The Cave

Posted on by korgrocker

“I cry out to the Lord; I plead for the Lord’s mercy.
I look for someone to come and help me, 
but no one gives me a passing thought! 
No one will help me; 
no one cares a bit what happens to me. 
Then I pray to You, O Lord. 
I say, “You are my place of refuge. 
You are all I really want in life. 
Bring me out of prison so I can thank You. 
The godly will crowd around me, 
for You are good to me.””
Psalms‬ ‭142:1, 4-5, 7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David was going through a time of personal examination and contemplation, as he was hiding in a cave somewhere. It might have been the Adullam cave mentioned in 1 Samuel 22, but regardless of its location, David was in a cave. He daren’t show his face anywhere because we read that his enemies had set traps for him. But as usual with David, when in a place of stress and loneliness, he turned to God. He knew that with God in his life, he was never alone. And in addition, he also knew that nothing else in his life had any importance, an attitude he retained all his life. It was quite something that with all his regal trappings, he could cast them aside as of no importance compared to the riches he had in God.

The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:12, “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.” And the verbal exchange between Jesus and the young man, as recorded in Mark 10, exposed the difficulty encountered by people who have lots of “stuff”. When Jesus suggested that he sold and gave away all he had, we read, “At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” Like David, we must ensure that we have the right attitude to what we have. We must hold what we have with an open hand.

David also expressed disappointment that nobody cared about him. That is a natural attitude in times of depression and loneliness. The long hours waiting for a knock at the door or the phone to ping. David equated the lonely place with being in prison. But he wasn’t really alone because he reassured himself that God was his place of refuge. And he knew that once he was out of the cave, he would find Godly people. When we too decide to leave the “cave” of our depression and loneliness we must look for, and find, God’s people. Sadly, many people, by choice, prefer a life of isolation, mentally and physically, rather than embrace the love and caring of God and His people. 

David asks God to bring him out of his prison, the cave where he was languishing. In what “prison” are we incarcerated today? We have already mentioned loneliness and depression, but there are many other “caves” where people find themselves, often through no fault of their own. Places where circumstances have left people in a place where they didn’t want to be. At such times we can invite God to be with us in our “prison” and be assured that He will lead us out into freedom. Jesus said, as recorded in Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,”. Everything Jesus said was true and trustworthy. He promised a life of freedom. John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Amen?

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Burning Coals

Posted on by korgrocker

Let my enemies be destroyed
by the very evil they have planned for me.
Let burning coals fall down on their heads.
Let them be thrown into the fire
or into watery pits from which they can’t escape.
Psalm 140:9-10 NLT

If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat.
If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.
You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads,
and the LORD will reward you.
Proverbs 25:21-22 NLT

So here we have an apparent direct contradiction between what David wrote in Psalm 140 and what his son, Solomon, wrote in Proverbs 25. On the one hand David wanted his enemies to be destroyed, and on the other Solomon advised that we are to be kind to them. Which is it to be? But before we do a Google search for “contradictions in the Bible”, I would say it all depends what is meant by “enemy”. In the context of Psalm 140, David was going through a very difficult time with his enemies. And he wanted God to do something about it. I suppose if someone is coming at you waving a claymore or battle-axe, there wouldn’t be much point in offering them a cup of coffee and a piece of cake. It would be a case of a quick prayerful cry – “Help God!”  Or perhaps David was in a war situation with adjacent peoples – verse 7 mentions “the day of battle”. 

But Solomon’s definition of “enemy” might have been more benign, perhaps just meaning someone who is upset by us and has little more than malevolent feelings about us. In that case, of course we love our “enemies” and immediately respond to meet their needs in whatever way we can.

In David’s case, “burning coals” imply literal destruction. In Solomon’s case, perhaps “burning coals” mean that the “enemy” burns up with a guilty conscience, with shame. In the one case there is little we can do other than ask God to intervene. In the other we have a duty to be kind and loving, no matter how antagonistic the person is. 

In our pilgrimage through life we will find many “enemies” in our way. People who want to stop our progress. People who want us to take another path, perhaps leading in the wrong direction. But whether we take the path of the Psalm or the path of the Proverb, it is important that we involve God in the process. Only He knows the right way.

Search Me

Posted on by korgrocker

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; 
test me and know my anxious thoughts. 
Point out anything in me that offends You, 
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
Psalms‬ ‭139:23-24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We must have one last look at this amazing Psalm, Psalm 139. David, the Psalmist, has meditated his way through God’s omnipresence, His blessings and support, the wonder of a new born baby, how God continually thinks about him, and how he hates the wicked and blasphemers. And, finally, he makes an appeal to God to search his heart and expose anxious and offensive thoughts. David, overcome with God-thoughts, finally surfaces to the realities of life but doesn’t want anything to spoil his relational bubble with the Lord. 

In our pilgrimage through life, there will be many opportunities to sit in David’s seat, where we can dwell in God’s presence, soaking in His Spirit, meditating on His love for us with a responsive heart. I often look about me and see God’s hand in His creation, always with thoughts of wonder about the complexity and uniqueness. But then the phone rings, or a text pings the phone. A demanding voice intrudes into my God-space-bubble and before I know it I’m back to the realities of life. In many ways we live a double life, citizens of both the Kingdom of God and kingdom of the world. But regardless of our circumstances we can find time for both. The Apostle John said in Revelation 1:10, “It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast.” Even in his incarceration on the Isle of Patmos, John was spending time in God’s presence; the deprivations of being exiled unable to stop his visit to God’s Kingdom. 

But back to David’s statement, “Search me, O God, and know my heart”. In many ways that’s a dangerous question to ask of God, because He might expose something we would rather not be reminded of. Perhaps a behavioural issue, or unconfessed sin. Perhaps a relationship that needs to be restored. But if we want to spend quality time with God there needs to be total honesty and openness. Nothing can be allowed to get in the way of a relationship with our Creator. David knew that, hence his question. David could see a connection between hiding what he referred to as anxious and offensive thoughts, and preventing God from leading him, unimpeded, along the “path of everlasting life”. That’s the same path we are taking, as pilgrims towards our full-time future in God’s presence. We don’t want anything to get in the way of our journey either. Thankfully, God loves us so much that He isn’t going to dump on us a whole load of difficult to deal with stuff all in one go. So we need to keep praying that prayer, so that God can peel back our layers of “anxious and offensive thoughts”, one by one, helping us deal with the issues, helping us step by step on our journey. Of course He loves us just as we are, but on the other hand, He loves us too much to allow us to forever wallow in an anxious and offensive state. Blocked from the relationship with God that He so earnestly wants us to enjoy. Search us, O God, we pray.

In the Womb

Posted on by korgrocker

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body 
and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 
Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! 
Your workmanship is marvellous – how well I know it. 
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, 
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 
You saw me before I was born. 
Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. 
Every moment was laid out 
before a single day had passed.”
Psalms‬ ‭139:13-16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David, the Psalmist, continues his theme of the omnipresent God in Psalm 139. This time his thoughts extend into the wonders of creation, of how a human being grows before it is born. Even in his day, without the scientific and medical knowledge that we have in the 21st Century, it seemed to be common knowledge that something significant happens in the womb. And he is overwhelmed by how “wonderfully complex” it all is. He uses the phrase “knitted together” to describe what happens. 

My wife is a great knitter. It doesn’t matter how complex the pattern, she manages to produce these amazing garments with nothing more than a pair of needles and ball of wool. And I have been greatly blessed by beautiful jumpers far better than anything mass produced and sold in our shops. But the miracle of how a human being is formed eclipses anything mankind can derive, even my wife. And in some way God watches the processes going on in the womb, working out what was going to happen to this new life. David was overwhelmed by it all.

When I read and meditate on these verses, I immediately marvel at the wonders of creation. I know many believe that all this happened by chance. But I don’t have the faith to believe a baby is the result of evolution. Instead, with the Psalmist, I can only thank our Creator God for His workmanship. And with a thankful heart I look in the mirror to see an amazing created being, fearfully and wonderfully made. Yes, there are facial lines. Yes, there are grey hairs. Yes, ageing takes its toll. But that doesn’t remove the wonder of being “fearfully and wonderfully made“. Which is what we all are. A God-creation, made in His image (Genesis 1:27). Wow!

God Knows Us

Posted on by korgrocker

“O Lord, You have examined my heart 
and know everything about me.”
‭Psalms‬ ‭139:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The thought that God knows everything about us, good and bad, is both comforting and scary at the same time. In the next few verses, the Psalmist, David, goes on to say that God is intimately acquainted with not just what we are doing but even what is about to come out of our mouths. Distance and time are no problem to God. And there is nothing that we can do to escape His presence; should we want to, of course. So if we know all that, why do we get so caught up in doing things that we know would cause God pain? The sins that blight our lives. Actions that are just plain wrong. The Apostle Paul felt that frustration. He wrote in Romans 7, “I have discovered this principle of life – that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.” Thankfully God forgives us of our sins when we repent. And we allow His life-giving Spirit to lead and guide us, and live within us (Romans 8). 

But back to our Psalm. It gets better and better. The wonder in David’s heart comes out in verse 5, as he remarks that God goes before him and follows him. Can you imagine that? God is there right in front of us, leading the way. Pointing out the pot-holes in life to help us to avoid them. But in case we still stumble and fall, there He is behind us, picking us up and dusting us off. And there’s more – if we look up, there’s His hand of blessing about to touch our heads. It is no wonder that David can’t cope with what it all means, as we read in verse 6. And he continues to meditate on God’s omnipresence, which extends all the way from Heaven to the place the Jews called Sheol (verse 8). And the lovely word picture emerges of David riding “the wings of the morning” and “dwelling by the farthest oceans” (verse 9). And he finishes this section with the thought that God is always there in the dark, because it is light to Him. Perhaps there’s a comforting thought there for people who do have a fear of the dark.

There is an amazing truth in this Psalm. No matter how we view God. No matter if we reject Him and try and run away from Him, He is still there with us. Embracing us. Encouraging us. Blessing us. All because He loves us. So if we’re feeling neglected and unloved today, we are believing a lie. Our enemy, the devil, would want to deprive us of God’s presence and His blessings. But he can’t. We reach out, switching on our God-receptors; switching off our devil-receptors. And because God knows our very thoughts, He will complete the circuit. Connecting us to His throne room. Giving us a glimpse of His wonder. Helping us in our life-pilgrimage, every step of the way.

Plans

Posted on by korgrocker

“The Lord will work out His plans for my life –
for Your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. 
Don’t abandon me, for You made me.”
‭Psalms‬ ‭138:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What are God’s plans for my life? I look back in my life and see at times how a potentially chaotic situation resolved into a good result. How a far from ideal life-choice I made somehow became something better. Was God working out His plans for my life? Gently and persuasively whispering in my ear, “Not that way, better this way”? 

The Psalmist was clear in today’s verse. Because God’s love for each one of us is faithful and ever-enduring, He will work out in our lives what He wants us to do. He has plans for each one of us. And David, the Psalmist, says why – because He made us. But we look around us, at our nation, at world events. We see the ravages of the pandemic. We see wars and conflicts. We see persecution, the ill-treatment of our Christian brothers and sisters, and ask the question, “Where are God’s plans in all this?” This is a world in the grip of sin. And a sobering thought is that it would be infinitely worse without God working out His plans in the lives of His servants. Because He made us. Because He loves us. As we work out God’s plans in our societies and communities, we are “salt and light” bringing peace to where there is no peace. Bringing God’s presence into a godless world.

There is a day coming, when all His plans will have been completed. Job done. But as the Psalmist says, God’s love for us will still be there. It endures forever. God will never abandon us. Our lives on this planet will end and instead transition into a wonderful life with Him.

Promises

Posted on by korgrocker

“I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;
    I will sing your praises before the gods.
I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
    I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
    by all the honour of your name.”
Psalm 138:1-2 NLT

David is back behind the writer’s desk; another Psalm emerging from the experiences of His long life with God. Right at the start of this Psalm, he declares that he doesn’t care what people might think. He will sing praises to God regardless. And we certainly found that in the passage in 2 Samuel 6 where David, wearing nothing other than a linen ephod, danced in front of the Ark as it was brought to his city. As he said later in the chapter, “I was dancing before the Lord“. He didn’t care that his wife was unimpressed. And neither did he care about the “gods” other people worshipped. 

David declared that he would praise God for His “unfailing love and faithfulness”. Because, and here’s the thing, God’s promises are backed by His name. In this country, an arrest of a criminal might take place with the phrase “I arrest you in the name of the Law”. And I have in front of me a Scottish banknote which says, “The Royal Bank of Scotland promises to pay the bearer on demand…”. But both the Law and the Bank cannot guarantee 100% of the time that they can fulfil their promises, because the name of both has limitations. The “name of the Law” means nothing in a state of anarchy. The Bank might go bust, and unable to pay out. Now, the Creator of the Universe and everything within it – God Himself – His name has weight. If God makes a promise, and the Bible is full of them, then that promise will be delivered. No doubts. And when He puts His name behind the promise, the result is absolute.

So it’s no wonder that David gives thanks to the Lord with all his heart. And sings His praises. On our pilgrimage through life, God’s promises ring in our ears. Make a step – thank You God for Your love for me.  Make another step – thank You God for Jesus. Make another step – thank You God for Your faithfulness. And somehow the rigors of our journey becomes easier, step by step. As we call out to God in response to His promises, He delights in us and our faith. His promises are not green-backs – they are God-backs. Worth so much more.

Exile

Posted on by korgrocker

“Beside the rivers of Babylon, 
we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. 
We put away our harps, 
hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. 
But how can we sing the songs of the Lord 
while in a pagan land?”
Psalms‬ ‭137:1-2, 4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This is a dreadfully sad Psalm, written by the Jewish exiles while in Babylon, a place where they didn’t want to be. A place of idolatry, of customs and laws foreign to the Jews, a place where they were separated from their God and His home in Jerusalem. And it ends with the gruesome thoughts of what they would like to do to the Edomites, who were apparently instrumental in the demise of their beloved city. Before we condemn them for their thoughts, though, I suppose we should think through what they had experienced, walking mentally in their shoes for a bit. The barbaric and cruel Babylonian soldiers had performed unspeakable atrocities on them, their families and their cities, and those that had survived had been force-marched for miles, away to a foreign land. Away from their homes, their homeland. And now, once they were there, their captors were taunting them, ridiculing them for their religion. They were at rock bottom.

But there was one ray of light shining out in this Psalm. In verse 6, the Psalmist’s memory of Jerusalem couldn’t be destroyed. Only death would take that away. Today, we mustn’t forget that there are many Christians in the world who are exiled. Dear brothers and sisters forced away from their homes into an exile in a place where they don’t want to be. A place with a different language, or dialect. A place where they are resented as refugees, treated as third class citizens. The Middle East has numerous examples of what is happening to our Christian brothers and sisters. Persecuted, they have little option other than move away. And in Western societies today, Christians are increasingly being marginalised. Thankfully not to a place where exile, forced or otherwise, is required, but if the current trend continues, one day this will perhaps happen. 

But one thing is for sure. We cannot be exiled from our relationship with God. We cannot be exiled from the Kingdom of Heaven, our home. The Jews in Babylon seemed to think that they could only find God in Jerusalem, so taking them away from their beloved city was in effect removing them from God’s presence. Thankfully we can find God anywhere we live. In Acts 17:28 we read, “For in Him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’” Paul was explaining to the people around him how close God is and, more, that we are His children. No exile will ever prove that verse wrong. Our loving Heavenly Father is always with us. We will always be His children. So with a lightness in our spirits, we can “sing the songs of the Lord”. Wherever we find ourselves.

Repetition

Posted on by korgrocker

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever.”
Psalm 136:1-3 NLT

This Psalm is designed for a responsive congregation. The leader shouts out a God-truth, and the people respond accordingly. Over and over again a declaration of gratitude to God for something that He has done is responded to with a shout of how good He is and for who He is. A repetitive environment that implants within us a knowledge of God, what He has done for us, and how we should always respond. One day in Heaven, repetitive praise and worship of God will be the norm. We read in Revelation 4:8, “….Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty – the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.””  Being in the presence of God will be so amazing that we won’t want to do anything else. 

Repetition can be a good way of keeping our relationship with God fresh and vibrant. We can write our own version of Psalm 136, merging into it our own experiences of how good God has been to us. We have so much to thank Him for, so this should be a regular part of our devotional life. Let me start it off today with my own personal thoughts. Everyone will have their own of course.

Thank You Lord for Your love for me.
Your faithful love endures forever.
Thank You Lord for Jesus and His sacrifice for me.
Your faithful love endures forever.
Thank You Lord for all You have done for me
Your faithful love endures forever.
Thank You Lord for the food on my table.
Your faithful love endures forever.
Thank You Lord for my family.
Your faithful love endures forever.
Thank You Lord for my health.
Your faithful love endures forever.
Thank You Lord for …..

And as we continue to write our own Psalm, our attitude of gratitude to God will take us to new heights in our relationship with Him. Our pilgrimage through life will somehow be a bit easier as we dwell on what God has done for us. With a heart of gratitude, gratitude never forgotten and always repeated.

Praise the Lord!

Posted on by korgrocker

“Praise the Lord! 
Praise the name of the Lord! 
Praise him, you who serve the Lord, 
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; 
celebrate his lovely name with music. 
The Lord be praised from Zion, 
for he lives here in Jerusalem. 
Praise the Lord!”
Psalms‬ ‭135:1, 3, 21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A Psalm of praise. It starts and ends with the phrase, “Praise the Lord!” An instruction. An invitation. And the Psalm continues to expand on the where, who and why the Lord should be praised. Because of what He has done and will do. Where? – everywhere. Who? – all who fear the Lord. Why? For He is good. Pretty well an all-encompassing situation. A cornucopia of praise. And just in case there is any doubt, the Psalmist rubbishes the man-made trinkets that some people worship.

One thing that emerges for me in this psalmistic word-explosion, this smorgasbord, of praise is the place music holds in our praise of God. Verse 3 associates the Lord’s lovely name with a celebration of music. Human beings are wired for music. The love of music and song is deeply embedded within us. It’s part of our design. It’s how God has created us. Some people have the gift of being able to make music. Minstrels there to bless their fellow humans. Gently and diligently developing Heavenly themes that permeate into our earthly lives. But just about everyone has the capacity, the ability, the desire to enjoy music. Music and song can take our praise of God to extraordinary heights, lifting us there in the process. Every fibre of our beings can be involved, taking us into the very presence of God Himself. 

The pilgrim sings his way through life, developing in his mind God-themes of words and music. Lifting his feet out of the the mud and clay, the worldly life, lightening his steps. No place in music for the worship of idols, much as our enemy, the devil, likes to be praised. Music was designed by God, for God and for our use in His praise. Let’s sing our way through this day with God-songs. Let’s find a new song in our hearts today and allow it to burst into our spirits with an explosion of praise. Elevation music for our journey to the place of music – Heaven itself.