Tongues and Lips

Posted on by korgrocker

“For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.””
1 Peter 3:10-12 NLT

In today’s verses, Peter included a quotation from Psalm 34, a psalm written by David during a difficult time spent with the heathen king Abimelech. This is an acrostic psalm, where each verse started with a different letter in the Hebrew alphabet. But in all that, it contains some good advice, particularly with regard to what we say, hence the reference to tongues that speak evil and lips that tell lies. Of course, we know that these organs in our bodies are just the messengers. The real problem lies with our thoughts, and so often we can get into trouble when, or if, we speak them out. 

The Apostle Paul knew the problem with a mind that seems to drift so naturally into the realms of evil thinking. To combat that he suggested, “ …. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8). The Apostle James went a bit further and devoted a large section of his epistle’s third chapter to advise on the importance of controlling our tongues. He wrote, “Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way” (James 3:2). Almost in desperation it seems, he finished, “but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right” (James 3:8-10). But he had a point. On a Sunday we might be in church singing wonderful songs about Jesus, or speaking our prayers of love and thanksgiving to God, but on a Monday sharing gossip or making up lies about a colleague. James wrote, “ … you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring” (James 3:12b).

It’s all about taking control of our thought life, and discerning what is right and wrong. We may be tempted to create an effect by speaking out untruths. We may be driven to an improper reaction when in a place of stress or tempted to tell lies to get ourselves out of trouble. I’m sure we can all remember times when we have been in such a place, remembering occasions that bring a flush of shame to our cheeks. But we bring our sins before God and receive His wonderful grace and forgiveness. 

Jesus went through much abuse at His trial and the events leading up to it. On reading an account of His responses, we very quickly develop a picture of a Man totally in control of His tongue. No lies came from His lips. No evil from His tongue. Instead He gave measured and truthful statements when He had to, and at other times He remained silent. Isaiah prophesied, “He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

And so it should be with us pilgrims. We train our thought life to focus on things that are true and righteous, following Paul’s advice. And we will find that the temptation to lapse into evil and lying thinking reduces more and more. One day we will be perfect, like Jesus, as we join Him in our future Heavenly home. But in the meantime we follow in His footsteps, becoming more like Him.

Father God. We pray for more of You in our lives, because we know that when we are filled with Your Spirit there is no room for anything else. Thank You. Amen.

Evil Behaviour

Posted on by korgrocker

“So get rid of all evil behaviour. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.”
1 Peter 2:1-3 NLT

Continuing his theme from the last chapter, Peter starts with a “so”. He ended the previous verse in chapter 1 with the reminder that the believers in the five provinces had heard the Good News. They had responded to the preacher and became believers, children of God. And because of that Peter introduced a “so”. There are consequences to being born again. We enter a phase in our lives where we have dual nationality. We are citizens of the country in which we are born or in which we live, but we are also citizens of the Kingdom of God. As children of God, as believers in the Word, we have responsibilities. Hence the “so”. 

As children of God we cannot continue to live our old sinful lives. Paul wrote to the Ephesian believers, “Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception” (Ephesians 4:21-22). Paul wrote “throw off”. Peter wrote “get rid of”. But the message is the same. We pilgrims, regardless of how long we have been believers, must clean up our lives and live as we would expect the children of the living God to behave. So how to we go about this? Paul continued in Ephesians 4:23-24, “Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy”. We can’t clean up our lives on our own. After all, we read in Jeremiah 17:9-10a, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts …”. Only the Holy Spirit will bring about a transformation in our lives, but we have our responsibilities as well. We listen to the gentle whisperings of the Holy Spirit within us, and say a massive “Yes!” in response. It may take a while to reprogram our minds to conform to God’s way but persevere we must, because only He knows what is best for us.

Grace is a wonderful quality, and one that, coupled with love, will go a long way to correct our “evil behaviour”. We must think before we respond because in that way we allow God to help us to avoid, for example the “unkind speech” that Peter wrote about. Our tongues can be a constant problem to us, as James wrote in his letter. “Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way … In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself” (James 3:2,5-6).

We must also align our thoughts to God’s ways. Paul wrote in Romans 8:5-6, “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace“.

The wonderful thing is that our relationship with our Heavenly Father is not benign and unfruitful. It is active and transforming. He is a loving Father who wants the best for all His children.

Father God. We embrace all that You have for us. Please help us to become more like Your Son Jesus. In His name we pray. Amen.

Honour and Peace

Posted on by korgrocker

“Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honourable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.”
“Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.”
Romans 12:17-18, 21 NLT

There is a saying – “two wrongs don’t make a right”. Yet our human nature can demand, even force, us to react against a negative encounter to circumstance. Something within us wants a payback for the wrong that we have experienced, or think we have experienced. Much evil was inflicted on the early Christians. They were ostracised, evicted from their homes, beaten, imprisoned and even killed, all for their faith. And it would have been natural for those early believers to try and get some form of reparation. However, what we might perceive as evil, directed at us, might not be quite as clear cut as we imagine. I think of the zealous Saul, reacting against his analysis of the new Way was all about, thinking that it was an evil attack on God and the traditions of His people. We pick up the story at the end of Acts 7, during the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. And then in Acts 8:1,3 we read, “Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria …. But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison”. Saul thought there was evil around and failed to understand that it wasn’t evil at all. He ended up committing evil against God’s plans and purposes. 

The Amplified version of the Bible interprets Romans 12:17 as, “Never repay anyone evil for evil. Take thought for what is right and gracious and proper in the sight of everyone” (emphasis is mine). Before we react in anger or deed against some perceived injustice, we must stop and think. James 1:19-20 puts it very well, “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires” (emphasis mine). By pausing in our responses we give God a chance to remedy a situation, either in the other person or in us. There is medical evidence that suggests being prone to angry outbursts will shorten our lives. Now, in 21st Century Planet Earth, nothing induces an angry response more than a perception that someone else’s driving manoeuvres are wrong or even downright dangerous. Of course, we cast that opinion from a position of being a perfect driver ourselves! But the problem has increased with the number of drivers on our crowded roads, and a recently introduced phrase, “road rage”, sums up the problem. Be “slow to get angry” James wrote, and that strategy would have fulfilled the advice Paul gave the early Christians in Rome, advice that said responding to evil with more evil might not be a good idea and will probably spawn a situation that wouldn’t end well.

Paul wrote some good advice that we should take on board today. “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” We all meet people in our lives who are prickly, aggressive, and even downright rude. Some seem to be consumed with an inner anger, and are just looking for someone on whom they can vent their frustrations. But because we are not walking in their shoes, we must try and bring peace into the encounter. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). We pilgrims have a responsibility to be obedient to what Jesus said, and bring peace into our world. We may not achieve a high-profile resolution to a very public and far-reaching war, but as all Christians everywhere strive for peace the effects will accumulatively fulfil our mission.

Paul ends Romans 12 with a warning, “Don’t let evil conquer you”. We will indeed succumb to evil if we respond in the wrong way. Perhaps we pilgrims need to start on our knees and pray for the other person. Even a hurried prayer in a stressful situation will suffice. And the peace of God will flood over us, bringing a remedy to the crisis before us, and lowering our blood pressure in the process.

Dear God. Please help us to let You take on the responses required against evil people. We will have a tendency to just make things worse. Thank You. Amen.

Mind Control

Posted on by korgrocker

“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.”
Romans 8:5-8 NLT

What controls our minds? We have a thought life, that we think we can control. And it is true that, to a certain extent at least, we can align our thoughts to whatever interests us in that moment of time. We might find ourselves thinking about the latest news, or the next meal. We might have a meeting with a friend or colleague planned. There may be anxious thoughts about how to pay the next energy bill, or the mortgage. Thinking about the behaviour of a family member might be causing us concern. But in all of this, to say we might have control over our minds might not be true at all. Our thoughts are driven mostly by external circumstances. 

Are our thoughts sin though? Obviously, being human, there are human things that we have to think about. That’s why God gave us a mind. But Paul wrote that a mind dominated by its sinful nature would ultimately lead to death. And not just physical death, but spiritual death as well. Intermingled with all our necessary thoughts are sinful thoughts. For example, it is not wrong to plan how we can pay a bill, but sin creeps in when thoughts develop around doing something illegal to acquire the necessary funds. And before long, thoughts can become more focused on an evil way of life than a righteous one. A life “dominated by the sinful nature“.

In Genesis 6:5-6, we read, “The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart”. These verses were in the preamble to the story of Noah and his ark, and we know what eventually happened to the evil people God broke His heart over. God designed our minds for good, but sin corrupted them. In Noah’s day, God eliminated the problem. In our day He provided a solution.

God’s Laws, as given through Moses, brought clarity to people’s thoughts and behaviours. But sin still prevailed. There was nothing wrong with God’s plans, but in His grace and mercy He decided to provide a lifeline to help sinful men and women to be obedient to His righteous way of life. We know, of course, that the lifeline was God’s own Son, Jesus Himself. We read in Hebrews 4:15-16, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most”.

In Hebrews 4:12-13 we read, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable”. Regardless of our circumstances, we have a loving, caring God who has provided all the resources we need to live the life He designed us to live free of slavery to sin. By living the Spirit-filled life we will find peace because no longer will our minds be fighting God because of our sins.

Dear Heavenly Father. How grateful we are that You chose to help us to live a life free of sin through the power of Your Spirit within us. We worship You today. Amen.

Be Careful

Posted on by korgrocker

“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.‭‭
Ephesians‬ ‭5:15-17‬ ‭NLT

I’m sure we all take care in the way we live. After all, we are wired to keep ourselves safe from danger, and that basic instinct increases, and becomes more important somehow, as we get older. But there are adrenalin junkies who take on incredible tasks, performing feats of courage and ignoring danger. I’m thinking of people like mountain climbers, or single-handed Atlantic rowers. Perhaps those who fly hang gliders or head for the breakers to surf their way ashore. There are also those who engage in more insidious tasks, taking illicit drugs of unknown content or purity, or those who deliberately head for temptation, trying to determine how strong they really are.

But this is a worldly perspective. As Christian pilgrims, we take seriously Paul’s instructions about the way we live. Not for us the way of fools, exploring places where we should never go. Instead we must seek out the ways of wisdom. True wisdom has its source in God. In James 1:5, we read, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking”. There is another helpful verse in James 3:17,  “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favouritism and is always sincere”. Following this advice will help us live like wise pilgrims.

In our verse today, Paul continues by encouraging us to make the most of our lives. He was right, when he wrote this Epistle, by discerning that the days were evil. And our days in the 21st Century are still evil. Nothing has changed over the centuries. The media is full of reports of crime, drug taking, wars and so on. An evil world where our enemy, the devil, prowls around causing mayhem and distress. An evil world where sin is endemic. But as we read in a recent blog, we are light in this dark and evil world, and must be opportunistic in shining our light into dark places. We must be counter-cultural pilgrims walking against the tide of those of humanity who are sadly and unknowingly heading for a lost eternity. And we must be diligent in aligning our lives to the true Way, avoiding the false and evil ways of darkness. Thinking clearly. Remaining focused on our assignment, doing God’s work. True in His service.

Worthless Deeds

Posted on by korgrocker

“Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible…”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5:11-14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In the work place I made no secret of my faith. There was a cost involved of course – I was no longer included in the social set, you know, the “cool” group, that got involved in chats around the coffee machine or the photocopier, chewing over “the worthless deeds of evil and darkness”. Sometimes there was an awkward silence in a meeting room when I arrived. The occasional apology when an expletive was inadvertently uttered. I often wondered that my work colleagues somehow felt that their behaviour was incompatible with my faith in Jesus. It was of course – they obviously knew what the “light” was. And that they behaved in a way that was different. But I sometimes had an opportunity to include myself in the office chatter – I can remember a discussion on life insurance where costs and benefits were being discussed. My contribution was to remind them that worldly life insurance, was costly, and only paid out in death, but eternal life insurance was far more important, it was free, and paid out with life. There were a few embarrassed coughs followed by a change of subject. Light exposing “worthless deeds” perhaps? I suppose I was grateful to be excluded from the sordid discussions about things of a dark world that I once knew, but had been redeemed from, by the blood of Jesus.

But how should a 21st Century pilgrim allow God’s light to shine out into the dark and evil world around us? Over the past centuries, there have always been a small number of men and women who have cut themselves off from society, to avoid contaminating themselves by contact with the darkness. They live in monasteries and nunneries, spending their time in prayer and working in their gardens, in a life devoted to God. But is that the answer to God’s call to holiness? In 1 Peter 1:15-16, we read, “But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”“. A monasterial lifestyle may be the way for some, but for me there is that difficult balancing act between being in the world but not of the world. In Jesus’s amazing prayer to His Father in Heaven, in John 17, He said, “I have given them Your Word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.” We pilgrims have a mission in life, folks. In this dark world, not apart from it. Our service to God includes telling those who live on the dark side about the hope we have for a future with God in Heaven. It includes being a light shining in the darkness around us (Matthew 5). We are salt savouring a tasteless society. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah, when Abraham pleaded with God not to destroy these wicked towns if any righteous people lived there, is perhaps a warning that God’s patience with a dark society will one day expire. Perhaps our presence in the darkness of our age is turning way His wrath.

But on a more positive note, we know the love of God. We know what He has done for us. We know that one day we will be in His presence. And as we trudge through life we share our messages of hope, our testimonies of what God has done for us, with those around us. Sharing in the dark places where we find ourselves, our schools, workplaces, communities and families. But all the time being conscious of our call to holiness and the love of our wonderful God.

Evil for Good

Posted on by korgrocker

“O God, whom I praise,
don’t stand silent and aloof
while the wicked slander me
and tell lies about me.
They surround me with hateful words
and fight against me for no reason.
I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations
even as I am praying for them!
They repay evil for good,
and hatred for my love.”
Psalm 109:1-5. NLT

David is being slandered by people telling lies about him. And he appeals to his Heavenly Advocate for vindication. He appeals to God Himself, that He will get involved in the injustice David is experiencing. David feels particularly aggrieved because the people he loves, the people he prays for, are all paying back his goodness to them with a wicked and evil response. And much of the Psalm is devoted to a list of what the evil people are saying about him and what they would like to do to him. 

I’m sure we have all been in a place where we think or feel that people are saying negative things about us. Those whispers and sidelong glances apparently pointed towards us in the office, at a party, in the school playground or on a university campus (for those of us young enough to remember!). It’s human nature to amplify what might not really be a negative situation or a problem into a full blown disaster, with our thinking extrapolating into worries that people might want to murder us, or slander us at the very least. And before we know it we retreat into a corner, behind our front doors, anywhere, away from the potential or imagined abuse that we’re suffering, to a place where we anxiously dwell on the injustices of life. Was David suffering from paranoia, or was there a real problem with his friends and relatives, with those people he knew? Either way, it doesn’t matter, because the attack upon him was to him very real.

What about us? Do we suffer from paranoia, or are we too experiencing all sorts of unmerited abuse? We can take a lesson from David and his life. Having listed all the abuse being lined up against him, he finishes the Psalm with this: “May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may their humiliation cover them like a cloak. But I will give repeated thanks to the Lord, praising him to everyone. For he stands beside the needy, ready to save them from those who condemn them“. That’s the place we need to find. In the end it doesn’t matter what others think about us. For me, God is enough. He has told me, and still tells me, that He loves me. The Passion translation of the Bible translates 1 John 3:1 as, “Look with wonder at the depth of the Father’s marvellous love that he has lavished on us! He has called us and made us his very own beloved children.” Somehow, as we rest in our status as God’s children, it doesn’t matter much what others think of us. It’s what God thinks that matters. And He loves me.

The Perfect Plan

Posted on by korgrocker

“Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, 
from the plots of evildoers. 
They plot injustice and say, 
‘We have devised a perfect plan!’ 
Surely the human mind and heart are cunning. 
The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him; 
all the upright in heart will glory in him!”
Psalms‬ ‭64:2, 6, 10‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

David is having another rant about the wicked people in his day and draws a comparison with those who are righteous. This theme seems to have been almost constantly in his mind, and appears in many of his Psalms. But his description of the “wicked” applies just as well today as it did in his day. Sin pervades people’s minds and works out in increasingly despicable actions, generation by generation.

My thoughts immediately went back to the events of the Second World War, and, in particular, the Holocaust. That desperately sad time when so many of God’s people, the Jews, were annihilated by Hitler’s “Perfect Plan”. But there have been many times in history and right up to today, where evil men and women have come up with their own “Perfect Plan”, usually involving crimes against their fellow members of societies. I say it again, “Sin pervades people’s minds and works out in increasingly despicable actions.” 

In this Psalm, and others, David calls on God to deal with such people. And if we are honest we do as well today, in our thoughts, in our prayers, and in our conversations. We look around us at world events, at things going on in our own countries, in our own societies and communities. When we see the evil acts that are taking place, we are faced with the reality that the pervasiveness of sin works out in many ways, from genocide to low level anti-social behaviour. Why doesn’t God deal with sin, and sinful and wicked people, once and for all and give us all peace? A good question for those taking the moral high ground, until they realise, as it says in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. We must therefore leave room for the grace of God.

Jesus taught the people of His day in parables, and one of them is entitled, “The Wheat and the Tares”, which we can read in Matthew 13. It refers to the fact that although righteous and wicked people live together, one day they will be separated. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him to explain the parable, He said, “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” So we have the picture of the wicked and righteous being dealt with “at the end of the age“, when there will be a time of judgement. But thankfully, there is a place for the righteous in the Kingdom of God.

So what can we all learn from these few verses? Firstly, we must keep away from making plans that do not conform to God’s principles. Proverbs 19:21 states, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” If we read and apply what we find in God’s planning manual we won’t go far wrong. Secondly, we must ensure that we are numbered with the righteous, not the wicked. And the only way we can accomplish that is through Jesus. Only He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. That is the real, and ultimate, “Perfect Plan”.