“Imitate Me”

Posted on by korgrocker

“So I urge you to imitate me. That’s why I have sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach in all the churches wherever I go.”
1 Corinthians 4:16-17 NLT

On his second missionary journey, Paul left one major city, Athens, and moved to another, Corinth. There he made the acquaintance of another tent maker, Aquila, and his wife Priscilla, fellow Jews who had been evicted from Rome by the Roman emperor at that time, Claudius Caesar. After opposition from the local synagogue, Paul, with the help of his colleagues Timothy and Silas, started the Corinthian church in the house next door. And in Acts 18:11, we read, “So Paul stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God”. Paul reminded the Corinthians that he was their spiritual father because he introduced them to Jesus through the Message of the Cross, the Good News of salvation through Jesus. Knowing Paul, the grounding in the faith that they received would have been faultless, but the Corinthians became proud and arrogant, and Paul wrote, referring to their spiritual state, “You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us! I wish you really were reigning already, for then we would be reigning with you” (1 Corinthians 4:8). 

The Corinthians must have been drawn into error from somewhere other than their leaders, because Paul and Apollos would have taught them correctly. They had the Old Testament Scriptures to refer to, of course, but it takes very little to skew and distort the Gospel, particularly as our enemy, the devil, is alive and active, just as much as today. It might be worth asking ourselves the question, “Would we have behaved in the same way, had we been in that congregation?”. So, we too must also be on our guard, because it is easy to become lop-sided in our faith. As an example, I was once in a church in my early days as a believer, where the pastoral care and relationships amongst the Christians there were excellent, so good in fact that I, as a new Christian, had a feeling that new people might have a detrimental effect on the church. How did that happen? There was a wealth of good teaching on edifying and growing the believers there, but perhaps teaching on evangelism was given insufficient weight, or, more likely, I ignored it. Thankfully, my perspective has changed, and I have much to thank my spiritual fathers for. Paul was sure of his teaching, and he commended Apollos as well for his, so the faults Paul outlined, of a congregation prone to judgment, factionalism, quarrelling and general arguing, did not start with them. Paul wrote this letter during his third missionary journey, probably from Ephesus, as reports of what was going on in Corinth reached him. 

Paul told the Corinthians to imitate him. There is much in that because Paul was a teacher and they were his audience. He was saying that they must look at what he was doing, and follow not only his teaching but also consider the practical aspects of his life. They had taken the good bits from his sermons and ignored those parts that they weren’t too happy about. To imitate Paul, they had to consider that their lives would not necessarily be comfortable any more. Paul suffered much to share the Gospel, and not just with them. Paul wrote, “Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us” (1 Corinthians 4:11-12). Their comfortable lives would have to be cast aside because there was a new order in play. Instead of being what they had always been first, their world had to be turned around so that Christ was their first priority. I used to know a lovely man who was a blacksmith by trade. He was first and foremost a believer, and that governed his life. Every spare moment of his life was devoted to serving Jesus, and his business cards had his name followed by “Christian and Blacksmith”. There was no doubt in the minds of his customers where his loyalties lay. 

The same principle applies today to us pilgrims. Because we are diligent followers of Christ, we are always prepared and ready to put Him first in our daily lives. No more self-first and God second. It’s God first, and everything else follows. Paul urged the Corinthians to pattern their lives after his. This was not pride and ego at work. Paul was not trying to set himself up as a kind of cult leader. He was not asking to be called by the title of “father,” or demanding any other honour. He did not want to take the place of Christ in their lives. Instead, he was describing the pattern of Christian discipleship. He was saying to the Corinthians, “I have taught you what to believe, now follow my example of how to live it out.” Paul said to Timothy, “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). Paul wanted the Corinthians to follow the example of his lifestyle described in the previous verses. There, he described himself and the other apostles as leading lives of poverty, considered as foolish by the world for Christ’s sake, and mistreated for their association with Him. Instead of retaliating or running away, though, they followed Jesus’ example by doing good to those who treated them badly. Paul wanted the Corinthians to do as he did, to give up chasing wealth and trying to gain the respect of the unbelievers in their culture and to serve Christ first and above all.

There is a cost to being a Christian. We are a counter-cultural people who say “no” when the secularists around us say “yes”. We stand in the gap protecting those who are defenceless and without hope. We share the good news about Jesus with those who are heading for a lost eternity, hoping and praying that the seeds we plant will bear the fruit of salvation. And we imitate Paul and follow Christ’s teaching, holding our worldly gifts and assets with open hands, always ready to bless those who curse us, always shining like beacons in a world of darkness. That is what being a Christian is all about. Paul’s life was far from comfortable, but he was faithful to the end, despising the comforts of those around him, allowing nothing to divert him from his mission. We all do not have a calling like Paul, but a calling is what we have, and we allow nothing to get in the way of what God wants us to do. 

Father God. We commend ourselves to You once again because we are here to serve You and Your people. Please lead and guide us in the paths You wish us to take. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Ransom Israel

Posted on by korgrocker

“O God, ransom Israel from all its troubles.”
Psalm 25:22 NLT
“Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles!”
Psalm 25:22 NIVUK
“O God, redeem Israel, Out of all his troubles.”
Psalm 25:22 AMP

‭‭‭‭”Ransom”, “Deliver”, or “Redeem”. Three different words yet they mean the same thing for a nation in bother. David prayed for his nation, that it would be saved from destruction. Ever since their fathers founded the Jewish nation, they have experienced troubles, usually, though, of their own making. The Jews taken into captivity and living in foreign lands were nearly destroyed by the ploys of Haman – the full account is recorded in the Book of Esther. As we read through the Book of Judges, we see the oppression experienced by Israel from the nations that surrounded them. In more recent years the Jews have experienced antisemitic pogroms in Russian and ethnic cleansing by Hitler as he tried to eliminate the Jewish race entirely. Even today, there are so called historians who deny the holocaust even happened, another antisemitic attitude. Antisemitism is rife in today’s world, probably bolstered by Israel’s attempts to eliminate Palestinian and other terrorists. But such antagonism against God’s chosen people has always been there ever since their origins. We pilgrims know why, of course, because the enemy of all the children of God wants to eliminate them and destroy them. However, once a believer in God is in His Kingdom, the devil can never get at their souls. He may destroy and harass their physical bodies but their souls are off limits for him. And the Jewish nation will prevail over all the devil’s ploys. 

So David’s prayer was partly prophetic in that he saw coming more “troubles” for his nation. The prophet Zechariah had much to write about concerning Israel, and we pick up his prophecies in Zechariah 13:1, “On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity“. A day is coming, he said, when Israel will be redeemed. We pilgrims know when that was, with Jesus coming to redeem mankind from their sins. But there was more to his prophecy if we read on and in verse 8 we find, “Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die,” says the Lord. “But one-third will be left in the land“. That didn’t happen when Jesus came so we must assume that Zechariah was referring to a time far into the future, a time we read about in John’s Revelation. Verse 9 then tells us what will happen to the third spared from being “cut-off”, “I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God’”. Regardless of all their troubles, and after many years, there will come a time when the Jewish people will rise up victorious over all their enemies, and, more, will be restored to the relationship with God that they should have had all along. 

We pilgrims, as far as I know, are not of Jewish origin, but we are so blessed to be included in God’s plan anyway. Jesus said, “I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd” (John 10:16). We look back to that Cross on Calvary’s hill and kneel before the crucified Lord in deep gratitude for His redemption. We have embraced His offer of salvation for all eternity and respond in love and thanks for His grace and mercy. 

Today, if the word “ransom” comes up, it is usually with extremely negative connotations, connected to “ransomware” or some other form of extortion, providing yet another example of how the devil has twisted and manipulated our lives for his own anti-God purposes. Paul wrote to Timothy and included these words, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time” (1 Timothy 2:5-6). Human beings were, and still are, in captivity to the forces of darkness but Jesus paid the price to ransom them from the devil’s clutches, should they choose to follow, and believe in, Jesus.. 

There is an old hymn I still love to sing, and first verse goes, 
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
To his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!

“Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven”, four words that describe our redemption through Jesus. We indeed do praise the “king of Heaven”, the “everlasting King”. And will do forever.

Dear God. We praise You today, our wonderful Creator Father. We have been restored to how You intended us to be through Your Son Jesus and we are eternally grateful. Amen.

The First Denial

Posted on by korgrocker

“Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus. Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?” “No,” he said, “I am not.” Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.”
John 18:15-18 NLT

A Christian university student, hearing about a terrible atrocity where a gunman had murdered students in an American university, asked her mum what she should do if a similar situation occurred when she was in a class and the gunman asked all the Christians to stand up before they were killed. Should she stay seated, effectively denying her faith, or should she stand up and be shot? A dilemma if ever there was one, I think we can all agree. But we read in today’s verses how Peter was asked if he was a disciple of Jesus and he denied it. It could be argued that by denial, Peter was making a decision that might have preserved his life, or at least help him avoid unnecessary hassle. We remember Peter’s statement of allegiance to Jesus, and the Master’s response, as recorded in Matthew 26:33-35, “Peter declared, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” “No!” Peter insisted. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the other disciples vowed the same“. So why did Peter go back on his word?

I suppose we have to ask ourselves the question, what would we have done in similar circumstances? Jesus said, and as recorded in Matthew 10:32-33, “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven”. ‭‭We Western pilgrims are unlikely to face the same situation that Peter did, but in our daily lives we will face situations where a declaration of our faith in Jesus will be required. In the office or school, with our families or friends. What do we do when faced with hostility, real or imagined, because of our Christian faith, when it would cause us less pain to deny Jesus? I was often resented in the office because I refused to engage with the smutty and misogynistic conversations, or join my work colleagues in after work drinking sessions. But I was never going to deny Jesus. But that is not to say I have always been open and transparent with my faith; instead, in certain situations, having been “expedient” with the truth, particularly in my young Christian days. I think most believers will say the same. We read later how Jesus gently drew Peter back to his faith, and he never wavered again.

As the old song says, “there’s a way back to God from the dark paths of sin”, and before the Cross, in repentance, our loving Saviour will forgive us, pick us up, dust us off, and send us on the way again. The way of truth, the Jesus way. 

By the way, the mum’s answer to her daughter was that she should stay seated in such a situation, because such a terrifying moment would not have been in God’s plan for her and instead would have been the work of the devil. She said that her daughter was a child of God not of the devil and only her Father God’s voice should be obeyed. A good answer? But thankfully the young lady concerned never had to put her mum’s answer to the test, and has now graduated and moved on.

In nautical terminology there is an expression “to nail one’s colours to the mast”. This means that a ship’s crew, when faced with a dangerous situation, have resolved to fight on and they nail the ship’s flag to the mast to confirm their determination. We pilgrims have God’s colours at our disposal, and we nail them to every mast we come across to signify that we will never deny Jesus and will continue to follow Him all the days of our lives.

Father God. We sing together the old song, “We have decided to follow Jesus”. There is no other person to follow. There is none other who is the “Way, the Truth and the Life. We praise You today. Amen.

Stop Sinning

Posted on by korgrocker

“But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.”
John 5:14-15 NLT

The man healed by Jesus at the Pool of Bethesda had been pulled up by the Jewish leaders for carrying his sleeping mat on the Sabbath. They accused the man for working on the Sabbath, exposing their nit-picking approach to religious life. But they sensed an opportunity to extend the focus of their policing, by asking for the name of the person who had told the man to carry his mat. Perhaps, they thought, there was an imposter interpreting the Jewish law incorrectly. But they were too late because Jesus had disappeared into the crowds.

But we read next in John’s account that Jesus found the man who had been healed in the Temple. Did he still have his sleeping mat with him? Was he there to praise and thank God for his healing? Or was he making his way home and found himself in the Temple because he had been caught up with the crowds? But whatever the reason for him being there, Jesus found him, “and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” An interesting statement, loaded with meaning, and one which was just as spiritually life changing as the physical healing had been. I suppose an obvious question we can ask is if the man’s thirty eight years of disability was due to some sort of sin in his life. The implication is there that it was. The psychiatrists and medics today have apparently made a connection between a mental state and a physical ailment. There are also some who may draw the conclusion that the man at the Pool had been punished by God for his sin. But Jesus wasn’t interested in the reason for the man’s paralysis – that was history. He was now concerned about the man’s future.

Regarding sin, we are all expected to follow repentance and forgiveness by a change in lifestyle or behaviour. So, for example, if a man repents of his addiction to pornography, he is subsequently expected to turn his back on the magazines and internet sources of the material. Repentance, God’s forgiveness, must be followed by a change in behaviour. Of course, we will stumble and fall again, but our heart-felt desire is to change and be set free from the sin that has entangled us in its web. Thankfully, God is gracious and merciful, and quick to forgive a repentant sinner.

We don’t hear any more about the man at the Pool. But I’m sure that after his healing encounter with Jesus he would have turned his life around. What else could he do? And for us pilgrims, we too have had an encounter with Jesus. We have turned our backs on sin and sinful lives, choosing instead to follow the Master for the rest of our lives.

Dear Lord Jesus. As the old hymn says, “I have decided to follow Jesus, … no turning back, no turning back”. We sing that song again and again, Lord, each and every day. Amen.

The Invitation

Posted on by korgrocker

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.”
John 1:43-44 NLT

Not everyone responded positively to Jesus’ invitation “Come, follow Me”. There was a time when he received excuses as to why He couldn’t be followed, as we read in Matthew 8:19-22, “Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.”“ Reading between the lines we can see that there was a reluctance to follow Jesus, because the cost of doing so was beyond what the people concerned were prepared to pay. 

But in our verses today, we see that Jesus found Philip, not the other way round. People in religious circles often refer to a “calling” and often one of the caring professions is indeed called that. And a minister or pastor also refer to their role as a response to Jesus’ call. In Jesus’ day, the call “Come, follow Me” resulted in a life of potential hardship and we only have to look through the Book of Acts to see what happened to those early disciples. Today, many people who follow Jesus end up in situations that require 100% dedication. People like Jackie Pullinger for example. But for everyday pilgrims such as ourselves, we mostly have just to be available to Jesus with our resources, our time and money. And we follow Him at every opportunity, supporting His mission to grow His church. 

So the invitation from Jesus constantly hangs in the air. It doesn’t go away. Everyone living in the world can respond at any time. And we pilgrims do our best to ensure that the invitation is never hidden or suppressed. 

Dear Lord Jesus. We have responded to Your call “Come, follow Me”, and echo the words at the end of Revelation, “Come Lord Jesus”. Amen.

The Shepherd

Posted on by korgrocker

“Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.”
1 Peter 2:25 NLT

Peter introduced a pastoral theme into this last verse of 1 Peter 2. He compared human beings with sheep, who have behaved as sheep tend to behave, which is to wander off and get lost or into trouble somewhere. I remember a pastor of a church I once attended telling of the time when he was out jogging past a field early one morning. Just over the fence he noticed a ewe stuck in a thorn bush by its long hair, and unable to escape. He managed to free it after a struggle, and the sheep ran off, but it is perhaps such a story that was in Peter’s mind when he wrote this verse today. Sheep seem unable to avoid getting into trouble or danger.

Jesus had compassion for the people he met, as we read in Matthew 9:36, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd“. Jesus had been announcing to them the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He had “healed every kind of disease and illness” (Matthew 9:35b). But sheep, and people, are prone to wandering off and they eventually find themselves lost or in trouble. If a person follows their own desires, they will probably find that there is a downside to the choices they have made, like sheep. But what do people without God do? Who do they follow? The politicians won’t help. Most of them are only concerned about short term benefits, particularly to themselves. Social media advice can be misleading at best and, when followed, a “herd” mentality takes over. “Well, everyone is doing it” is a popular comment.

There is only one way to find a risk-free environment for our souls and that is to follow Jesus. It won’t be easy. But it will be exciting. Look what is involved. In Mark 1:17 we see that following Jesus costs Simon Peter his job as a fisherman, “Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”” The early disciples were enthusiastic followers of Jesus. But others were invited and had excuses, as we read in Matthew 8:19-22, “Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.””

In Jesus’ presence, and as we follow Him, He will indeed be the “Guardian of our souls”. In the Holy Spirit’s embrace we will find what we need. Matthew 11:28-30, “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.””

Of course, not everyone we meet will accept the invitation to enjoy Jesus’ wonderful Guardianship. But that should not prevent pilgrims like us from introducing them to Him, the Master and our Lord.

Dear Lord Jesus. Only You have the power to keep our souls safe until the glorious day when You will come into Your Kingdom. We praise and worship You today. 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.