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Understanding True Service to God in Life

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

Three words define Paul’s ministry – “we serve God” – but what a cost! Regardless of the consequences, which in themselves were quite severe, Paul and his colleagues remained totally focused on those three words – “we serve God”. They were despised, slandered, treated as impostors, ignored, beaten, troubled with aching hearts, and living in poverty. But nothing was going to stop them from serving God. Most believers today would have given up long before they experienced all that Paul did. 

How do we define serving God? After all, He is the Creator of all, being all-powerful and all-seeing. Does God really need our puny efforts to accomplish all that He wants to in this world? But 2 Corinthians 6:1 reads, “As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvellous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it”. In the previous chapter, Paul refers to himself and his colleagues as being “Christ’s ambassadors”, and in 1 Corinthians 1:9, Paul wrote, “God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord”. These amazing verses clearly establish our privileged position of being trusted by God to do His work in the time allotted to us, wherever we live. It’s not that God can’t, but it is because He loves us and wants us to be involved in all that He wants to accomplish. 

Peter wrote, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen” (1 Peter 4:10-11). From these verses, we can see that God wants us to serve Him by using the gifts He has given us to help and serve one another. Peter mentioned two gifts, but of course, there are more. Specifically, Peter mentioned speaking and helping as examples of ways to serve, but the goal is the same in the way the spiritual gifts are used, because in the end, they all point to one thing, which is to “bring glory to God through Jesus Christ”. Serving God is to ultimately give Him glory. 

Paul, in all the troubles and strife that he experienced, demonstrated the selflessness of a servant of God in a world that was built on selfishness. Two opposites that very well expose and amplify how God gets the glory. Think about it for a moment. As we serve God by speaking to someone, our relationship with God comes through what we say, and in the process, we direct the glory away from ourselves and point it to God. What happens then? Well, people will hopefully recognise that Jesus has brought about real change in our lives, and those to whom we speak will start to explore a relationship with Him themselves.

In His second temptation by the devil, “Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him’”” (Luke 4:8 quoting Deuteronomy 6:3). Our service must only be directed to God and His purposes. Of course, we have to serve our employers and fulfil societal responsibilities, but we do so as though we are serving God. Our Christian lives are lives of service to God. Anything else is the wrong sort of service. I have quoted before the 1979 Bob Dylan song with the words, “You’re gonna have to serve somebody / Well, it may be the devil, or it may be the Lord / But you’re gonna have to serve somebody“.

“Do as I have done to you“

Every Christian might have a different reason for serving God; different people are motivated by different things. However, the Bible does make clear that, when a person is in a real relationship with God, he will serve God. We should want to serve God because we know Him; an inherent part of knowing Him is a desire to serve Him. Jesus set us an example as the ultimate Servant. Matthew 20:28, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many”. The Gospel of John recorded the episode of when Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, and afterwards we read what He said, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you” (John 13:13-15). 

We want to serve God because we love Him, and we serve Him because He first loved and served us through Jesus Christ. The more we are aware of and experience God’s love in our own lives, the more likely we are to respond in love by serving Him. If we want to serve God, or serve Him more, the key is to get to know Him more! 

Father God. We love You and thank You for Your many blessings. Please reveal more of You to us as we go about Your business here on earth, doing Your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Understanding Paul’s Weapons of Righteousness

Posted on by korgrocker

“We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defence. 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.”
2 Corinthians 6:7-8 NLT

Paul adopts a military perspective, writing about “weapons”, “attack” and “defence” in our verses from 2 Corinthians 6. Such a stance may have resonated more with his Corinthian audience than it would today, but we can all get the picture. Hand-held weapons in those days would have been bladed objects of various lengths and types. The sight of Roman soldiers in those days was common, so the weapons they carried would have been visible to everyone. A short stabbing sword was supplemented by a dagger worn on their left side, making them formidable opponents. So perhaps the sword was the attacking weapon and the dagger more for defence, but I speculate, and I’m sure situations in combat were not that simple. The Roman soldiers also would have held a shield with their left hand, and that possibility would have fitted more with Paul’s analogy. But theological scholars lack a clear understanding of what Paul meant by his reference to “weapons of righteousness”.

But what was the battle that Paul was fighting? He was not the sort of man who would have aggressively pursued a military situation. Although he suffered much through abuse at the hands of people, those he upset with his Gospel message, he was never physically aggressive. The key to his battle can be found in Ephesians 6. He wrote, “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” (Ephesians 6:12). That changes the perspective entirely, because both the weapons and armour favoured by the Roman soldiers would have been useless. After all, it would be no good slashing at a demon, even if it was visible, with a sword. Faced with someone intent on harming him, Paul would have addressed the evil spirit behind the person before him, not with a physical weapon, but with “the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defence”. 

Paul’s weapon of choice was righteousness. In the Ephesians 6 account, God’s righteousness was the body armour. The sword analogy referred to “… the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17b). The battle that Paul was fighting was driven by his desire to serve God. Paul was going to do God’s work regardless of the opposition he faced. The enemy, the devil, had the Middle East at that time well and truly in his clutches, and the last thing that he wanted was for God to start to take this territory from him. There was a confusion of gods in that part of the world, and even pockets of God’s people, the Jews, seemed ineffective in pushing back the forces of darkness. The devil wasn’t concerned about them, even though they might have been a minor irritation. What did concern him was this man Paul, who was proclaiming the Gospel of Good News about Jesus, the God-man who defeated the devil through Calvary’s cross. His message, backed up by the power of the Holy Spirit, marked with miracles and other demonstrations of God’s power, was responsible for major conversions from the kingdom of darkness, the devil’s kingdom, to the Kingdom of Light, God’s Kingdom. 

So how did the “evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, [the] mighty powers in this dark world, and [the] evil spirits in the heavenly places” fight back? One way was by undermining Paul’s character. Earlier in this Epistle, Paul wrote, “We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this” (2 Corinthians 4:2). Why did Paul feel he had to write this? Probably because there were some in the Corinthian church who were accusing Paul and his colleagues of duplicity in their ministries. What better way for the devil to destroy Paul’s hard work than to infiltrate the very organisation that he had established? But Paul had the sword of righteousness ready and waiting, and with it he was able to refute the falsehoods being spoken about him. And what was that weapon? It was the Word of God.

We pilgrims will face the same hassles that Paul did as we push back against the forces of darkness that attempt to overpower us. For some believers, the devil and his accomplices are successful. These believers are like the seed that falls on stony ground. Matthew 13:20-21, “The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word”. But we pilgrims are like the seed that fell on good soil. Matthew 13:23, “The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Yes, there will be troubles coming our way, if we haven’t already experienced them. But because of Jesus and His righteousness, we have already overcome them. 

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your Son Jesus, who has destroyed the works of the enemy. Through Jesus, we can now live forever in Your Kingdom, safe in a place where the devil can never reach us. No matter what happens to us in this life, You will protect us by the power of Your Word, and one day we will live with You, forever and ever. Amen.

Easter Sunday

Posted on by korgrocker

“From then on, Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.” Matthew 16:21
“For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.” Psalm 16:10
“Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.” John 20:1.

“Christ is Risen!” That is our strident call this Easter Sunday. I repeated this to churchgoers near where I live on Easter Day last year, and most responded in kind, although one or two gave me a funny look. Perhaps they weren’t going to church, but I gave them a greeting anyway. 

This day is fundamental to our Christian belief, because if it all ended with Jesus in a grave, what hope would there be for us pilgrims for the future? Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:13-19, “For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God, for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world”. Thank you, Paul, for setting out this truth so clearly and logically. 

We know factually that Jesus rose from the dead because of the number of witnesses. We turn again to 1 Corinthians 15, and read what Paul wrote, “[Christ] was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him” (1 Corinthians 15:4-8). I presume, because of the male-driven society of the day, the women weren’t counted, but Scriptures tell us that the first person who saw the risen Jesus was a woman. We read in John 20:11, 14-16, “Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. … She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognise him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”)”. 

The impact of the Resurrection on believers, both men and women, today is life-changing. We pilgrims do not have to be concerned for the future, because one day we too will be resurrected and able to join Jesus and the rest of His followers in a tremendous worship service in the air over Jerusalem. We can only dimly imagine what that will be like, but in the light of that experience, there is nothing that this world can offer that will come anywhere near to matching the day when we see the Lord. Somehow, all the worldly privations, such as the cost of living, the price of petrol, the aches and pains, the limitations of the health service – the list is endless – become a momentary irritation on the way to Glory, where we will spend eternity.

Jesus Christ is risen today. Let’s shout out that truth from the rooftops so that Jesus gets all the honour and all the glory, and all the praise. I don’t personally care what the society around me does or thinks. All that matters is the empty tomb; the image of an angel sitting on the stone will always be a reminder that the grave could not hold Jesus any more than it will hold me. 

Dear Lord Jesus. I’m gripped this morning by the excitement that You are risen and the grave you borrowed for the weekend is empty. You went through so much for my fellow pilgrims and me that all I can do is worship You today, with a deeply thankful heart. Amen. 

Easter Saturday

Posted on by korgrocker

“Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.”
John 19:38-42 NLT

The details are gruesome. Three men crucified on adjacent crosses, with Jesus in the middle, but the Jewish leaders had a problem. They didn’t want the spectre of an ongoing crucifixion, with tortured men hanging naked on their crosses, to continue overnight and spoil the Sabbath, their holy day. We read in John 19:31-33, “It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was Passover week). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs”. A crucified man with broken legs would have been unable to breathe for long and would soon die of suffocation. This was the lot of the two thieves, but Jesus was already dead. The weight of the sins of the world had seen to that, and His mission to save the world was complete. We remember His final cry, recorded in John 19:30, “When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit”. 

Joseph and Nicodemus, two Jewish leaders, performed a hasty burial of Jesus’ body, with His internment being in Joseph’s own brand new grave (Matthew 27:60), followed by a “great stone” being rolled across the entrance. And there Jesus lay, His body at rest. However, if we turn to 1 Peter 3:18, we read, “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit”. Jesus died physically, but His Spirit continued to live. This is extremely good news for us pilgrims, because the same thing will happen to us. When our “earthly tent”, as Paul called it, our bodies, come to the end of their lives, our spirits will live on. Where will that be? We receive a glimpse of what will happen from the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, in which the poor beggar, Lazarus, ends up in a place of comfort, while the Rich Man ends up in a place of torment. We remember too that Jesus said to the repentant thief on the adjacent cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise”. So, through faith, we will indeed find ourselves in a better place after we die.

But Jesus’ Spirit was busy during that Easter Saturday, because we read, “So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. …” (1 Peter 3:19-20a). What that was about has kept many theologians and Biblical scholars awake at night, but the important thing was that, after His body was placed in the grave, Jesus was still ministering through His message of Good News by His Spirit. Death will not mean a time when we can put our spiritual feet up and relax, either. Jesus will have work for us to do, I’m sure.  

Jesus’ body was placed in a tomb, but thank God, the story didn’t end there. A visit to the tomb will not find the remains of a few bones. But more on that tomorrow.

Dear Lord Jesus. The crucifixion came to an end, and loving hands took your body down and laid it in a grave. We pause this Easter Saturday and reflect on the reality that nothing could keep Your body in the grave. No authorities or powers. Nothing that the devil could contrive. And with intense anticipation, we watch the stone to see who would roll it away and what would happen next. Amen.

Good Friday

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they nailed him to the cross. …”
John 19:16-18a NLT

Another Good Friday, many will say, as they continue with their work-a-day lives. The shops are open. Office lights are burning. Traffic is just as heavy. Even schools are still open in some places. When the societal amnesia is confronted, people shrug, as though to say, “What is that to do with me?” They might even add, “Anyway, what’s good about nailing a man to a cross and leaving him to die?” A lady in my office once said to me, ”What’s the big deal – a lot of men were crucified in those days”. But the scoffers, shruggers and deniers then go about their business, oblivious to the reality that the dying Man on a cross held the key to their future beyond the grave. One day they will know the truth, as we read in Philippians 2:9-11, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. There will be no exclusions, and today’s scoffers will realise that what they dismissed on one Good Friday was in fact the crucifixion of Jesus, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. 

The enormity of what Jesus did for us has never left me, regardless of the number of Good Fridays that have passed. I still marvel at how radical and complete God’s plan was, assuring all who believe in Jesus that they will receive the gift of eternal life. I still cast my mind to Calvary, the Cross and the lonely God-man, dying for me. I will never get over His gift of love, so complete and selfless. I mourn the fact that the sin of mankind required such a radical plan, but my thanks to God know no bounds.

We pilgrims have been “washed in the blood of the Lamb”. We are assured of our salvation, and one day we too will see the prints of the nails and the hole in His side, as we fix our eyes on our wonderful Saviour. So we rejoice today that Jesus went through all that He did, just for the salvation of all who believe in Him. Today, we finish with a 300-year-old hymn by Isaac Watts, which has blessed many a person this day. With it we worship Him, the Son of God

Dear Father God, we thank You for Your Son Jesus and His sacrificial death on a Roman cross. We cannot help but praise You and thank You for all that You have done. Amen. 

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

Forbid it Lord that I should boast
Save in the death of Christ my Lord
All the vain things that charm me most
I sacrifice them to His blood

See from His head His hands His feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing so divine
Demands my soul my life my all

Proving Ourselves

Posted on by korgrocker

“In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. 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. We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love.”
2 Corinthians 6:4-6 NLT

Paul the Apostle gives us a powerful portrait of authentic Christian ministry. But it is not a picture that correlates well with modern, worldly ideas of success. True servants of God are recognised not by comfort, applause, or influence, but by endurance, character, and purity of heart. Paul wrote that he and his colleagues “patiently endure” things that would have destroyed many lesser people. How convinced are we of our mission in life to put up with the things that Paul did? Look at the pressures he endured. Beatings, imprisonment, exhaustion, sleeplessness, and hunger were listed in our verses today, but there are many others in his list of persecutions. How was Paul able to endure such things? How far would we have got if we were one of Paul’s colleagues? 

In 2 Timothy 4:10a Paul wrote, “Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica. …” and I suspect we would have been hot on his heels, had we been facing into the situations that Paul seemed to attract. Jesus said to His disciples, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Paul experienced “many trials and sorrows” on steroids, but he was prepared to endure such a life because of His Lord, Jesus. Paul wrote, “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!” (Philippians 3:10-11). So Paul declared that “true ministry” is not delivered in an absence of suffering but faithfulness in it. We pilgrims have not, and will not, be guaranteed a trouble-free life, but those producing the fruit of endurance are those who faithfully stay the course and don’t abandon the ship at the first hint of a storm. It may mean we have to make decisions that reduce our employment opportunities. It may mean that we have to live somewhere other than our preferred postcode. It may even mean we have to walk away from a relationship because it was becoming toxic to our fellowship with God. The troubles we have to endure may not be of the physical variety experienced by Paul, but we have to persevere in them anyway.

Paul continued to write, “We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love”. Taking these qualities in Paul in turn, we firstly consider “purity”. This is living a life of integrity in all we do, in the public things and the hidden things. Psalm 24:3-4, “Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies”. Paul’s next quality is “understanding”. This is having spiritual discernment and wisdom. James 1:5, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking”. Some situations require us to be patient and kind. But in all of this, regardless of any hardship we might experience, we must persevere, enduring what comes our way. So, when criticised, do we respond with kindness? Or if we are misunderstood, do we act with patience? And a big one – if under pressure, does purity remain?

Paul finished verse 6 of our reading today with “by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love”. In his own strength, Paul would have been unable to survive the hardships. But within Him lived the Holy Spirit, empowering him to bridge the gap between God and man through his love for both. We remember what Jesus experienced, and yet He didn’t lash out when He was abused. He loved people with the love of God, even asking forgiveness for those who hammered the nails home. Paul wrote, “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good” (Romans 12:9). He was a living example of doing just that.

We pilgrims may face workplace opposition or family misunderstandings, but how do we respond? Everything within us may want to walk away, but there is a higher goal at stake. Often, people are looking to see whether our faith is genuine and able to withstand the opposition we face. Is our love for another person able to press through the bad stuff to finally find the good in them? “He who is within us is greater than he who is in the world”, is a great verse to remember when the going gets tough.

Father God. Please help us when troubles come our way. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Reflecting Christ: The True Marks of Ministry

Posted on by korgrocker

“We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind.”
2 Corinthians 6:3-4 NLT

The Apostle Paul writes with deep sincerity about the responsibility carried by those who serve Christ. Ministry is not merely about words spoken or positions held; it is about lives lived in such a way that the message of Christ is never discredited. This is a sobering and beautiful picture of true ministry. It is not self-promoting, self-protecting, or self-serving. Instead, it is marked by integrity, endurance, and a life that reflects the character of Christ. That has to be a challenge for any Christian today, not just ministers. Can we pilgrims honestly say that we, too, tick all the boxes that Paul did? 

Paul’s first concern was that nothing in his life would become a stumbling block. True ministers understand that people often encounter Christ through what they see in His servants. Conduct and attitudes matter. How often do we see Christians mouthing off about the government, or about the local council not picking up litter, or something similar? There is also the question about what goes on in secret behind closed doors, perhaps on a computer, then no one is watching. Faithfulness in hidden places matters. 

In the Beatitudes, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:14-16). There was a famous quotation attributed to St Francis of Assisi – “Preach the Gospel and if necessary use words”. Whether this was something he said is not the point. The question for ministers and Christians everywhere is whether our words and deeds align. Is there a disconnect between what goes on in a Sunday service and around the office coffee machine on a Monday morning? A common criticism aimed at Christians concerns hypocrisy, and, sadly, it is true sometimes. Whether we like it or not, people generally will carefully watch someone who claims to be a Christian. If a Godly character shines out, then something will happen through the Holy Spirit. Part of my testimony concerns watching how Christian husbands and fathers at a Christian conference behaved toward their wives and families. Their Godliness could be seen.

Paul continues by describing how true ministers reveal their authenticity: “…by patiently enduring troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind” (2 Corinthians 6:4). The mark of a genuine servant of God is not a comfortable life but endurance. Trials do not disqualify ministry, but they often validate it. Faithfulness under pressure shows that a person serves not for comfort, recognition, or reward, but for Christ Himself. There is a scripture in the Epistle of James that applies here. He reminded us, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy” (James 1:2, NLT). We may think that we are not ministers in the sense of church leadership, but equally, Christians everywhere have been commissioned to preach the Gospel, and by so doing, there will be opposition and troubles. Some people even maintain that if we, as Christians, are living lives of comfort, free of troubles, then we are not bothering the devil too much in what we say and do. 

We pilgrims will be known not simply by what we say, but by who we are. Paul consistently points to character as evidence of authentic service. He wrote in Ephesians 5:10, “Carefully determine what pleases the Lord”. Peter put his finger on the issue when he wrote, “Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbours. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honourable behaviour, and they will give honour to God when he judges the world” (1 Peter 2:12). We pilgrims are true ministers of the Gospel, but that is not just about preaching. The Gospel is a whole-life matter. For example, a church treasurer who handles finances transparently and honestly reflects godly character. Or a Christian business leader who treats his customers and staff with fairness and integrity demonstrates ministry in the world of commerce. A politician who stands up for Godly principles even when ridiculed by his peers will demonstrate the importance of integrity in government. And a pilgrim like us, who refuses to bow to the pressures of life by taking a shortcut at the supermarket checkout by “forgetting” to scan a bar code, brings a smile to God’s face. 

Ultimately, we pilgrims reflect the One we serve. Paul understood that ministry was not about building his own reputation but about representing Jesus faithfully. A few days ago, we read,  “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Jesus Himself modelled perfect ministry by serving, loving, enduring suffering, and remaining obedient to the Father. He said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). 

True Christians are known by lives that commend the gospel with lives of endurance, integrity, humility, and Christlike love. Our goal is simple and profound: that no one would stumble because of us, and that in everything we do, Jesus can be seen clearly. Whether in a pulpit, a workplace, a home, or a hospital room, true ministry happens wherever Christ is faithfully represented. May we each pursue this calling, which is to live, serve, and endure in such a way that our lives quietly and powerfully declare that we belong to Him, our wonderful and amazing Saviour.

Dear Father God. In all that we say and do, may You be honoured, this day and every day. For Jesus’ sake. Amen. 

Embracing God’s Grace: Today is the Day of Salvation

Posted on by korgrocker

“As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvellous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.”
2 Corinthians 6:1-2 NLT

Have we pilgrims ever considered ourselves as “God’s partners”? Surely there’s too big a gulf between us for that. After all, God is the Creator of the universe that includes the populated world on which we live, hidden away in an obscure corner of a galaxy called the Milky Way. But this is just one galaxy amongst hundreds of billions, and the extent of the universe has not yet been defined because we lack the technology to plumb its limits. So how can we be “God’s partners”? To go the other way, scientists are finding smaller and smaller particles that make up the matter of which we are made. The smallest particles discovered are called Quarks, but our scientists might discover even smaller particles, once the technology to detect them is developed. So how can we be “God’s partners”?

It is only when we consider who we are in God’s grand scheme for His creation that we realise how privileged we are. How can the God of all love and care for you and me, pilgrims allotted a life span at this point in history? It is mind-boggling but we have to face the reality and truth of who we are, who God is, and accept that we are His partners. And it has all happened because there was a time when God said, “Let Us make man in Our image …” (Genesis 1:27). And ever since He has been pursuing the men and women He has created because he loves us. God was never going to be satisfied with lumps of rock forming countless celestial objects. He has created human beings, putting His Spirit within those who call out to Him with love and respect. And He has gone so much further by sending His Son, Jesus, through whom all things were created. Colossians 1:16, “for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him”. The amazing thing is that Jesus has called us His brothers and sisters, “So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters” (Hebrews 2:11). 

We pilgrims are not spectators in God’s story. We are participants. Through Christ, we have been reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18–20), and now we join Him in the ministry of reconciliation. Grace is not just something we receive. It is something we value and look after with awe and grateful hearts.

Paul begged the Corinthians not to “accept this marvellous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it”, meaning to receive salvation outwardly but to resist transformation inwardly. It would be like receiving a present from someone at Christmas, thanking the person who gave it, and then leaving it unopened in a drawer somewhere. That present was given to us from God Himself in the person of His Son, Jesus. Behind the wrapper is the gift of eternal life, but until we open it and embrace and accept the contents, we will still be heading for a lost eternity.  Other people open up the present and say, “That’s nice”, after which they put it on a shelf somewhere, where it gathers dust, and it tarnishes with neglect. But we pilgrims have opened the present, taken out the contents and have then bowed before a Cross to call upon the Man being crucified to forgive us for all our sins. Eternal life with our wonderful Saviour will never be ignored. God’s grace is not passive. It calls us to respond.

In Isaiah 49:8 we find the Scripture quoted by Paul to the Corinthians. “This is what the Lord says: “At just the right time, I will respond to you. On the day of salvation I will help you. I will protect you and give you to the people as my covenant with them. Through you I will reestablish the land of Israel and assign it to its own people again”. Although originally written to the Israelites, the message is just as valid for people today. God’s grace will not be present forever. Paul continued, “today is the day of salvation”. Salvation is not merely a past event or a future hope; it is a present invitation. The trouble with people is that they tend to live as if they have unlimited tomorrows, saying things like, “I’ll forgive later” or “I’ll get serious about faith someday”. But Paul’s message insists on urgency. Today is when repentance happens. Today is when obedience begins. Today is when hearts are softened. Delaying spiritual response dulls sensitivity. Immediate obedience strengthens it. Yes, God will still save people with their dying breaths if they repent and reach out to Him, as the story of the thief on the cross records. 

The “marvellous gift of God’s kindness” is something we call grace. But gifts such as grace can be neglected. How do we ignore grace? By hearing the truth but refusing to change. By receiving forgiveness but withholding it from others. By celebrating salvation but resisting sanctification. Grace saves us, but it also shapes us. To truly receive grace is to let it transform priorities, relationships, and purpose. Paul, in his letter to Titus, wrote, “For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, will be revealed” (Titus 2:11-13). 

Can we pilgrims pause for a moment before we embark on the busy day ahead? Should we be asking ourselves some difficult questions? How about, “Am I postponing something God is prompting me to do”? Or, “Have I grown comfortable with grace instead of being responsive to it”? Is there anything significant that we need to do today that is spiritually significant? Paul’s plea is loving but urgent. God has acted by sending His Son into this world. The invitation to the “day of salvation” stands open. And the clock of our lives is not ticking toward anxiety. Instead, it is ticking toward opportunity.

O Lord, thank You for Your marvellous gift of grace. Please keep us from treating it casually and instead help us to respond quickly to Your voice. Teach us to live with spiritual urgency, without fear, but full of faith, on this day, another day of opportunity for us, as we are graciously called to be Your partners. Amen.

Exploring God’s Plan: Reconciliation Through Christ

Posted on by korgrocker

“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 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 5:18-21 NLT

Paul wrote that “God was in Christ”. There is a pivotal moment recorded in the Gospel of John, one that we know very well. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. This verse sets out how God, in the presence of His Son, reached down into humanity to bring reconciliation with Himself. I never tire of reading this verse because it provides us with a glimpse of the wonderful God we worship, our Heavenly Father, who loved us so much that He was prepared to take the initiative and bring Heaven to earth and salvation for sinners. But what makes this verse so powerfully poignant is that He did this while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners”. 

But what does “reconciliation” mean? It represents a healing process following a relationship breakdown. So a husband and wife will go to sessions with a therapist, intent on reconciliation to save their marriage, perhaps after a partner has been unfaithful. Following reconciliation, the relationship is restored. In Colossians 1:19-20, we read, “For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross”. 

The wonderful thing about the reconciliation between God and man is that sins are no longer recorded. Paul wrote that after this reconciliation, God “no longer [counted] people’s sins against them”. This does not mean sin doesn’t matter. It means that in Christ, the penalty has been addressed. Romans 6:10-11, “When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus”. God’s justice was satisfied at the cross. Because of Jesus, believers stand forgiven, not because sin was ignored, but because it was paid for. No matter how hard they try, people can never atone for their own sins. Only Jesus could do that, and His atonement is only possible through God’s plan for the salvation of mankind.

Paul continued with, “And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation”. The next verse starts, “So we are Christ’s ambassadors”. An ambassador represents the authority and heart of their king. As believers, we represent Christ’s heart to a divided, hurting world. We carry the news that people are not too far gone to be saved. No sin is ever too bad that it cannot be forgiven (Yes, I know about the “unpardonable sin”, but that was something focused on things the Pharisees were saying to Jesus at the time). Our message to the lost also declares that God is not holding their past against them and that peace with God is only possible through Jesus. He said, “ … I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

We pilgrims have been forgiven much. In fact, if we could weigh up on the scales of eternal life all the sins that we have committed, there would be no balancing weight heavy enough to tip the scales in our favour. And yet, Jesus balanced the scales by removing the pile of sins, saying that He would take them on Himself. To do so would require a humiliating and very painful death on a Roman cross, but no balancing weight required. Reconciliation with God should produce reconciliation with others. When we understand how much we’ve been forgiven, we become agents of forgiveness. When we’ve received peace, we pursue peace. Hebrews 12:14, “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord”. Paul continued, “God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”” Do we plead with others to accept His grace and love? We must, because it is only through Jesus that reconciliation with God is possible, and we pilgrims are here on earth at this time in history to “speak for Christ”. We have around us a generation who have never heard about what God has done for us. How will they hear if we don’t tell them?

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for reconciling us to Yourself through Christ. Help us live as grateful ambassadors, reflecting Your grace and sharing Your message of peace with the world, as we invite our friends and families, and anyone we meet, to be reconciled to You. Amen.

Embrace Your New Life in Christ

Posted on by korgrocker

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 NLT

One of the most hope-filled promises in the Bible is found in today’s verses. They remind us that, through Christ, we are not merely improved but completely transformed. Paul wrote, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person”. The transformation described here is not an external behaviour modification, because it is a spiritual rebirth. When we place our faith in Jesus, our identity changes. A verse well known to us is the one that records what Jesus said to Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Being “born again” means just that, starting a new spiritual life. In His conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus compared a natural birth to a spiritual birth, both of which are necessary for a new believer. A baby has to be born into this world, after which they will go through many stages until they leave it, the process of the “womb to the tomb”. Similarly, a person’s spirit must be born into God’s world, His Kingdom, but with a big difference. A reborn spirit never dies. Instead, it inherits eternal life.

We are no longer defined by our past sins, failures, or shame. Instead, we are defined by Christ. We read another verse from Paul yesterday in Galatians 2:20, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me”. In Christ, our story does not end with our past. It begins with His grace. Our old lives were represented by our separation from God, because they were ruled by sin and self. Our new lives represent a restored relationship, guided by the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote, “For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives” (Romans 6:4). But what are these “new lives”? Well, we find that we have a new heart. Ezekiel 36:26, “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”. We will also find that we have a new mind. Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect”. And pew-warming is not an option for us pilgrims because we have a new purpose. Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago”.  Impatient people like me want all these good things right now, but thankfully, God is patient and kind, and He has given us His Spirit to renew and empower us to grow. 

Paul wrote, “all of this is a gift from God”. Becoming a new person is not earned. It is a gift of God’s grace. Paul emphasised this in Ephesians 2:8-9, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God”. We don’t clean up ourselves before we can come to God. Too many people say they are unworthy to come into God’s presence. But through His love and grace, He cleans us up when we come to Him. This truth keeps us humble and grateful. Our salvation is not the result of our efforts. Instead, it is the result of Christ’s finished work on the cross.

We are God’s children

“God … brought us back to himself through Christ”. In other words, we are reconciled to God through Jesus. I always picture in my mind two sides of a deep chasm, too wide to be bridged, or too deep to be scaled. On one side is God and His Kingdom, the place where we want to be. But we find ourselves on the other, too far away to cross the gap through our own efforts. Even the Redcoat soldier in 1689, being pursued by Jacobites, and who was reputed to have jumped across the raging River Garry at Killiecrankie in the Scottish Highlands, would never be able to jump the gap. There is only one Person who can connect us to God across the chasm, and that is Jesus. Colossians 1:19-20, “For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross”. Because of what Jesus did for us, we are no longer enemies of God. But it gets better, because God adopted us as His children. 1 John 3:1, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognise that we are God’s children because they don’t know him”.

In 2 Corinthians 5:18, Paul wrote, “And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him”. Paul reminded his Corinthians readers that this is what they were tasked with. I write much about our mission as pilgrims because we contain within us the treasure of knowing Jesus. So what else can we do but tell others? We share the message of reconciliation with those around us at every opportunity. Walking through my local city centre this morning, I was struck by the apparent looks of misery and hopelessness imprinted on people’s faces. They, too, are stuck on the wrong side of the chasm, without hope and any vision for the future, but we have the message of the Good News about Jesus. We pray for opportunities to share it. Our new life is not meant to be private. It is meant to reflect Christ to others. So we live differently, we forgive freely, we love boldly, and we speak the truth gently. Our changed lives become living evidence of God’s grace.

There are some practical things we pilgrims can do in the light of our now being a “new person”. Firstly, we need to stop defining ourselves by our past. We have a natural tendency to say things like, “I’ve always been like that”. Or assume that what we do is the way we always do things. But by doing so, we forget that if we belong to Christ, we are a new creation, set free from the shackles of the past. Secondly, we must remember that salvation is a process we call sanctification. We renew our minds daily by reading the Bible, spending time in prayer, and being obedient to what God asks of us. Our verses from 2 Corinthians today remind us that Christianity is not self-improvement but divine transformation. God takes what was broken and makes it new. He restores what was lost, and He invites us to participate in His redemptive work. The old life is gone, and the new life has begun. And the amazing thing is that it is all a free gift from God.

Dear Father God. Thank You for making us new. We are “ransomed, healed, restored and forgiven”, and it is all because of Jesus. We reach out to You today in praise and worship. Amen.