Human Nature

Posted on by korgrocker

“Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.”
John 2:23-25 NLT

In Genesis 1:27 we read, “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them“. Now, God is perfect in all His Being, and the implication of this verse is that His design for mankind was also perfection. Of course, we know that mankind cannot access or claim anything of God, but by being created in His image, we are wired with an understanding of who God is and show at least some representation of His ways. There is nothing bad or sinful in God. But sin came along, as we know, for our enemy, satan, destroyed what God intended. Human nature had become corrupted and is still corrupted today.

So against this backdrop Jesus declared His message of God’s Kingdom. And to support what He said He did many “miraculous signs”, and we read that “many began to trust in Him”. But the account in John continues, “But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people.” Jesus knew who He could trust and who He couldn’t. There was no-one better than Him who knew what was in a person’s heart. As God He knew the end from the beginning. But that didn’t stop Jesus preach the news of the Kingdom of God – He knew that some would believe though most wouldn’t.

We pilgrims have heard the message that Jesus preached, brought to us by faithful men and women who themselves were Kingdom people. And we became part of Jesus’ Church, one of the living stones we read about in 1 Peter 2. But have any of us ever noticed that sometimes a new member of our church or fellowship, after a few weeks or months, disappears and we never see them again? They hear something that they are not sure about, or disagree with, and as a result decide that they will find another church or decide that Christianity is not for them. There are many who would want to follow Jesus for the good bits, but turn their backs when they hear something that might mean they have to change their ways. Human nature kicks into self-preservation mode, taking the person back into the kingdom of the world with all its ways.

Dear Father God, through Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary, we can come to You with all our baggage and all our sinful ways. And we pray that Jesus’ redeeming blood will cleanse our hearts. You promised to put a new heart within us, a new nature restored to Your image. And we thank God that through Jesus’ righteousness You see hearts that can be trusted. Amen.

A Miraculous Sign

Posted on by korgrocker

“But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.” “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.”
John 2:18-22 NLT

Of course, the Jewish leaders, the Temple mafia, weren’t too happy about Jesus clearing out the merchants from the Temple courts. After all, He was removing a lucrative source of income from them, because as the ordinary people were overcharged for the sacrificial animals and money changing, the profits made their way into the leaders’ pockets. The leaders were facing into a conflict of interest in a way. They knew that the Temple’s integrity was being compromised, contradicting God’s requirements, but they also enjoyed the profits from the market place. Perhaps they tried to rationalise their actions by claiming that they were providing a service to those who had travelled to Jerusalem to offer up their sacrifices. But in the end they decided to ask Jesus from where He had received the authority to do what He had done. A miraculous sign from God was their requirement. The miracles of healing the sick weren’t enough. Neither was the teaching Jesus performed in the Temple. Perhaps they were looking for a written message, much like the writing on the wall that we read about in Daniel 5:5, “Suddenly, they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king’s palace, near the lampstand. The king himself saw the hand as it wrote.” But Jesus provided a cryptic answer, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Of course, the Jews took Him literally, without realising that Jesus was referring to His own “temple”, His body. 

We pilgrims have the authority to do God’s work. In Matthew 28:18-19, we read, “Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”. Jesus has delegated to us, His followers, His authority to preach the Gospel, making disciples (of God) and seeing miraculous signs confirming the message of Good News (Mark 16:20). We don’t have to do this in the churches that are dotted around our country. There are no sacred buildings around as copies of the Jewish Temple. We exercise the authority given to us in the workplaces, the schools, cafes and supermarkets. In fact anywhere, where there is an opportunity. And we don’t need a sign from Heaven to confirm the authority we have. That sign happened on a Cross at a place called Calvary.

Dear Father God. Who will we pilgrims meet today, who will need to hear the message of Good News? Please lead us to the place where You want us to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jesus @ Jerusalem

Posted on by korgrocker

“It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”“
John 2:13-17 NLT

The previous verses place Jesus in Capernaum with His mother, brothers and disciples, so the next event in John’s Gospel was Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem for the Passover celebrations. In the Temple He found a sad scene of materialistic mayhem as the local merchants engaged in practices designed to supply pre-approved animals for sacrifice and converted money into the only coins acceptable to the Jewish priests. To the Jews, the Temple was a sacred place – just read the accounts of its inception and the dedication ceremonies that took place. Jesus must have made a fearsome sight, as He whipped His way towards clearing out all those who shouldn’t have been there.

The Jewish religion had become hijacked by customs, materialistic expediencies, that assisted the outward form of its practices but had totally missed the whole point of why the sacrifices were taking place in the first place. Religion had veered away from what God intended into a box-ticking process that must have broken His heart. In Hosea 6:6 we read what God said to His people. “For I desire and delight in [steadfast] loyalty [faithfulness in the covenant relationship], rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings” (Amplified version). 

Today there can be a tendency to focus on denominational liturgies rather than the spirit that should be behind them. The more traditional facets of Christianity major on the recital of established prayers, and singing familiar hymns. Nothing wrong with this until liturgies replace relationship with God. Customs become more important than being in God’s personal space. 

We read that Jesus was passionate, zealous even, for the integrity of His Father’s house, the Temple. But we pilgrims know that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honour God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Do we share Jesus’ passion for the temples in which we live? How do we treat it? The list of harms that we can do to our bodies, corrupting this sacred place, doesn’t bear thinking about. But before we embark on the latest diet fads and fancies, it’s not just about foods but about our attitudes to something special created by God in His image (Genesis 1:27). We pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us to the sacred rather than the secular.

Dear Father God. It is a sobering thought that You cared enough about us to install within us somewhere for You to dwell. Please help us to keep it sacred. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jesus’s Glory

Posted on by korgrocker

“This, the first of His signs (attesting miracles), Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory [displaying His deity and His great power openly], and His disciples believed [confidently] in Him [as the Messiah—they adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Him]. After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.”
John 2:11-12 AMP

From the day He was conceived, Jesus had a latent glory. This had to be so, because He was the Son of God, after all.  The Amplified version of John 2:11 explains His glory as “displaying His deity and His great power openly”. But Jesus’ first miracle at Cana wasn’t some conjuring trick, as perhaps some people thought. It must have created quite a buzz, particularly to those in the know, such as the servants who were involved as the miracle developed and unfolded before them. The disciples must have looked on in amazement. But for them this probably confirmed to them that this was no ordinary rabbi – this was the Messiah Himself. And as the events of the next three years played out, they were more and more convinced that God had indeed come to live with His people.

The disciples, we are told in John’s account, believed confidently in Him as the Messiah. They trusted Him, and relied on Him. And they followed Him closely for the next three years, being taught the fundamental truths of the Kingdom of God. Step by step, parable by parable, miracle by miracle. Day after day on a whirlwind training course heading for their graduation on the day of Pentecost. That was when the believing was enhanced by the doing. As Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” (John 14:12-14). That was the reality of life for the disciples – the potential of doing great things for God in Jesus’ name. 

We pilgrims must wonder sometimes if Jesus’ glory ended on a Roman cross, and after He returned to Heaven. It would have done if it wasn’t for the gift of the Holy Spirit that He gave to mankind. Have we received the transforming power of the Holy Spirit? Have we used this power in Jesus’ name to see great works? If not we only have to ask. Jesus said, “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him”(Matthew 7:11). The gift of the Holy Spirit is there for the asking. And through the Holy Spirit’s power we can propagate the glory of Jesus to those around us.

Dear Father God. Thank You for the plan for the salvation of mankind, a plan that involved Your Son Jesus. We worship You today. Amen.

The Best

Posted on by korgrocker

“Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions. When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!””
John 2:7-10 NLT

This account of the water turned to wine lacks detail and instead presents the facts accurately and succinctly. But we just don’t know other details such as when the water become wine. As it was being poured into the pots or just when the servant dipped a ladle into the first one? What was going through servants minds as they suddenly realised that this was now wine and not the water they had put there? What were the guests thinking when they found out what had happened? It was one of those occasions when it would have been great to have been a fly on the wall. 

It was convention at such events for the celebration to start off with the best and most expensive wines, which were then followed by cheaper and cheaper varieties as the guests became less discerning. But to the surprise of the “master of ceremonies”, the man in charge of the event, this new batch of wine, supplied to him for a taste, was better than any other he had tasted that day. But the servants knew that it was of no credit to the bridegroom. Jesus had performed a miracle right before their eyes.

Isn’t it just like Jesus? No poor quality answer to a prayer. No half-hearted miracle. Most of the miracles performed by Jesus were for healing, and nowhere do we find that any of His miracles were only partially successful or of poor quality. For example, Matthew 12:15, “But Jesus knew what they were planning. So he left that area, and many people followed him. He healed all the sick among them”. Not only did Jesus heal everyone who came to Him, their healing was total. With God, nothing is second best. The only limitation that God has to deal with is ourselves, our expectations and our faith. There is a verse in Ephesians (3:20) that sums this up. “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” What are we asking of God today? What are we thinking about regarding our lives before us? One verse I find very humbling and a wake up call when I have doubts about God and His goodness is from 2 Timothy 2:13, “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is“. That’s how great our God is. there is no end to His grace and love.

Dear Father God, we worship You today, aware of Your infinite and eternal loving kindness. Amen.

Be Filled

Posted on by korgrocker

“But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.”
John 2:5-8 NLT

This was no small ask. Fill up all these stone jars with water? We should remember that there was no running water supply piped into every home in Cana. There would have been a well close by but to fill those jars would have required some effort, to-ing and fro-ing with water carrying utensils. We’re not told how long it took, but it took a significant act of obedience. In the Amplified version of this passage of Scripture, we read, “Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim” (John 2:7). Perhaps there is guidance here about how we should be obedient to God’s instructions. Nothing half-hearted. The servants didn’t stop filling short of the top – it was to the brim, with probably excess water running down the sides. But we read next that Jesus told the servants to take some of the “water” to the person in charge of the celebrations. And again the servants were obedient.

The key for me in these verses is the act of obedience. Not just by one person, but by a group of servants, acting together to complete the Master’s instructions. We just get the bare minimum of detail in John’s account of this miracle, but we can let our minds flip to being a fly on the wall, watching what was happening. The news perhaps beginning to spread, that there was no more wine. Caterers with long faces whispering to each other. The servants rushing backwards and forwards carrying water – did the guests think that their wine glasses would be filled with that rather stale water from those water pots? Did the servants grumble a bit? I wonder what the disciples were making of all this, perhaps looking into the dregs in their wine goblets and wondering where the waiter had got to? Was Jesus there smiling to Himself?

We pilgrims probably know from experience that natural solutions to a problem are never as good as God’s remedies. Even if we have a fix, it will only be second best. But it is only God’s way that will bring about the real answer. We may be tempted to rush around and try and sort the problem, but sometimes there is a delay before the solution emerges. Jesus could have miraculously filled the water pots with water but instead He involved servants who were obedient to His instructions. God can miraculously fix our problem, but sometimes there is a delay, allowing our faith in Him to develop and flourish. Part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit is patience. ”But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!“ (Galatians 5:22-23). Of course God can solve our problem instantly. Jesus did all the time, when we read how sick people were cured the moment He laid hands on them. But as we pray, we can be assured that God cares for us. Because He loves us. And we trust Him day by day with every facet of our lives.

Dear Father God. We thank You for hearing our prayers. Please help our faith to develop and doubts to disappear. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Another “But”

Posted on by korgrocker

“The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.” “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.””
John 2:3-5 NLT

When God is around there is always a “but”. We may be in a hopeless situation, “but” …We look around us at our natural circumstances and see apparently insoluble problems. There is no food in the cupboard, or money in the bank account. There is an urgent need for medical supplies – the list is seemingly endless. But God …. In this case, it was Jesus’ mother who had the faith to see beyond the natural circumstances and pave the way for a remarkable miracle. “But … Do whatever He tells you”. In this situation, what would our expectations be? There is a problem – the wine supply has run out. No more of a basic commodity considered essential at a Jewish wedding celebration. There is a solution – Jesus is there. All that is missing is the faith to connect the two. That is, until Jesus’ mother Mary comes along. And of course, the obedience present to turn faith into a solution.

Perhaps with our natural point of view, we would start to imagine how a solution would emerge. For example, we might think we know someone who has a supply of wine stashed away, and wonder if we could persuade him, perhaps with Jesus’ help, to sell us some of it. Or could we persuade that shopkeeper to open up just for us. But we know what happened next, and who could ever have thought up a more unlikely outcome.

So when we face into a knotty problem, seemingly insurmountable, we have a pathway to a solution. As we outline the situation before us, the first step is to involve Jesus. He cares for us – 1 Peter 5:7, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you“. The second step is to believe, through faith, that Jesus has a solution. Luke 17:6, “The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you!” The third step is then to be obedient to whatever Jesus says. It may not be the outcome that we have in our minds. There may not be a cheque in the post, or a new car in the garage, but through faith we know He has the answer. In fact, Jesus is the answer. There is no-one else. 

Dear Lord Jesus. Only You are the Answer. There is none other. We worship You today. Amen.

No More Wine

Posted on by korgrocker

“The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.” “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.””
John 2:3-4 NLT

There are many Christians who have a problem with Jesus turning water into wine. Mankind’s association with fermented beverages has had good and bad outcomes over the years and to think that the Messiah Himself was at a party where wine was being drunk doesn’t sit easily with them. There is an attempt by some to associate the wine with the Holy Spirit and spiritualise the occasion but this was just a simple celebration at the wedding of a Jewish couple and one of the commodities had run out. A disaster for the host, having the potential to bring down the curtain on an otherwise happy event and leaving his standing in the community trashed.

Mary, Jesus’ mother, came to Him with the news that the wine had run out. Was that with the knowledge that she thought Jesus could fix the problem? Or was it just a comment in a conversation? It wasn’t as though there was a shop somewhere that sold the quantities of wine that would be needed. But Jesus knew what Mary was hinting at. He saw straight through her to discern that she expected Him to perform a miracle. Jesus responded, “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” and, “My time has not yet come.” Right from that day when the angel Gabriel visited Mary, then a young teenager, with the news that she would bear a child, the Son of God, she knew that Jesus was destined for great things. She watched Him grow up. She, better than most, knew who He was. And perhaps she saw the beginnings of His ministry following His baptism and time in the desert being tempted. She heard about the words John the Baptist had declared about Him, the Lamb of God, and some men were starting to follow Him. All signs that Mary probably associated with the emergence of the Messiah into Jewish society. So Mary was there right at the beginning of Jesus’ life-changing mission, with the faith to see a miracle.

The message for us pilgrims is that God cares for us right where we are. He is not just going to bless us in a church pew or at an altar rail. There is that passage about how God cares in Matthew 10:29-31, “What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows”. We are all valuable to God and He cared for those people at the wedding. So whatever we are going through today, we can be confident that our Heavenly Father is right in the middle of it. He will stand with us and support us when needed – we just have to reach out to Him and feel His loving kindness flood over us. It doesn’t matter where it is. It could be a palace or a prison cell. An office desk or a supermarket. Wherever we are God is with us.

Dear Father God. We are so grateful that You will never leave us and that You care for us for always. Amen.

A Wedding Celebration

Posted on by korgrocker

“The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration.”
John 2:1-2 NLT

John starts chapter 2 of his Gospel with “the next day”, an event right after Jesus’ conversation with Nathanael. A Jewish wedding was a great celebration, and some of them went on for days, with feasting and drinking. Dancing and merriment. But Jesus was there with His disciples, who we know from the previous chapter were Andrew, Simon, Philip and Nathanael. This event is a problem to some Christians, who disapprove of such occasions, and particularly that Jesus would have been there. Would Jesus have been joining in with all that was going on? No doubt in my mind at all.

How do we pilgrims feel about such events in our culture? Some weddings and their receptions can be bizarre, to say the least. Others are more traditional, with a church service and simple meal afterwards. But such events bring together families and sometimes expose fault lines that would rather have been forgotten. Family relationships that perhaps fractured over something quite trivial and were never resolved. But the whole point of a wedding is to dedicate a young couple to God with lifetime vows “’til death us do part”. And families and friends are invited to witness the occasion and share in the couple’s joy.

We pilgrims have another wedding to look forward to, as we read in Revelation 19:7b-9, ” …  For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God””. These verses describe the celebration, that followed the commitment made by believers to their Lord and Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. A wonderful picture of the time one day when we will all be united with Christ forever.

So the next time we receive a wedding invitation we remember the one still to come. It will surpass anything we have ever experienced before. It will be out of this world.

Dear Lord Jesus. Again we worship You, the wonderful bridegroom and husband to be. We look forward to receiving that invitation, to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Amen.

The Fig Tree

Posted on by korgrocker

““How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.” Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”“
John 1:48-51 NLT

In the Bible there are many occasions when fig trees are mentioned. We read in Genesis 3:7, ”At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves”. The only tree mentioned in the Garden was of the fig variety. The Promised Land contained riches including fig trees. Deuteronomy 8:8, “It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey”. So, the fig tree came to be associated with God’s blessing and security for the Jewish people. But the fig tree also became associated with it being a symbol of Israel itself and its peace and prosperity. 1 Kings 4:25, “And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon”. 

Perhaps there was something symbolic in the association of Nathanael and the fig tree under which he was taking cover from the heat of the sun. Jesus used it as a reference point in a subsequent conversation, and from that Nathanael drew the conclusion that Jesus was the Messiah they had been waiting for. 

So we pilgrims can draw several conclusions from this. Firstly, Jesus sees us wherever we are. It may be in a mundane place like standing under a tree, or at an office desk, or in a church pew. Jesus will see what is within us, as he saw the character of Nathanael. But we have to ask ourselves the question – does Jesus see someone who is a person of integrity, of potential, who will be of use to His Kingdom mission? Secondly, Nathanael was taking cover under a fig tree, a symbol of national identity. But here in the UK at least, the national identity is a secular mish-mash of chaotic confusion, where even morality and our Christian roots are being challenged and disregarded. So another question – what identity are we displaying to those around us? Too many church denominations are adopting the secular ways, committing themselves to even more uncertainty and turmoil when they should be Kingdom fig trees in their witness. Thirdly, Nathanael’s response to Jesus was one of recognition about who He was. Our response to Jesus’ call is crucial to our future with Him. Have we heard that call, and responded in praise and worship with a “Yes Lord”?

Dear Lord Jesus. We worship You today, the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. Amen.