavenly Father. You know all about us, when we go out and when we come in. You know what is going to happen in our lives and what our future holds. But we have confidence that regardless of what happens, we will one day be secure in Your presence. Forever. Thank You. Amen.

Pressed on Every Side

Posted on by korgrocker

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.”
2 Corinthians 4:8-12 NLT

Paul described the persecution he and his travelling colleagues experienced, but always with a positive “spin”. He could have just written about the facts, the physical and verbal attacks, the beatings and stonings, but he always followed the description of his attacks with a positive comment. For example, he wrote, “We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God”. Paul was a man the world has never seen the like of again, although some have come close. Paul had a mission that never left his vision, and he was even prepared to give his life for Jesus, willingly if it were part of the furtherance of the Gospel. Why did he do it? Because after his encounter with Jesus, what else could he do? I have known several men who have had an encounter with Jesus that was so real that they were freed from drug addiction. Subsequently, they have been very committed to evangelism. One of them confided in me that “he who has been forgiven much will give much”. In other words, his encounter with Jesus totally turned his life around, and he dedicated the rest of his life to his Saviour. Paul’s encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road was so real to him that it transformed his whole thinking and sent him on a journey that ended in his premature death, just for sharing his Jesus-experience with others. Has Jesus got hold of us to that extent? Are we so fired up with our mission for Jesus that we have put Him at the centre of all we do?

At the start of his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul described a situation that was life-threatening. “We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). Again, he used that word “crushed”. It’s a word that we normally associate with something like what we do to a clove of garlic to extract the flavour within. But crushing human beings points to an episode of physical torture and utter depravity. Paul’s experiences led him to expect to die, and that had the effect of crushing his spirit. A crushed spirit is a state of deep emotional, mental, and spiritual exhaustion, characterised by a loss of hope, passion, and the energy to face life. Often described as hitting rock bottom or a “dark night of the soul,” it represents a profound, oppressive pain that renders a person feeling broken or empty, frequently linked to severe stress, grief, or betrayal. To an unbeliever, such a state leads to hopelessness and a state of extreme mental anguish. But to Paul, there was a light that broke through into his dark place, the presence of God Himself. He knew that God could even raise the dead, and that sustained him and his colleagues. As we read on in the first chapter, we find that God did indeed rescue them from “mortal danger”, and he continued with “And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety” (2 Corinthians 1:11). 

Paul and his colleagues faced many hardships during those missionary journeys because the enemy was not going to give up his territory without a fight. And how better to stop the Way, the early Christian movement, than by doing away with the ones responsible for its spread? But Paul reminded the Corinthians that because of the cost he was prepared to pay with his own life, they had the benefit of eternal life. 

We pilgrims also have the opportunity to tell others about Jesus. There may be some opposition, but here in the West, there would be nothing on the scale of what Paul experienced. We Western Christians do not really understand what persecution means. But we still have to look for opportunities to share our testimony about Jesus. Yesterday I met a man walking his daughter’s dog in the local park. In the conversation that followed, he admitted that he was glad that he was coming to the end of his life, because he was so depressed by the state of the world. Thankfully, I was able to share the hope of the Gospel with him, but it reminded me that many people walking our streets are almost overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness. It may be inconvenient to stop and talk to people sometimes, but we must do so anyway. We may be resented or receive abuse in return, but it is only we pilgrims who have those precious words of eternal life, of God’s love and grace. And we pray for ourselves, for opportunities to share the Gospel, for our families and friends, all with the assurance that God hears our prayers and will work in hearts and minds to bring about His purposes.

Dear Heavenly Father. We thank You for all You have done for us, for our salvation and for Jesus. Regardless of what the world thinks of our faith, we share it anyway, thankful for Your strength helping us, and for giving us the words to say. We worship You today. Amen.

Fragile Clay Jars: The Power of God’s Light in Us

Posted on by korgrocker

“For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”
2 Corinthians 4:6-7 NLT

We are well used to the sun providing light for our days. Even when thick layers of cloud are above us, enough sunlight still filters through and illuminates our day. But the days of the sun providing us with heat and light are numbered. We read in Matthew 24:3, “Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”” And in response, He laid out a series of events that we need to look out for, until we reach Matthew 24:29: “Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken”. What use will a “darkened” sun be? No more daylight will find us in a terrified state, I’m sure. But this is not the sort of light we have “shining in our hearts”. The One who spoke light into reality, a Word that created our sun and the other heavenly objects, has also spoken into our hearts, and brought His light to shine there. This light isn’t abstract or distant. It’s personal. It shows us the glory of God as revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. In other words, God doesn’t just illuminate our circumstances; He reveals Himself. 

We would think, I’m sure, that our human hearts are a rather tenuous place to make known the light of Christ. Paul wrote that this incredible light, this divine treasure, is placed inside “fragile clay jars”. Ordinary containers. Easily cracked. We all know what happens if a china vase is dropped onto a stone floor. Or if a glass jar accidentally falls off a worktop. That is what our hearts are like. Easily broken by circumstances. Bruised by conversations or hearsay. Hearts are able to love but also able to hate. We, of course, refer to “hearts” as not the physical blood-pump we have inside our chests but something that is the core of our inner being, encompassing our mind, emotions, will, desires, and conscience. 

In Jeremiah 18:1-4, we read, “The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over“. In Romans 9:21, Paul picks up the theme, and he wrote, “When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?” We pilgrims have to accept that we are God’s creation. Some of us are quite decorative, gifted for up-front ministries, or for preaching to thousands about the love of God. Others are plainer and not often seen, and these are the people who are quietly and faithfully working away in the background, just as the potter required. But in both cases, the pots are fragile, easily broken, and susceptible to the light within fading away.

Treasure shining in our hearts

We spend our lives building an exterior that seems unbreakable and strong, polished and self-sufficient. We hide the “cracks” in our “pots” so that who we really are is exposed. If the light shining in our hearts” were housed in something flawless and indestructible, we might start to believe it came from us. But clay pots don’t get credit for the treasure they hold. Our limitations, our vulnerability, even our struggles serve a purpose: they point beyond us. They make it clear that whatever goodness, strength, or hope shines through our lives is not self-generated. It’s God at work within us.

What is the treasure that God has chosen to be contained in our hearts? We know the glory of Jesus, as it shines bright within us. We know the truth of the glorious Gospel, proclaiming as it does the wonder of how the Son of God came to this world to redeem sinful, broken and hopeless human beings from a lost eternity. We know the love and grace of God burning within us through the power of His Spirit. None of this is earthly treasure, doomed to destruction by “moth and rust” as Jesus warned us about. It is an eternal treasure so precious and limitless that we have to share it with others at every opportunity. I’m sure that if we went up to a homeless person with a banknote and gave it to them, they would be very grateful. But around us are people who will one day be homeless in a place without God. We have a treasure far more valuable than banknotes, and we can hand it out to anyone who wants to listen. We pilgrims may be “clay pots”, but God, the master potter, has created us and has chosen to use us to store His treasure. But this treasure will lose its shine and die away unless we use it for God’s purposes.

Dear Heavenly Father. We may be “clay pots”, but you have created each one of us as a unique human being. We understand the awesome responsibility of having Your treasure stored within us, and we pray for opportunities to show it to those around us, offering them the same invitation as we responded to. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Light of Christ: Transforming Hearts and Lives

Posted on by korgrocker

“You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.”
2 Corinthians 4:5-6 NLT

Paul began our verses today with a low-key confession: “We don’t go around preaching about ourselves.” The culture in those days, much as it is today, was full of people obsessed with self‑promotion, personal branding, and presenting the perfect image, and Paul’s words feel almost countercultural. Implicit in his message was a reminder to the Corinthians that the Christian life wasn’t just a stage on which they performed to boost their personalities and achievements. The same message applies to us today. The message we carry is not our own greatness—it’s Christ’s lordship. This doesn’t mean our stories don’t matter. They do. God uses our testimonies, our journeys, our scars. But the purpose of sharing them is never to elevate ourselves. It’s to point to the One who heals, restores, and redeems. Paul’s humility wasn’t a weakness. It was clarity. He knew who the story was really about.

Paul continued: “We ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake”. This is a radical, countercultural statement, but it echoes what Jesus taught His disciples. We read in Matthew 20:25-28, “But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world Lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many”. In Philippians 2:6-7, Paul wrote about Jesus, “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being”. If only we could get our minds around the enormity of what Jesus did, leaving the comforts of Heaven behind, and restricting Himself in a human body, being a servant and slave for the sake of our salvation. Even though Jesus was God, he chose not to use His divinity in His earthly ministry so that He could walk and talk with His generation as one of them. In fact, He was so much human that the religious leaders of His day accused Him of blasphemy when He spoke the truth about being God. In the kingdom of God, greatness is measured not by how many people serve you, but by how many people you serve. We pilgrims put others before ourselves. We give without expecting a return. We love without demanding recognition. This kind of servanthood is not natural. It’s supernatural. It flows from a heart that has been transformed by Christ’s own humility. 

“The glory of God that is seen
in the face of Jesus Christ”

Paul continued with a reference to the Genesis account, “Let there be light”. We read it in Genesis 1:3, “Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light”. Was it a big leap from writing about preaching to then referring to the creation story? It may be that we don’t understand the power of God that exists in the Good News about Jesus. The God of creation who spoke light into effect can surely speak into the hearts and minds of human beings with the tremendous message of grace and hope. Paul continued that God “made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ”. Light in the world provided by the heavenly bodies is as nothing compared with the Light that illuminates our hearts and minds. But it gets better. The glory of God is not found in anything created. It is only found “in the face of Jesus Christ”. When God shines His light into our hearts, He is giving us the ability to see Jesus for who He truly is.

So we pilgrims do not promote ourselves, because the message we carry is all about Jesus. John the Baptist said, “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less” (John 3:30). John “got it” because he went on to say to his disciples, “And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment” (John 3:36). Our message is so important, and we have to present it in a way that exalts Jesus, and Him alone. We love Him. We worship Him. And we tell our friends and families about Him. One day we will truly see “God … in the face of Jesus Christ”.

Dear Lord Jesus. We look forward with eager anticipation to the day when we will see You face to face. As the Gaithers used to sing, “What a day that will be”. We worship You, Lord. Amen.

Unveiling the Truth: How the Devil Blinds Believers

Posted on by korgrocker

“If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 NLT

Is it true that the devil can be blamed for people not believing the Good News about Jesus? Is it not the sin within them that has blocked access to God’s grace and mercy? Is it not the pleasures of this life that get in the way? The Apostle Paul had a friend called Demas, and we read, “Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia” (2 Timothy 4:10). Demas was unable to stay the course, being lured back into the ways of the world. People then and now are sinful by default, and for most of them, the devil needs to have no input. The things of the world are pleasurable and a constant temptation to even those who have spent time in the Kingdom of God, like Demas. So all the devil has to do is keep an eye out for those people who are in danger of departing his kingdom, stopping them from passing through the door into God’s Kingdom and eternal life with Him.

In the parable of the sower, and in His explanation of what it meant, Jesus said, “The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away” (Mark 4:15). The scenario is easy to imagine. The “seed” is the Gospel message and, at least initially, the thoughts of sin and God’s redemption, followed by eternal life, seem to be the right way to take, which, of course, it is. But then the devil comes along and points out all the things that will have to change in that person’s life. They think of all the things they enjoy, the pleasures in life that will have to be discarded. Lies are planted, and, sadly, the person turns their back on the only course of action that will save them from having to spend eternity in the devil’s company. Has the devil “blinded the minds of those who don’t believe”? He probably has, but the sin inside a person needs little persuasion.

I can remember last Easter Sunday sharing the Good News about the risen Jesus with a depressed dog walker, only to have the door firmly shut in my face by the response that they were an atheist and didn’t believe in such things. So sad, because the only remedy for a person depressed by the world in which they live is to become a citizen of the world to come. A blinded mind? Probably. 

Thankfully, there are many occasions where people don’t listen to the devil anymore. This must be true, because how else would we pilgrims have become children of God? The Holy Spirit goes before us, bringing conviction of sin. John 16:8 “And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment”. But are we ready with the Seed of the Gospel, ready to plant it in the newly fertile ground? We waste too much time planting seeds on footpaths rather than in soil that is ready and waiting for the Word of God.

Parable of the Seed and the Soils

Referring back to Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the sower, it is not just from the “footpaths” of life that the devil snatches away the seed of the Gospel. There is also rocky soil, and ground already occupied by thorns and thistles. Such environments are fertile places for the devil’s work. In the “rocky soil”, people find that their initial growth from hearing the Word becomes ineffective in sustaining them when they experience problems and persecution. Perhaps an unexpected bill drops onto their doormat. Or they share their newfound faith in the office, only to receive ridicule and ostracisation in return. Instead of looking to the Source of their faith, they look at the problems and quickly decide that God’s way is not for them. About the thorn problem, Jesus said, “The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced” (Mark 4:18-19). As we read in our verses today, “[Blinded minds] are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God”. 

People deny the work of the devil at their peril. Peter warned the five churches in Asia about him. “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour”(1 Peter 5:8). But Peter followed with a word of good advice in the next verse, “Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are”. We seasoned and committed pilgrims know all this, of course, but occasionally the devil will trip us up and point a finger of accusation at us. But God picks us up, dusts us down, forgives our sin, and “Then [we] will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard [our] hearts and minds as [we] live in Christ Jesus”(Philippians 4:7). 

If we feel a veil forming over our minds and the lures of the world beckon, take it to Jesus and ask Him to remove it. Of course, he will, and the glorious light of His presence will once again cause “the things of this world to grow strangely dim”.

Dear Heavenly Father. We pray that You protect us from the devil’s evil schemes here on earth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Rejecting Deception: Paul’s Call for Truth in Ministry

Posted on by korgrocker

“Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.”
2 Corinthians 4:1-2 NLT
“Therefore, since we have this ministry, just as we received mercy [from God, granting us salvation, opportunities, and blessings], we do not get discouraged nor lose our motivation. But we have renounced the disgraceful things hidden because of shame; not walking in trickery or adulterating the word of God, but by stating the truth [openly and plainly], we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.”
2 Corinthians 4:1-2 AMP

To Paul, there was something very precious about the “new way”. This was his ministry: preaching the Gospel throughout the Middle East, in the towns and cities where he found himself on his missionary journeys. Places like Ephesus, Galatia, Thessalonica, Philippi, and, of course, Corinth. Paul’s message, given to him through his encounter with the risen Christ on the Damascus Road, wasn’t just some theory or new ideology. To Paul, it was more valuable than anything else, and because of that, he never stopped sharing the Good News about Jesus. Imagine Paul holding in his hands a golden crown, studded with precious stones, worth more than anything he ever dreamed of owning. How would he have viewed it? As an investment opportunity? Or perhaps with disdain because it was of no practical use? But as a materialistic lump of precious metal and diamonds, Paul would have discarded it as “rubbish” because it fell far short of the value of what he had to share with people. The Gospel was, and is, priceless, because it brings people, human beings otherwise lost and hell-bound, into God’s presence. And Paul considered that it was through God’s mercy that he was able to share it. How could he ever abandon this ministry, no matter how many knockbacks he received along the way? Paul believed in the ministry granted him with a passion that took up every part of him, a passion that drove him on into one place after another. A passion that took him to marketplaces and even into the presence of kings. But in it all, he never lost the humility and gratitude of being able to do so much for Jesus.

“just as the Scriptures said”

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Note the repetition of “just as the Scriptures said”. Paul wasn’t making up the message he shared. It was based on the truth of Scripture. So why did Paul think it necessary to write, “We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God”. Had someone accused him of trickery and lies? Surely not, because Paul was transparent in all he preached, and his message was simple because all it contained was the truth that Jesus was crucified and on the third day he returned to life, the resurrected Son of God. Perhaps there were some charlatans in the First Century AD who, finding that here was a way to make money, were preaching a message that people wanted to hear. Paul warned Timothy about such people in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths”. There’s a satirical song, “Preachin’ Blues” recorded by the female duo “Larkin Poe” on their 2017 album “Peach”, that contains the lyrics, “I’m gonna get me some religion / I’m gonna join the Baptist church / Gonna be a preacher / So I don’t have to work”. Perhaps there were a few men with similar sentiments roaming the Middle East in the time of Paul, men making an easy living preaching what people wanted to hear. 

Today, we pilgrims notice that the practise of “adulterating the word of God” hasn’t gone away. Of particular note is the JW sect, which, rather than fitting their faith to the Word of God, the Bible we know and love, instead have concocted its own translation of the Bible to fit its faith. And there are others who, in a more subtle way, have decided to omit certain passages of Scripture, or, worse, have ignored them or dismissed them as being of a bygone age, Scriptures they say don’t apply anymore. So we have the “woke” influence and gender ideologies being promoted in the liberal wing of the Church of England. A recent news report started, “Worshippers will no doubt have been delighted to read about the Church of England’s latest “diversity drive.” To help “boost inclusion”, we learnt yesterday, clergy in London are being encouraged to “preach anti-racism in sermons”. So Anglican ministers now have to be aware of  DEI policies in their preaching. Can we go as far as labelling the liberals in the Church of England as being a “sect” much like the JW’s? Perhaps.

But back to us pilgrims. Like Paul, we only accept the “pure milk of the Word” because only this contains the words of eternal life. We do not “distort the Word of God,” but believe it to be inspired by the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote to Timothy, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16). Not part of the Scriptures, or this bit that someone has rewritten. All Scripture. And so we look to Jesus, as did Paul, as the Author and Finisher of our faith, and one day we will join Him in the place He is preparing for us.

Dear Lord Jesus. All we want to do is follow in Paul’s footsteps and preach the words of eternal life that You left with us. Please lead us and guide us, we pray, in Your everlasting ways. Please protect us from preachers and words that distort the truth. We are so grateful, Amen.

Finding Freedom Through the Holy Spirit

Posted on by korgrocker

“But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”
2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NLT

Early on in Jesus’ ministry, soon after being tempted by the devil in the wilderness, He returned to the village of Nazareth, where He grew up. In the synagogue, He was handed the scroll of Isaiah the prophet, and after unrolling it for a bit, He found the Scripture, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favour has come.” (Luke 4:18-19). We then read His comment on this verse, “Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”” (Luke 4:21). His message was at first well received, but things turned ugly, because the people in that village were offended by what He said, and we read that they “ …  forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way” (Luke 4:29-30). The villagers in Nazareth were unable to accept that Joseph’s son, the lad who used to work in the carpenter’s workshop, was now making claims about His mission and person, claims that seemed to them even Messianic in their content. Jesus correctly pointed out to them that “no prophet is accepted in his own hometown”. But that did not diminish His claim that He had come to bring freedom to the people of His day, people who were enslaved by sickness, physical and mental illnesses and disabilities, disease and spiritual oppression. This was to be a time when Heaven came to touch earth, a time when God’s grace opened a door into a new world of possibilities, starting with eternal life in God’s presence. But entry through the door, described by Jesus as being a “narrow gate” later, would be accomplished by believing in Him. 

After the Ascension, Jesus had gone, returning to the presence of His Father in Heaven. That would have been the end of His visitation of grace, except Jesus left the disciples with the message that He would send the Holy Spirit. “But I will send you the Advocate —the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me” (John 15:26). Over the page, there is more that Jesus said, “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. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me’” (John 16:13-15). Jesus’ departure was, at first, a disaster for the disciples, but everything changed on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell on all those present in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. Jesus was true to His word.

We pilgrims have a mission: to testify about Jesus, His message of grace and love, and to do that, we have the Holy Spirit helping us. Jesus is still present through the Spirit of God, bringing freedom to the captives. As people realise who Jesus is, what He has done for them, and open their hearts to receive His message, the veil that obscured their thinking falls away, and they find that they are free at last from their sinful lives. But it gets better. Paul wrote that “the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image”. 

In this age, Heaven is still close to earth, separated only by a single door. It’s open and welcoming. It contains the Way of truth, the Way into God’s presence for eternity. A door that leads to a life of joy. The problem is that most people cannot see it. There is no door there, they say as they wander through life with their spiritual eyes firmly closed. But the door won’t be there for much longer, because Jesus will be returning “soon” to wind up the final chapter of the story of God’s grace and mercy. So, as I have written many times before, we pilgrims have to get His message of grace over to the dying world around us. We pray for contact with people today, people on the “broad way that leads to destruction”, so that we can tell them about the Spirit of Jesus, who brings freedom.

Dear Heavenly Father. Help us, we pray, to fulfil Your mission here in our age, our generation. Open hearts and minds to hear Your glorious Gospel of freedom. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Removing the Veil: Faith in Christ’s Salvation

Posted on by korgrocker

“Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.”
2 Corinthians 3:12-15 NLT

The problem with the Old Covenant was that it set the bar to achieving a standard of righteousness acceptable to God so high that it could not be attained by human effort. All the Law of Moses achieved was making people aware of their sinfulness. However, the Law of Moses was given to the nation of Israel to reveal God’s holy character, define sin, and set them apart as a distinct, righteous nation. Today, many of our fellow members of society have a vague concept that God exists, and they think they can gain access to Heaven because of their claim that they are “good” people. They don’t break the laws of our democratic society, and they occasionally attend church for a Christmas service or a wedding. Therefore, they say, they have done all that is required to pass Heaven’s entrance exam. And they claim a backup position, through some kind of twisted logic, that God is all-loving and would never send anyone to hell.

But to a believer in God, these assumptions don’t fit in with what the Bible teaches. The Old Covenant also points towards the need for a Saviour to fulfil the requirements of the Law, and we, with the benefit of hindsight, see the provision God made for the salvation of all who come to Jesus in repentance, believing that it is only through Him that they can gain access to Heaven. But in Jesus’ day, there were the Pharisees who believed that they could achieve the standard required for eternal life with God by following every rule and regulation in the Law. Jesus rebuked them, as we read in Matthew 23:23, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things”. Jesus called them “blind” because they failed to see and understand the purpose of the Law, and, worse, they failed to recognise the One God had sent to fulfil the purposes of the Law. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said about the Law, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. … But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 5:17, 20). The religious people of those days, and they were still present when Paul was travelling around the Middle East, had “hardened minds” and a “veil [covered] their minds so they cannot understand the truth”. 

Those “fellow members of society” that I referred to earlier also have a veil covering their minds. It is a veil made of their own selfish and sinful ways. A veil constructed of false assumptions, lies and a lack of understanding about the things of God. A veil that, once in place, blocks them from access to the only One who can save them and provide them with the gift of eternal life. But Paul helpfully reminded the Corinthians that “this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ”. No amount of scrubbing or any other form of personal effort can remove the veil; it is only through Jesus, because, as he said, He is the “way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through [Him]” (John 14:6). 

There is much that we pilgrims still do not understand about God and His Kingdom. But there was that day when God, through His grace and mercy, removed the veil from our minds and beckoned us through the door between the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of Light. As we look around in this wonderful new world, we realise that we are only receiving a glimpse of what it will really be like when we get there. If only we could close the door behind us, the door where the two kingdoms had collided on the day when we believed in Jesus. If we could have closed that door, then we would have found ourselves unable to return to the sinful world that we had left. But for a little while, we are citizens of the Kingdom of God, living in a world we don’t really want to be in, a world of darkness and sin. We remain God’s ambassadors, tasked and commissioned to share the Good News about Jesus.

Dear Father God. Through Your grace and mercy we are citizens of Heaven. We don’t deserve such favour of course, but You have called us into Your Kingdom. We are so grateful, and we pray that You help us help others find the narrow gate that leads to You and Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

From Sin to Righteousness: A Journey with Jesus

Posted on by korgrocker

“If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!”
2 Corinthians 3:9-11 NLT

We pilgrims are now a new creation. We used to sing about it. But the difference between our old sinful way of life and the new one living under the glory of the New Covenant is stark. The difference between guilt and innocence, condemnation and holiness. Paul compares the “new way, which makes us right with God” with “the old way, which brings condemnation”. Do we really get how dramatic and life-changing the new way is? Is God’s glory really penetrating everything we think and do? 

Jesus taught the people about the Kingdom of God, and he said, “ … You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31b-32). But Jesus said more, “ …I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” John 8:34-36). Do we pilgrims really know and live out that truth? We pilgrims once lived our lives as prisoners, locked away in a world of sin and condemnation. We were far from God, even going as far as denying His very existence. We arrogantly sang the song “I’ll do it my way”, over and over again, denying our human weaknesses and often finding out the hard way that sin is our master and the consequences are dire. 

Paul wrote to the Ephesian believers about what it means to live as unbelievers. About the Gentiles, he wrote, “Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity” (Ephesians 4:18-19). To my shame, that was me, and probably you as well, as we lived in our old ways of sin. I can remember a speaker one Sunday, starting his sermon with the words, “Today you will see a miracle”. In his message, he confessed that there was a point in his journey through life when he faced a fork in the road: one way led to a life of crime, and the other to a life following Jesus. And that was his conclusion, because the miracle was that he made the right choice.

Paul continued to the Ephesians with these verses that clearly explain the transition from the Old to the New, “That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:20-24). It’s all about our “selfs”, old and new. I always picture them as a garment, an all-in-one “Onesie” or something like that. There is this black one that we automatically put on without thinking, a garment that is impregnated with sin. And there is a white one hanging on the peg, a garment of “righteousness and holiness”. Sometimes it is helpful to imagine removing the black one and putting on the white one. But we have a problem: we are reluctant to throw away the black one. We find it comfortable to wear, and it is all too often our default garment of choice. 

Isaiah wrote, ““Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). There is only one way to obtain a garment “as white as snow”, and that is through Jesus and His atoning sacrifice at Calvary. There is no other way. But we are free from the need to wear the old because “the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed [us] from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 8:2b). Jesus, the Son, has truly set us free from our old ways of sin, and we live our lives in the glory of the new way in Him.

Dear Jesus, our Lord and Master. We thank You for leaving Heaven and coming to this world as a human being, setting aside all Your privileges for the sake of us pilgrims and all those still to respond to Your message of hope and grace. We worship and praise You today. Amen.

The New Glory

Posted on by korgrocker

“If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!”
2 Corinthians 3:9-11 NLT

Through the word “glory”, Paul compared the Old and New Covenants. The Old Covenant was given through Moses, and it was a Covenant of works based on external rules, animal sacrifices for atonement and human effort to obey all the requirements of this Covenant. It is a human trait that if a set of rules is necessary, then they will be resented and circumvented wherever possible. Take, for example, speed limits. Most people, I’m sure, will break them at one time or another, whether they intend to or not. And if a notice is placed on a door that says “Do Not Enter”, sooner or later someone will have a peek inside to find out why. Of course, some rules are there for life-saving reasons, and, generally speaking, if the reasons are understood, the rules will be obeyed. However, people take risks and break rules, leading to many injuries or deaths that could have been avoided if people had only obeyed the rules. The Old Covenant was only ever temporary in God’s Plan for humanity, because it pointed towards the time when the Saviour would come. By obeying the rules of the Covenant, Israel was established as a holy nation, set apart as God’s own people, and, in the process, Israelite society became cohesive and was greatly blessed by God when they kept their side of the Covenant. The Old Covenant was glorious through the radiant face of Moses, showing God’s presence, through the indwelling of God in the Tabernacle, and through the exposure of sin and its remedy with the blood sacrifices.

The New Covenant was prophesied in Jeremiah 31:21-32, ““The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord”. The Old Covenant was impossible to keep, and the Israelites repeatedly broke it, but the next verse provided a tantalising glimpse of what was to come. ““But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people””. The New Covenant (through Jesus Christ) is an internal transformation by the Holy Spirit, offering eternal forgiveness and righteousness through faith in Jesus’ sacrifice, with a law written on hearts, not stone, providing direct access to God. It’s a shift from a system of works to one of grace and faith. At the last Supper, we read, “After supper [Jesus] took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you” (Luke 22:20). There will never need again to be a blood sacrifice, because Jesus provided that for all time. And that is the glory of the New Covenant, sealed with the Holy Spirit, who lives within us.

The Old had glory, when obeyed, but how much more the glory implicit within the New Covenant. We pilgrims are children of the New Covenant, blessed and forgiven. There is no more condemnation of the Old, as Paul wrote in Romans 8:1-3,  “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins”. 

In our New Covenant freedom, we pilgrims can enjoy the benefits of communion with God forever, set free from the sin and death that marked those of the Old Covenant. But that does not mean that we can do what we want, breaking all the rules and regulations that come our way. We are a new people, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”. We are now, through our faith in God and His grace, experiencing the glory that God always intended. How does that make us feel? There has to be a feeling of excitement inside us, no matter what circumstances we face. Paul wrote, “Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later” (Romans 8:18). Today, we enjoy a glimpse of the Heavenly glory, as though the clouds above momentarily part to give a glimpse of the blue sky beyond. One day, in God’s presence, His glory will be revealed in all its fullness. 

Dear Heavenly Father in Glory. We praise and worship You today. Amen.