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Planning

Posted on by korgrocker

“But now I have finished my work in these regions, and after all these long years of waiting, I am eager to visit you. I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey. But before I come, I must go to Jerusalem to take a gift to the believers there.”
Romans 15:23-25 NLT

Paul moves on to talk about his future. He is making plans. He feels he has come to the end of his work, the extent of which we can discover in Romans 15:19b, “ … In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum”. Apparently, Illyricum was a region in North East Italy. So Paul is now looking further east, towards Spain.

There is no record of Paul getting to Spain but, as events turned out, his journey to Jerusalem was followed by a series of events that resulted in him being incarcerated in a Roman jail. The plans he was making didn’t turn our quite as he wanted, or expected. But we read in Acts 20:16,  “Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus, for he didn’t want to spend any more time in the province of Asia. He was hurrying to get to Jerusalem, if possible, in time for the Festival of Pentecost”. In Acts 16:22-23 we read, “And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead”. And as Paul journeys South he takes every opportunity to touch base with all his old friends in churches he had established beforehand. In one of the meetings a prophetic scene unfolded, describing what would await him there. (Acts 21:10-12). But Paul knew what was ahead of him and he was obedient to the Holy Spirit in making the journey.

What plans are we pilgrims making? And what sort of plans are they? Paul was totally in tune with the Holy Spirit and God’s plans for his life and ministry. We see how the Spirit directed Paul in the next part of his missionary journey when we read Acts 16:6, “Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time”. So how do we make plans and carry them out? Sometimes making plans, ambitious or otherwise, is not possible, through circumstances, or because of health issues. But in the main we pilgrims have opportunities which we can develop. Our choices in life also determine the plans we can make. The subjects we study, or our attendance record at school, can determine the life-choices we have available to us when we reach adulthood. But one thing we are sure of, regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves, we have a loving Heavenly Father who wants the very best for us. The much quoted verse from Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”. Yes, this is quoted here out of context, but the God-principle applies across all situations and all lives. We can be reassured that God knows what He has in mind for us, and it will be all good, but to find out what that is demands a response to Him that is as living and relevant as Paul’s relationship with God was. To hear the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit needs prayer and carefully-tuned spiritual ears.

So we pilgrims make sure we stay close to God and particularly when there are plans to be made. The lives ahead of us have a potential that is both exciting and productive. We won’t all achieve big things, like Paul, or a modern day evangelist such as Billy Graham or Reinhardt Bonnke. Mostly, God’s plans for us involve our families and communities, our witness shining like beacons with the love and grace of God.

Dear God. Thank You that You have planned out our lives for us. Please help us to be obedient to what You want us to do, and help us to keep in step with Your timing, so that we can avoid running ahead of ourselves. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Preaching Ambition

Posted on by korgrocker

“My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says, “Those who have never been told about him will see, and those who have never heard of him will understand.” In fact, my visit to you has been delayed so long because I have been preaching in these places.”
Romans 15:20-22 NLT

Paul was very clear about what really floated his boat – his preference was for being a church planter in virgin territory, in places where the inhabitants had never heard the Gospel before. Throughout the Middle East in those days communications were poor, so the Good News about Christ was carried by word of mouth, by itinerant preachers such as Paul. No internet or social media to spread the news. So it would have been very possible for Paul and his entourage to walk into a new place, and find a harvest of people desperate for some Good News. We read what happened at Philippi, with a lady called Lydia. The story is recorded in Acts 16, “On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. She and her household were baptised … ” (Acts 16:13-15a). There were people around with a God-awareness in those days, but the Good News of Jesus and God’s plan for the salvation of mankind was not widely known, even though it was prophesied in the Bible. In Ephesians 3, Paul referred to God’s plan as being mysterious, but from Paul’s lips came the simple but profound facts of Christ, His sacrifice at Calvary, and the way to God “through the dark paths of sin”. Good News indeed.

But Paul’s heart as a Pastor wasn’t in doubt. We read his letters and see the care and love he had for both the churches he planted and those he didn’t. The Ephesians and the Galatians. The Philippians and the Romans. All received, with others, his letters of correction and encouragement. But his heart was really in bringing new souls into the Kingdom of God.

Fast forward to 21st Century Western society. Some have started to refer to the current age as being “post-Christian”. We have the many church buildings, mostly unique and very beautiful, particularly here in the UK, dotted around our landscape, like monuments to the glory of a past age, where people worshipped a person they called God. Prayers written in an antique style were read in unison from elderly books; songs they called hymns with strange lyrics were sung to tunes unfamiliar to today’s ear. And we now have a generation, or more, who may have a God-awareness, but not in a worshipful way like Lydia and her family. In today’s society, the name of God is more likely to be heard as a swear word than in a worshipful prayer. The only contact with God most have is at a church wedding or in a funeral service, rituals quickly forgotten in the celebrations afterwards.

But there is hope, because our wonderful Heavenly Father planted within every person an awareness of Himself. 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”. We can try and suppress our inner feelings, but the reality is that each human being has within him God’s image. People try and find something to fill the God-hole within them with spiritual activities like Yoga or they delve into things like horoscopes. But they soon find that the emptiness is still there. Others try and fill the gap with materialistic activities. People talk about “retail therapy”, or they claim closeness to nature with their gardens or eco-activities. But only God can fill the yearning, the spiritual thirstiness, within them. We pilgrims have the opportunity, through the power that is within us, to tap into that spiritual awareness, and bring the only lasting solution. Jesus invited the thirsty to come to Him. We read what he said in John 7:37-38a, “On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink!“”

What do we pilgrims have an ambition for? Of course we have to earn a living, but do we search after promotion in our companies or do we put our earthly yearnings to one side and, like Paul, say that we, “ … would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2b). Promotion to a higher position in our employment won’t help the lost around us. But our testimonies and preaching about Christ could just promote them into Heavenly places.

Dear Father God. Please help us prioritise our lives to get them aligned with Your will and purposes. For Jesus’ sake.Amen.

Holy Spirit Power

Posted on by korgrocker

“Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.”
Romans 15:18-19 NLT

Paul must have been an amazing man. He preached the Gospel throughout what we know as the Middle East, and in between times he wrote a large chunk of the New Testament and spent time in prison. He was often physically abused for his labours and was shipwrecked three times. And historical records seem to indicate that he finally died a violent death in Rome. But the one thing that stood out in his ministry was the “power of God’s Spirit”. His message to the Gentiles was supported and confirmed by “miraculous signs and wonders”. But we shouldn’t be surprised by this. We read in Mark 16:20, “And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs”. 

The early church was no stranger to the miraculous. As just one example, we read of the contact between Peter and a beggar in Acts 3:6-8, “But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them”. As we read through the Book of Acts we see other times where the message of the Good News about Jesus was accompanied by miraculous events. 

Some church groups and denominations today have no expectation for the work of the Holy Spirit being manifested through the miraculous. They think that these Holy Spirit works died away with the early Apostles, but in fact church history records miracles taking place throughout the first few centuries and at sporadic points ever since. In my lifetime I have observed at first hand some miraculous healings, including that of my own daughter, so nothing will convince me that the Holy Spirit is not alive and well in these times, and doing “miraculous signs and wonders”. The early disciples expected that when they preached there would be a confirmation by the Holy Spirit, giving their message authority. We read about Jesus’ preaching and teaching, and the miracles that accompanied Him, and see again how powerful the Holy Spirit can be. For example, in Matthew 9 we find the story of a paralysed man brought to Jesus on a stretcher by his friends. Jesus started by saying to the man that his sins were forgiven. This considerably upset the Jewish leaders who were there to keep an eye on this upstart itinerant preacher, and their theology stated that only God could forgive sins. Of course, they failed to accept that Jesus was the Messiah and had the authority to forgive sins. But then we read what Jesus said, “So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralysed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And the man jumped up and went home” (Matthew 9:6-7). 

Jesus Himself said that His disciples (including us) would have the power through the Holy Spirit to do greater works than even He did. We read what Jesus said in John 14:12, “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“. How did Jesus perform such wonderful “works”? Through the power of the Holy Spirit, and He lives within us too. Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:20, “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“. We are only limited by our lack of faith.

What are we going to do today in the power of the Holy Spirit? A sobering thought, because we are uncomfortable when it comes to sticking our heads above the parapets of the societies in which we live. Societies where we can face much abuse and rejection just for daring to be counter-culturally different for God. But those around us need the power of God to make a difference in their lives. The lonely. The rejected. The sick. The poor and needy. In our societies today it is all about the survival of the fittest, the law of the jungle applies. In the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus repeated the prophecy of Isaiah about His mission. We read in Luke 4:18-19, “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“. We too are anointed to continue that mission, proclaiming the Good News with the “Spirit of the Lord” upon us as well. Pew warming is not an option in the Kingdom of God.

Dear Father God. Please visit us again, bringing a Holy Spirit revival to Your people. We need more of Your power and presence in our lives. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.


Boasting

Posted on by korgrocker

“Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.”
Romans 15:18-19 NLT

Boasting is usually an objectionable trait. I’m sure we have all met a person who doesn’t stop “blowing his own trumpet” about his achievements, his lovely garden, his latest car, his sporting prowess, his … All things that are materialistic or worldly, and relatively unimportant in the Kingdom of God. Boasting is a form of pride, which is a sin. Solomon, thought to be the person who wrote Proverbs, recorded the following, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). But Paul confessed to being a boaster, about something far more significant. His testimony was impressive. He could talk about the wonderful things that God had done, by “bringing the Gentiles to God”. 

Paul had much to boast about. In 2 Corinthians 11, we read about Paul’s concern that the Corinthian church was being corrupted by false apostles. These were people who claimed to be just as good as Paul, but he accused them of delivering error, as we read in 2 Corinthians 11:4, “You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed”. Paul was quite scathing about these people. About his message he wrote, “But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours. These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:12-14). He went on, “And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too” (2 Corinthians 11:18). Referring to the false apostles, Paul went on, “ … But whatever they dare to boast about—I’m talking like a fool again—I dare to boast about it, too” (2 Corinthians 11:21b). 

Paul then went on to list all the privations and danger that he had experienced while disseminating the message of God’s Good News. And then he finished this list with, “If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am” (2 Corinthians 11:30). We turn the page to the next chapter and read about an experience he said he could boast about. 2 Corinthians 12:1, “This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord”. His visit to the third Heaven (where God and His angels live) must have been so amazing that it would have done his street cred no harm at all. But he wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:5, “That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses”. We know of course what Paul’s weakness was – he wrote, ” … So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me” (2 Corinthians 12:7b-9).

Paul was kept from being conceited by having to dependent on Jesus. But in it all he directed the glory to God. His life was totally sold out for Jesus. He didn’t boast about his tent making skills, or the number of miles he walked every day. His boasting was a testimony of God’s grace and love and the power of the Holy Spirit. At every opportunity we too should “boast” about what God has done in our lives. Our testimonies of God’s saving grace surely count for much and will shine as bright as a beacon in this sad and dark generation.

Father God. You have done so much for us, but please forgive us for holding back on speaking out our testimonies of Your love and grace. Please lead us to the right person today, so that we can give them too the opportunity of sharing what You have done for them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Enthusiasm

Posted on by korgrocker

“So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God.“
Romans 15:17 NLT

Paul wrote in his letter that he was enthusiastic about all that Christ Jesus had done through him. Paul’s life wasn’t just about being an itinerant preacher. Going around from pulpit to pulpit, delivering messages and sermons to a receptive audience. He was a counter-cultural fire-brand speaking about God’s message of hope, the Gospel. He told his listeners about Jesus, the Son of God crucified for the salvation of Jews and Gentiles alike, and they mostly didn’t want to hear it, because it was a message that demanded a response. Paul wouldn’t have held back – his message was black and white. No room for compromise. It was Heaven or hell. Repentance or judgement. And the peoples of the societies in which he found himself largely rejected him, sometimes violently. 

In Ephesus, Paul’s message turned the city upside down, to the extent that the silversmiths making idols for the goddess Artemis were afraid that they were about to lose their livelihood. So they started a riot – we can read about it Acts 19. Paul’s message had quite an impact, I think we can all agree. Paul got into more bother in Philippi, where he ended up in gaol, having been beaten by the local law enforcers. We can read that story in Acts 16. It wasn’t just his message, it was the “enthusiastic” way he delivered it with power and with signs following. We read in Mark 16:20, “And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs”. 

Sometimes I dream about being in meetings where the preaching of the word was so powerful that people were flocking to hear it and conviction of sin was universal. Where the Word of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit came upon people in the street, their workplaces, their homes. The Holy Spirit power and presence was such that God was real to everyone, and healings were commonplace. It’s never going to happen, the sceptic might say, but it did happen in the first century, and has happened at various times since. We pilgrims must pray for another visitation from God to this war-torn planet. 

How enthusiastic are we pilgrims in our Christian witness? Do we hold back, not wanting to offend anyone? Unfortunately, the Gospel is an offence to those who hear it, because it confronts them with their sins, and the fact that they are a broken people. The one solution involves repentance, death to themselves and future life devoted to God. The old is replaced by the new. We can speak enthusiastically about God’s saving grace through Jesus, but most people in our societies will reject both us and the message we are delivering. But enthusiastic we must be, because of Jesus and His love for us. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again”. 

The Message of the Cross is life changing and we must share Paul’s enthusiasm by sharing it in our generation. We have no other option.

Dear Lord Jesus. It is only You that spoke the words of eternal life. Please help us to echo them in our families and communities, in our schools and workplaces. In You precious names’ sake. Amen.

A Reminder

Posted on by korgrocker

“Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder. For by God’s grace, I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:15-16 NLT

Paul qualifies his statement in the previous verse, Romans 15:14, about teaching others, by saying something like, “I knew you would be good teachers, full of the goodness of God, but I was just reminding you in case it had slipped your minds”. And for good measure, he laid out his credentials about being Jesus Christ’s special messenger. Regarding the latter, if there was anyone who could make that claim of being special, it was Paul. Just read the account of his Damascus Road conversion in Acts 9. And the reason for Paul’s reminder was to make sure that the Roman Christians became “an acceptable offering to God“. An acceptable offering made holy by the Holy Spirit.

What reminders do we pilgrims need? Do we think sometimes that there are so many different things a Christian needs to remember that inevitably some seem to fall by the wayside? In 1 Corinthians 2:1-4 we read, “When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit“. Paul was quite capable at making clever speeches – he was one of the greatest theologians of his day – but his focus was always on the good news of Jesus Christ and his crucifixion and resurrection. The Good News about God’s saving power through Jesus. For most of the time Paul was a one message evangelist. His message was incredibly repetitive – it was almost exclusively about Christ Jesus, and Him crucified. The Gospel, God’s message of hope and salvation, was always on his lips.

In the previous verses in Romans 14 and 15 Paul wrote about the importance of living together as Christians in a hostile environment. He reminded them about how they had to pull together, in loving one another, not criticising one another, being sensitive to one other, and all because he wanted to present them as an acceptable and holy offering to God.

Paul was very clear about his mission to the peoples of his world. He was so focused that at times he upset the status quo in the communities and workplaces in which he found himself. His message of God’s saving grace through Jesus was so radical that even the Jews, his own people, threw him out of their synagogues and he ended up being stoned and abused by hostile mobs. But the Holy Spirit was with him and his message of the good news was received gladly by many people. So it begs the question – are we pilgrims clear about our message to our families and the communities where we live?

Paul took the Good News wherever he went and so must we. Our messages of hope, our testimonies, may be by using words but they should also be by what we do and how we behave. Jesus said in Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless“. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:16, “Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News“! Paul could speak about nothing else. He was a driven man, compelled to share the message of the Good News. We too must never miss the opportunity to share the Gospel – we may never see the fruit of it in this life, but when we get to Heaven perhaps someone will come up to us to thank us for taking the time to share what we knew about Jesus. Paul reminded the Roman Christians about their obligations to God and each other. Let us not forget that either.

Father God. You have placed us in communities and families. Please help us to look out for each other and grasp every opportunity to share the Good News of the Risen Christ. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

‭‭

Being Full of Goodness

Posted on by korgrocker

“I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them.”
Romans 15:14 NLT
“Personally I am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, amply filled with all [spiritual] knowledge, and competent to admonish and counsel and instruct one another.”
Romans 15:14 AMP

There are two principles in Romans 15:14 that are worthy of note. Paul encourages the Roman Christians with the thought that they are “full of goodness”. How does he know that? After all, Paul had apparently never met anyone in the church in Rome when he wrote this letter. But in faith, he knows in his spirit, and by reports that had probably filtered through from travellers, that those Christians in Rome were great people. What did Paul mean by “goodness”? Qualities such as mercy, compassion, unselfishness and love come to mind. But a Christian is a reflection of God’s “goodness“, and every God-attribute builds together to develop a picture of “goodness”. In the end, though, “goodness” is really godliness. We add into the mix His qualities of purity, forgiveness, holiness, and righteousness. Jesus demonstrated His “goodness” at Calvary, where He put aside all so that we could find forgiveness with God. Paul was “fully convinced” that the Christians in Rome were “full of goodness”. Quite a statement but Paul knew that all followers of Christ would have “goodness” within them. 

Because of their “goodness“, Paul knew that those early believers could teach others around them, and reminded them of the second principle in Romans 15:14. The church in Rome was growing, and new converts needed the “goodness” qualities of the older Christians to show them the way in the faith. God in His mercy could of course teach His children about His ways and the correct path to Heaven without the help of others, and it would seem, according to Hebrews 10:25, that indeed some Christians had stopped fellowshipping. We read, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near“. We meet together as Christians for just the reason Paul wrote about. Teaching each other is not necessarily a formal “chalk and talk” session, but it is to do with shared life together. The Holy Spirit inspired much teaching about the “one another’s” in the Bible.

Here are some “one another’s” that come from “goodness”. “You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God” (Hebrews 3:13). Ephesians 4:32, “Instead, be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you“. ‭‭2 Corinthians 13:11, “Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you“. And there are many others. They all speak to a shared life agenda.

We all need the encouragement or goodness in this world of badness. Sometimes we feel as though we are living in a strange place, hostile to God and His people. A place where all the qualities opposite to what God desires and exemplifies abound. A place where the devil is doing his utmost to discourage us and attack us. Breaking up our families. Destroying our finances. In fact he wants to stop believers from following God. But within us is this Holy Spirit glow of God’s goodness, equipping us to prevail over all the enemy throws at us. And we share the encouragement we feel with those around us, helping each other on our separate journeys to our promised land, life with God in Heaven. 

Dear Father. We pray the prayer that Jesus gave us, and which includes the words “deliver us from evil”. Thank You for Your goodness and mercy. Amen.

Paul’s Prayer

Posted on by korgrocker

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13 NLT

The word “hope” appears twice in this verse, and it points out that the hope Paul is writing about is something that comes from God. So it isn’t a natural hope, like “I hope it doesn’t rain today” or “I hope we have a good holiday”. Paul continues to pray in the next sentence that this “hope” is something full of confidence and powered by the Holy Spirit. And the consequence of this “hope” is a complete infilling with two qualities enjoyed by Christians – “joy and peace”. Perhaps when we consider this verse we are looking for a meaning to the word “hope” that is different from the world view.

As we look into other parts of the Bible we see that “hope” is a word often associated with “faith”. We read Hebrews 11:1 from the Amplified version, “Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]” (emphasis mine). It’s the fact that a Christian’s “hope” is “divinely guaranteed” that is exciting. We believe through faith that the promises of God will come to pass. We “trust in Him”, as Paul wrote.

What God-given promise is most likely to fill us with “joy and peace”? A “hope” that God has guaranteed? There are many such hopes written in the Bible, but where else can we initially turn to other than to John 3:16? We read, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. The promise is that one day we will “have everlasting life”. Eternal life. Endless life spent in God’s presence. In Revelation 21:3-4, we receive a hint of what this future life will be like. “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” “Death or sorrow or crying or pain” just about sums up every negative human emotion and experience and we “hope” that one day God will deliver the promise to do away with them “forever”. And, poignantly, God will personally be involved with each one of us, wiping away our tears.

In the meantime, we have a “hope” in this life. Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope“. As we journey through the years remaining in our natural lives, God reminds us that He has good plans for us. He sees our years laid out before us, and He knows what’s coming our way. Perhaps some people view this as a negative. Weary people populating a pew and waiting for the day when they cross the Great Divide and enter eternal life. But God has so much more for us in this life. Exciting things. Things that are the manifestation of our hope in Him. And Paul’s prayer was that we would experience “joy and peace” as we “trust in Him”. What a prayer! But what a Saviour!

Dear Lord. Thank You for showing a world without hope that there is a future. We are a part of Your plans, and so we declare our trust in You with our future, in this life and the next. Amen.

The Gentile Mission

Posted on by korgrocker

“He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote: “For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to your name.” And in another place it is written, “Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles.” And yet again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles. Praise him, all you people of the earth.” And in another place Isaiah said, “The heir to David’s throne will come, and he will rule over the Gentiles. They will place their hope on him.”“
Romans 15:9-12 NLT

In a previous blog we considered that Jesus’ mission to Planet Earth was limited to His people, the Jews. That was what God promised, and, as we know, God’s promises always come to fruition. In these next few verses, Paul demonstrated very clearly, from some Old Testament prophecies, that Jesus’ message of salvation and the Kingdom of God, would also apply to the Gentiles. 

In Romans 15:9-12, Paul quoted four Old Testament verses, the first of which comes from Psalm 18, “Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name” (Psalm 18:49). The Psalm also appears in 2 Samuel 22, and David wrote it “ … on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul” (2 Samuel 22:1b). But the implication is clear, that there will one day be a time when the Jews and the Gentiles will unite in praises to God. 

The second quote from Paul, in Romans 15:10, comes from Deuteronomy 32, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And render vengeance to His adversaries; He will provide atonement for His land and His people” (Deuteronomy 32:43). This verse concluded the Song of Moses at the time when Joshua was about to take over the leadership of Israel and lead the Jewish people into the promised land. Moses prophetically could see down through the ages to the time when Jews and Gentiles would be together, part of the atonement.

Thirdly, Paul, in Romans 15:11, quoted from Psalm 117. We read, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples! For His merciful kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 117:1-2). A short psalm. Only two verses. But why would the Gentiles praise God if they didn’t know Him? Prophetically, a time was coming when the Gentiles would in fact mingle with God’s people, the Jews. The Psalmist could see it coming and wrote a psalm that the Gentiles could pick up in prayer and song.

Lastly, Paul quoted from Isaiah 11:10, “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious“. The prophet Isaiah was declaring a time when a descendant of David would rule the Gentiles as well as His own people. Isaiah described a world where “the lion shall eat straw like an ox” and “the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb” (Isaiah 11:7b, 6). Perhaps this was world described at the end of Revelation – the new Heaven and earth. Or perhaps during the millennial reign and rule of Christ.

As Gentiles, we indeed “give glory to God for his mercies to them”. We indeed enjoy God’s mercies every day, really grateful that His grace extended even to us. 

Lord God, we praise You for Your grace and love so bountifully given to us Gentiles. We give You all the glory this day and every day. Amen.

Christ Came

Posted on by korgrocker

“Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.”
Romans 15:8 NLT

We Gentile pilgrims sometimes forget that Jesus was a Jew. He would have been Middle Eastern in appearance, not as commonly portrayed in Western films as a white Caucasian man. In fact, Matthew 1 records His genealogy all the way back to Abraham. He was a descendant of King David and fulfilled the Jewish expectation of their Messiah. Zechariah 9:9 was just one verse amongst many prophesying the coming King, “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt”. As we know, that very prophecy came to fruition on the first “Palm Sunday”. Isaiah 9:2, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.” This prophecy from Isaiah continued – 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”!

There were many promises in the Hebrew Scriptures about the coming Messiah. Jesus Himself repeated the prophecy from Isaiah 61 when He preached in the synagogue in Nazareth. He said, ““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. ” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day”” (Luke 4:18-21). Jesus was clear and focused about His mission. And He fulfilled it to His own people, the Jews.

In Matthew 15 we read about the encounter between Jesus and a Gentile woman, whose daughter was seriously ill. The dialogue wasn’t going well for the woman and we read in Matthew 15:24, “Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”” Jesus was clear that His mission was to be a servant of the Jews. But we read that the woman persisted in her demands that Jesus heal her daughter – we read the conclusion in Matthew 15:28, ““Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed”. As an aside, perhaps this gracious miracle opened the door for the Gospel to be preached to the Gentiles. 

Way back in Genesis we read how God chose Abraham, a man on whom He would found a nation, the Jews. What followed was a series of promises to His people, generation after generation, until the Messiah finally arrived. The Incarnation of God’s Son complete. Jesus served the Jews throughout His life here on Planet Earth, but sadly His own people rejected Him. It was all part of God’s plan, of course, but we must never forget that the Jews are still God’s chosen nation. Zechariah prophesied that one day the Jewish nation will finally accept their Messiah. we read in Zechariah 12:10, “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died“. We are grateful for the Jews. They have suffered much over the many generations since Abraham, but God has always had His hand upon them. We thank God too for the early Jewish Apostles and evangelists who took God’s message of hope and grace to the Gentiles.

Father God. What can we do other than worship You, and thank You most sincerely for Your grace and love. Amen.
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