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Be Sure

Posted on by korgrocker

“You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him.”
Psalm 4:3 NLT

David had no doubts about his status in God, and he lived a long time before Jesus came to save the world. How did he reach that position? By spending time in God’s company. In those fields as he looked after his father’s sheep, David mused, meditated, praised, communicated, and worshipped, all with his Father in Heaven. He spent long hours, night and day, just him and God, and those hours were never wasted. In the fields he honed his skills with a slingshot, with his harp, but without a copy of the New Testament stuffed in his top pocket. No prayer book and copy of the metric Psalms. Just him and God. And in this environment he learned to trust his Lord. And his sure faith was reflected in the time he volunteered to confront Goliath. We read in 1 Samuel 17:34-37, “But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”” David didn’t reach this position overnight. His time in the wilderness trained him for just an occasion as this.

So from his place of faith in God, David could rightly claim a special home for the “godly” in God, and he knew from experience time and again that God would answer his prayers. Surely, we pilgrims can claim the same? After all, we know that God has forgiven us and that we are adopted sons and daughters in His family. But do we have that relationship with Him that gives us the assurance that He answers our prayers? Do we take time out of our busy lives to spend time in His presence, getting to know Him more? I don’t know about you, dear readers, but I find out new things in God almost every day. Every time I open His Word the Bible, something leaps out of the pages and touches my spirit. And occasionally, a sermon or even a casual conversation will reveal something God wants me to hear. There is no substitute to spending time with someone to get to know them better. We can read about God in the Bible but that knowledge doesn’t always journey from our heads to our hearts. Perhaps the prayers we start with should echo Paul’s cry in Philippians 3:10 – “I want to know Christ …”. Such knowledge embedded deep within our hearts is essential to equip us for our journeys to Glory.

Dear Father God. We really do want to know You more. Please help us by revealing Your presence to each one of us, day by day. Amen.

Groundless Accusations

Posted on by korgrocker

“How long will you people ruin my reputation? How long will you make groundless accusations? How long will you continue your lies?”
Psalm 4:2 NLT

How do we rate our personal reputations? Important or not? We live in a world where what people think of us matters. Our reputation is coupled with character traits such as integrity and honesty. So if someone trashes our reputations it can do us a lot of harm. Sadly, today in the UK, if someone goes up to a policeman and makes an accusation against another person, whether it is true or not, then the accused person will often be investigated. Such accusations can be trivial, like the recent real-life situation where a person of one type of skin colour accused another of a different colour, of racism, purely because the second person picked up the last bunch of daffodils in the supermarket. Really? But this actually happened and was recorded as a NCHI (Non Crime Hate Incident) by the police. Today, teachers and social workers, foster carers and many others in professions that interface with children and the public in general have to be very careful to avoid “groundless accusations” and “lies” levelled against them. 

But it was no different in David’s day. As David wrote Psalms 3 and 4 he was dealing with his son Absalom’s rebellion, and false stories fuelled by lies abounded against him, purely to bolster his son’s position. But we shouldn’t be surprised by such events. Jesus Himself was convicted and executed through an illegal court believing lies. The Son of God, sinless and innocent of any crime, suffered the ultimate penalty because of “groundless accusations” and “lies”.

In the end, what really matters to us pilgrims is what God thinks of us, and if we become the focus of false allegations, or lies spread about us, we can of course enter God’s presence and claim that we are innocent (if we are of course!) through God’s grace and mercy. Sadly, many Christians have become the focus of “groundless accusations” because of a lack of wisdom. They have managed to put themselves in situations where they were vulnerable to all sorts of abuse from unscrupulous individuals out to cause trouble to God’s people. But wisdom is ours for the asking (James 1:5) and the Holy Spirit will lead and guide us in the right paths. However, should the unthinkable happen, we can pray as the Psalmist did in Psalm 43:1, “Vindicate me, O God, And plead my cause against an ungodly nation; Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!” Deliverance will come, as surely as night follows day.

Dear Father God. You know what is within us, and You will deliver us from evil people. Please help us live lives of honesty and integrity and grant us the wisdom we need every day of our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Answer Me, God!

Posted on by korgrocker

“Answer me when I call to you, O God who declares me innocent. Free me from my troubles. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.”
Psalm 4:1 NLT

What sort of relationship do we have with God? Do we bow and scrape before a holy God, afraid to speak out of turn in case we get zapped by a Heavenly lightning bolt? Are we fearful of a God who we perceive as being a cosmic policeman, wielding a truncheon, stern and unforgiving, never approachable as a friend? Is God to us a benign and detached elderly figure with a long white beard, leaning over the banisters of Heaven and observing what is going on in the world and in our lives, but never interfering much, if at all? Is our God someone we plead with when we experience troubles and problems? Or is our approach to God like that of David’s, robust and fearless, sure of his relationship with His Lord?

David knows that his sins are forgiven and he is innocent, so he demands from God, His loving Father, an answer to his prayers for freedom from his “troubles” and for God to have “mercy” upon him. God of course has mercy on us sinful men and women; if He hadn’t then there would have been no human race. Everyone deserves judgement and punishment for their sinful ways. God provides time for men and women to come in repentance to His Son, and be declared innocent before Him. But freedom from “troubles”? Can God answer that prayer? Will a convicted criminal, who prays that prayer be immediately released from prison? Will a child who breaks a school window in a fit of rage be forgiven from the consequent “trouble”? Freedom from troubles, just in response to a prayer, no matter how heart felt? Be assured, we live in a moral universe and punishment for our sins will happen either in this world or the next.

If we live God’s way, then our propensity for experiencing “troubles” will reduce. Psalm 19:7-8, “The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living”. So a prayer for freedom from troubles will be answered, not by an immediate release from the consequences of our bad choices and behaviour, but by a formula for living a life in a way that will avoid most troubles in the first place. 

The kingdoms of Light and darkness are colliding more frequently these days, and troubles for God’s children are on the increase. But our Heavenly Father is there with us declaring us innocent as we follow His ways.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your loving kindness and mercy, that follows us, even pursues us, every day of our lives. Amen.

Deliverance

Posted on by korgrocker

“Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.”
Psalm 3:7-8 NIVUK

The language that David used in these verses today makes us recoil in a fog of discomfort, knowing that as pilgrims we should be reaching out in love, not hate, loving our enemies as Jesus taught. But here was the psalmist, David, expressing to God what he thought God should do with his enemies. We think that sentiments such as breaking our enemies’ teeth can’t be a valid position, or expectation, for a God-fearing believer. There will be many who will dismiss such thoughts and put them down to a less sophisticated people living in violent times. Others will perhaps be more charitable and sympathise with David, faced with trying to protect his people from nasty neighbouring nations. But then perhaps we should pause and think about ourselves and our own reactions to the behaviour of people who we encounter day by day. The motorist who does something stupid and nearly causes us to have an accident. The objectional person in the office who bullies and belittles the more timid members of the team. The keyboard warriors who pollute the comments section of a social media post with their vitriol and hatred. The list of disagreeable people is seemingly endless, but, be honest now, do we just shrug our shoulders extending a mental “Bless you brother”, or do we too, like David, ask God to do something significant with them, to teach them the error of their ways?

David wanted terrible things to happen to his enemies, and he asked God to be the instrument administering his judgement, but he also asked for deliverance. And that is a prayer I think we should emulate. When our thoughts rise up in frustration and anger against the less considerate members of our society, we can of course pray for justice to be dispensed, teaching them a lesson, but it is better to pray that we should be delivered from the negative thoughts and even possible actions that boil over in our minds. “Deliver me, my God” is a good prayer to pray when faced with the events that seem to crop up with depressing frequency. 

Another thought that springs up is about the impact that negative and angry feelings can have on our spiritual and even physical well-being. Resentment and unforgiveness can have a devastating effect on our souls. And, of course, the person causing us so much distress will be unaware of the effect that their behaviour has on the lives of others. We might like them to drink a potion of hemlock as a punishment, but the impact of the poison is on us not them, as the anger and thoughts of immediate judgement eat away at our souls. We end up going down the tubes of depression and illness, facing a long climb back to emotional equilibrium. So we pray, like David, for deliverance. And our loving Heavenly Father will indeed pour out His blessings upon us, and deliver us from the evil that would otherwise beset us.

Dear Lord God. You are our Deliverer, the Keeper and the Provider of peace and healing for our wounded souls. Amen.

Fear

Posted on by korgrocker

“I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.”
Psalm 3:5-6 NIVUK

What are we afraid of? David lived in a politically unstable world and there were always enemies of the Jews present in the surrounding nations, looking for an opportunity to destroy them. And he, as the king of Israel, felt the pressure of needing to be ready. But in spite of all of that, David was able to sleep, safe and sound, because “the Lord was watching over [him]”. But back to us pilgrims. In the UK we live in a more politically stable environment, without the overt threat of aggressive and hostile nations willing and able to invade our island and do us harm. However, warfare is different today, with cyber attacks and the threat of a nuclear strike. And as we look back through history, warfare has never been far away from our shores. We are also aware that living in 21st Century societies is fraught with all sorts of “enemies” that impact our ways of life, and we can quickly tumble into a world of “what if’s” ranging from health care through to job security and financial sufficiency. There is much fear and stress around today. Our immediate enemies might be different to David’s but they are still real and can have a marked effect on our future. 

In a sense, we have little to fear because God is with us. I am writing these thoughts this morning, and you might be reading what I have written in a day or two. Like David, we woke up this morning after a night’s sleep. Recently, I said to a man I met during my prayer walk that it was a good morning. The sun was shining and for once it wasn’t raining here in Scotland, but his response was, “All mornings are good if you wake up”. And that is true in a world fearful and lost, but we pilgrims cannot lose. If God sustains us for another day, we still have work to do for His kingdom here on earth. If He doesn’t then we will wake up in His presence. Win-win. 

The go-to Psalm for me is 121. “He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep“. The Psalmist continues, “The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and for evermore”. Do we believe that or do these words just give us a momentary warm feeling that quickly dissipates in the chill winds of adversity that swamp our souls, as another night time worry raises its head and disturbs our rest? Fellow pilgrims, our Lord and God is constantly with us and we believe that whatever He says is what He does. I cannot count the many occasions when He has been there for me in times of anxiety and stress, and I’m sure that is the same for you as well. Trusting in God will not necessarily remove the enemies around us (although sometimes He will), whatever they are, but it will mean we can sleep at night in the knowledge that He is looking out for us, and will give us the strength and wisdom we need.

Dear Father God. Thank You that You are with us, every minute of every day. Amen.

Many Enemies

Posted on by korgrocker

“O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me. So many are saying, “God will never rescue him!” But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain.”
Psalm 3:1-4 NLT

The introduction to Psalm 3 records that David wrote it while fleeing from his son Absalom. The account of what happened between David and Absalom can be read in 2 Samuel 13-19. But the outcome was that David was forced to flee by an uprising against him engineered by Absalom and supported by many in Israel. And so David ended up in a safe place but thinking that he had many enemies and that they were scornful of God’s ability or willingness to rescue him. In earlier times, David was well used to being on the run, when his predecessor, King Saul, was after him. But once again, David found solace in his relationship with God. He found that in God he had a shield around him, and that as a child of God He had royal status. And, significantly, he found that God answered his prayers for protection. 

Do we pilgrims have enemies, chasing us down and forcing us to flee to safer climes? Probably not, at least not here in the West. But we do have an enemy, the devil and his minions. 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“. And the verses in Ephesians 6 continue with details of the defensive means that God has provided for our safety, listing pieces of spiritual armour such as the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet shod by the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the one offensive weapon – the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The way to resist the devil is also continued in James 4:7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you“.

The comforting fact for us pilgrims is that God has not left us to fend on our own. If He had, then we would have been overwhelmed long ago. Deuteronomy 31:6 provided much comfort for the Israelites and still does for us today – “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you”. So, dear fellow pilgrims, whatever you are facing into today, God is standing right there with you. And me as well. He will surely answer all our prayers “from His holy mountain”.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your presence always in our lives, regardless of our circumstances. And one day we will see You face to face. What a wonderful day that will be. Amen.

Act Wisely

Posted on by korgrocker

“Now then, you kings, act wisely! Be warned, you rulers of the earth! Serve the Lord with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling. Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities— for his anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for all who take refuge in him!”
Psalm 2:10-12 NLT

The Psalmist David gave us a bit of advice that we would all do well to heed – “act wisely”. But it seems to be a human trait to do just the opposite. The Bible is full of advice about wisdom, but why is it that even God’s people seem to lack the ability to “act wisely” as they go about their business? David was focused on world rulers when he wrote Psalm 2 and as we look around we can see a stunning lack of wisdom in the behaviour of national leaders today. We see the actions of heads of nation states who seem to be quite prepared to sacrifice their own people at a whim, causing unnecessary deaths and misery to many innocent people. And this is not just through wars – it can also be through political decisions derived from following a flawed ideology (for example think about the confusion about gender). But where can we find the wisdom that aligns with the wisdom David was warning the “kings of the earth” about?

In Psalm 2:11a we read, “Serve the Lord with reverent fear …”. If we turn to Proverbs 1:7 we read, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline“. This isn’t the sort of fear that comes from expecting a lightning bolt from Heaven if we do wrong. This is a reverent awe, acknowledging all who God is, realising that He created the earth and all that is in it, and therefore ensuring that we include Him in all that we are about. So where do we find the wisdom so essential to living a life God’s way? Turn to 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”. Simple really – God has all the answers we need to live a life impregnated by wisdom. We might protest that we are not world rulers so the need for wisdom is perhaps not quite so important. But God’s ways are for everyone, no matter how insignificant we might think we are. 

Father God. You are the Source of all wisdom. Please forgive us for our errant ways and we pray for Your wisdom to infuse all we think, say, and do, day by day. Amen.

Father and Son

Posted on by korgrocker

“The king proclaims the Lord’s decree: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have become your Father. Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession. You will break them with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.’”” 
Psalm 2:7-9 NLT

A decree is a sign of ruling. We read about one in Luke 2:1, “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world“. The king, emperor, or any other political ruler in an autocracy has the authority to issue an instruction or command. In a democracy this is the function of the elected government. And the civic authorities, if necessary supported by a loyal armed force, will ensure the decree is carried out. In these verses today, we see a decree that is twofold in its meaning – it applied to David and his kingdom but it also has a prophetic meaning, foretelling that Jesus, the Son of God, will one day inherit a much larger Kingdom. In Isaiah 9:7 we can see the extent of it, “Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this”. But what about the “iron rod” and “clay pots”? If we turn to Revelation 19:15 we can see snippet of the end time vision John received about the victorious Jesus, ruling and reigning in His Kingdom, “From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress”. To be in an unbelieving nation in those days will be a terrible place to be.

One day the risen Jesus will be the theocratic divine and anointed Leader in the ultimate Kingdom of Heaven that is established here on earth. We pilgrims have read the last page in the book and we know how the End Times will come about. And the penultimate verse on the last page says, “He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20). Jesus declared another decree – “I am coming soon”. And we reply in eager anticipation, “Come Lord Jesus”. In a dark, wicked and sinful world riven by wars and disasters, we receive comfort that it will all end well for God’s children.

Dear Lord Jesus. We look forward to Your second coming. We don’t know when it will happen, but happen it will. “Come Lord Jesus”. Amen.

The Chosen King

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then in anger he rebukes them, terrifying them with his fierce fury. For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.””
Psalm 2:5-6 NLT

On the one hand we have a picture from this Psalm of rebellious and unbelieving nations warring against God, and then, on the other, we find that God has installed His “chosen king” in Jerusalem. Who is this “chosen king”? At the time this Psalm was written the king was David. He was the king chosen by God to replace Saul – the details are in 1 Samuel 16, 1, 13, “Now the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.” … So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah”. David eventually took up residence in Jerusalem as the king of Israel and the “holy mountain” was the Temple Mount, still there in Jerusalem today. 

But there was also a prophetic message about the King to come, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Although Jerusalem, up to now, has always been a minor city compared with the sprawling metropolises of the world capitals such as Paris, Tokyo, London, etc., it has always had huge implications for the global religious and political communities, in a time yet to come. In Isaiah 2:2 the verse starts,”In the last days …” and it will be there that Jesus will govern His global kingdom. In Acts 1:11 we read, ““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!”” One day Jesus will return again to the very place He left this world, Jerusalem.

We pilgrims are a people of vision, and we look forward in anticipation to the time when Jesus, our Lord, returns. We know where Jesus will return to from Acts 1:11. Jesus gave us dome information about the manner of His coming in Matthew 24:30, “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory”. We will have no doubts about how Jesus will return to Planet Earth. But are we ready?

Dear Lord Jesus. We echo the words in Revelation – “Come Lord Jesus”. Amen.

The One Who Rules

Posted on by korgrocker

“The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. … But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then in anger he rebukes them, terrifying them with his fierce fury.”
Psalm 2:2, 4-5 NLT

Thinking about it, I’m not aware of a war being overtly waged today against God. Plenty of other wars but not one that is anti-Christ. But then, my thoughts continue to explore the reasons for why one nation battles against another, and then I wonder that wars being fought today are against God purely because their origins are in the wickedness and evil promoted by the devil. Wars fought through reasons of hate, greed, lust and any other attributes of devilish wickedness are anti-Christ.

So why should God laugh at them and not just leave them to their evil ways? No doubt they will find out soon enough. But the psalmist puts his finger on the human attribute of arrogance. As we look around the world today, we find that the rulers of despotic states have one thing in common – an bloated sense of their own importance, displaying breathtaking arrogance. On their way up the political greasy pole they manage to get to a point where they become a leader, and then set about removing their opponents. Of course, we can look back in history and see that not many of these rulers died peacefully in their sleep. 

God doesn’t sit on His throne in Heaven laughing with malice though. Because He is love and righteousness, these two qualities combine with a firm but gentle humour; to think that human beings should set themselves up as effective gods in opposition to Him is a laughable matter indeed. And then there will be the day when the “kings of the earth” will stand before Him to give an account of their lives. A video of their life will roll before them, but it will be a video seen through God’s eyes and at the end of it, God’s righteous anger will initiate  a terrifying rebuke. Then there will be that awful moment when the Judge pronounces His verdict – Guilty! And the door to hell will open before them.

Hebrews 10:31, “It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God”. We pilgrims are of course aware of the future set before us, and we respond to God with love and obedience. Not for us the trappings of political power, of arrogant leadership. We stand with the psalmist when he wrote, “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked” (Psalm 84:10). The “kings of the earth”may live in splendid luxury. They may have servants who run at their beck and call. But one day they will be terrified in God’s presence, all their plotting having come to nothing. 

Dear Father God. Your patience with the arrogance of the nations is breathtaking. But we live in a moral universe and You will administer justice one day to balance the scales. Thank You that we can rest secure that You have all under control. Amen.