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Jesus is God

Posted on by korgrocker

”No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.”
John 1:18 NLT

I have never seen a famous historical person such as Shakespeare or John Wesley, because they were dead before I was born. But I know about them from their writings and biographies, and have seen artist’s impressions through paintings and drawings. But God is different. Even though He has always existed, no-one has ever seen Him, for one simple reason – He is Spirit. Human beings are natural and physical. There are occasions in the Old Testament when the greats of old such as Moses, Elijah and others apparently came close to seeing God, but not in any coherent and tangible way. But back to, for example, John Wesley. Although I have never seen him in the flesh, I can find out many details about him. His life has been picked apart by others who knew him to the extent that I can almost imagine that I have met him in person. 

When Jesus came, He revealed God to us. In the same way a son can tell us much about his father, through his memories, his mannerisms, his looks, Jesus told us much about His Father. We read in John 14:8-10, ”Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me“”. In his Colossians letter, Paul wrote, “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body” (Colossians 2:9). 

So we pilgrims, by following Christ, follow God, and in Him we will find a complete diet for our souls. In our natural world, there is much fretting and fussing over the food we eat, or don’t eat, or can’t eat. I know someone who is almost paranoid about the perceived harm done to their body by ultra processed foods. There are many diet sheets loudly proclaimed by their adherents. But there is only one diet for our spiritual lives and that can only be found in the Bible. Nothing ultra processed there! In this Book we will find out all that we need to know about our Trinitarian God. Fellow pilgrims – are we reading it? As often as we can? Through it God feeds our spirits. 

Two thousand years ago a baby was born, of peasant parents in humble surroundings, but that Child started a life dedicated to His Father that ended on a Roman Cross in the greatest sacrifice, and consequent moment in history, that this world has ever seen. Many, if not most, have discounted it as being irrelevant to them and their lives. But we need to proclaim this wonderful Son to all regardless. At every opportunity. How else will people know the wonderful God, the Creator of this Universe?

Dear Father God. Thank You for Jesus and all You have done for us. Amen.

Moses and Christ

Posted on by korgrocker

”For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.“
John 1:17 NLT

John writes now about the comparison between what is effectively law and grace. The Jews, the Israelite nation, had escaped from Egypt, and were two months into their journey to the promised land when they arrived at the wilderness of Sinai. There they set up camp. And Moses went up Mount Sinai to meet with God. “ … The Lord called to [Moses] from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel” (Exodus 19:3). Then followed the giving of the Ten Commandments and a series of instructions and laws that God had designed for the benefit of His people. Deuteronomy 28 starts, “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will …” (Deuteronomy 28:1), and then there follows a list of all the good things God’s people will enjoy if they are obedient to Him. But the Israelites were warned what would happen if they failed to keep to these commandments. “But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you” (Deuteronomy 28:15). The down side of being disobedient to God is well documented. Blessings would follow obedience to God and curses would follow if disobedience was the norm. Through the law given to the Israelites came a definition for sin. But there was a problem – no person could become pure enough by following the law to satisfy God’s requirements. 

Paul started his life as a Pharisee, and he was so zealous to protect the Jewish way of life, with its laws and customs, that he even persecuted the early Christians. Galatians 1:13, “You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it.” But there was then that day when he experienced God’s grace in all its fullness after seeing a bright light, a vision of Jesus. We read, “He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”“ (Acts 9:4). Paul’s conversion was total and dramatic. He transitioned from law to grace.

What do we pilgrims think of law and grace?  Jesus didn’t come to this world to replace the Law with something else. He came to fulfil the Law by becoming the final sacrifice. So instead of trusting in rules and regulations, we trust in Jesus. We read in Romans 3:20, ”For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are“. Instead, ”God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God” (Ephesians 2:8). This does not mean that we maintain sinful thoughts and behaviours. We bring them all to the Cross in repentance. The Law shows us what God wants (holiness), and grace gives us the desire and power to be holy.

Father God. We worship You today, deeply grateful for all You have given us. Amen.

Grace Upon Grace

Posted on by korgrocker

“From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.”
John 1:16 NLT
“For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favour upon favour, and gift heaped upon gift].”
John 1:16 AMP

We can’t get past the word “grace” in our Christian lives. The reality that Christ took on Himself the consequences of our sin, dying on a Roman cross, so that we could stand before God clothed in Christ’s righteousness, is grace beyond anything we could expect, or even deserve. A reality that can only drive us to our knees in grateful thanks, in worship of God’s Son Himself. The acronym for grace – God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense – is well known but it is underpinned by today’s verse from John 1. There is no limit to God’s grace. 

A church leader I used to know was a great public evangelist, and one of his methods of gaining attention to the Gospel message was to try and hand out a bank note to a stranger in the shopping mall, emulating in a small way God’s grace. Many rushed on by, too busy or too uninterested, to stop and take the gift. Such are those who reject God’s offer of salvation, eyes blinded by the world and its sinful pleasures. They fail to see that the best offer they will ever receive in this life, worth far more than any of the world’s riches, has passed them by. For all those who have turned their backs on God, rejecting His free offer of salvation, spurning that “grace upon grace”, there is an awful alternative. Jesus said, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Matthew 16:26). The alternative to accepting God’s graciousness is eternity spent in a place, as Jesus described it, “where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out” (Mark 9:48). 

For those who accept God’s offer of salvation will truly discover “spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing“, as they journey towards their goal of eternal life spent with God. To send His Son to live and die with human beings was the ultimate act of grace. 

Dear Father God. On our knees we thank You for Jesus and His willingness to die so that we might have life. Such grace! Amen.

John Testified

Posted on by korgrocker

“John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”“
John 1:15 NLT

John knew who Jesus was, that day on the banks of the River Jordan. And it wasn’t just his knowledge that Jesus was his cousin. It was the reality that God had sent His Son to this world, and John recognised Him as its Creator. He exists eternally, and for a brief few years He walked amongst His people embodying “grace and truth”, discarding eternity for time, a throne for humanity. John testified about “Him“, Jesus the Son of God, the Messiah they had all been waiting for. Did anyone else at that time know who Jesus really was? Or was it only John? There was certainly much in the way of expectation, going back hundreds of years, but no Messiah had emerged onto the Israel landscape. Had there been false messiahs and false prophets in the years before Jesus? He Himself warned about such a phenomenon, as we read in Matthew 24:24, “For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones“. Whatever the people were expecting, however, a baby in a manger would not have even occurred to them. And a man like themselves would have been difficult for them to accept, as Jesus found out when He was teaching in the Nazareth synagogue. “When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. … Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”” (Luke 4:16,22). But Jesus knew how difficult it would be for the people to accept Him as Messiah. Jesus said to them, “But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown” (Luke 4:24). If Jesus had burst into the Middle East, leading a huge army, then they would have accepted Him as their Messiah, but an itinerant preacher and teacher who could do a few miracles would not have been on their radar.

“John testified about him”, we read. But how did John know that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah? Later on John had doubts, because after he had been imprisoned by Herod, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” (Matthew 11:3). But on the banks of the Jordan, John had no doubts. The Holy Spirit within him left no room for any other possibility. The crowds there heard his message, his testimony about Jesus. 

In the world around us, in our communities and societies, there are many who could possibly relate to John and his message. In those days, people went to the Jordan, perhaps encouraged by their friends, who told them about this wild prophetic character with his Messianic message. Today, in the frantic information glut that surrounds us, the message of a Messiah quickly gets drowned out. But we pilgrims have a message about the Son of God and what He has done for us. There was that time when we were re-born into God’s family. And since then there have been occasions where the Holy Spirit has helped us sort out the life problems that we call sin. Like John we have a testimony. We experienced a life-changing event that put us on the road to eternal life with God Himself. The world around us is desperate for good news. We have it, and lots of it. We pray for opportunities when we can share what God has done for us. We won’t necessarily find crowds like John. But we will find opportunities to tell our stories of a Messiah, Jesus Himself. And what a wonderful story it is!

Dear Lord Jesus. As we follow You, day by day, please lead us to those who are waiting for Your message of Good News. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Incarnation

Posted on by korgrocker

”So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son”.
John 1:14

Every year we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Nativity plays in the Sunday schools. The Baby in a manger scenes. Decorated churches and Christmas trees. But the greatest event the world has ever seen has been swamped by materialism. John’s few words, “So the Word became human and made his home among us” was a statement so profound that most people, then and now, missed it. Maudling sentimentality at best. Ignoring it ever happened the worst. And the devil is having a field day, doing what he does best, corrupting and distorting the event of a virgin peasant girl in her early teens giving birth to the Son of God. A recent media story was of a church nativity play where a priest played the part of Joseph and Jesus had two mothers. Sometimes, we wonder if some of our church leaders even read the Bible, God’s Word, at all.

But enough of looking at the negatives. God isn’t fazed by the excesses of sinful man, and He knows that the devil is a defeated foe. Isaiah, through a prophecy given to him by the Holy Spirit, wrote, ”All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)” (Isaiah 7:14). And hundreds of years later this event really happened, just as God revealed it to Isaiah. The events around that “sign” weren’t recorded in John’s Gospel, but the details can be found in Luke’s. John went on to say that the human Word “was full of unfailing love and faithfulness”. Other translations record “full of grace and truth”. Love, faithfulness, grace and truth. We could go on listing the attributes of our wonderful God. God’s plan for the salvation of the human race started in humble ways, through which the Creator experienced what it was like to live as one of His created beings. And all the way to Calvary He loved and blessed those He came into contact with. 

Words cannot express enough our response to our wonderful God. Those of us pilgrims who have ourselves seen a glimpse of His glory, can only fall down onto our knees in worship. Grateful hearts fumbling inadequate words from our mumbling mouths. But we need to pause often to gaze upon the incarnate Jesus. He came to show us the way to eternal life with God, and we follow in His footsteps, day by day. 

Dear Lord Jesus. In deep gratitude we worship You today, the God who came to Planet Earth to bring the Good News right to our doors. Amen.

Child of God

Posted on by korgrocker

“He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.”
John 1:11-13 NLT

It has always been a puzzle to me, that the expression “born again” causes so much controversy. A dictionary definition of being “born again” is “A Christian who has experienced a distinct, dramatic conversion to faith in Jesus, especially a member of certain Protestant groups that stress this experience“. So the implication is that someone who has not been “born again” into a spiritual relationship with God can still be a Christian. Some view such people, the “born again” ones, as being “the unpleasant sanctimonious ones who keep flaunting their beliefs“. They are negatively viewed as being fundamentalists; Bible-believing followers of Christ who set themselves apart from your normal pew warmers.

I have a friend who considers himself to be a “Christian” purely because he is always helping other people, living what he considers to be a decent and “good” life, and having had a grandfather who was an elder in the Church of Scotland. A neighbour of mine considers herself a “Christian” because her name is on the membership role of a church somewhere, but she hasn’t attended that church for many years. Other people will tick the “Christian” box on a census or other similar form, because they were perhaps christened in a church as a baby. Or they go to a church sometimes on Christmas Eve. And that is where the confusion arises. The label “Christian” has become confused and corrupted, and refers to anyone who nominally or vaguely believes that there was someone called Jesus and they will somehow end up in Heaven when they die. So to them, the terms “born again Christian”, or “true Christian”, or “proper Christian” are offensive and to be treated with contempt. 

The reality is that a “Christian” is a follower of Christ. Someone “who believed him and accepted him” and who is reborn in “a birth that comes from God”. John’s Gospel, right here in the first chapter, is very clear about who a “Christian” really is. Being “born again” gives such believers the right to become “children of God”, John writes. The whole Bible hinges on the relationship between God and mankind, and clearly sets out what that entails. There are three verses in the New Testament that, in my opinion, are key to a “born again” experience. The first is in Romans 3:23. Paul wrote, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard”. There has to come that realisation that we are sinners, accepting that in God’s sight we fall far short of His requirement  for righteousness and holiness. The second Scripture that matters to me is from 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. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it“. There is nothing that we can do to earn our salvation – we cannot become a child of God by doing good works, or living what we might consider a good life, or even having our names on the role of church members. The third verse that I refer to is Acts 2:38, “Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit“. These are just a few words that Peter preached but the repercussions of them are life changing. There are many other verses that constitute the Gospel, the good news about Jesus and His gracious saving commitment for mankind. 

A human baby is born physically, through a process we are all familiar with. That baby is a child of its parents. To become a child of God, though, we have to be born spiritually. The process is different in that it happens spiritually, not physically, but happen it must. I became a “born again” Christian on a day when I finally realised that I was a sinner, and looked to Jesus as my Saviour. I found out who Jesus was and what He had done for me and everyone else on this planet. And there then started a long journey. There have been easy stretches, and hard times. But journey I must, always keeping in sight that increasing glow on the horizon, the Heavenly promised land. I invite you, my readers, to join me, wherever you are. You will never regret it. We can journey on together.

But what about those people who consider themselves to be “Christian” but have never come to that point in their lives when they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour? Those people who have rejected the relationship with God that John wrote about? The people who have never become children of God? Their future is something that is up to God and His grace – something I can never judge or take for granted – but why take the risk of ending up in a lost eternity when there is a wonderful opportunity to become a child of God? Now. Today. This very minute.

Dear Father God. I pray today for all my readers, that they too will embrace Your saving grace and become the children of God that John wrote about. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Look

Posted on by korgrocker

“He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.”
John 1:10-11 NLT

John wrote that the people in the world failed to recognise their Creator. And even the Jews, God’s own chosen race, failed to recognise Him. Worse, the Jews rejected Him as their Messiah, even though they had been expecting Him. And to this day, people fail to realise that the Messiah and the Creator visited this world 2000 years ago, a problem that is endemic. There were as many as 400 prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament so how did the Jews miss Him? Specific prophecies such as in Isaiah 7:14, “All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” But the key word in Isaiah’s prophecy was “look“. The Jews had developed in their minds a picture of a different Messiah, selectively taking prophecies to suit their own expectations, particularly regarding the hated Roman occupation. They desired a Messiah who would come as a Man of war, not a baby in a manger. Not all Jews thought this way, though. There was Simeon, who was waiting for the Messiah. “At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him” (Luke 2:25).‭‭‭ Further on we read, “Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:28-30). There was also a prophetess called Anna. “Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. …  She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem” (Luke 2:36a, 38). ‭‭

But back to that keyword, “look”. Isn’t it strange that when we look at something we find that our interpretation of the scenario before us is tailored by our thoughts and desires? We read Bible verses and try and extract a meaning from them to perhaps justify a sin, particular when the misdemeanour isn’t specifically mentioned. Or we look at a person, a politician or a pastor perhaps, and expect more from them than they can provide. And we try and get someone to follow a course of action to suit our world view rather then provide a remedy for the good of all. Isaiah said that the people had to “look” for their Messiah, implying that they must see what God was doing, not what they wanted Him to do. The people who heard Anna excitedly talk about the Messiah Child, were waiting for God to rescue Jerusalem. God’s plan was salvation for the world. The Jerusalem Jews were expecting a political solution.

So how do we come to recognise our Creator and Messiah? There is rarely a day when I don’t thank God for His creation. In my morning rambles around the West of Fife in Scotland, there is always some wonder that catches my eye. The colours of the Autumn leaves. The birdsong echoing through the trees. The flowers bursting forth time and again each Spring. The deer crossing my path. I look up on a clear night and see a myriad of stars. There seems no limit to what God has done. And yet there are those who fail to appreciate God’s creation. There was a day recently when I stopped by a tree that stood out because of its vivid red Autumn leaves. I pointed out the beauty to a passer-by, but he was unimpressed and continued on his way. People fail to “look” for God and miss seeing their Creator in the natural world around them.

The Messiah came and was rejected by His people. But one day they will recognise Him. We read in Zechariah 12:10, “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died“. They will “look” at last and will find Him.

We pilgrims have a personal relationship with Jesus, the Messiah, though. We have, as Simeon, seen His salvation. Simeon saw what was to come. We experience at first hand the saving grace of God. And we praise Him, and continue to praise Him, this day and forever, for all he has done for us and the rest of mankind, if only they would “look”.

Dear Father God. As we share Your messages with those around us I pray that You open their eyes. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Witness

Posted on by korgrocker

”God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.“
John 1:6-9 NLT

John, the writer of John’s Gospel, said of John the Baptist, “he was simply a witness to tell about the light”. In our societies, a witness is someone who sees an event and who is prepared to stand up in a court of law or some other solemn place and say what they saw. They “tell about” something. But in the setting before us, in the first few verses in John’s Gospel, John the Baptist was witnessing something that had yet to take place. Through the Holy Spirit within him he was foretelling what was to come. John had an unique ministry in that he introduced his cousin Jesus as the Messiah who was bringing “light to everyone”. 

The early disciples were entrusted with the ministry of witnessing as well. We read what Jesus’ last words to them in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” But these men and women had been with Jesus. They had lived with Him. They had seen the miracles, the healings. They were there, and were involved, in the feeding of five thousand men and their families. They were in the boat when Jesus came to them walking on the water. They were there behind a locked door when Jesus appeared amongst them. John the Baptist was a witness of what was to come. The disciples were witnesses to whom Jesus was and what He had done. 

But what about us pilgrims? We are told to be witnesses to Jesus as well. Of course, we were not there in John the Baptist’s shoes. Neither were we in Israel when Jesus walked the highways and byways, seeing His miracles and hearing His teaching. But we can be witnesses to all that Jesus has done for us. We can tell others of the changes the Holy Spirit has made in our lives. We can testify about events and even miracles that God has done for us. And even a new Christian, taking the first steps in their pilgrimage, can tell of God’s saving love and grace. We have so much to be a witness for.

There were times when the people failed to understand who Jesus was or what His teaching was about. The spiritual leaders of His day did their best to rubbish His teaching and even ended up complicit in His early death. Jesus was counter-cultural, a radical who overturned the status quo in His society and, for a brief three years, touched earth with Heaven itself. And because of Him, the world changed radically, as witnesses to Jesus and His earthly mission propagated the Gospel throughout the world. We pilgrims will also be ill-treated and maligned. We too will be ridiculed and ostracised. But we are witnesses to all that God has done for us, and we can share our messages of hope, seasoned with God’s acts of grace, to all those around us. Each one of us is “simply a witness to tell about the light“.

Dear God. We look back over our lives and find so much that You have done for us. We are so grateful. Amen.

The Other John

Posted on by korgrocker

”God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.“
John 1:6-9 NLT

John the Baptist was Jesus’ cousin, and was born to elderly parents, as we read in Luke 1:7, ”They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old”. But John’s dad, Zechariah, had an angelic encounter and was told he was going to have a son, ”But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John” (Luke 1:13). Zechariah received some amazing information about his coming son in the following verses, such as “he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth” and “he will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah”. Luke also wrote that John would “prepare the people for the coming of the Lord”.  John’s coming was foretold by the prophet Isaiah, “Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! (Isaiah 40:3).

The Jews in those days were very much aware that there had been no prophetic voices for 400 years, ever since the prophet Malachi. No messages from God. No encouragement that He was even there. And to make things worse, the people were oppressed by the occupying Romans. The fiercely independent Jews longed for the day when they had their own country again. John lived his adult years in the desert eating “locusts and wild honey”, and then there was the day when he emerged into history dressed like an Old Testament prophet in coarse camel hair and a leather belt. His message was simple, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2). And, in true Old Testament prophet style, he denounced the religious leaders for their hypocrisy and self-righteousness. But John’s mission was also to introduce Jesus. He said, “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matthew 3:11). Later on in Matthew’s Gospel we read that the people thought John was a prophet, and some even the coming Messiah. John’s life was tragically cut short by the wishes of an evil woman; he left this world violently, as many of the Jewish prophets did. But his ministry had achieved what God desired – he introduced Jesus, the Messiah. What a privilege!

What do we pilgrims learn from John? His zealous commitment to share the Good News of Jesus was total. It didn’t matter to him what others thought, he just did what God had commissioned him to do. The message for us pilgrims is the same. We are commissioned to tell the Good News about Jesus. Of course, we can’t all step into John the Baptist’s shoes, though some of us will be called to a special role to fulfil God’s plans. But we are all called, like John, to a life dedicated to God. We don’t know, but the next person we share the Gospel with might become the next Billy Graham. We all have our own unique places in our towns, our cities, our communities, and we pray that God will lead us to the next divine encounter, where another child of God is born.

Dear Father God. Lead us to divine encounters we pray, so that we can share the Good News of Jesus. Thank You. Amen.

Light and Life

Posted on by korgrocker

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
John 1:1-5 NLT

Continuing our theme concerning the Word of God, who is Jesus Himself, John wrote that He is Light and Life. We read back in Genesis 2:7 how life was birthed, “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person“. And ever since, life has been ubiquitous, taken for granted even and the Creator of life ignored by most. Jesus Himself proclaimed His illuminating presence as we read in John 8:12, “Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”” So why is it so hard for people to realise that they do indeed walk in darkness? Stumbling around in the gloom is not a new phenomenon, limited to the 21st Century. At a time of national peril in 700 BC, Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah. Isaiah 9:1-2, “Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.” People today are living in a perilous time, of “deep darkness”. The wars in Ukraine and Palestine continue to dominate the news. Terrible floods in Australia and an earthquake in China have found their way into the news headlines. And there are many more disasters and conflicts waiting in the wings of world history and still to emerge to darken the world even more. The people of this world are truly living in dark times.

In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus proclaimed the mission for His followers, “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“. The people around us need to hear Good News. God’s News of a Man who brought Light and Life into this world. A Man who set aside His Godliness and came from Heaven because of His love for a world that was without hope and heading for a lost eternity. The Man was the Son of God Himself. We pilgrim believers carry torches that burn with God’s eternal glory, the message of hope that Jesus left us to share with our friends and communities. We are torch bearers in a relay race that has extended over centuries.

A carol we sing every year has this second verse. The lyric writer, Charles Wesley, and obviously a John’s Gospel reader, wrote it in 1739:

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Risen with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the new-born king”

Dear Lord Jesus, we proclaim Your light and life to all those around us at the start of this New Year. Your light is eternal, and is never extinguished. Your life is available to all. We worship You today. Amen.