The Prisoner

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles –”
Ephesians 3:1 NIVUK

Paul is in prison. Not a pleasant experience in those days. A dirty, rat-infested and cold cell of misery. No sanitary arrangements worthy of the name. So why is he there when he needn’t be? Paul was probably arrested and imprisoned several times and we have accounts, brief glimpses of his penitentiary experiences, in Acts 16 and again in Acts 21. And all because Paul was an active and effective preacher of God’s Word, the Gospel of Good News. He refused to keep a low profile and ended up arrested, imprisoned and beaten. His life story is recorded in the Bible and through scraps of history from other sources. 

So Paul was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. The problem is because the Gospel, the message of Good News about the Kingdom of God, confronts the status quo. It encourages people to face the fact that “all have sinned” and points out the consequences continuing to live in sin, in the darkness of the devil’s ways. This counter-cultural view upset the Jews of Paul’s day – they thought that the only way to God was through them and their religious culture and customs – and because the Gospel also reached and included the non-Jews, the Gentiles, who the Jews despised. But Paul wasn’t fazed by any of this and continued to preach the Gospel regardless, to the detriment of his freedom. But we should be clear – Jesus Himself, the Son of God, lost His life for the same cause. And He warned His followers that they would be treated in a similar way. In Matthew 10 we read His words, “Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you….”

What about preaching the Gospel in a public place in 21st Century Western societies? “Free speech” is a hot topic in the UK in these days, with people and lobby groups constantly wanting to “cancel” any messages they disagree with. And Christians are increasingly being attacked for their faith. There is even legislation before the UK parliaments that would seek to make preaching the Christian message illegal. 

Would we be prepared to go to prison, to be persecuted, for our faith? Many Christians throughout the world are facing into the consequences of openly being a Christian, especially in places like North Korea and Afghanistan. Pushing back the frontiers of the enemy, the devil, will invoke a violent reaction. At the present time in our Western societies, we are free to hold church meetings and bring our message of hope to our streets. But it may not always be that way. We must pray for our communities, our nations, our families, that God will have mercy on us and graciously and lovingly support us in His mission of reaching the lost. While we still have time. But one day we might just have to choose between freedom and imprisonment, between keeping quiet or denying the Gospel, or preaching it regardless, to whoever will listen. Hmmm…

One With Christ

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to Him through the blood of Christ.”
Ephesians‬ ‭2:13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What does being one with Christ actually mean? Superficially, being that close to someone who died over 2000 years ago would seem to be the stuff of a science fiction novel. And do we have the capability to be that close with anyone, because we are each created as unique individuals? We all have walls we put up. We all tend to keep people at arms length most of the time. So the questions I ask today will puzzle us until we realise that Jesus introduced us to the Holy Spirit. In John 14:26, Jesus said, “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” The Holy Spirit unites us with Christ. So as pilgrims continuing on our journey through life, we are not alone. We are always in the presence of the Holy Spirit. He is always there to call upon. He is the gentle whisper at the crossroads of life, leading and guiding us as though Jesus was right there with us. 

Paul reminds his readers yet again that through God’s grace they are close to Him. At one time they were so far away they didn’t even know He existed. The God-yearnings inside of them were filled with other gods. Counterfeit deities that failed to satisfy. But Jesus provided the opportunity for all peoples, not just His chosen people, to be united with Him. And that was possible through His sacrificial death at Calvary, where His blood was shed for us all. 

So as pilgrims we continue through life, one step at a time. In deep gratitude for the Helper at our side. Unified with Christ. Blessed beyond measure. Today we hit the refresh button. Today we have the opportunity to reboot our lives and include the Holy Spirit update once again. As we open ourselves to Him we expose a new dimension of living, oneness with Christ.

‭‭

Outsiders

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.”
‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:11-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Jews considered themselves, and still do, a race set apart. God’s own people. And the Jewish opinion of non-Jews was the derogatory phrase used by Paul, “uncircumcised heathens“. Sadly, the act of circumcision became a symbol of great pride to the Jews. What was originally designed to set them apart as God’s special people became pointless – God desired circumcised hearts, devoted and obedient to Him. But Jesus changed all of that. He set the scene in the famous Scripture, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…“. This “world” set out an all-encompassing , all-inclusive description of the nations that populated the planet at the time when Jesus was having his chat with Nicodemus. And by further analysis of Scripture, the “world” is inclusive of all people, then and now. But Jesus focused His ministry on His own people, the Jews. And after His death and resurrection His master plan kicked in – where better to start a new God-world order than with God’s chosen people. And His chosen disciples. 

Cornelius, the Centurion, had the distinction of being the first Gentile person converted, though did the Samaritan women in John 4 come into the “Gentile” category? But come what may, Jesus gave us a commission  – Matthew 28:19 and Acts 1:8. The Samaritans and the people called “Gentiles” saw the fruit of it. The Ephesian church was in the main populated by Gentiles and Paul reminded them that they used to be “outsiders“. They were “living apart from Christ” and “excluded from citizenship among the people if Israel“. Not a lot going for them until, that is, they embraced the Gospel in all its fullness. 

The “covenant promises” Paul referred to was the Old Testament covenant, that was exclusively claimed by the Jews. Unless they converted to Judaism, Gentiles, the “outsiders” and “uncircumcised heathens“, had no Old Covenant blessing. But the Jews and Gentiles together, those who believed in Jesus, were the first fruits of the New Covenant of God’s love and grace.

In our pilgrimage through life can you imagine what it must be like “without God and without hope“? What a dark, depressing place that must be. And yet so many people in today’s societies are in that place. Forced to rely on their own resources – pilgrims without God neither know where they are going or what life holds in the future. Living in the “now” is ok as far as it goes, but sooner or later the “now” comes to an abrupt halt and suddenly becomes that place Paul mentioned – a place “without God and without hope“. We must continually look for opportunities where we can open the door wide enough for the “outsiders” to become “insiders”. And never lose sight of the fact that it is through God’s grace we are “citizens” in His kingdom.

God’s Power

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honour at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1:19-20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We tend to minimise God and bring Him down to our level, where we can cope with Him. We keep God in a box, opening the lid now and then, letting Him out when we need Him, but otherwise carrying on in our work-a-day lives as though he wasn’t there. But Paul knew differently. His thoughts were flying into Heavenly realms, where his mind boggled at how great God was. No box could contain Paul’s God! His thoughts dwelt on the great Creator God he knew. The God who spoke matter into being. The God who set the stars in place and called each by name. The God who created him in his mother’s womb. The God who chose him before the creation of the world. And in this “wow!” moment he prayed that his readers too would get their minds around our infinitely great and powerful God. Just to confirm the reality of His power, Paul reminded the Ephesians that God was so powerful that death was a non-event to Him – He raised His Son, Jesus, from the dead, to a place of honour in Heaven.

So here we are, pilgrims walking the well-trodden path between the womb and the tomb, perhaps thinking about, and wishing for, some of this power. Power to help us when the paths become strewn with pot holes, boulders and many other obstacles. The cost of living, Covid, sickness, wars, strife – the list is endless. But through God’s grace we can tap into this power right now. And that is why Paul prayed that his readers would understand how great this power is. God’s power can make a difference.

Do we really understand “the incredible greatness of God’s power”? When I think of the word “power” I immediately associate it with electrical power, a necessary commodity powering our aspirations for an eco-friendly world. Or the great clanking, hissing, steam-powered behemoths that unashamedly transported people and goods for most of the 20th Century. The performance of car engines is compared in units of “horse-power” indicating their ability to speed around the pot-hole ridden roads of 2022. But none of these man-made definitions of “power” even scratch the surface of God’s power. His power, not horse power, is what drives the Universe. Which man-made example of power is there that can create matter from nothing? Or can raise someone from the dead? Has man ever found a way of circumventing our understanding of the laws of physics? Paul wanted his readers to get their minds round the infinite capability of God’s power. We are bounded by the limits of our physical senses but God’s power is unlimited and stretches into infinity far beyond what we can appreciate or even imagine. We can only confess our puny, infinitesimally small, understanding, and instead ask God to help us. In our pilgrimage through life we bumble along, occasionally thinking about God’s power, saying every now and then, “Wow!” and intermingling it with our praises to the God “Who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine …”. And asking Him for more grace and understanding.

More Action Praise

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heaven!
Praise Him for His mighty works; praise His unequalled greatness!
Praise Him with a blast of the ram’s horn; praise Him with the lyre and harp!
Praise Him with the tambourine and dancing; praise Him with strings and flutes!
Praise Him with a clash of cymbals; praise Him with loud clanging cymbals.
Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!
Praise the Lord!”
Psalm 150:1-6 NLT

Well, here we are, looking at the last Psalm in the Book of Psalms. Another Psalm following on from the action praise-theme in Psalm 149. But the Psalmist is getting carried away with the thoughts of adding more and more noise to his praise. You see, we cannot be quiet when it comes to praising God. We can’t whisper our praises. And the Psalmist knew that. And so he started to add some more instruments to his praise-band. So in addition to the tambourine and harp, we now have a lyre, stringed instruments, a ram’s horn, flutes and not just any old cymbals – these are clashing cymbals with loud clanging gizmos attached to them. Within me is the thought that I want to get to play the loud clanging cymbals in the praise band – but don’t tell anyone! But in case there is anyone who feels they will miss out, those who don’t get to play an instrument – they can sing their praises (assuming they are still breathing of course). 

Just this morning, as the new day was breaking over the woods in my corner of Scotland, I paused. I listened to the noises around me. The distant traffic a constant reminder of our 21st Century world, but closer by was the bird song. And the wind gently murmuring through the tree tops. And within me was the deep impression that there was a lot of praising going on – I just wasn’t hearing it with my earth-bound senses. And the creation around me was shouting it out.

But why should I, a 21st Century pilgrim, praise God? My musings took me to Romans 8:29-30, “For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, He called them to come to Him. And having called them, He gave them right standing with Himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them His glory.” And I looked at verse 30, and personalised it, like this, “And having chosen [me], He called [me] to come to Him. And having called [me], He gave [me] right standing with Himself. And having given [me] right standing, He gave [me] His glory.” Why should I praise God? Why should I not praise God? Not only has God chosen me, He has made me righteous before Him. Jesus is now my older brother. And God has given me His glory. Truly, I will praise God as long as I have breath.

Action Praise

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Praise the Lord! 
Sing to the Lord a new song. 
Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful. 
Praise his name with dancing, 
accompanied by tambourine and harp. 
Let the praises of God be in their mouths,”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭149:1, 3, 6a‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In yesterday’s Psalm, Psalm 148, the Psalmist wrote about all the wonderful God-things he could think about, and he experienced a “wow” moment that translated him into a different dimension. A praise-zone so wonderful that he had to share it with his readers, encouraging them to “Praise the Lord” too.

The theme continues in today’s Psalm but with the exhortation to be more physically expressive. So the Psalmist encourages the writing of a “new song”. He suggests that praises to God should be sung amongst “the assembly of the faithful”, a congregation of God’s people. But before we develop a picture in our minds of rows and rows of elderly and pew-bound men and women holding hymn books and singing with bored expressions on their faces, the Psalmist advises how praises should be – with dancing, tambourines and harps. Now what a picture that would be! Hymn books thrown aside. New songs abounding. The congregation bouncing up and down the aisles, the percussive sounds of tambourines and harps all but drowning out the dirge-like sounds exuding from an organ, tucked away in the background somewhere. Praises expressed in the way they should be – in total abandonment to our wonderful Heavenly Father. He deserves our praises, offered from every ounce, every fibre, of our beings, for what He has done for us. One day I suspect that we will find Heaven to be a bit like that. No pew-bound-ness there. Read Revelation 5.

But after our quick glimpse into Heaven, here we are, back on planet Earth, trudging along on our life-pilgrimage. Lifting our tired limbs step by step, tramping along through the highways and byways of 21st century society. And we wonder about this environment of praise. It’s unusual to find praise expressed in such total abandonment in any of our Western denominational churches, though we might find it on the terraces at a football match. It is beyond me to understand how people can express exuberant praise honouring their football team, who are kicking around a bag filled with wind, when they can’t offer up the same praise to their Creator, who created the bag materials and provided the wind. But, apart from that digression, there is something within me that is bursting to join a praising throng of God’s people, as the Psalmist described. Abandoning the pre-conditioned reticence that seems to blight most people in my generation, and being able to enter into the “wow”-zone of God’s presence. Why? Because our Heavenly Father is worthy of all the praises we can muster, and then some. We cannot praise Him enough for all that He has done for us. But one day we will get that opportunity, those of us who have embraced God and His Son, Jesus, committing our lives to them in an eternal act of repentance and commitment. 

I’ve just had a mischievous thought – why don’t I go out and buy a tambourine. And then take it to church on Sunday. Hmmm…

Praise the Lord!

Posted on by Adrian Clark

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens!
Praise him from the skies!
Let every created thing give praise to the Lord,
for he issued his command, and they came into being.
He set them in place forever and ever.
His decree will never be revoked.
Psalm 148:1, 5-6 NLT

In this Psalm, the word “Praise” appears 13 times. The Psalmist runs through many of God’s attributes, encouraging us to respond as he did, with a heart full of praise. He starts by looking up into the skies. There he “sees” angels and God’s “armies of heaven”. He continues with his observations of the celestial bodies, our sun, moon, and the stars we can see. His gaze starts to fall, with a view of the clouds then replaced by his thoughts about created beings, formed at God’s command. By His spoken and irrevocable word. The Psalmist continues with what he sees around him. The inhabitants of the seas, the weather systems, the habitat and occupants of the lands, the society and the people who live within it. All in all, the Psalmist did a pretty good job in describing his world in just a few short verses. But above all, he exhorted his fellow countrymen to “Praise the Lord”.

Do we look around us at our world, with wonder and praise for its Creator? Or do we just take for granted what we see? Do we spend our time trying to explain it all away, as a chance happening on a random planet in a vast universe? Or do we see God’s plan in it all; the Creator who wanted to make mankind in His image? Or do we, like the Psalmist, become overwhelmed by our loving Heavenly Father, responding over and over again in expressing our praises to Him? The Psalmist’s view of God was so overwhelming that all he could do was offer up a “wow” from deep within him. We too must find that “wow” moment in our own lives. It is there for the finding, and as we utter praises from our lips, we will find ourselves in a different place. In His presence. In God’s “wow”-zone. 

Like a Butterfly

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Praise the Lord! 
How good to sing praises to our God! 
How delightful and how fitting! 
He heals the broken-hearted and bandages their wounds. 
He counts the stars and calls them all by name. 
How great is our Lord! 
His power is absolute! 
His understanding is beyond comprehension!”
Psalms‬ ‭147:1, 3-5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This Psalm is a wonderful jumble of thoughts. The Psalmist’s musings flit like a butterfly between exhortations to praise God, to how marvellously wonderful His creation is and then to how He cares for His creation. And in the process, he delivers the message that our Heavenly Father, so powerful that He can create, count and name the stars, also cares for human beings like you and I. Doesn’t that give us the picture of a God so complete that He is fully omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent? The Psalmist was right when he said that God’s “understanding is beyond comprehension”. 

No matter how hard we try, how many university degrees we get, how many years we spend in research, we will never even scratch the surface of what God is all about. Suffice to say that we must instead align our lives to follow Jesus. He taught us how to live. And He ultimately provided the remedy for our transgressions at Calvary. One day I firmly believe that we too will be able to see a bit more of God’s understanding; it will be mind-blowing and there will be only one possible response. “Praise the Lord!”

Hope in the Lord

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. 
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, 
and all their plans die with them. 
But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their Helper, 
whose hope is in the Lord their God.”
He made heaven and earth, the sea, 
and everything in them. 
He keeps every promise forever.”
Psalms‬ ‭146:3-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A charismatic figure emerges in a nation and people are attracted to him, electing him as their leader. A familiar situation repeated many times over in ages past. And there have been many shipwrecked nations because they followed a man instead of following God. Great initial expectations are replaced by disappointment and despair. As David, the Psalmist, advises – putting our confidence in a person will not be helpful. And he points out that the grandiose plans the leaders have will die with them. A human being does not have the capability to always deliver on their promises, to provide help for everyone who needs it. When I read these verses I am reminded of the promises made by aspiring politicians when they seek election. Promises that often evaporate and disappear once their office has been realised. 

Thankfully, there is a “but” in this Psalm. When we put our hope and trust in God, we are 100% assured that He will deliver what He promises. Verse 6 finishes, “He keeps every promise forever”. But the meaning the Psalmist implies behind the word “hope” isn’t for something that might or might not happen. Like we hope it won’t rain today. Or the childish hope that Santa will bring a new train set for Christmas. The word “hope” in this Psalm implies an assurance that through our faith we will realise what we “hope” for. The first verse in Hebrews 11 says, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” 

So we align our lives to “the God of Israel”, our wonderful Creator God. He isn’t just a local “god” hovering over a nation state in the Middle East. As the verse says, “He made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them”. Because of His credentials as the Creator of everything, we can delight in our relationship with Him; in the knowledge that He helps us, replacing despair of human shortcomings with joy in His God-comings. Powerful people don’t make it onto the significance scale when God is around. 

God’s Word, the Bible, is full of His promises. Too many to list here. But just one has popped into my mind this morning. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭NLT‬‬. Having the peace of God within us in a world lacking peace is a promise God will never fail to deliver.

God’s Open Hand

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“The Lord helps the fallen 
and lifts those bent beneath their loads. 
The eyes of all look to You in hope; 
You give them their food as they need it. 
When You open Your hand, 
You satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭145:14-16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There was a time when God literally opened His hand to feed the Israelite nation as they floundered in the wilderness between Egypt and their Promised Land. A food they called “Manna” was found on the ground every morning; it contained all they needed for life and satisfied their physical needs for an unbelievable 40 years. There were times when they grumbled about its sameness, even yearning on occasion to return to Egypt where there were leeks and garlic, but nevertheless God fed them. And before we try and take the moral high ground and say how we would have been much more grateful, imagine all we had to eat was porridge. Every day. For 40 years. Hmmm…

Today we are presented with a bewildering array of different foods. Supermarket shelves bulge with fare of all kinds. During the pandemic, there have been hints of the fragility of the food supply, with empty shelves driving headlines at times. Sadly, we too easily take for granted the availability of food, forgetting that our provision is all through God’s grace.

The verses before us today paint a picture of our total dependability on our loving, Heavenly, Creator God. Firstly, we read that He sustains us, even in times of adversity, when life is hard, when we are crushed under loads to heavy for us to bear on our own. And when we look to God, in hope that He will come through for us, we find that He satisfies us with all that we need for life. He satisfies our hunger and thirst. Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, and there, embedded in what we have come to call the Lord’s Prayer, we find, “Give us today our daily bread.” Another translation reads, “Give us today the food we need”. Jesus thought it important enough to include the petition for food in His prayer guidance. 

We must have a continual attitude of gratitude for God’s provision. Our very existence is in His hands, and when He opens them we benefit. Before His throne of grace today we’re thankful. Deeply thankful. David, the Psalmist, finishes his Psalm with these words, “I will praise the Lord, and may everyone on earth bless His holy name forever and ever.”‭‭ That is the only thing we can do; God has done so much for us.