Stay Alert

Posted on by korgrocker

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.”
1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT

We may not like to think about this, but we pilgrims have an enemy. We may feel safe and secure in our Western societies, but look on in alarm at the wars and strife taking place in other parts of the world. As I write today, the war in Ukraine continues unabated, and the response by Israel to the Palestinian terror attacks is working out on the world stage, dominating the media. Even God’s chosen people, the Jews, are under attack and many of them fear for their lives. Who or what causes so much hatred and distrust between individuals and nations? Well, we have the answer in today’s verse – our “great enemy, the devil”. Peter wrote that he “prowls around like a roaring lion”, spreading evil and wickedness wherever he goes. The churches that Peter was writing to were themselves experiencing persecution of terrible proportions, and his encouragement contained both a warning and the means to combat it.

But firstly, we must consider who the devil is looking to devour. The devil is against anything to do with God. The devil was thrown out of Heaven for his pride and rebellion, and, because God is so much stronger then he is, he is having to make do with his next priority – God’s precious creation, mankind. So perhaps it would be a good place to start with who the devil is not devouring on Planet Earth. Obviously those people who deny the existence of the devil wouldn’t bother him. They are no threat to him at all. Then, anyone who hates the Jews, God’s chosen people, with their antisemitic language and behaviour, and acts of terrorism, won’t trouble him – in fact he is probably using this group to help him do the devouring. Then there are people who accept that he exists but who don’t cause him any difficulties because of disinterest or even acceptance. As I write this, it is coming up to the season of Halloween and the shops are full of scary outfits and pumpkins. The devil loves it because these people are just advertising his presence. And that leaves God’s children, the “born-again” believers who are willing and spiritually resourced to take the fight to the devil’s kingdom and tell people in his bondage about how to get free. That’s us pilgrims. As an aside, there are many Christians who don’t bother the devil very much at all. Christians who perhaps warm a pew in a church service on a Sunday every few weeks but do little else in God’s Kingdom. Hmmm…

When Jesus came to this world, He became a prime target for the devil. After all, if he could get the Son of God to sin then that would be a major coup. In Luke 4:1-2 we read, “Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry”. Jesus was both human and divine, man and God, and the devil tried to tempt Him through His humanity. We can read the three subsequent temptations of Jesus in the next few verses in Luke 4. In Hebrews 4:15 we read, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin”. And that’s the point. I’m sure Jesus suffered many temptations in His short life here in this world, but he withstood them all and never sinned.

The devil will always find a point of weakness in us, and will try and exploit it if at all possible. But we pilgrims need to stand firm in our faith. We note that Jesus used Scripture verses to counter the devil’s accusations, and so must we, by making sure we are using the Bible well. It contains all the resources we need to be able to withstand the devouring tactics of the enemy.

Father God. We pray for Your protection from the attacks of the enemy and deliverance from evil. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Our Hope

Posted on by korgrocker

“But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”
1 Peter 3:14-15 NLT

If the average person in the street was asked what they hoped for, I would expect a whole raft of responses. Perhaps someone might say they hoped to get married, or get a new home. A new job or promotion. I met a man recently who has never worked and, now in his forties, with a life blighted by alcoholism, he confessed that he would really like to get a job, though sadly for him, a hope never likely to be realised unless he can turn his back on his addiction. There may be flippant or unimportant responses, such as a hope for a nice day tomorrow, or for a white Christmas. Perhaps our person in the street, driven by tv advertising, is hoping to buy a new pair of designer trainers or afford a new phone. A materialistic hope would perhaps be commonplace. People generally have “hopes” in their lives, but what would they say if they were asked about any hopes they might have for the time after they die? Most unbelievers wouldn’t waste much time in thinking about such a “hope” because they would prefer to put their heads in the sand and hope it will never happen. A fear of dying is commonplace, though someone I once knew said he wasn’t at all afraid of death – he just didn’t want to be involved. But a hope for a post-death future is mostly only talked about amongst believers.

A worldly “hope” is nothing like the hope Peter is writing about in his letter. Peter referred to the “hope as a believer”. Is this different? There are many Scriptures that refer to “hope”. The go to New Testament verse is Hebrews 11:1, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see“. A believer’s “hope” involves faith in God, that what He has said will come to pass. And as we go on to read the rest of Hebrews 11 we see examples of men and women who have died full of faith in God, though failing to fully realise their hope. The fruition of their hope came with Jesus.

God says much in the Bible about who we are and what our future will be. Through faith we believe that what He has said is right and true. There is no room for doubts about God’s Word. The believer’s “hope” is therefore much more than what the world understands from the word. Our hope is based on the certainty that what God has said He will bring to pass. The believer’s hope is of course too good to keep to ourselves. We must share it with the sad and dying world around us. We are, or should be, full of joy, part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And others around us will see that joy and take note. We read in Acts 4:13, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus“. Do those people around us recognise that we too have spent time with Jesus? Some cynic once asked the question – if we are arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict us? No doubt about that with Peter and John before the Sanhedrin. With the hope that we possess, oozing out of our every pore, there should be no doubt with us either. To us pilgrims, our hope is a reality. We use the word “hope” because the evidence of our faith hasn’t happened yet. But the reality isn’t far away. Eternal life spent with God is coming closer with every clock tick. And then we will become “knowers” not “hopers”.

Dear Lord Jesus. We know that You are preparing a place for us to live with You. From what You said to the adjacent thief at Calvary, we know that it will be Paradise. We look forward to the coming day, where we will join You, the Living Hope. Amen.

Christ’s Example

Posted on by korgrocker

“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered [or died] for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.”
1 Peter 2:21-22 NLT

Jesus never sinned, as Peter rightly wrote. After all he should know because he spent three years or so with Jesus as He journeyed around the roads and paths, villages and towns, in Palestine. Those long days spent in His company would have revealed any sins, even those that were hidden, but of course there weren’t any. Paul also wrote that Jesus never sinned, as we read in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ“. And 1 John 3:5, “And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him“.

So how do we pilgrims follow someone who is sinless, when we have all this sin baggage? I suppose we must start by asking ourselves what it is that we do follow, because we all have a passion for something, if we really think about it. I’m writing this near St Andrews, one of the great golfing cities in Scotland. And there will be many today indulging their passion for golf, hitting a small white ball around some beautifully landscaped fairways and greens. Others follow football, or motor racing. The list is seemingly endless. But a passion for following Christ will, I suspect, be well down the list of things that people will follow in this secular society.

There is a cost to following Christ. He said, “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine” (Matthew 10:38). In Jesus’s day, the crowds followed Him, attracted by the miracles that He performed. Enjoying times like the day He fed 5,000 people. For those He healed, appreciating the freedom from long term disability and sickness. In modern parlance, Jesus was cool. A great guy to be around. However, people were more interested in what He did, rather than who He was. Jesus advised that prospective disciples should consider carefully what discipleship could mean. He said, as recorded in Luke 14:28, “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?”

Jesus also said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). And John 16:33, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world“.

Peter wrote, “[Jesus] is your example, and you must follow in his steps”. Jesus trod a road that was far from easy and it led to His death at Calvary. I’m not suggesting that we pilgrims will come to a violent end, but the road to our Promised Land won’t be an easy one. But Jesus knew the secret for holding on and finishing the course. He is there to help our every step. After all He said, “But take heart, because I have overcome the world“. As we stay close to Him He will do just that. It’s all about trust and faith in Him, our loving Saviour.

Dear Father God. we know that our choice to follow Jesus won’t be easy, but we’re grateful that You will be with us, day by day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.


The Resurrection

Posted on by korgrocker

“Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.”
1 Peter 1:21 NLT

The verse today amplifies a connection between God and man through God’s Son, Jesus. Before Jesus the gulf was too large, as we can see by reading the Old Testament scriptures. The Jews never seemed quite sure about the relationship and ended up by trying to make it rule based, a disaster that spawned people such as the Pharisees. Their attitude to following the rules to the exclusion of all else inspired Jesus to call them out, such as we read in Luke 11:42, “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things”. 

But when Jesus came He ushered in a new order. In Matthew 5:17,20 we read, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. … But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven”! The Old Testament rules and laws were intended to bring righteousness to mankind – if they were followed. God knew that, on their own, even His own chosen people could never become righteous and worthy enough to enter His presence by following a set of rules. 

In his Ephesian letter, Paul wrote, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:4-5). Through Jesus, and our belief in Him, we have the opportunity to achieve what following a set of rules couldn’t. 

Peter wrote that it was through Christ that we can now trust God, and have faith and hope in Him. The rules could never replace the relationship. Jesus came to this earth, becoming the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. And in the process he conquered death by returning to life on that first Easter Sunday. Suddenly, we have nothing more to fear from life’s final enemy, death. Jesus came to this earth as a man, and showed the way back to God, bringing hope to a hopeless world. God loved us so much, so what else can we do but respond to that love and be obedient and play our part in His plan for our salvation. The resurrection of Jesus was the one single event that has changed the course of history. Without the risen Christ there is no faith and hope. But because of the defeat of death, we pilgrims now have a hope for eternity. 

Of course, the sceptics will demand evidence. But that is where faith comes in. That Jesus lived on this planet is evidence based. He was really here. And His sinless life was recorded for posterity by a few faithful men who lived with Him. One of them, John, wrote, “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). And in the previous verses John wrote, “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 1:12-13).

Peter wrote that we can find faith and hope in God because Jesus rose from the dead. And He is now deserving of all the thanks and glory. The greeting “He is risen” is not just for Easter Sunday. It is a reality we can embrace each day of our lives.

Dear Lord Jesus. We thank You for Your ultimate sacrifice at Calvary, and that wonderful event when You returned from the grave. You are alive today and forever. Amen.

Paul’s Prayer

Posted on by korgrocker

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13 NLT

The word “hope” appears twice in this verse, and it points out that the hope Paul is writing about is something that comes from God. So it isn’t a natural hope, like “I hope it doesn’t rain today” or “I hope we have a good holiday”. Paul continues to pray in the next sentence that this “hope” is something full of confidence and powered by the Holy Spirit. And the consequence of this “hope” is a complete infilling with two qualities enjoyed by Christians – “joy and peace”. Perhaps when we consider this verse we are looking for a meaning to the word “hope” that is different from the world view.

As we look into other parts of the Bible we see that “hope” is a word often associated with “faith”. We read Hebrews 11:1 from the Amplified version, “Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]” (emphasis mine). It’s the fact that a Christian’s “hope” is “divinely guaranteed” that is exciting. We believe through faith that the promises of God will come to pass. We “trust in Him”, as Paul wrote.

What God-given promise is most likely to fill us with “joy and peace”? A “hope” that God has guaranteed? There are many such hopes written in the Bible, but where else can we initially turn to other than to John 3:16? We read, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. The promise is that one day we will “have everlasting life”. Eternal life. Endless life spent in God’s presence. In Revelation 21:3-4, we receive a hint of what this future life will be like. “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” “Death or sorrow or crying or pain” just about sums up every negative human emotion and experience and we “hope” that one day God will deliver the promise to do away with them “forever”. And, poignantly, God will personally be involved with each one of us, wiping away our tears.

In the meantime, we have a “hope” in this life. Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope“. As we journey through the years remaining in our natural lives, God reminds us that He has good plans for us. He sees our years laid out before us, and He knows what’s coming our way. Perhaps some people view this as a negative. Weary people populating a pew and waiting for the day when they cross the Great Divide and enter eternal life. But God has so much more for us in this life. Exciting things. Things that are the manifestation of our hope in Him. And Paul’s prayer was that we would experience “joy and peace” as we “trust in Him”. What a prayer! But what a Saviour!

Dear Lord. Thank You for showing a world without hope that there is a future. We are a part of Your plans, and so we declare our trust in You with our future, in this life and the next. Amen.

Rejoice in Hope

Posted on by korgrocker

“Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”
Romans 12:12 NLT

What do we hope for? The answer will depend on our circumstances. A resident of Ukraine will be hoping for an end to the current war. A young single mum in poor quality accommodation will be hoping for something better. A young man stuck in a dead end job will be hoping for a new opportunity. People hope that they will win the lottery. After another breakdown, a driver will be hoping that they can afford a new car. A student will be hoping that they get a good mark in their finals. An old person lying in a hospital bed will be hoping that they can get home soon. The list of “hopes” is endless, and totally related to our circumstances at the time. But these are all temporal “hopes”, grounded in our humanity and time being spent on Planet Earth. They all refer to a “hope” pinned to a point sometime in the future. Possibly to come to fruition, if at all, in a day or two. Or years away. The “hope” of mankind is a wistful thought, unlikely to happen, but rooted in a fantasy, often totally unrealistic but imagined anyway. Call it wishful thinking.

Paul wrote about a different “hope”. Galatians 5:5, “For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope”. Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”. Romans 8:23-25, “And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)” Can we see the picture that is building through these Scriptures? Through our relationship with God we have faith that what He has said will come to pass. So our hope is much more than wishful thinking. It is rooted and grounded by faith in the assurance, through the Holy Spirit living within us, that one day we will be in God’s presence, with all that means.

Paul was convinced that the hope he had was going to happen. He started his letter to Titus, “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness – in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time” (Titus 1:1-2, emphasis mine). No messing about with Paul. His hope for the future and eternal life was based on something far more tangible than human hopes and wishes. It was based on his faith that what God said will happen will indeed happen one day. 

We pilgrims have a message of hope for this hopelessly dark and evil world. We too have a “hope” like Paul’s, sharing His faith and assurance. And we must tell those around us, in our families, communities, schools, and workplaces, that Heaven is real, and Jesus saves all who come to Him. Living out our hope will not be easy. We will experience ridicule and persecution. Opportunities in this world may be lost to us. We will have to make difficult choices as we live out the hope we have for an eternal future. However, Jeremiah exposed God’s heart when he wrote, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11, emphasis mine). Wherever we are in our Christian walk, we have a hope, an assurance even, that one day in the future we will be with God in Heaven. The Holy Spirit who lives within us says so. 

Dear Father God. One day we will be with You in Heaven. You promised us that in Your Word. You said it, so we believe it. We pray that this transformational truth will motivate and empower us as we share the Good News with all around us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Showing Kindness

Posted on by korgrocker

“In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”
Romans 12:6-8 NLT

The last of the seven motivational spiritual gifts is the “gift for showing kindness to others”. Other translations refer to this as the gift of mercy. Someone who shows mercy has detected in another person spiritual or emotional needs that others may overlook. We are all very good, most of the time, in covering up what we really feel. So as we walk through the church door on a Sunday morning, we might be asked the usual question – “How are you today?” To which we respond – “Fine”. The questioner doesn’t know that there may be turmoil within us. We may be worried about all sorts of things but to stop at that point and explain why we’re not “Fine” isn’t an option. It would just exacerbate the situation, at least for us. So we adopt a cheery demeanour and push back. The mask holds firm.

But someone with the Holy Spirit gift of mercy has been given a divine insight into the deep and hidden needs of the other person. So they won’t be put off by the “fine” response and will choose a moment when they can show the kindness and love the other person needs. A merciful person won’t be put off by a prickly response. Also, they will always be kind to the underdog, to someone who is different in some way. 

Jesus taught that we should show mercy to our enemies. Luke 6:35-36, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”. Now that is hard. Show mercy to someone who wants to harm you? But as Jesus said, we have a Heavenly Father who shows kindness to the “ungrateful and wicked”. But isn’t that what we were? Did He not show us kindness when we were far away from Him, living a life of sin? When we deserved punishment did He not mercifully forgive us through Jesus and His sacrifice at Calvary? A merciful person will have a different perspective when confronted by images of our enemies because they will see them as God sees them – with kindness and mercy.

In Matthew 5:7, Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy”. The implication is that as we are merciful to others, we too will somehow receive mercy, and blessings. James developed this theme, as recorded in James 2:12-13, “So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you”. It looks as though acts of mercy are not optional, if we wish to be shown mercy ourselves.

We pilgrims are followers of Jesus. And he was the kindest and most merciful man who has ever existed. We walk in His footsteps, praying for the right opportunities to be merciful to others, and praying for the Holy Spirit to work within us, enhancing and transforming our merciful thoughts and deeds. 

Dear Lord Jesus. We thank You for all You have done, and still continue to do, for us. In these brutal and unloving days, please help us to reflect Your love and kindness to those around us. Amen.

Personal Gifts

Posted on by korgrocker

“In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophecy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.”
Romans 12:6 NLT

Paul develops his theme of the body of Christ, the church, being made up of individual people, and he wrote to the Christians in Rome, pointing out that God had given each of them a “different gift”, “for doing certain things well”. We don’t know much about the Roman church, or churches, and what giftings were present, but we can be sure that the spiritual gifts were present there. It was as though Paul was reminding them of this fact. Paul also told them that it was through God’s grace that they were given the gifts, and he highlighted the gift of prophecy. Was this the most important or just the first that came to his mind? We also see that the gifts Paul mentioned in the following verses in addition to prophecy – serving, teaching, encouraging, leading, giving, and showing mercy or kindness – were all there for the benefit of the local church. These were gifts that formed the “glue” that held them all together. There was something about the Holy Spirit empowering the gifts so that they become far more effective than any natural equivalent. Peter also said that God has a “great variety of spiritual gifts” (1 Peter 4:10), so perhaps the seven listed here in Romans 12 were just a few out of many. 

Is it the case that the church today has the same spiritual gifts that were bestowed upon the First Century Christians? Is it being presumptuous to reply in the affirmative? There is nothing that I can find in Scripture that says the gifts were only for the First Century AD, or the Apostolic age, so I think it is safe to assume that the spiritual gifts are still alive and well today. We should note that the Romans 12 gifts are gifts for service. Paul lists some more in 1 Corinthians 12, gifts such as healing and faith, miracles and knowledge, all gifts manifesting the power of the Holy Spirit. 

But before we get into the list of “certain things”, are we personally sure that we do, in fact, have a spiritual gift? How do we know? Well, first of all, Paul said that God has given us “different gifts“. 1 Peter 4:10, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another“. 1 Corinthians 12:7,“A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other“. If God has said it, then we must have it. Is it wrong to say that to deny that we have a spiritual gift is to deny God? 

So, how do we find our spiritual gift or gifts (some people have more than one)? They can only be found by seeking God, though there are some helps that He has provided. Things like, do we feel a rise in our spirits at the mention of a particular gift? Or is there a friend who has pointed out to us something we are particularly good at? We should of course beware of looking for gifts that we think are a good idea rather than what God really has planned for us. 

Our loving Heavenly Father so kindly knows our shortcomings, and how we need much encouragement. He provides these practical gifts to help us and our churches, helping us shine as beacons in the world around us.

Dear Heavenly Father. We thank You for Your graciousness, so sensitive and practical, providing all that we need for our Christian lives today. Amen.

The Message

Posted on by korgrocker

“But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (to bring Christ down to earth). And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” In fact, it says, “The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” And that message is the very message about faith that we preach:”
Romans 10:6-8 NLT

Paul said to his readers that there is nothing difficult about the “message”, the Good News about Jesus and His sacrifice at Calvary. God’s grace is a simple concept. We don’t have to explain it. We can’t dissect it. We can’t stop it from being there. We can’t stop others from grasping its significance and believing in it. The problem for the early Christians in Rome is that, somehow, it was too simple. After all, they had this complex system of rules and regulations, the Law. Now that was something they could really understand and could apply in a tick box fashion. Haven’t murdered anyone today – tick. Haven’t committed adultery with anyone’s wife – tick. But such a system can never get someone right with God because it’s not about tick boxes, it’s about the state of our hearts. Do we love our wives and children, and treat them well? Do we honour our parents and love them sacrificial? And, above all, do we love God with all of our hearts? Being obedient to Him? Trusting Him even when life’s troubles threaten to overwhelm us? Why is it that us humans will always make things complicated when there is a simple answer?

Paul quoted the verse from Deuteronomy 30:14, but here is verse 11 as well, “This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach. …. No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it” (Deuteronomy 30:11,14). The Message translation of the verses from Romans 10 reads as follows, “So what exactly was Moses saying? The word that saves is right here, as near as the tongue in your mouth, as close as the heart in your chest. It’s the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching”. What Paul was saying was that the message of hope that we pilgrims have is nothing complicated. We don’t have to attend a Bible school or Seminary to learn it and understand it. The moment that we put our trust and faith in Christ we receive all the understanding and learning that we need. We immediately have the mandate to share the same message with those around us. Whoever they are. Friend or foe. Family members or neighbours. Simple?

But it can’t be that simple, we hear. Surely there is more to it than that, they say. But, sadly, many say they don’t need the message of hope, love and grace. We’re doing ok by ourselves; we’ll do life our way. We’ll take our chances before God – if He even exists.

We pilgrims mustn’t give up. Paul wasted no time in sharing the message about Jesus. We read in Acts 9:20, just days after his conversion, “And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”” In fact, his zealousness was so intense and all-consuming that the Jews in Damascus were going to murder him, so the solution was a clandestine escape for Paul, “So during the night, some of the other believers lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the city wall” (Acts 9:25). He started his mission again in Jerusalem and another plot was devised to end his life, this time by the Greek-speaking Jews. So in Acts 9:30-31 we read, “When the believers heard about this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus, his hometown. The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.” Paul became too hot to hold, but his zealousness for the Gospel of Jesus Christ never left him. 

How zealous are we pilgrims in our faith, and our willingness to share the Gospel? Are we an all or nothing person like Paul, prepared to forsake all for God? In Matthew 5, Jesus gave an illustration about salt and light. We are the seasoning in our communities. We are beacons of light in a dark world. We may never be Pauls, articulate and convincing in what we say. But nevertheless, we are all equipped to share the simple message. We do it with our lives and, if necessary, we use words to back it. Those around us who don’t know Jesus will be watching us, to see if the message we bring makes a difference in our lives. We love God so much, so what else can we do? 

Dear God. Thank You for trusting us with the sharing of Your message of Good News, so necessary in this dark and sinful world. Please help us to truly shine as a beacon of faith to those around us. In Jesus same. Amen.

Totally Convinced (4)

Posted on by korgrocker

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NLT

Paul finishes his musings about God’s love and what could get in the way with it, by writing a catch-all statement. Just in case he had missed something that might possibly block him from experiencing God’s love, he included the thought that there was nothing that God had created that would apply. And because God created everything, that was a very complete and conclusive statement. 

But in all of Paul’s thoughts, he missed out one very important entity that will block us from God, and that is our sin. It won’t stop God from loving us, of course, but a sinful human being can never enter His presence. The purity and holiness that is God’s very essence can never be soiled by sin in any form. The rebellious devil and his angels were evicted from Heaven because sin could never be allowed there. Heaven is a very real place with very real conditions, and sin won’t be one of them.

Are there ever any times when we pilgrims feel isolated and forgotten by God? Have we ever felt that our prayers never go beyond our ceilings? Just when we need God in a situation, does He seem to have gone on holiday somewhere? However, we can be assured that God will never forget us, or leave us. What God said through Joshua in Joshua 1:9 applies just as much today as it did then. He said, “This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”. Some of the last words Jesus spoke before He ascended into Heaven were the reassurances that He will always be with us, His disciples. Matthew 28:20, “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age”.

So if God has never left us, how is it that we can feel that He has? Sin may get in the way, of course. And our enemy, the devil and his forces, may have a part in it. But sometimes that is how things are. At times of apparent spiritual isolation, it is our faith that keeps us going. God is always there for us. So we continue to pray, read our Bibles, fellowship with other Christians, because that is what faith does. We perhaps evaluate what we’re doing, just to make sure that a spiritual error of one kind or another hasn’t crept into our devotional lives.  But sadly, I have known people who return to their old lives in a sinful world, because of their doubts and lack of faith. Instead of pressing through they turn around on their journey, complaining that God’s demands are too hard for them, perhaps convincing themselves in the process that God doesn’t exist anyway. We who are strongest in our Christian walk need to encourage our weaker brothers and sisters to keep the faith. 

Paul wrote that nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love. That is a statement that underpins our faith. It is a pillar on which our future is built. If the Bible has recorded such a statement we cannot ignore it. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write it. Perhaps He is inspiring us to heed it.

Father God. We know You are always there for us. Thank You. Amen.