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Embracing Sorrow: The Path to Spiritual Growth

Posted on by korgrocker

“I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death”.
2 Corinthians 7:8-10 NLT

Paul’s first letter must have had quite an impact on the Corinthian believers. Paul considered it to be “severe”, and the feedback he received indicated that they were hurt by it. I wonder how we would have reacted, had we been there in the congregation. But Paul was quite right in pointing out some of the issues that they were experiencing. There was the man sleeping with his stepmother, a blatant issue that apparently everyone knew about, and, worse, they boasted about it. There were divisions in the church, as people claimed allegiance, each to their preacher. They quarrelled with each other. They considered themselves superior to those in the society around them. There was a situation where one Christian took another to a secular court to decide a difference between them. Then they seemed confused about what to do with food that had been sacrificed to idols. Some were happy to eat it, but others said they shouldn’t. The list goes on, but we shouldn’t be too surprised. This was a cutting-edge church established by Paul in a hostile society, trailblazing in living the new life in Christ. It was important that the Corinthians experienced all the issues that they did, because as a result of Paul’s letters, they have helped countless believers ever since. 

Paul’s first letter caused them pain, but that was a good thing because it led to repentance and a change in their ways. But that’s the thing about sin. It creeps up on people, and before they know it, problems arise. The case of the man and his stepmother probably began with a genuine display of Christian love, both by the couple and by the believers who knew them. One thing led to another, and before long, a sinful relationship had resulted. I like to think that as a result of Paul’s letter, the situation was resolved redemptively, with both parties being restored to a right relationship with Jesus. I also like to think that as a result of Paul’s letter, the believers saw the impact their divisions were having on their spiritual lives, and decided to resolve the situation with loving reconciliation. A hard-hitting letter from Paul resulted in restoration and resolution. 

What about us pilgrims? Have we in some way allowed sin into our lives and suffered spiritually as a result? The problem is that we are good at keeping our behaviour hidden. Take, for example, the issue of men privately watching things on the internet that they shouldn’t be watching or getting involved with prostitutes. A sin that very soon destroys their spiritual lives. Most of the time, only those in public ministry get found out, as we know from an example from the 1980’s. But most continue to do things in secret that no one ever discovers. In such situations, the Holy Spirit brings conviction of the sin taking place. God, in His grace, engineers a series of situations that bring the sinner face to face with his sin. One way is through discipline. Hebrews 12:5-6, 11,  “And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child. … No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterwards there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way”. We thank God that He loves us too much to leave us in a life of sin. Painful correction is transitory, but it is necessary to keep upon the right path to glory.

“I have sinned against the Lord”

At other times, the Holy Spirit will give a word personally or publicly to bring about a change in behaviour. Perhaps God will give a prophetic word to one of His servants, and they deliver it to the person involved in sin. In 2 Samuel 12 we read about the prophet Nathan telling King David about two men, one rich and the other poor. The rich man owned many sheep, but the poor man owned only one. It was a lamb hand-reared by him and his family, and much loved by them, but one day the rich man took the poor man’s sheep to feed his guests. David was outraged that such a thing had happened and said so, but then Nathan delivered the bombshell. We read in 2 Samuel 12:7-9, “Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife”. Nathan took his own life in his hands when he delivered his prophecy because such a forthright confrontation usually didn’t end well for the prophet. But we read in verse 13, “Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin”. I’m sure we have all read David’s prayer of contrition, Psalm 51. It starts, “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins”. In verses 10 and 11 we read, “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me”. David restored. Sin confessed. But as we read the rest of David’s life, we find that there were still consequences.

We hope as believers that we are never confronted in such a way when we fall into sin. Come to that, we hope we never reach such a sinful stage in our walk of faith. But always at the back of our minds must be the thoughts that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us too much to allow us to live a life of deceit and sin. If we turn a deaf ear to our consciences, God will take more direct action to grab our attention and, consequently, save our souls. He loves us too much to leave us.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your love and care. We, like lost sheep, have a tendency to go astray. Please help us to live our lives Your way and no other way. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Source of True Comfort in Christian Life

Posted on by korgrocker

“For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn – conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.”
2 Corinthians 7:5-7 NIVUK

Three mentions of the word “comfort” in our verses today. Paul had already shared about being harassed and conflicted, with “fears within”, and he was obviously feeling pretty depressed about it all. Sometimes we look at a spiritual giant like Paul and think that they will never suffer the troubles in life that we do. Reading Paul’s letters He seems to have such a grasp of the Christian life, even establishing much of today’s theology, that we forget he was human like everyone else and needed comfort. 

Elijah was another one. In the middle of a drought, and after the Mount Carmel event where God sent fire to consume the sacrifice and Elijah “slaughtered” the 450 prophets of Baal, we read about the drought coming to an end. But Elijah then ran into the wilderness after a threat from a woman. We read, “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors’” (1 Kings 19:3-4). How could that have happened? But we read on to find that Elijah was fed by “the angel of the Lord” before his long 40-day journey to “Horeb, the mountain of God”. It was there that God restored him, giving him the comfort that he needed.

Then we have Peter, devastated and depressed after denying Jesus three times. In Luke 22:61-62, and after Peter’s third denial, we read, “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the cock crows today, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.” What followed was that poignant conversation with Jesus on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, after a breakfast of barbecued fish. Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him, one time for each of Peter’s denials, and He gave Peter the comfort and assurance to put him back on track in his mission. 

We tend to think that the men of God like Paul, Peter and Elijah were somehow supermen in the faith, far too holy to suffer from the kinds of troubles we do. We also sometimes think the same of our pastors and other church leaders, somehow putting them on pedestals set apart from ordinary folk like us. But nothing could be further from the truth. We, too, need comfort from time to time, and we enjoy our needs being met by those loved ones closest to us, but unfortunately, there are many lonely people in our societies who lack family or friends and instead suffer in silence, lacking the comfort that all human beings need. Paul wrote that he was comforted “by the coming of Titus”, his needs being met in his hour of need.

“He comforts us in all our troubles“

The Bible bulges with verses and passages about comfort. And they all major on the one fact that God is the source of the comfort we need. He cares for us in all circumstances. Psalm 23 is a good place to start if anyone needs to be comforted today. Read it and re-read it if necessary, and in the process, we feel the comfort of God flooding over us. We get to verse 4 and read, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me”. The rod and staff were the shepherd’s tools to encourage and direct the sheep before him, and as we look to our loving Heavenly Father, we will find the same willingness to keep us on the right paths, no matter what we are going through.

Of course, from our position of being comforted, we can comfort others. We read in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us”. I envisage a merry-go-round, with each believer encouraging and comforting another, while God pours His love and grace into the mix, bringing comfort to all. This is what living the wonderful Christian life is all about. So who do we know who needs comforting today?

In my walks, I often meet people who are totally devoid of the comfort they need. Depression and loneliness abound. Worry and anxiety are endemic emotions. People without God lack hope and vision for the future. But we pilgrims have a Source of comfort, and sometimes we have the opportunity to bring just a glimmer of that comfort into the lives of those we meet, wherever that is. We must never neglect an opportunity to share the “words of eternal life” that God has so graciously given us.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your comfort and grace. Through Jesus, we have come into a favoured place, where we find Heaven on earth. Please help us to bring comfort to others whenever we can. Amen.

Finding Peace Amidst Global Turmoil

Posted on by korgrocker

“For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn – conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.”
2 Corinthians 7:5-7 NIVUK

Do Paul’s words sound familiar? He was “harassed at every turn”, something we ourselves feel at times. A young mum with demanding children, tired and near the end of her tether. An old person struggling with mobility issues but needing to get to the shops for food. A worker in the office, bombarded with demands from their boss, and unable to see how they were going to complete them all. The list of possible forms of harassment seems limitless. But being harassed seems part of everyday life for humans on Planet Earth. However, something that really strikes a chord within us concerns “conflicts on the outside, fears within”. As I am writing, the war between the US and Israel, and Iran rages on with missile exchanges and bombing continuing. But it doesn’t have to be this particular corner of the globe. Battles and wars keep cropping up all over, and the devil rubs his hands with glee, looking on at all the mayhem that he has caused, directly or indirectly. “Conflicts on the outside”? Definitely. But we shouldn’t be surprised, because Jesus warned us of these times. Jesus said in Matthew 24:6-7, “You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places”. Doom-mongers make claims that this is World War 3, with claims that Armageddon is close, but Jesus was clear in Matthew 24:8, “All these are the beginning of birth-pains”. As we read more in Matthew 24, we can see that there are still events about to happen, and one significant thing that Jesus said is in verse 14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come”. Note that the Gospel has to be preached, and not just the translation of the Bible into all the world’s languages. The End of the Age clock is ticking but it still has a while to go, I believe. We don’t know the hour and the day, but we can be assured that God will not bring about the end of the world until the time is right.

At the time of writing, and regarding the current war in the Middle East, a few church leaders have posted on social media, citing a passage in Jeremiah 49 about Elam, an ancient kingdom located in what is now a corner of Iran, and speculating whether it is the fulfilment of Jeremiah’s prophecy. Of course, Elam no longer exists, having been subsumed into Persia, which became Iran, a long time ago. So, although there are similarities with current events, enough doubt remains to question some of the conclusions being drawn. Another YouTube video has emerged from an American pastor who claims the Doomsday clock has already reached midnight, but as I look out of the window, the sun is still shining. Whenever someone crops up and makes such claims, we pilgrims proceed with caution, waiting for God to confirm if necessary. 

But the point is that the “conflicts outside” bring “fears within”. The headlines in newspapers and other news media platforms scream about the cataclysmic events unfolding. There are even reports that AI-generated videos are circulating, stoking further fears and providing misinformation to mislead people even further. People everywhere are becoming anxious and worried. Even so, many miles away, the effects of the wars will bring inflation and increase the stress of living for those, most people in fact, on limited budgets. It is at times like these that we pilgrims reach for our Bibles to see what advice and encouragement God has for His children. Scriptures provide profound encouragement during times of war by shifting focus from temporary, chaotic circumstances to the eternal sovereignty, protection, and peace of God. They emphasise that while conflict is a reality of a broken world, God remains a refuge and ultimate victor. Psalm 46:1-3 is a great scripture in times such as this. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging”. These verses reaffirm God’s sovereign rule over His creation and set a baseline from which we can draw comfort and hope. Regarding all the horrors of the “what if’s” Psalm 91:7 provides more assurance about God’s protection, “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you”. This verse was a particular comfort to me many years ago, when the company I worked for began consulting on redundancies, and a few weeks later I learned that my job was secure. God looks after His children.

We remember the time when the Israelites stood on the shores of the Red Sea, unable to go forward, but behind them, the Egyptian army was getting closer and closer. We read in Exodus 14:13-14, “Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still’”. God will fight for us when there seems to be no way out. He has our backs, and if we look back over our lives, I’m sure we will remember times when He came through for us when problems seemed insurmountable. 

There are also verses that bolster our mental strength and help us remain calm amid stress caused by fear and societal instability. For example, John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world”. John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”. For Christians everywhere, we look at world events with concern, but we remember what Jesus said – “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”.

We are not citizens of the kingdom of the world. Our passport says we are citizens of God’s Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven. In Philippians 3:20, Paul wrote, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ”. So we pray about world events. For the preaching of the Gospel. And for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). And when world events tempt us to look at them and be worried, we instead lift them up in our spiritual hands to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He knows what’s best and He will lead and guide us, giving us the security of His love and grace.

Dear Heavenly Father. As world events descend into chaos once again, we pray for Your peace and love to smother us. We pray that wars and rumours of wars will cease, and ask that You protect Your people. We thank You for all that You have done for us, and will continue to do in the days, months, and years ahead. Amen.

Daily Encouragement: A Call to Believers

Posted on by korgrocker

“Please open your hearts to us. We have not done wrong to anyone, nor led anyone astray, nor taken advantage of anyone. I’m not saying this to condemn you. I said before that you are in our hearts, and we live or die together with you. I have the highest confidence in you, and I take great pride in you. You have greatly encouraged me and made me happy despite all our troubles.”
2 Corinthians 7:2-4 NLT

We all need encouragement, don’t we? Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth with a heartfelt appeal to try to restore his relationship with them. He told them that he had “not done wrong to anyone” or “led anyone astray”. He said, no one had been taken advantage of either. And he encouraged his readers by emphasising his commitment to them, expressing pride and confidence. And then Paul said, “You have greatly encouraged me and made me happy”. Surely we think, when we read this ourselves, the Corinthians could never have rejected Paul. And neither could we, knowing what we know about Paul and his ministry. Paul was a full-on type of person, intense and driven, and he was very conscious that his time on earth was relatively short and he had many people to reach with the Gospel. From that, I would think he wasn’t a warm, fuzzy sort of person and probably alienated people along his journey through life. But when we read his letters, a different person emerges. He tried to balance the urgency he felt in establishing churches with his words of encouragement and discipleship in his letters. I’m sure he didn’t get things right all the time because he was human, just like us, but overall, he was motivated following his encounter with Jesus, and knew he had to spread the Gospel wherever and whenever he could.

But encourage one another daily

We pilgrims, too, are on a journey through life. It may be 2000 years later, but the issues are still the same because human beings haven’t changed. Sin is still present. Faith and holiness are still qualities we aspire to. And encouragement is needed as we meet with our friends, families and in our communities. We need to be encouraged, and we need to encourage others. Encouragement is not just a one-off event, though. Hebrews 3:13, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today’, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness”. Who are the “one anothers”? As I wrote before, these are people in our families and communities who need a kind word or something else to lift their spirits in times of difficulty. But they also include those in our churches. People who come every week, possibly carrying burdens that we can’t see. People who, when asked how they are, reply “fine” when there are fires of anxiety and stress churning within them, and the same people leave at the end of the service feeling much the same. 

Christians everywhere need encouragement, primarily because it is necessary to our walk of faith. Jesus warned His disciples, and us as well by implication, that this world is a hostile place for Christians to live in. He said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). In the previous chapter, He said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” (John 15:18-19). But Jesus encouraged us because He is greater than any trouble we face.

We all struggle if we do not receive any encouragement, but it is important to remember that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against . . . the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). This truth makes encouragement all the more important. It is not just that we face the world’s displeasure; we are caught in the crosshairs of a spiritual battle. When we are encouraged in Christ, we have the strength to put on our spiritual armour and remain steadfast. Without encouragement, life would soon feel pointless and burdensome. Without encouragement, we can be overwhelmed by the very real pains of our lives. Without encouragement, we feel unloved. Without encouragement, we begin to think that God is a liar or is unconcerned with our welfare. So, the Bible tells us to encourage one another, to remind each other of the truth that God loves us, that God equips us, that we are treasured, and that our struggles are worth it.

Encouragement from the Bible gives us the will to carry on. It is a glimpse of the bigger picture. It can prevent burnout. It can save us from believing lies (“sin’s deceitfulness”). Encouragement helps us experience an abundant life. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). 

So, do we pilgrims need to encourage anyone today? Perhaps someone in the workplace, or in the family. Perhaps the next-door neighbour is prone to discouragement and needs a cheery word. Perhaps someone we encounter on the street or in the supermarket just needs a kind word to keep them going. And as for ourselves, we too need encouragement, of course, but if not from anyone around us, we can reach out to our Heavenly Father – He has a shed load just waiting to be poured out on us. Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. Do we feel God’s peace and love today? Well, it’s there for the asking.

Dear Heavenly Father. Whatever our circumstances, we know that You provide the peace we need to live in this dark world. We thank You for Your encouragement, secure in the knowledge that Jesus died so that we could inherit a better place. Help us today, we pray, to reach out to those around us so that we can share the encouragement we have received from You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Pursuing Holiness: Cleansing for Spiritual Growth

Posted on by korgrocker

“Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.”
2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT

The Christian life is not only about receiving God’s promises, but it is also about responding to them. In this verse, the apostle Paul calls us pilgrims to a life of intentional purity and spiritual growth. Because of what God has promised us, we are encouraged to actively pursue holiness in our daily lives. But what are “these promises” that Paul referred to in today’s verse? In the closing verses of the previous chapter, Paul quoted his paraphrase of two Old Testament scriptures, “ … I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. … And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty”. (2 Corinthians 6:16b, 18). These promises remind us that believers are not distant from God because we are His people, His children, and His dwelling place. When we truly grasp that reality, it changes how we live. Our motivation for holiness is not legalism but relationship.

Paul continues, “let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit.” Paul wasn’t suggesting that we pilgrims wash more often or change our soap. This was a call for us to cleanse our inner beings, the spirits within us. It’s obvious, really, because how can the Holy Spirit, who is pure and holy, live inside a sinful human being? Sin can affect both the body and the spirit. Some sins contaminate our actions, while others slowly shape our thoughts, desires, and motivations. Paul encourages believers to deal with both. This cleansing is not a one-time event. It is an ongoing process of repentance, confession, and renewal as we walk with God. The Psalmist David wrote, “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). In the Biblical context, our hearts are our inner beings, our spirits. David also wrote, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24). We will need God’s help because, as Jeremiah wrote, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9). 

So with God’s help, we move on to the next part of 2 Corinthians 17:1, “And let us work toward complete holiness”. Is this ever achievable? Are we pilgrims believing something to which we can never attain, in this life anyway? The Christian life involves spiritual growth. We are saved by grace, but we are also called to grow, to develop our characters to become more like Jesus. Paul wrote, “ … continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” (Philippians 2:12c). The life of a believer starts at the point of salvation. But it doesn’t stop there, because we go through a period in the rest of our lives that we call sanctification, the act of being saved. But there will come that wonderful day when we experience glorification. And what a wonderful day that will be! The holiness that Paul wrote about simply means being set apart for God. It is reflected in our choices, speech, attitudes, and priorities. As we grow spiritually, we become more like Christ. Peter wrote, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16). 

Paul concludes by reminding believers that this pursuit of holiness flows from a “fear of God.” This fear is not terror but deep reverence, respect, and awe for who God is. When we truly understand God’s holiness and love, we desire to honour Him with our lives. In Proverbs 19:23, we read, “The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble”. Imagine preparing our homes for a very important guest. We would likely tidy up, clean the rooms, and remove anything that shouldn’t be there. We would want the house to be ready. To the church in Laodicea, Jesus wrote, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20). Jesus could turn up at any time and knock at the doors of our hearts. Are we ready?

Dear Heavenly Father. You don’t want us to remain in a life of sin, our hearts corrupted and unsuitable for You to live in. Please help us to get our houses in order, ready for the day when You call us home. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Understanding Our Identity as God’s Temple

Posted on by korgrocker

And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 
Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. 
And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty”.
2 Corinthians 6:16-18 NLT

Paul’s knowledge of the Bible was extraordinary. Here, at the end of 2 Corinthians 6, he quoted three Old Testament verses in succession, all focused on the relationship that believers have with their Heavenly Father. The first was from Leviticus 26:12, “I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people”. The second was taken from Isaiah 52:11, “Get out! Get out and leave your captivity, where everything you touch is unclean. Get out of there and purify yourselves, you who carry home the sacred objects of the Lord”. And the last was taken from 2 Samuel 7:14, “I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do”. It is interesting that Paul’s quotations were not word perfect by a long way, but allowance has to be made for the translations from one language to another, and the context in which they were quoted. How many of us have a memory like Paul’s?

We remember that, in the context in which Paul was writing, these verses referred to believers as God’s Temple, and this will have a significant impact on their relationship with God. Think about it for a moment. God lives within us. He walks with us as we go about our daily lives. He is there in our thoughts, and He feels our pain when we hurt. Being God’s Temple is all about our relationship with our Heavenly Father. 

But in all of that, there is one thing that must prevail, and that is that being in a relationship with God means that other relationships must be discarded. These verses that Paul quoted paint a picture of separation from the things of the world, things incompatible with God and His Kingdom. We live in the world, but we do not belong to its values, its idols, or its compromises. When Paul speaks of not touching “their filthy things,” he is calling believers away from the spiritual contamination of idolatry, moral compromise, and divided loyalty. Jesus said, “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do” (John 17:15-16). In some ways, it is preferable to be taken out of this world because it is hard to live here as a Christian sometimes. But God has given us a job to do on His behalf, and in the process, He provides the opportunity for us to grow in the faith and become more like Jesus. This life is a training ground for the life to come.

Paul wrote, “I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty”. Look at the tender welcome in God’s statement. His love and grace are palpably present and are a promise for all those who come to Him. Separation from the world, from sin and evil, is no loss when we realise it opens the door to a deep relationship with the Creator of the Universe. In Romans 8:15, Paul wrote, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father””. The relationship we have with God is so intimate that we can call Him “Daddy” (Abba is the Aramaic word for Daddy). 

“Now we call him, “Abba, Father“”

If we truly grasp that we are God’s temple, we guard what we allow into our hearts. Our “eye gates” can be a problem so we need to be careful about what we watch on TV or in the cinema. Similarly, we carefully examine what influences shape us. These days, news reports and social media posts can be an evil and disruptive factor in our thoughts and decisions. Because we love God, we pursue living a life of separation from worldliness, conscious of how debilitating that can be to our spiritual lives. And through all that we do, we are conscious that God Himself walks with us. Let’s pause for a moment and focus our thoughts. The Lord Almighty—the sovereign, all-powerful God—chooses to dwell in and with His people and call them His sons and daughters. What greater privilege could there be? We pilgrims are truly a blessed people.

Dear loving Heavenly Father, thank You that You dwell within us by Your Spirit. Help us to live as Your holy temple. Give us courage to separate from anything that dishonours You, and draw us deeper into the joy of being Your sons and daughters. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Understanding Our Role as God’s Temple

Posted on by korgrocker

“What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
2 Corinthians 6:15-16 NLT

The Temple in Jerusalem was sacred to the Jews. The first one, built by Solomon, David’s son, and using materials David had accumulated in the last years of his reign and life, was magnificent. It was built around 959 BC and lasted for 400 years until it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and his forces in 586 BC. The second Temple was built under the guidance of Zerubbabel about 70 years later and lasted until 70 AD, when the Romans destroyed it. And that is the situation that still stands today. There will be a future Temple in the New Jerusalem, but this one will be very different. Revelation 21:22, “I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple”. Jews today have mixed views about the Temple, with some of the orthodox persuasions expecting such a building to appear through Divine providence, perhaps with the coming of the Messiah.

Early in His ministry, Jesus visited the Temple in Jerusalem and cleared the merchants from the courtyard. John 2:16, “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!”” The Jewish leaders weren’t too happy about this and in the following verses in John we read, “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”. And that introduces us to Paul’s New Covenant pronouncement that “we are the temple of the living God”. Paul said to the Corinthians in his first letter, “Don’t you realise 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” (1 Corinthians 6:19). 

In our verses today, Paul asked the question, “How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols?” The picture emerges of the Temple, pure and holy, the place where God lives, and then someone brings in an idol and starts worshipping it. Those who knew the law of Moses would immediately declare such a person as being worthy of death under the laws of the nation of Israel. Worshipping idols in the Temple would have been unthinkable to a Jew, but Paul associated this picture with the partnership between a believer and an unbeliever. Those of us who are believers, pilgrims like us who are in Christ, are now God’s temple on earth. His Spirit occupies every believer in Jesus. With that understanding, Paul’s meaning is clear. Any believer who participates in the worship of an idol is guilty of betraying God in the same way as someone worshiping an idol in the Jewish temple.

There are two implications of being God’s Temple, where the Holy Spirit lives. Personally, each believer has a responsibility to maintain a Temple free of idolatry, immorality, and all manner of sin. We call that being sanctified. The Temple within us is a place where God is glorified. Each believer is also part of a Temple that consists of all believers. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, “Don’t you realise that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. ” Peter also wrote about this in 1 Peter 2:5, “And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God”. 

Paul continued to quote Leviticus 26:12, “I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people”. It is an awesome and holy situation to be the place where God dwells. No more of a physical building, an entity outside of us. Instead, through our own holiness, we become “living stones”, a corporate building full of God and His Spirit. However, if that was the case, what is stopping the church from being a force far beyond anything ever seen on this planet? God walking around this world inside a huge human Temple? But of course, this is a spiritual Temple, unrecognisable by the secular society in which we live. We “living stones” do God’s work in the lives and communities of people around us. We are the “salt and light”, ensuring that God’s Temple continues to live and hold back the forces of evil that would otherwise overwhelm and destroy this world in which we live. 

So, fellow pilgrims and “living stones”, what strategy do we have in place to ensure that the Holy Spirit will continue to dwell within us? It is sin that destroys that union, but we know that, and we do our utmost to live lives worthy of the One who died for us.

Dear Heavenly Father. We thank You for all that You have done for us. Help us, we pray, to live in a way that is worthy of You and Your Spirit. Amen.

The Dangers of Unequally Yoked Partnerships

Posted on by korgrocker

“Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?”
2 Corinthians 6:14-15 NLT

Paul wrote that believers and unbelievers should not be in a partnership. Seems like good sense because Jesus Himself said, “The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you” (John 15:19). Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:7, “God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives”. Christians are to be holy, but what does that mean? “Holiness” is commonly defined as being separate or set apart. God is holy in that he is set apart from everything that is not God, and God’s people must be holy by being set apart from sin. Holiness, according to this definition, is separateness that entails moral purity. 

For us pilgrims, being in partnership with an unbeliever will obviously introduce strains in the relationship. There are a number of different types of partnerships, though. The obvious one is in marriage. Occasionally, a believer meets an unbeliever, and the relationship starts, eventually reaching a point where marriage is discussed. What should the believer do (assuming, of course, that their relationship with God is alive and well)? Many go ahead, only to live in regret afterwards. Another type of partnership occurs in the business world, and the same principles apply. The unbelieving partner may attempt to introduce business practices unacceptable to the believer, perhaps even illegal. Or perhaps one partner, the unbelieving one, wants to introduce trading in products that are unethical.

There is always the temptation for a believer to say they might be able to persuade their partner to become a believer in Christ. Although such an outcome is possible (such was the case with my daughter and her husband), in most cases, the opposite occurs. I can remember a speaker in church demonstrating how difficult this might be. He took a chair and asked a young man to stand on it. He then asked the young man to try to pull another man up onto the chair next to him. It turned out to be a very difficult task, possible but needing much cooperation between them. The speaker then demonstrated the opposite: the man on the ground found it quite easy to pull the other off the chair. A visual display that effectively showed the danger of entering into a relationship with an unrealistic expectation. The moral of his story was that it is difficult to pull someone toward righteousness, but very easy to drag them down toward sin.

Of course, there are marriages in place between a believer and an unbeliever. Paul addressed that situation when he wrote, “Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a fellow believer has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. And if a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy. … Don’t you wives realise that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realise that your wives might be saved because of you?” (1 Corinthians 7:12-14, 16). Nothing is ever impossible for God, however, and the believing partner may see a miracle happen in their relationship with the unbeliever.

In the ESV we read for 2 Corinthians 6:14, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” The word “yoke” is a good choice because it evokes the rigid harness used to keep livestock locked together and pulling in a consistent direction. With that word, we can find an illustration from the husbandry of the Israelite farmers. Deuteronomy 22:10, “You must not plough with an ox, and a donkey harnessed together”. That picture, which instantly formed in our minds, indicates the inadvisability of trying to do something with partners unequally yoked.

A Christian’s relationship with God through Jesus must be protected and nurtured above all else. Paul compared righteousness and wickedness, attributes that are obviously incompatible. When we read verses like, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21), we get the message. Of course, a Christian believer cannot separate themselves from the world in which we live. Jesus said in His High Priestly prayer, and about His disciples, “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do” (John 17:15-16). Paul wrote, “When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that” (1 Corinthians 5:9-10). 

“Do not be unequally
yoked with unbelievers”.

We imagine the analogy of darkness and light, and realise that both states cannot coexist. The kingdom of darkness is under the jurisdiction of the devil, and the Kingdom of Light is God’s Kingdom. We pilgrims do our best to bring our light, God’s light, into the relationships we have, and we share the Good News about Jesus at every opportunity, but being in partnership with an unbeliever is not recommended.

Dear Father God. We are so grateful that someone had the courage and persistence to share the Good News about Jesus with us, transforming us from darkness into light. Thank You for Jesus, who made it all possible. Amen.

Paul’s Love and Correction for the Corinthians

Posted on by korgrocker

“Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you, and our hearts are open to you. There is no lack of love on our part, but you have withheld your love from us. I am asking you to respond as if you were my own children. Open your hearts to us!”
2 Corinthians 6:11-13 NLT

Paul’s love and concern for the Corinthian believers ooze from these verses in 2 Corinthians, but the Corinthians have not reciprocated with love. How did it come to this? The essence of the two epistles written to the believers in Corinth was to bring loving correction to a church that appeared to have gone badly wrong. Paul addressed issues such as open immorality, wrong teaching, denial of the resurrection, and more in response to what he had heard about the church in Corinth, and he also answered questions from the believers there. Paul tried to steer them back onto the right track, carefully, but lovingly and firmly, in his letters. Obviously, some false prophets or elders had emerged in the church, subverting the purity of the Gospel message, and relations between the church and Paul and his friends had broken down. 

Paul had not held back correction, truth, or affection. He loved the Corinthians deeply, even when it cost him. Earlier in the chapter, he described enduring hardship, suffering, and misunderstanding for their sake. His love was not superficial; it was sacrificial, reflecting the heart of Christ. Jesus does not love us from a distance. He draws near to us. We know that from Romans 5:8, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners”. In 1 Corinthians 6:12, Paul wrote, “There is no lack of love on our part, but you have withheld your love from us”. The issue in Corinth was not that Paul had failed them. It was that their hearts had been subverted by issues that brought down a barrier and eroded the relationship. Perhaps some in Corinth were telling lies about Paul. Or people might have been bringing teaching or prophecies that contradicted Paul’s message. But whatever caused the rift, their love for Paul had grown cold. There is a lesson here for us pilgrims. It is possible to receive teaching, correction, prayer, and spiritual care, yet still keep our hearts guarded, love restricted, perhaps due to offence, pride, comparison, or divided loyalties. Jesus warned that in the last days, “the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12b). Love doesn’t usually disappear dramatically—it slowly constricts.

In the next verse, Paul wrote, “I am asking you to respond as if you were my own children. Open your hearts to us!” What a tender appeal; we can almost feel Paul’s pain, like that of any parent reaching out to a wayward child. Of course, this is not manipulation on Paul’s part. It is spiritual fatherhood. Paul had birthed this church through the gospel, as we read from 1 Corinthians 4:15, “For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you”. Paul was not demanding admiration; he was longing for a restored relationship. Churches and fellowships are founded on relationships between believers, as we remember from Acts 2:44-46, “And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity”. No sign of a stained glass window or rows of pews. No church organ or complex liturgy required. The only true church is established in the hearts and minds of believers. Anything else comes from a worldly influence that penetrates and distorts the truth of the Gospel. 

Paul finished the three verses we started with today with the appeal, “Open your hearts to us!” But what were they opening their hearts to? Well, the truth of Paul’s teaching was there before them, with the correction and encouragement that it brought. Paul’s testimony and what he had shared previously in his letters added some weight to his appeal. Near the start of his first letter, Paul wrote, “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10). A lack of harmony and division in itself would have developed into confusion and a cooling of the love that Paul initially received when he was there with them. We mustn’t forget that it is God’s love and grace that underpins the Gospel, and as believers, we must show that love and grace to those around us. 

What are we pilgrims going through at the moment? Are we drifting along, without any real connection with a church or other believers? Are we sitting in a pew, wondering why we are there because no one ever speaks to us? Or are we actively showing the love and grace of Jesus to those new in the faith or struggling with their own doubts and fears? There is only one way, and although we are not perfect, we can sit and reflect on all that God has done for us through Jesus. Yes, people around us will hurt or irritate us, but that’s okay. We don’t have to respond in the same way. Instead, we follow Paul’s advice, appealing to them with the goal of restoring a relationship that has been lost. 

Father God. Thank You for all that You have done for us. Your love and grace know no limits, so please help us to draw down more into our own lives so that we can reach out to those around us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Finding Joy in Christian Poverty: A Biblical Perspective

Posted on by korgrocker

“We serve God whether people honour us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.”
2 Corinthians 6:8-10 NLT

There seems to be a paradox here: heartache, poverty, and a lack of material things are compared with a life overflowing with joy, generosity, and abundance. A dilemma that faces all Christians as they go about their life of faith in a hostile and evil world. From a worldly perspective, this doesn’t add up. How can someone be poor and yet enrich others? How can someone own nothing and yet have everything? And to cap it all, be full of joy?

Earlier in 2 Corinthians 6:4-5, Paul explained the heartache he and his colleagues were enduring. He wrote “ … We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food”. But regardless of the heartache, Paul wrote that he always had joy. Paul had an eternal perspective, as we read in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” And that is true, because if we tried to put a marker on the timeline labelled “Eternity”, it would be so small as to be invisible. So the use of the word “vastly” becomes something of an understatement. That hope within him filled Paul with unquenchable joy – heartache perhaps now, but joy forever. Did that mean Paul went about the days of his life laughing and seemingly detached from the reality of his existence? Absolutely not, but there was something within him that kept his eyes focused on the horizon where the glory that awaited him illuminated the sky. Because of that, for Paul, the spiritual riches began with a joy that circumstances cannot steal. Paul’s joy flowed from his reconciliation with God, from knowing Christ, and from eternity secured.

Paul often lacked materially, being without food or warm clothing. In 2 Corinthians 11:27, we read about his privations: “I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm”. Occasionally, Paul worked with his hands to generate some income. “Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was” (Acts 18:3). But in it all, Paul’s main focus was to give “spiritual riches to others”, a great treasure that he carried around within himself, “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 4:7). What is this treasure? Not silver and gold, of course, because there is nothing spiritual about precious metals, but qualities such as the Gospel, reconciliation with Christ, and the knowledge of Him as he went about his business of giving what he had to others, anyone who would listen. There is that great, much-quoted verse in Acts 3:6, “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!” That is “spiritual riches” in action. A believer may lack wealth in the bank, but in Christ, they possess riches that can transform eternity.

Paul wrote, “We own nothing, and yet we have everything”. This statement makes sense only when the earthly and spiritual worlds are compared. Paul claimed poverty in one and great wealth in the other. But the two kingdoms are mutually exclusive. Paul knew and experienced that a believer cannot be in both. Jesus said to His disciples, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Mark 8:36). The world measures possession by accumulation. The Kingdom measures possession by inheritance. Paul wrote this to the Philippians, “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Saviour” (Philippians 3:20). From that perspective, we pilgrims also share in the “spiritual riches”, the spiritual treasure that we are accumulating safely in God’s Heavenly bank. Jesus said, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:19-21). In these days of rising living costs, we can be reassured that the treasure we value is beyond such worldly pressures. 

Paul’s life challenges modern believers. We often equate blessing with comfort, but Paul equated blessing with Christ. With Paul, we may not feel wealthy. We may face difficulty. We may experience seasons of heartache. Yet if we belong to Jesus, we carry eternal treasure within us. We think again of the paradox that underpins the life of Christians. The world may see lack, but Heaven sees inheritance. The world may see poverty, but God sees sons and daughters who possess everything that truly matters.

Dear Heavenly Father. You have “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ”. Help us to continue to deposit our spiritual riches with You in Heaven, as we are obedient to You and Your Son, Jesus, in all that we do. We love You and praise You today, expressing our humble thanks for such a wonderful salvation. Amen.