Heaven and Hands

Posted on by korgrocker

“Oh, praise the Lord, 
all you servants of the Lord, 
you who serve at night 
in the house of the Lord. 
Lift your hands toward the sanctuary, 
and praise the Lord. 
May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, 
bless you from Jerusalem.”
Psalms‬ ‭134:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Another Psalm from the pilgrim’s song book. A short one, easily remembered, and with a refrain that echoed around the crowd as they ascended up to Jerusalem. Perhaps in the way a football crowd will start a song, lustily singing in support of their team. 

This time the song encouraged the priests in their nightly worship of God. Encouraging them to lift their hands in the direction of where they understood God to dwell. And the last verse is one entreating our wonderful Creator God to bless His people, right from the seat of His power in Jerusalem.

Two thoughts came my way today as I meditated on this Psalm – where does God live and when we worship Him what do we do with our hands? To the Israelites, God had to live somewhere. It was either the tabernacle in the wilderness, a portable building – its blueprint is detailed in Exodus – or the elaborate temple buildings erected in Jerusalem. In the AD years, churches and cathedrals have dominated towns and cities throughout Western societies. Ornate and decorated with statues of saints, stained glass windows and a variety of edifices, they have been the focus of worship in many generations. But where does God really live? Perhaps the best indication is what Jesus said. After all, He is God’s Son. In Matthew 6:9 we read, “… Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name“. So we know that God lives in a place called Heaven and we also know that Jesus is there, preparing a home for us (John 14). So it must be a real place. But its location in the universe is unknown – perhaps mankind doesn’t yet have the technology to find it. Perhaps only God can reveal it to us. Or it may be in a different physical form beyond our comprehension. We also know that we will be given new bodies when we get there (1 Corinthians 15). However, we can assure ourselves a future in Heaven by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. There will be an exciting time for us when we cross the “great divide”. 

My second thought today concerns what we do with our hands when we worship God. There is the traditional religious pose of putting our outstretched hands facing upwards, palm to palm, finger to finger, holding them close to our chests. Not too ostentatious. Not bringing attention to ourselves. Or in wild abandon, we can stretch out our arms and hands upwards to the heavens, in a deeply felt heart attitude of worship to our Creator God. But what is in our hearts is the key. What are we thinking about when we worship God? Are we reviewing what we watched on TV last night, or are we overwhelmed by God’s love and kindness to us, and in response reaching out to our Heavenly Dad? Stretching upwards with every sinew in worship to God, expressing what is within. God has done so much for us – how can we not respond to His love and grace in whatever way we can? Wherever He lives.

Unity

Posted on by korgrocker

“How good and pleasant it is 
when God’s people live together in unity!”
Psalms‬ ‭133:1‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

Another Psalm from David. This is another “Song of Ascents”, sung by God’s people during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. You can just imagine him watching the crowds of pilgrims, ascending the roads and paths up to Jerusalem. And what he observed brought into his mind thoughts of unity. You can almost feel the emotional glow in his musings, when he thinks about “How good and pleasant” unity is. And we too can imagine joining that throng of people, singing, shouting, laughing. A throng full of joy and camaraderie. But perhaps the exclamation mark at the end of this verse reveals that this was not the normal state of affairs. Perhaps, in those days long ago, God’s people were far from being unified in their approach to their lives and religion. David finished the Psalm with thoughts about the anointing of Aaron back in Leviticus, and the importance of that event in Israel’s history. How it then unified the people as they stood before God. 

Today there is little unity in society. Everyone seems to have their own opinions about everything and anything in life, and Christians are not excluded from having their own ideas. Perhaps this was what was in Jesus’ mind when He referred to people as “being like sheep without a shepherd”. Lost and rudderless in the sea of life. In many ways societies today have lost their way because they don’t have a life compass any more. Their moral parameters have disappeared. The concept of there being an ultimate Creator God is now largely missing from society and if thought about at all, is considered irrelevant. So perhaps when David observed the pilgrims ascending the heights, he realised what was missing from his society. I wonder what he would have thought about 21st Century Western society!

The verse about oil is significant. The ritual of a priest being anointed with oil is a practice not normally found in our liturgies today. But if we replace the precious oil with the precious Holy Spirit, then we have a different situation. God loves unity. And through His Spirit He brings that unity, that togetherness, into our lives and communities. Unity doesn’t mean that we all have to be clones of some God-image, all behaving in the same way. But it does mean we must all have the same understanding and are in agreement over the important issues in our faith, and particularly our faith in our loving Heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit is the glue that binds us, God’s people together. Sadly, too many Christians get caught up in differences between denominations. Instead of celebrating the Biblical foundations of our faith, they criticise and ridicule the liturgical differences. And on the way, the Christian faith can be replaced by militant sectarianism, demeaning God and His ways. 

So how do God’s people, Christians, live together in unity? We pray of course. But more than that, we do what Jesus would do – we show God’s love, grace and compassion to those around us, regardless of their denominations.

Worship

Posted on by korgrocker

“Let us go to the sanctuary of the Lord;
    let us worship at the footstool of his throne.“
Psalm 132:7 NLT

This is a Psalm that starts with references to the desire David had to build a splendid home, the Temple, honouring God and providing a place for Him to live. In the verses come references to the Ark, “the symbol of [God’s] power”, and remembers the promise God made to David, that his “royal line will continue forever and ever”. The Psalm finishes with the significance of Jerusalem, God’s choice for His home, and a prophetic glimpse of the coming Messiah. 

Anything in here of help in our pilgrim’s journey through life? There is probably quite a bit worth further examination, but I have pulled out today’s verse, verse 7. It contains the invitations, “let us go” and “let us worship”. Action required. In our pilgrimage we cannot go far without meeting our basic spiritual need of visiting God and offering Him our worship. And this need is no less important today than it was back in the days when this Psalm was written. Of course, God doesn’t need our worship. But in some incomprehensible way, we, God’s people, need to do so. Often. We need to come to God frequently, acknowledging who He is, what He has done, thanking Him, praising Him, and spending time with Him. And by so doing, we connect with our loving Heavenly Father, finding refreshment for our very souls. 

The Israelites needed a physical focus for their worship. And some of our denominations have “helps” in the form of ornate and elderly buildings with their stained glass windows, effigies of saints, an altar with a cross, all helping establish that connection between man and God. I sometimes look around me to the natural world and find God there, resplendent in His creationary prowess. But the right attitude of heart is found at His footstool, where we establish how great God is and how small and insignificant we humans are. And we worship Him there. His footstool, a place we develop in our minds, a go-to place whenever we worship our amazing Creator God. So today join me in His presence – “let us” go and worship.

Humility

Posted on by korgrocker

“Lord, my heart is not proud; 
my eyes are not haughty. 
I don’t concern myself with matters 
too great or too awesome for me to grasp.”
Psalms‬ ‭131:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David is back in the writer’s chair. Scratching away with a quill pen on parchment or something similar – no ancient keyboards available. His thoughts for this Psalm have turned to humility. A quality much respected by God – we read in James 4:6, “And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”” In this Psalm, David declares that he is not proud, and neither is he arrogant. These are both qualities that are accepted, if not respected, in our worldly societies today but are anathema to the Kingdom of God. David continues by saying that he doesn’t get involved in matters that don’t concern him, or that he knows nothing about. As we delve down into the substance of this verse, perhaps there are uncomfortable feelings starting to emerge deep within us. When have we been found guilty of being too proud to ask for, or accept, help? Even when we desperately needed it? When have we looked down on others, thinking that we are so much better than them? And in our societies, everyone has an opinion. We pontificate on just about every subject that comes into our minds. 

“I can run the country better than our politicians”. 

“The Covid emergency would be nowhere near as bad if the public health authorities listened to me”. 

“The boss doesn’t have a clue about the best way to make widgets”. 

The list of our arrogant declarations knows no bounds. 

David continues in this Psalm by sharing what works for him – he told himself to “calm down”. The analogy with a weaned child is interesting – perhaps a child leaving behind their need for a mother’s milk is like us leaving behind our dependence on others for our spiritual sustenance, instead encouraging us to work out for ourselves our relationship with God and His Word, feeding our souls with the richness of God’s food. And in His Word we will find what God really thinks of pride and arrogance.

Paul wrote these words in his Roman epistle, “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” (Romans 12:3 NLT). Hmmm…

So to our inevitable question – how does this Psalm help the 21st Century Pilgrim? By encouraging us to look to Jesus. Back to Paul again. He wrote to the Philippian church (2:5) – “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” If we follow Jesus and His example of how to live, we can’t go wrong. So we pray, “Please help me, Lord!”

Unity

Posted on by korgrocker

“Let me be united with all who fear You, 
with those who know Your laws.“
Psalm 119:79 NLT

“Let me be united with all who fear you” sounds like a noble goal. Nothing to disagree with there, I think. I would think we Christians all “fear” God, in the fullest meaning of the word. And we all know His laws because we read the same book, the Bible. So it’s not hard to pray the prayer, “Let me be united“. But then a niggling thought pops up in my mind. What about Christians in other denominations who perhaps interpret Bible verses differently to me? Or what about those brothers and sisters who discount parts of the Bible because they don’t think they are applicable 2000 years or so after they were written? What about the denominations that involve a liturgy I find strange and archaic? Or what about that dear sister who told me she doesn’t read the Old Testament because there is too much violence and bloodshed? Am I united with them? Hmmm…

There can be a problem because, although we all start from the same position in reading the same Bible, legalism, liturgies and licence all start to erode our very roots. The problems can even start with dissension over which version of the Bible we should use. I know someone who will only use the original King James Version of the Bible, writing off all other versions as heresies. And then how the Scriptures are interpreted pushes us further apart. Many different denominations have emerged based on misunderstandings and misinterpretations, disagreements and differences. As an example, in 1843 the Church of Scotland split into two denominations after years of wrangling, to become the original Church and the Free Church. Apparently, one third of the ministers in the Church of Scotland started a new denomination because of a row over what was perceived at the time as state interference in the Church. But it didn’t end there – the Free Church split in two in 1900, into the United Free Church and the original Free Church. The reasons for such historical events are fading into the mists of time, but it would be inappropriate to offer judgement over what went wrong. Having been part of a church split some years ago, I know such events can be unavoidable when legalism and liturgies become more important than a relationship with our gracious and loving God. As we allow worldliness and secular principles to creep into our churches, diluting and destroying the pure Word of God, we inevitably end up with problems.

There is another key word that is often lacking in inter-denominational rivalry and dissent. And that is “grace”. How do I view people in other churches? With a judgemental attitude, or with God’s eyes of grace-filled love? Do we think our liturgy is better than theirs? Do we think we are right and they are wrong? I have for a number of years had a niggling thought that God is less concerned about which denomination I attend than about my heart attitude in worshipping Him “in Spirit and truth” (John 4:23). The reality is that I need to look kindly, lovingly and graciously at other Christians, whatever their denomination. A dear Christian couple recently told me about the abusive attitudes they had experienced from evangelical Christians over their Roman Catholic roots. Unfortunately these attitudes are all too common and can be seen working out in sectarian disturbances between Protestants and Catholics.

But whatever our denominations, God loves all His children; one day we all will stand before Him to give an account of our lives. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:10 (AMP), “For we [believers will be called to account and] must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be repaid for what has been done in the body, whether good or bad [that is, each will be held responsible for his actions, purposes, goals, motives–the use or misuse of his time, opportunities and abilities].”  Another Hmmm…. I think.

So in a sense, the Psalmist in this verse, Psalm 119:79, has opened a “can of worms”. Church unity is often talked about and joint services are sometimes held between denominations, but this is not what the Psalmist was talking about. Christians are bound together by a fundamental belief that God sent His Son Jesus to this world, born of a virgin, living a life as a human being but without sinning, to bridge that gap between God and man, and ultimately to die for the forgiveness of our sins. Paul wrote about unity in several of his Epistles. Here’s one verse from 1 Corinthians 1:10 (AMP), “But I urge you, believers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in full agreement in what you say, and that there be no divisions or factions among you, but that you be perfectly united in your way of thinking and in your judgment [about matters of the faith]”. Though he was writing to one particular church, I believe the principle applies across all churches.

So how does our 21st Century pilgrim cope with and respond to other Christians in the cause of unity? With grace and love. Just as God does. We might not want to hang our coats on their liturgical pegs, but we love them anyway. There is no other way.

Blessing Others

Posted on by korgrocker

“May all who hate Zion
    be turned back in shame.
May those who pass by not say to them,
    “The blessing of the Lord be on you;
    we bless you in the name of the Lord.”
Psalm 129:5,8

There is something significant about speaking out blessings. Or withholding them if appropriate. There is power in the spoken word. We can bless people in different ways. Practically by an act of kindness. Verbally by a kind word. But there is something special about speaking out a blessing from God. In fact, it is so special that we don’t want to waste the words or the sentiments on people who would not appreciate it. In this Psalm, the writer mourns the ill-treatment that Israel has been subjected to, and reminds his readers not to bless those who hate them, their treasured Zion, and who are wicked.

But the society in which the Psalmist lived was well used to speaking out blessings on each other. And this is something we need to do more of in our societies today. Not only can a blessing be just that when spoken over God’s people. It can also be a form of encouragement for people who are harassed, lonely, miserable, and neglected. People who we meet in the street, the supermarket checkout, the petrol station, or, as I have found recently, the electric vehicle charge points in a car park. The blessing we speak out need not be anything more than a kind word, or a “good morning”. Just something that shows a fellow member of our society that we care for them. That’s a real blessing from God. 

There is a lovely blessing recorded in Numbers 6. It is so significant that I added it to my business card. I speak it out over all my readers today.

“The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”

The Lord’s Blessing

Posted on by korgrocker

“How joyful are those who fear the Lord— 
all who follow His ways! 
You will enjoy the fruit of your labour. 
How joyful and prosperous you will be! 
Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine, 
flourishing within your home. 
Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees
as they sit around your table. 
That is the Lord’s blessing for those who fear Him.”
Psalms‬ ‭128:1-4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

An idyllic scene, with words such as “wife”, “children”, and “home” intermingled with feel-good words such as “fruit”, “joyful”, “prosperous” and “blessing”. No sign of negative words casting an opposite picture. Is this cameo of family life a bit like a fairy tale, from a story book, or is it a practical reality? Is it perhaps a reflection of family life in the more misogynistic days of pre-Christian Jewish society, and without relevance in our 21st Century Western society?

There are two keys here in these few verses that are timeless, and applicable in all societies, past, present and future. The first is having a “fear” of the Lord. This isn’t the negative place of cowering, petrified, before a more powerful and malignant being. It is having the respect for God, believing and acknowledging that He is who He says He is. The Creator of the Universe. The Giver of life. Our loving Heavenly Father. The all-powerful, omni-present Lord of all. But it is more than just having the head knowledge of God being there. It also involves aligning our lives to His, helped by His Spirit, with a righteous standing before Him through the blood of Jesus. And that brings us on to the second key – we have to follow His ways. This is the process of translating the head knowledge we have about God into a personal and changed life, where we cast aside our selfish desires and take on board God’s desires.

The Psalmist was convinced that a life of God-fear and God-following would transform his life. and he wanted to share his wonderful experience with others, through the words in this Psalm. Words that will change lives, not just individually, but in our families as well. Transformed lives functioning as God intended. That’s where I want to be, Folks.

Children

Posted on by korgrocker

“Children are a gift from the Lord;
    they are a reward from him.”
Psalm 127:3

Solomon continues with his thoughts in Psalm 127. He now muses over the blessings of having children, calling them a reward from the Lord. At first glance, we might take this as read, not digging too deeply into what it actually means. I suppose in those days with no welfare state, a house full of sons and daughters would be a blessing. As well as supporting the family, sons were useful for protection and security, particularly in their parent’s older years. But can they fall into the category of being a “gift” and a “reward” from the Lord? And what about in society today, in an overpopulated world?

There can never be a negative answer to that question. My own two children have been a source of many blessings. Those early years were a constant stream of good experiences as we grew up together as a family, ever closer, always learning. And as the years have rolled by, we have laughed together but also on occasion cried together, united as a family in the way God intended. 

But sadly, in recent years, Western nations have increasingly become engaged in the practice of infanticide. Call it abortion if you prefer. To me, the Biblical position is clear – life starts at the moment of conception. But we must never get caught up in a judgemental way; God loves each and every person caught up in their individual tragedies, and it is our duty to dispense His love and grace whenever we can. Bringing light and love into traumatised people’s lives.

We also need to pray for those desperately sad people who want to bring children into this world, but are unable to do so for some physiological reason. Good parents, devastated that they cannot fulfil their potential. And we also need to pray for the parents who lack the skills to bring up children, perhaps because they were badly parented themselves. And we have another societal problem with single parent families, where one of the parents has moved on, leaving a torn family and traumatised partner. We pray. O Lord, how we must pray.

Father God, today we thank You for the gift of children to those of us who are parents. And we pray for those of us who one day will be parents, or want to be parents, that you will reward them also. Help those people, Father, who are struggling in their parenting. We pray for those people who are single or unable to be parents, Father. We ask that You become their parent, enfolding them with Your presence and love, leading them to families as it says in Your Word. We pray this in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Hard Work and Worry

Posted on by korgrocker

“It is useless for you to work so hard
    from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
    for God gives rest to his loved ones.”
Psalm 127:2 NLT

Another gem from Solomon’s pen. Our capitalistic and materialistic society is based to a large extent on greed, because we are encouraged by our “work ethic” to get better paid jobs, or work longer hours. And by so doing we end up earning more money which we can then spend on more “stuff”. A cynical point of view? Perhaps. But Solomon was pointing out that we sometimes get our priorities wrong, becoming driven by anxiety, just to obtain food to eat. His was a different, poorer, society of course, and food was a basic commodity often in short supply. But we so often, in these modern and enlightened days, hassle along, driven by our own efforts, instead of realigning our priorities to God’s ways. 

Jesus picked up this theme in Matthew 6:25-27, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” On my early morning prayer walk today, just as it was getting light, hundreds of geese flew overhead, silhouetted and just visible against the greyness of an overcast sky. The ragged V’s, the honking and squeaking. A corporate outing of beautiful birds heading for their next feeding grounds. Jesus was right – their Heavenly Father created them to heed His voice about the supply of food. And Jesus brought into His teaching the concept that we have our priorities all wrong. Instead of pursuing the business of our amazing Creator God, enjoying the abundant life that He has provided for us, we worry and hassle after more mundane things, like what we will eat or what we will wear. Jesus said we are “far more valuable” to God than birds so why do we worry? 

God has promised us rest. Hebrews 4 starts, “God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it.” But what is the rest Solomon mentioned, and the writer of the Hebrews epistle alludes to? The rest promised by God to Christians is in two parts – the peace of our relation with God in this life, and eternal life with Him in the life to come. So when we worry we are effectively preferring to trust our own efforts, thereby rejecting God’s offer of rest. 

So we work hard at the tasks God has given us – no place for laziness in His Kingdom – but within the context of experiencing His rest at the same time. Our priorities are clear. And peace descends, flushing away the cares of life.

Building

Posted on by korgrocker

“Unless the Lord builds a house, 
the work of the builders is wasted. 
Unless the Lord protects a city, 
guarding it with sentries will do no good.”
Psalms‬ ‭127:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What are we building? Not many of us, if any, will be building a physical house with bricks and mortar, but we will be building something. Perhaps we are building a new life somewhere. Building a marriage. Building a family. A Pastor building a church. Building a career. The list is endless. But whatever it is, it is always good to hit the pause button and consider the question, “What am I building?” Coupled with this question is the thought, “What am I building on?” Foundations are key to a building’s longevity. 

Solomon, the Psalmist, was well equipped to talk about building something. He was a very successful King in Israel, David. So his advice to involve the Lord in the building process was valuable and appropriate.  Jesus taught about building in the parable about the wise and foolish builder. One built on a foundation of sand; the other on a foundation of rock. The wise man built on the words and principles taught by Jesus. But the foolish man didn’t. We can’t build anything that will last unless we involve God and His principles right at the start when we choose a foundation. And as the building develops, we involve God in that process, step by step. 

Sadly, as we look back over our lives, I suspect that many of us have started building something without God’s input. And perhaps ended up with a “folly” (the dictionary defines this as “a costly ornamental building with no practical purpose, especially a tower or mock-Gothic ruin built in a large garden or park”). Or we have ended up with a monster beyond our control. Or even an entity that soon disappears like a puff of smoke. But it’s never too late to get our building process, and what we are building, back on track. Sometimes we will have to start again. At other times God will show us a better way. Perhaps there is relevance in the advice given in Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” But whatever happens, we have a loving Heavenly Father who cares for us – He won’t abandon us to the folly of our ways if we reach out to Him and His grace.