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Test My Heart

Posted on by korgrocker

“Declare me innocent, O Lord, for I have acted with integrity; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart. For I am always aware of your unfailing love, and I have lived according to your truth.”
Psalm 26:1-3 NLT

David was looking for self-vindication in these first three verses of Psalm 26. He laid out before the Lord His unwavering trust, his integrity, and his life lived according to God’s truth. Surely he was a man innocent of any wrongdoing, as David asked the Lord to confirm. But that was only his perspective. Jeremiah prophetically set out what the Lord thinks of the human heart, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Of course, this doesn’t apply to a human’s physical heart, that amazing pump that keeps us alive for our “three score years and ten”. It applies to our spirits within us, that part of us where our emotions and desires dwell. The Bible mentions this spiritual organ many times and we can assume that even God has a heart, as we read in 1 Samuel 13:14. Samuel was speaking to King Saul, “But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command“. If David was a man after God’s own heart, this implied that everyone had the same. The problem is that sin, evil and wickedness has destroyed the perfect that God intended, and as Jeremiah wrote, mankind is universally cursed with a deceitful and desperately wicked heart. No exceptions even for David – look what happened when he spied Bathsheba taking a bath.

But David was keen to be vindicated and at this point in his life he wrote “test my motives and my heart”. He must have been pretty sure of his ground to write that. However, as we read in Jeremiah 17:10, God has His eye on everyone’s heart, “But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve“. Jesus had something to say about human hearts, as we read in Mark 7:20-23, “And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you””. Ouch! We all have a heart problem, no matter how much we try to deny it, and the NHS has no remedy available. We are unable to go and acquire a doctor’s prescription to cure a personal heart problem. No psychiatrist has a solution to the evil within a person; instead they can only try to fool patients into the conclusion that they don’t have a problem if they think a certain way. Quackery in God’s eyes. Jesus said that the problem of a failing heart exists within a person, but even they can’t see a problem because they have been deceived by themselves. We know the problems we have and we try and rationalise them so that we can live with our sinful hearts. Sadly, through our thoughts and intentions, we have a tendency to feed our heart on things that increase the evil within. We know it all. “Just one more glance” or “surely another … won’t matter” (fill in your own speciality). But an evil and wicked heart, suffering from all the conditions Jesus described, needs feeding, and that is where our hearts can be cleaned up, with much help from God of course. If we stop feeding our hearts with the things that destroy, then those qualities will shrivel and die. So if a thief stops dwelling on thieving, then his thoughts of stealing will gradually disappear. But there is only so much that a person can do and God’s help must be engaged. 

Sometimes, people describe an emotional person as one who wears their heart on their sleeve. But aren’t we glad that all that is within our hearts is invisible to anyone we meet. I look at a random stranger and I have little or no idea about what they are thinking, and neither do they about me. But God sees all, and why He still loves human beings after that, instead of recoiling in horror at what He sees in our hearts, is one of life’s mysteries.

Ezekiel wrote, “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart” (Ezekiel 36:26). In the end it is only God who can fix human beings and that redemption process started with Jesus and our faith and belief in Him. Through His death at Calvary, He took on our sins and started us on the journey to acquire that new heart Ezekiel told us about. Paul wrote, “For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved” (Romans 10:10). Our heart surgery starts quite simply with Jesus. There is no other way to find a remedy for all the evil that is within us. The wise philosopher wrote, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23). Sound advice that we would do well to obey.

Father God, we lift our hearts to You, exposing all and asking for forgiveness and the surgery needed to clean up our inner beings. Only You have the remedies we need and we thank You and praise You for all You are and for Your unlimited love and grace. Amen.

Unwavering Trust

Posted on by korgrocker

“Declare me innocent, O Lord, for I have acted with integrity; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart. For I am always aware of your unfailing love, and I have lived according to your truth.”
Psalm 26:1-3 NLT

Do we pilgrims “[trust] in the Lord without wavering”? You see, there is a whole Bible full of the promises of God, but do we trust in them? Do we actually trust in our Creator God for all we need in life? Or do we pay lip service to the Scriptures and continue to live our lives our way, full of problems and anxious moments, without any reference to the promises of God? There is a section in Matthew 6 that records the words of Jesus about worry and the needs of life, and He said, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs” (Matthew 6:31-32). Do we trust in what Jesus said? 

There is a connection between “faith” and “trust”. Faith is described famously in Hebrews 11:1, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see“, and there then follows a long list of Old Testament saints with evidence of their faith in God. Faith does not put trust in bank account balances, headline news, or the doctor’s report. Paul described what we should do instead, “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18). In the following chapter we read, “For we live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). And the importance of faith is exposed in Hebrews 11:6, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him“. So the practical, living-day-by-day, outworking of faith in God is trust, trusting Him with our lives, trusting Him for all we need for life, such as a roof over our heads, the food on our tables, and the clothes we wear. Trusting Him for a solution when the going gets tough. And ultimately we trust Him to bring us across the Great Divide into His presence. We do so because we have faith in our amazing and wonderful God.

Sadly, there are many Christians who aren’t too sure about God and His promises. It is easy to trust God and have faith in Him when all is good. The Sunday meeting’s worship elevated us to new heights of praise, the message from the preacher encouraged us greatly, but then Monday morning came along with some bad news. A loved one has an incurable illness. The boss calls us into his office and gives us some terminal news about our jobs. Or just some simple and seemingly insignificant occasion drags us into despair. It is so difficult sometimes to extend Sunday’s euphoria into the mundane of Monday and beyond. James wrote about such people, “ …  be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do” (James 1:6b-8). Do we believe in faith that God is there for us regardless of what is happening around us? Paul wrote, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Isaiah wrote, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock” (Isaiah 26:3-4). 

But we pilgrims, on our journeys to glory, find day by day that God can indeed be trusted with our lives. We fall, but He picks us up. We sin, but He forgives us. We pray, and He answers. And slowly, we learn to trust Him with more and more. In faith we reach out and see the results of our faith. So the newspaper headlines scream out doom and gloom, but we live in an oasis of trusting in God, unmoved by the panic around us. So the doctors tell us bad news but we respond as a friend of mine told me about recently. In his office the doctor him that he had cancer, but my friend shared his faith and testimony, putting the bad news into the background and instead he talked about the One in whom he had put his trust. Many years later, my friend is still with us, and there is no sign of the cancer.

Er read in Psalm 20:7-8, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm”. We could write our own versions of those verses, but in the end we vocally declare our trust in God alone. We sing the hymn, “In Christ alone, my hope is found” and the first verse ends with “Here in the love of Christ I stand“. But in all the hassles of life, the last verse is a public declaration, containing these words, “No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand“. We will no be immune from the challenges of living in this sin-ridden world, but we can rise above them with “unwavering trust” through Jesus, who made it all possible.

Dear Father God. We worship You, the Centre of our universe, and the Saviour of the world. Amen.

Ransom Israel

Posted on by korgrocker

“O God, ransom Israel from all its troubles.”
Psalm 25:22 NLT
“Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles!”
Psalm 25:22 NIVUK
“O God, redeem Israel, Out of all his troubles.”
Psalm 25:22 AMP

‭‭‭‭”Ransom”, “Deliver”, or “Redeem”. Three different words yet they mean the same thing for a nation in bother. David prayed for his nation, that it would be saved from destruction. Ever since their fathers founded the Jewish nation, they have experienced troubles, usually, though, of their own making. The Jews taken into captivity and living in foreign lands were nearly destroyed by the ploys of Haman – the full account is recorded in the Book of Esther. As we read through the Book of Judges, we see the oppression experienced by Israel from the nations that surrounded them. In more recent years the Jews have experienced antisemitic pogroms in Russian and ethnic cleansing by Hitler as he tried to eliminate the Jewish race entirely. Even today, there are so called historians who deny the holocaust even happened, another antisemitic attitude. Antisemitism is rife in today’s world, probably bolstered by Israel’s attempts to eliminate Palestinian and other terrorists. But such antagonism against God’s chosen people has always been there ever since their origins. We pilgrims know why, of course, because the enemy of all the children of God wants to eliminate them and destroy them. However, once a believer in God is in His Kingdom, the devil can never get at their souls. He may destroy and harass their physical bodies but their souls are off limits for him. And the Jewish nation will prevail over all the devil’s ploys. 

So David’s prayer was partly prophetic in that he saw coming more “troubles” for his nation. The prophet Zechariah had much to write about concerning Israel, and we pick up his prophecies in Zechariah 13:1, “On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity“. A day is coming, he said, when Israel will be redeemed. We pilgrims know when that was, with Jesus coming to redeem mankind from their sins. But there was more to his prophecy if we read on and in verse 8 we find, “Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die,” says the Lord. “But one-third will be left in the land“. That didn’t happen when Jesus came so we must assume that Zechariah was referring to a time far into the future, a time we read about in John’s Revelation. Verse 9 then tells us what will happen to the third spared from being “cut-off”, “I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God’”. Regardless of all their troubles, and after many years, there will come a time when the Jewish people will rise up victorious over all their enemies, and, more, will be restored to the relationship with God that they should have had all along. 

We pilgrims, as far as I know, are not of Jewish origin, but we are so blessed to be included in God’s plan anyway. Jesus said, “I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd” (John 10:16). We look back to that Cross on Calvary’s hill and kneel before the crucified Lord in deep gratitude for His redemption. We have embraced His offer of salvation for all eternity and respond in love and thanks for His grace and mercy. 

Today, if the word “ransom” comes up, it is usually with extremely negative connotations, connected to “ransomware” or some other form of extortion, providing yet another example of how the devil has twisted and manipulated our lives for his own anti-God purposes. Paul wrote to Timothy and included these words, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time” (1 Timothy 2:5-6). Human beings were, and still are, in captivity to the forces of darkness but Jesus paid the price to ransom them from the devil’s clutches, should they choose to follow, and believe in, Jesus.. 

There is an old hymn I still love to sing, and first verse goes, 
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
To his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!

“Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven”, four words that describe our redemption through Jesus. We indeed do praise the “king of Heaven”, the “everlasting King”. And will do forever.

Dear God. We praise You today, our wonderful Creator Father. We have been restored to how You intended us to be through Your Son Jesus and we are eternally grateful. Amen.

Integrity and Honesty

Posted on by korgrocker

“See how many enemies I have and how viciously they hate me! Protect me! Rescue my life from them! Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge. May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you.”
Psalm 25:19-21 NLT

Integrity and honesty seem in short supply these days. As an example, what do people think of the political class in any Western country? I’m sure such words as “integrity” and “honesty” would not appear on the list of descriptive adjectives for most. David claimed that “integrity and honesty protect [him], for [he has] put [his] hope in the Lord”. He had a point, because those who behave in such ways will avoid most of the troubles that come from living in a society that is rife with lies and deceit. It says in Proverbs 10:9, “People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed“. From a slightly different angle, Proverbs 11:3 records, “Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people“. In fact, the Book of Proverbs contains quite a few verses about integrity and honesty, and their opposites, lies and deceit. Proverbs 12:19-20, “Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed. Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil; joy fills hearts that are planning peace!” The wise old sages in Israel knew all about the value of telling truth and avoiding lies.

According to “gotquestions.org”, “In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated “integrity” means “the condition of being without blemish, completeness, perfection, sincerity, soundness, uprightness, wholeness.” Integrity in the New Testament means “honesty and adherence to a pattern of good works””. A comprehensive, Bible-based exposé of the qualities necessary to enjoy God’s security and protection.

The best example of a person with integrity in the Bible is Jesus. As both God and man, He was without sin, totally without blemish of any kind. There was no deceit on Him at all, as we read in 1 Peter 2:21b-22, “… [Christ] is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone”. We read the accounts about Jesus and find a sinless man of complete honesty and integrity. Hebrews 4:15, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin“. We read about the temptations of Jesus, where the devil caught Him in a time of weakness, and see how Jesus stood strong and resolute, standing on the integrity of Scripture to fend off the temptations that would have led to sin. We pilgrims, believers in Christ, are called to be like Him. We knelt at the Cross, confessing and repenting of our sins, and Jesus took them upon HImself. But here’s the wonderful thing, He then gave us His righteousness, His sinless righteousness, so that we could become His brothers and sisters, adopted children of God. How amazing is that! So we too aspire to walk in integrity and honesty, just as Jesus did. No! More than that. In faith we do walk in integrity and honesty, resisting all attempts and distractions to corrupt us and lead us into sin. Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father”.

Of course, it is inevitable that we will stumble and fall. We are human, and always the focus of the devil and his minions who want to lead us into sin. Sadly, we will on occasion fall for one of his scams. But we have a remedy. 1 John 1:9, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness”. There you have it – back on track again walking in integrity and honesty. In God’s Kingdom we are new creations. Paul wrote, “throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:22-24). We walk in faith towards the goal of perfection and holiness through Jesus. We will never get there in this life, I fear, but we try, in the knowledge that our loving Heavenly Father is there helping us every step of the way. One day we will be like Jesus – Paul wrote, “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29). Amen?

Dear God. We aspire to walk in integrity and honesty just like Jesus did. Please help us, we pray, and please forgive us when we fail. We want to become more like Jesus. In His precious name. Amen,

Feel My Pain!

Posted on by korgrocker

“Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress. My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins.”
Psalm 25:16-18 NLT

David called out to the Lord to “feel [his] pain”. David highlights in the previous verses in this Psalm the hassles from his enemies, and potentially wrong responses (“disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others” – verse 3), but he then goes on to remind God about His “compassion and unfailing love“, His mercy, His goodness and righteousness, and that He is “a friend to those who fear Him”. But all this was a build up to what was really bothering David and he cried out to the Lord – “Turn to me and have mercy”. An impassioned cry for help as he found himself in deep trouble facing insurmountable problems. He ends up asking God to empathise with him, feeling his pain and seeing his trouble. Have we ever been in a place like that?

Human beings were never created to be lonely, devoid of companionship and love. Such a person never appeared in God’s plan for humanity. Adam never chose a wife because God chose one for him, saying “it is not good for man to be alone”, and that relationship ticked all the boxes that were in God’s blueprint for His children. But sin has distorted and destroyed relationships everywhere, leaving people universally devoid of anyone prepared and willing to take an interest in them and empathise with them in their troubles. Thankfully Jesus came as a remedy for man’s sin, and restored the order that God intended. So in our fellowships, and with other believers, we care for one another. Paul wrote, “Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15), a verse that encourages relationships that are selfless and loving. Peter wrote in similar vein, “Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude” (1 Peter 3:8). This is God’s blueprint for His children, believers everywhere. David cried out to God to “feel [his] pain” but we New Covenant believers have a wonderful God who has experienced what we have experienced. Hebrews 4:15, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin”. Jesus has gone before us and has shown us the way. Look at His love for His disciples, as He knelt before them, washing their feet. And He loves us just as much as well.

We pilgrims may be going through a painful experience at the moment. It could be the death of a loved one. It could be a debilitating illness. It could be a financial emergency. But whatever it is, there is One who feels our pain. One who died for us that we might have life, both in this world and the next. And if we know someone who is going through such experiences we must get alongside them and feel their pain as well. The old Apostle John wrote, “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?” (1 John 3:16-17). Jesus promised that He would always be with us and we can feel Him close especially in times of need. When He left this world, He sent the Holy Spirit, who now lives within every believer, and in His love and compassion He will even send His spirit in human form, as another believer gets alongside us. Jesus knows and understands our pain because He has been there, and so when troubles strike, we have a Comforter who “feels [our] pain”. We relax in His love and feel it as a cloak smothering us, and compassionately dealing with our pain. The problems may never go away or reduce in intensity, but with Jesus along side of us, they will never be as bad.

Dear Father God. You know and understand that our lives can sometimes be painful in a world blighted by sin and evil. But You have a remedy for all our pain and we reach out to You once again, basking in Your love and compassion. Thank You. Amen.

Loneliness

Posted on by korgrocker

“Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress. My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins.”
Psalm 25:16-18 NLT

Loneliness is a terrible place to be. It is something that afflicts too many people, who may be surrounded by their family, friends and neighbours, but lack any meaningful contact with any of them. I recently came across an elderly woman sitting on a seat in the town centre, her walker cum shopping trolley next to her, but she was staring blankly into the distance. I wished her a cheery “good morning” and this unleashed a tale of distress about her life of being alone. She had mobility issues and had struggled to get there after a short bus journey. She was almost marooned in a first floor flat without a lift and her neighbours had no time for her. There was no family close by and she was facing into an uncertain future, lonely and miserable. Her situation is not unique by a long way and there are many in the UK today just like her. Just this morning I came across a man sitting on a park bench, seemingly impervious to the cold wind. He seemed to be in a lonely other-world and only briefly returned my greeting before lapsing back into his musings. God once said to me that sometimes all He wants me to do is to say “Good Morning” to someone when out on my daily walks. An opportunity to share God’s Gospel of hope will perhaps come later.

David confessed to being alone in spite of all the people around him. At least at this point in his life when he wrote Psalm 25 he seemed to lack the companionship of someone like Jonathan, King Saul’s son. We read about the start of his friendship in 1 Samuel 18:1, 3, “After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David. …  And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, because he loved him as he loved himself”. The next few chapters in 1 Samuel provide a story of an increasingly unstable Saul and how Jonathan tried to mitigate the attacks against David. And then in 1 Samuel 31:2 we read, “The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons—Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua“. David was devastated, as we can expect. 2 Samuel 1:11-12, “David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news. They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the Lord’s army and the nation of Israel, because they had died by the sword that day“.‭‭ After Jonathan, David never really seemed to build a friendship with anyone, and here he is lamenting in Psalm 25 about being lonely. He grumbles to God, “Feel my pain and see my trouble“.

Loneliness was something God wanted mankind to avoid right from the beginning of His creation. Genesis 2:18, “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him“”. Adam was never going to be lonely with God and Eve blessing his life. In those idyllic days in the Garden, God used to walk with Adam and Eve in the coolness of the evening (Genesis 3:8) but note that because of sin, that custom ceased, and Adam and Eve had the potential to become lonely. The devil has tormented mankind ever since the Fall, to fuel his intention to destroy and abuse anything to do with God. Loneliness is one of the ways in which he causes distress to mankind.

Jesus experienced loneliness, but for a different reason because He often withdrew to desolate places to pray. In those times He communed with His Father in Heaven. However, Jesus’ final loneliness appeared when He was crucified. It was there, pinned to a Roman cross, taking onto Himself the sins of the whole world, that His Father turned His back on His only Son. We read, “Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”” (Mark 15:34). But that loneliness experience was not for long because Jesus said, “Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father” (John 16:28), and then, “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” (Act 1:11).

We pilgrims will never be lonely because of Jesus. He is the Friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), and He has promised never to leave us. Matthew 28:20b, “ …  And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age“. Every time we sit down to pray there is a minimum of four people there – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, and ourselves. Feeling lonely today? Then pick up the phone and call a dear friend, or call Jesus Himself. He is alive and waiting your call.

Dear Lord Jesus. Thank You for always being close to us, an ever present Help in times of trouble and loneliness. Help us to look around for those who are lonely and neglected, so that we can bring the sunshine of Your hope into their lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Deep Distress

Posted on by korgrocker

“Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress. My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins.”
Psalm 25:16-18 NLT

If we read the news reports today we will find stories of “deep distress” leaping out of the pages, assaulting our standards of right and wrong, inciting panic, and even sucking us into having the same feelings ourselves. We could be excused for thoughts about what a terrible place the UK is to live in. Stories of debt, council tax arrears, forced installation of prepayment utility meters, homelessness, paedophilia, murders, phone thefts – the list is endless and our senses of decency are violated day after day. Well, what we experience today was not unknown in David’s day. Of course, in those days it was a different culture, a different society, but ever since the Fall, human beings have been in “deep distress” whenever and wherever they have lived. David had problems that he said were going “from bad to worse”, putting him on what looked a downward spiral into misery and depression. What his problems were he doesn’t say, but running a kingdom was never going to be easy, with stories of intrigue, internal jostling for positions, thoughts of attack, and that was just in his palace. There were the threats from the nations around him. There was a people to govern and keep happy. Idolatry was also a problem in Israel, generation after generation. And then there were all those wives and concubines …..

All of this got too much for David and he cried out to God for mercy. In desperation, he asked God to “save [him] from them all”, and, for good measure, he confessed all his sins. David was prone to depression, and we can see that in his writings. Psalm 31:9, “Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress. Tears blur my eyes. My body and soul are withering away“. And then we have Psalm 13:2-3, “How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die“. David had many personal struggles, and his affair with Bathsheba was such an example. In that whole episode he broke several commandments – the sixth (murder), the seventh (adultery) and tenth (coveting someone else’s wife) come immediately to mind. But before us men start adopting a position on the higher moral ground, claiming that we have never done any of these things, remembering the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 and 6 will soon bring us back down to earth. Matthew 5:21-22a, 28, “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! … “But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart”. But with all his real and imagined potential struggles, no wonder David found himself in “deep distress”. 

Are we pilgrims in “deep distress” today? Due to poor choices or unforeseen circumstances, we might find ourselves in a place of being overwhelmed by our problems. Fortunately we have a loving Heavenly Father who will help us get back to the place where we should be. There is much in His Word that will help us, and a good place to start is in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take”. I also find encouragement in Paul’s suggestion, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Or how about 1 Peter 5:7, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you”. Through all our problems, though, we must never lose hope. Paul wrote, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28). The one positive thing in all our problems is that we can pray. Unfortunately, we see time and time again that people in our churches who find themselves in difficulties, then stop fellowshipping with their fellow believers, preferring to stay at home. But sharing our problems with a trusted believing friend, praying together, will soon bring a solution. At a time of personal “deep distress” during my daughter’s illness, an army of prayer warriors rose up in the church my wife and I attended, and, in answer to theirs, and our, prayers of faith, she was healed so totally and miraculously that the doctors wrote on her medical notes that “this is nothing short of a miracle”. 

We have a loving Heavenly Father, who loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die for us, for the forgiveness of our sins. That is how much He loves us, and He will not see His children struggle in “deep distress”  for a moment.

Dear Lord, in the midst of our times of distress, we seek your comforting presence. Wrap us in your loving embrace, and grant us the serenity to face these troubled moments. Let your divine light shine upon us, banishing the shadows of fear and doubt. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Enemy’s Traps

Posted on by korgrocker

“Who are those who fear the Lord? He will show them the path they should choose. They will live in prosperity, and their children will inherit the land. The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant. My eyes are always on the Lord, for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies.
Psalm 25:12-15 NLT

When we think about traps, what springs to mind? A nasty-looking man trap, with a strong spring and bone-crushing teeth? A snare designed to catch an animal? A hole in the ground, disguised for the unwary to fall into? A minefield sown with explosives designed to kill and maim? Or an ambush with an enemy hidden but able to suddenly assault the oncoming soldiers? There are many physical devices that constitute traps and David was probably aware of them all. In those years after David despatched Goliath, Saul attempted on many occasions to trap him and kill him, but God always rescued him. And Saul wasn’t his only enemy. But it is rare to have a physical enemy in the UK today. We live in a time of relative security. There is no occupying force such as European countries outside Germany experienced in the last world war. There are no bands of marauders intent on harming us. There are, of course, those who are more subtle in their attacks, in the office with their snide comments and gossip, and in our schools using social media to denigrate and curse those less able to protect themselves. But traps for the unwary and naïve are commonplace, as ubiquitous as human beings. 

We also have a spiritual enemy, as we are aware. 1 Peter 5:8, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour“. Paul also warned us, as we read in Ephesians 6:12, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places“. Just because we cannot physically see these “evil rulers” and “evil spirits” doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. There is much that we experience that we cannot see. For example, take the love of a family member, perhaps our spouses. We cannot weigh that on kitchen scales or box it up and pop it into our briefcases before we travel to work. Jesus said in John 3:8, “The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit”. We can’t see the air around us, or the winds that are so prevalent over most of Scotland, where I live. But we know that the air we breathe is there, invisible but ever-present. 

Our enemy the devil has a number of weapons at his disposal. He is a master at finding within us our weak spots and, once there, he will pick away bringing depression and destruction. And even more so in the case of believers, because he wants to destroy our relationship with our wonderful Father God. There are many ways in which he can do this, but three come to mind. 

Think about past hurts. The effects of things that happened in our childhood. Perhaps an abusive parent caused us harm. Or being brought up in a one-parent home, yearning for a father. In our fostering days, my wife and I saw at first hand the impact of alcohol addiction in families, with children in care physically harmed by their parents’s excesses and addiction. Or more recently, perhaps a broken friendship or schism in family relationships left an indelible memory in our minds. On that topic I know of four siblings who fell out over something trivial and because of it one of them never spoke to his three sisters for the rest of his life, a time period extending for over thirty years. He died a bitter man. Past hurts linger in our memories, and impact our behaviour and emotions, if we let them. Thank God that He has redeemed our minds through the blood of Jesus. The memories may remain, but they have been redeemed because we are children of God. Jesus said, “ … Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). 

Another common attack from the devil is through pride. Have we ever been wronged or have wronged someone else, and, because of our pride, we wait for the other party to make amends? Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall“. Another Proverb, “All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech” (Proverbs 8:13). The kind of pride that stems from self-righteousness or conceit is sin, and God hates it because it is a hindrance to seeking Him. Those who are proud individuals, so full of themselves, will find themselves tagged as “wicked”, as we read in Psalm 10:4, “The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead“. Pride will divert us from God’s ways because it is a sin. Pure and simple.

Here’s another way the devil will attack us. Anger is something that he will use to destroy us. We may be in a discussion with someone, but the conversation isn’t going our way, and we suddenly explode in anger. Or another driver cuts in front of us in a traffic queue and something inside us wells up in anger. Sound familiar? James 1:19-20, “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires”. Of course, there are times when we must get angry, particularly when God’s name is being discredited or an injustice violates His world. Jesus got angry, as we read in Mark 3:5a, “He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts …”. We too must use our feelings of anger to motivate us to correct the injustices of life, by prayer and deed. At the moment the Scottish and UK Parliaments are discussing a law to approve assisted suicide, something that we pilgrims should become angry about, but we must channel our anger in a righteous way by perhaps writing to our lawmakers and in prayer that God will correct the wrongs being perpetrated by godless men and women. But what we must do is never let anger control us, because it will lead us into sin with potential and terrible consequences. 

There are many ways in which the devil will attack us, setting traps for the unwary. But we must regularly examine ourselves and turn to Ephesians 6, where we will find a blueprint for rebuffing the attacks and traps of the enemy. And as David did, we keep our eyes fixed firmly on the Lord. We read in Philippians 4:7, “Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus“. 

Dear God. We pray for Your protection to hedge us around, keeping us safe from the attacks of the evil one. And in our prayers we pray for the protection of our families as well. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Who Fears God?

Posted on by korgrocker

“Who are those who fear the Lord? He will show them the path they should choose. They will live in prosperity, and their children will inherit the land. The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant. My eyes are always on the Lord, for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies.”
Psalm 25:12-15 NLT

David asked the question, “Who are those who fear the Lord?” Most people in society don’t fear God at all, and even Christians can fail to treat Him with respect. The God-deniers live in a little bubble, isolated from the Creator of the universe, thinking that He won’t have any interest in them personally, that is, even if they believe that he exists. After all, they say, surely God should take more interest in His creation, stopping human beings from trashing His world. But all these thoughts wouldn’t have occurred to David. He lived in a different bubble, one that included the Lord, and in one that involved the worship and reverence of the One who had done so much for him. David wrote about the benefits of fearing the Lord. Friendship with God, prosperity of body and soul, and rescue from his enemies were three things that he wrote down, but there are many more. We pilgrims have aligned our lives to God’s ways because we found that when we knelt before Jesus, confessing our sins, and embarking on the journey to Glory, we found a treasure of great price. A door opened before us into a world where the Lord is King, and where we found a life of fellowship and friendship with God that will last for all eternity. We found the meaning of Proverbs 1:7a where we read, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge …“.

The word “fear” has different meanings in the Bible. For a believer, we get some idea of what “fear” means from Hebrews 12:28-29, “Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire”. A “holy fear” is translated “reverence” elsewhere, and it gives an idea of the true response from a believer to his Creator. The proper response to God is one of grateful worship, because of who He is. No other religion has a God who created the Universe, an infinitely immense task on its own (something He did by speaking a Word – “then God said …“), and yet then sent His Son to reconcile man to Himself by dying on a Roman cross at a place called Calvary, providing forgiveness for all sins ever committed. What an amazing God! 

To a person who doesn’t believe in God, fearing God is just an emotion and doesn’t apply to them. Religious people live a life that they think irrelevant and primitive. Their belief system is based on evolutionary and astronomic theories, and they think that anything to do with a spiritual life and a Creator God is a figment of imagination in uneducated people. But Jesus said to His disciples, “But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear” (Luke 12:5). There will come a time when God will demand all people to give an account for their lives, and we can read about that terrible day in Revelation 20. I can remember an occasion when two fellow workers were discussing the pro’s and con’s of life insurance, and after much discussion I pointed out that they should also consider death insurance, because after our natural bodies have died, our souls go on to live forever. The “insurance” that only God can supply is there, ready and waiting for anyone to sign up to, with no monthly payments, just a commitment to align their lives to God and follow Jesus. Recently, after watching people running a race in a local park, I said to someone that most of these people spend much of their time pursuing personal fitness for bodies that will wear out and be buried somewhere within 50 or so years, but they neglect the fitness and destiny of their souls that will live forever. Unbelievers have much to fear from God. When they reject Him, they, by default, will find that he will reject them one day. There will be no second chance after they cross the Great Divide and find themselves in a place where they don’t want to be. 

To sum up, we turn to a quotation from gotquestions.org, “Believers are not to be scared of God. We have no reason to be scared of Him. We have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). We have His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Fearing God means having a reverence for Him that greatly impacts the way we live. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshiping Him in awe”.

So there we have it. We come into God’s presence with a great feeling of awe and reverence, knowing that He loves us and smothers us with His grace and kindness. As His children, there is no better place to be.

Dear Father God. We thank You and honour You, worshiping at Your footstool. In Your presence we find all that we need for life on this earth and beyond. Amen.

The Lord’s Honour

Posted on by korgrocker

“For the honour of your name, O Lord, forgive my many, many sins.”
Psalm 25:11 NLT

There is something sobering about the thought that we could besmirch the name of the Lord. How could we? How could we sully the name of God, the One who has done so much for us? How could we drag God’s name down to the same level as ourselves? But many do. The phrase of surprise, “Oh my god”, is ubiquitous in the UK today and it has brought down God’s name to the same gutter populated by blatant sinners who have no intention of asking God for forgiveness for their sins. Most of these people deny the presence of God anyway. The “god” of such people is the god of this world, satan. But David was concerned about honouring the Lord, not just in a private sense but also publicly before the world of his day. 

How did David know that he had “many, many sins”? Probably because he lived a life close to God, and therefore the gulf between the sinless Lord and sinful David was very visible to him. I have known several people who claim to be “good” people and see no reason as to why they should repent of anything. They pay their taxes. They don’t steal from shops. They don’t try and avoid paying for train or bus fares. They are polite and respectful to their neighbours and fellow workmates, and even keep to speed limits (more or less). But they, like everyone else, fall into Paul’s net, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23). And David was very aware of what “God’s glorious standard” was, purely because he spent so much time with his Lord. The people of Jesus’ day initially embraced Him and His miracles, enjoying having a stomach full of bread and fish, and perhaps seeing a loved one healed of a debilitating illness. But being in close proximity to the Son of God was an uncomfortable place to be because he was sinless, and because of that He exposed their sinfulness.

God’s standard for human beings is unreachable for those who want to achieve it in their own strength. Through Moses, God gave the Israelites a blueprint for how to become perfect in His sight. And yes, for a time, usually brief, the Jews of ancient days were able to live by the Law and they showed God the love He required. When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, “[He] replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind'” (Matthew 22:37). That was the purpose of the Law, but Paul wrote, “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4). “For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God” (Hebrews 7:19). 

But we pilgrims know all about trying to reach God’s perfection through our own strength. So many Christians think that they can tick the right boxes by going to church on a Sunday, laudable though that is. But what about on a Monday morning, when they have to get up for work? A husband growls at his wife for something trivial. The wife snaps back and a row develops, and the time spent in God’s presence the previous day quickly evaporates into the mundane human world of sin and wickedness. We pilgrims, however, and like David, “have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God”. We do that in our daily lives, living in the light of our confessed sins, and doing our utmost to walk in repentance. Isaiah wrote, “For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are. We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord. We have turned our backs on our God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning our deceitful lies” Isaiah 59:12-13). 

With David we cry out to the Lord for forgiveness for our “many, many sins“. It doesn’t matter if we feel our sins our trivial or great, insignificant or noticeable. Before God, all sins are significant and need to be repented of before the Man on the Cross. His blood will cleanse us from all sin, and grant us His righteousness.

Dear Lord. We humbly thank You for the forgiveness granted us so freely. We worship You in praise and adoration today. Amen.