Victory

Posted on by korgrocker

“Sing a new song to the Lord, 
     for He has done wonderful deeds. 
His right hand has won a mighty victory; 
   His holy arm has shown his saving power! 
Shout to the Lord, all the earth; 
    break out in praise and sing for joy! 
Let the sea and everything in it shout His praise! 
    Let the earth and all living things join in. 
Let the rivers clap their hands in glee! 
    Let the hills sing out their songs of joy 
    before the Lord, 
for He is coming to judge the earth. 
    He will judge the world with justice, 
    and the nations with fairness.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭98:1, 4, 7-9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Another tremendous Psalm of joy and praise. Reading it, I get the impression that there has been a victory after a battle, and the Psalmist is giving God the credit, mentioning His “mighty deeds”, “mighty victory” and “saving power”. In those earlier days in Israel’s history, there was constant friction between the Jews and their neighbours. I suppose it hasn’t changed much today.

But I also get the impression that the Psalmist, probably reflecting national thought, expected this to be perhaps the first, or another, skirmish in what he hoped would be the process of God judging and passing sentence on the hapless neighbouring countries in that war-torn region on our planet. The Jews had an expectation that God would ultimately deal with the political situation in Palestine and fulfil His promise of driving out the nations that were populating their “promised land”.

We also have skirmishes in our lives. We have a “promised land” in the Kingdom of God, and although, as Christians, we are already populating it, we are still having problems with the  “neighbours”. Our sins encroach on our inheritance. The enemy, the devil, is doing his best to stop us settling into our new life in God. Secular society ostracises those who stray away from the herd, taking the moral high ground, adopting counter-cultural ways, challenging belief systems. But we look to God for salvation, for a new life free from sin and the devil and all things bad. We can thank God for the small victories in our pilgrimage through life. We can praise and worship the Lord Almighty, the God who graciously loves us, who supports us, who picks us up when we fall, and beckons us on to the new Jerusalem, just over the horizon of our consciousness. 

I’m overwhelmed by God’s grace this morning. As Christians we worship a God who is not a remote and distant deity, only interacting with His people on a whim, when He feels like it. We worship a God who so loved us that He actually came to this planet. God’s Son, Jesus, took on human flesh, and lived amongst us. He was part of a family. He worked for a living. He had such compassion on His fellow countrymen that He worked tirelessly amongst them, healing, teaching, loving. He felt the rejection of being counter-cultural, challenging the value systems and beliefs of His day. And He died for us, taking on our sins at Calvary. Through love He paid the ultimate price so that we could one day not only see the new Jerusalem in the distance, but one day live there with Him. What grace! What love! In this season of Advent, let us anew praise and worship the Lord “who has done wonderful deeds”.

Idols

Posted on by korgrocker

“Those who worship idols are disgraced—
    all who brag about their worthless gods—
    for every god must bow to Him.
For you, O Lord, are supreme over all the earth;
    You are exalted far above all gods.“
Psalm 97:7,9 NLT

What’s a “god”? It’s a common enough word, used in all sorts of contexts. It’s incorporated in profane expressions of surprise. It’s used to describe the focus of various religions. It’s even used to describe an object or pastime to which an enthusiast devotes all of his or her time and resources. But in these verses, the Psalmist declares that all such uses of the word “god”, with a small “g”, in its application in the lives of mankind, miss the point, which is that there is only one God, the Lord Almighty. The implication in his message is that such devotion to other gods is pointless. 

The Psalmist brings in three attributes of the gods favoured by man. “Disgrace”, “Bragging” and “Worthless”. Firstly, there is the “disgrace” of getting so involved in the human gods that the person’s behaviour becomes worship, which then, secondly, leads to “bragging”. Then there is the consequence that such gods are “worthless”. As an illustration, there is a man living close to where I live who is devoted to his “god” – his model railway. He has converted his garage to accommodate an extensive model railway layout, and he has made a considerable financial investment in a varied and expensive selection of models. He boasts about his resources and his man made “god”. His hobby dominates his thinking and his time. Is this an idol he worships? Possibly, or even probably. One day it may come up in a discussion between him and God.

How will all these man made “gods” bow before the Lord? They have no ability to become mobile. They have no life to recognise the God we worship. So the “bowing” before God takes the form of a comparison, as between a statue and a person. Between the inanimate and the animate. And we know there is no comparison, because the Lord Almighty is the ultimate God. There are no other gods. 

All that is very well, so how does the 21st Century pilgrim navigate a world populated by man made gods? Do we forsake all hobbies and pastimes? Should my model railway neighbour give it all up and become a religious ascetic? A good question, and one we should bear in mind in our own lives and circumstances. Jesus’ teaching was clear. In Mark 12, Jesus unequivocally declared in response to a question about what was the greatest commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Hmmm….

Singing Creation

Posted on by korgrocker

“Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!
Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
Let the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he is coming!
He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice,
and the nations with his truth.”
Psalm 96:11-13

These few verses could have come from a children’s fantasy book. Who would ever have considered the concepts of glad heavens, rejoicing soils, and trees singing for joy? The cartoon picture of a face in a tree, singing and laughing away, comes to mind. But the Psalmist was writing about God’s creation bursting out with a tremendous shout of joyful praise. And all because the Lord God Almighty was coming to judge the earth and all within it. 

But a thought has popped into my mind – what would the evolutionary atheists around me think of this spectacle. Those people in the schools, universities, and businesses, who don’t believe there is a God and therefore lack the opportunity to be able to think outside the boundaries of their paradigms. The shock awaiting those people will be total. Their belief systems will crumble and dissolve like a pat of butter before a blow lamp. 

In my morning prayer walks, I find that God’s creation around me is full of movement and potential, even in this season. The weariness of this time of year, with the last leaves of Autumn clinging grimly to what has been their home for the past few months, with the ground-level vegetation dying away revealing the rotting detritus from a previous year, is but a comma in the Creator’s application of His design. The potential, to be revealed in the coming Spring, is there, like a coiled spring waiting to be released. Whispers of new life are constantly around me, in the bird song, the bubbling of the streams, the wind gently blowing, ruffling the tree tops with the breath from Heaven. Romans 8:22 says, “For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” One day, the “child” will be born, bringing a world singing with praise and joy. It’s coming. Spring will be a poor example of what will happen one day, when the Psalmist’s picture of praise and joy comes to fruition. And God Himself will ride the tide of Creation’s exultation bringing justice and truth at last to a tired world. “What a day that will be”, as the old song lyrics say. And He says to His weary creation, and to you and me, “Hang on, I’m coming soon”.

God, the People Watcher

Posted on by korgrocker

“Come, let us worship and bow down. 
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, 
for He is our God. 
We are the people He watches over, 
the flock under His care. 
If only you would listen to His voice today!”
Psalms‬ ‭95:6-7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Have we ever had that impression that someone is looking at us? On the bus? Across a crowded room? In a meeting? When that happens, how do we feel? Threatened? Insecure? Frightened? Wondering if we have spilt our soup down a clean shirt? Or do we shrug it off and move on? Well, never mind what is happening in our natural environments, we have a constant Presence watching us in the realm of the spirit. The Psalmist points out that God is watching us. But he is not just glancing in our direction. His “watching” is much deeper, much more profound – it extends into caring. The Psalmist uses the analogy of a flock, of sheep or goats, being under the care of a shepherd. 

We can dip into the Gospels to build on this analogy. In John 10, Jesus taught the people using a situation they would all understand. The everyday world of looking after flocks of animals. And in verse 11 of this chapter He said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” And that is exactly what Jesus did. There came a day when He laid down His life for all mankind, in that amazing, loving, humbling, yet tragic act of self sacrifice at Calvary. And because of what Jesus did, we can become part of God’s “flock”, and enjoy His caring and watching for ever. 

The Psalmist ended this section with the statement, “If only you would listen to His voice today!” I think there is a hint of frustration in these few words. As I look around me in the community in which I live, I see good people who don’t know Jesus. And in this season, when we celebrate the Birth of Jesus,  I echo the Psalmist’s sentiments, but with the prayer that the Holy Spirit will overturn the “if only” into the reality of a new soul being welcomed into God’s flock. And use us, His people, to do the introduction.

Vengeance

Posted on by korgrocker

“O Lord, the God of vengeance, 
O God of vengeance, let your glorious justice shine forth! Arise, O Judge of the earth. 
Give the proud what they deserve. 
How long, O Lord? 
How long will the wicked be allowed to gloat? 
How long will they speak with arrogance? 
How long will these evil people boast? 
They crush your people, Lord, 
hurting those you claim as your own. 
They kill widows and foreigners 
and murder orphans. 
“The Lord isn’t looking,” they say, 
“and besides, the God of Israel doesn’t care.””
Psalms‬ ‭94:1-7‬ ‭NLT‬

Is that really true? That God is a God of vengeance? Surely not – aren’t we taught that God is a God of love? Doesn’t His grace cover over all our sins? Sadly, there have been many people shipwrecked on a wrong view of God. Yes, He is a God of love and grace, but He is also a God of righteousness and justice. I’m sure that if more people realised what was coming down the track towards them on Judgement Day, they would change trains and get on the right track. But it is a frustration for God’s people, for you and me, that so much injustice is allowed to fester away in our nations. So many people break the laws, including God’s laws, in our societies, committing all sorts of heinous crimes. And because they apparently get away with such behaviour, escaping a lightning bolt from Heaven in the process, they think that God never noticed, let alone the authorities. Gloating, arrogance, and boasting are attributes often seen in the lawbreakers.

The Psalmist goes on to describe three categories of people – widows, foreigners and orphans. Those in his society least able to protect themselves. Today the same message rings out – there are social groupings today that are oppressed and undervalued in our societies. But the mention of “foreigners” is interesting. In British society today there is a growing anger about the scale of illegal immigration. We need to perhaps remember that Jesus was an economic migrant soon after he was born, when His earthly parents escaped to Egypt, getting away from King Herod’s murderous clutches. In the next village to me there is a Bulgarian couple that I sometimes meet when they are walking their dog. They have a very poor grasp of English, but I have managed to get across a welcoming message and soon I hope to share the love of God with them. I don’t know why they are in Scotland – perhaps I’ll find out one day – but they come into the category of “foreigners”. People from other lands and nations, from other ethnic groups, “foreigners”, get a special mention in Psalm 94.

But one thing certainly isn’t true about God, that He doesn’t care about the wicked behaviour of evil people. He just bides His time, in His grace and mercy giving plenty of opportunities for evil to be turned into good. And His people – you and me – mustn’t forget that we are the dispensers of His message of love and grace even to those who are the evil ones in our societies. Religious people will tut away in front of their TV screens as the newsreels roll, as they show yet another act of atrocity. But if the “religious” tag includes us then we need to turn tutting into praying, inaction into action, praying for our governments and societies, for those creating such mayhem, pushing back the tides of evil wherever and whenever we can. Oh – don’t forget we can help the disadvantaged in our societies as well – we just need to look out for them. 

God’s Majesty

Posted on by korgrocker

“The Lord is king! He is robed in majesty. 
Indeed, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength. 
The world stands firm 
and cannot be shaken. 
Your throne, O Lord, has stood from time immemorial. 
You yourself are from the everlasting past. 
Your royal laws cannot be changed. 
Your reign, O Lord, is holy forever and ever.”
Psalms‬ ‭93:1-2, 5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Here’s another short Psalm. Only five verses. But it says so much about God and His majesty, His royalty, His strength, His longevity,  His laws, and His holiness. And verse 1 also makes the point that His world, the world He created, cannot be shaken. I would take from that the thought that this world, Planet Earth, cannot be destroyed. In Genesis 1:31, we read, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” I don’t know about you, but the God I know wouldn’t have called His creation “very good” if man could come along and destroy it. What God created, He built to last. At least, until He decrees it is time for the new Heaven and Earth to be rolled out. 

But back to this word-picture from the Psalmist. You can just imagine our amazing God sitting on His throne, robed, not just in any old cloth, but in Majesty, a fabric too holy and precious to pass through even the best tailors in London’s Savile Row. A fabric infinitely beyond the capability of even the best weavers to make. A fabric made of special threads, with strands of holiness, strands of God-strength, strands of grace, strands of love, and strands of eternity. It is no wonder that from that throne God can issue laws so profound and true, so righteous and gracious, that they have the tag, “God-royal”. Mankind tampers with and amends His laws at their peril. 

I wonder, if the One who sits on the throne is so majestic and holy, what sort of throne it must be to support such a Worthy. And it is even a greater wonder to think if we, mere mortals, will ever get the chance to find out what it is like. But I’m now going to amaze you all. That throne can be approached by each one of us right now. Yes, right now. We read in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence…“. Through Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary we can enter into the Most Holy Place where God lives. Confidently expecting the grace and mercy we need.

So today, from this short Psalm we can have the wonderful experience of getting a glimpse of God in all His finery sitting on a throne so vast and extensive that we can only marvel in awe. If the boss shouts at us today, just imagine God and His throne. The local problems will disappear before His majesty. 

The Real Greens

Posted on by korgrocker

“But the godly will flourish like palm trees 
and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. 
For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house. 
They flourish in the courts of our God. 
Even in old age they will still produce fruit; 
they will remain vital and green. 
They will declare, “The Lord is just! 
He is my rock! 
There is no evil in him!””
‭Psalms‬ ‭92:12-15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Are there any palm trees and cedars amongst my readers today? Godly people, flourishing and strong? The Psalmist is comparing the life of a Godly person to the growth and stature of Middle Eastern trees that exemplify life as it should be – fully functioning as designed. And he goes on to say that the godly person flourishes, living a life as designed, in God’s presence. Because it is from Him that their life comes from. There are no spiritual deserts in God’s presence, stunting and even eliminating growth. In God’s presence there is an unlimited supply of all the nutrients needed to maintain life, as He designed it. 

But the Psalmist goes on to say that the flourishing taking place is not just for the early part of life – the vitality of the person continues until they take their last breath. Producing the fruit of a Godly life. Across the road from me there is a Rowan Tree. It has faithfully produced berries and green leaves for nearly fifty years from when it was first planted. But sadly, it’s days are numbered because a split has emerged in its trunk and the wood inside has started to rot. It is grimly hanging on but it is no longer as vital and green as it once was. Is that how we will end our days? Rotten and bitter inside, no more fruit, grimly hanging onto life? The Psalmist’s view of senior citizens in God’s presence is one of a different person. There may be a few wrinkles. They may be a bit stiffer and less able. But still living a fruitful life, doing God’s work in these godless days. Still with a twinkled eye. Still allowing God’s spiritual nutrients to flow through verdant and vital veins. 

And the oldies finish these verses with a timeless statement about God‘s justice, righteousness and dependability. Such sentiments are the fruit of a life that doesn’t end but transitions into God’s presence, continuing to produce fruit. Continuing in a green vitality. Continuing with God forever. The real Greens. God’s Greens.

Thrills

Posted on by korgrocker

“You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! 
I sing for joy because of what you have done. 
O Lord, what great works you do! 
And how deep are your thoughts. 
Only a simpleton would not know, 
and only a fool would not understand this: 
Though the wicked sprout like weeds 
and evildoers flourish, 
they will be destroyed forever.”
Psalms‬ ‭92:4-7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

That’s a great word describing the impact God has on us – “thrill”. So I start by asking two questions this morning – what has God done for us, and has the impact thrilled us? Personally, I can remember life events that I refer back to time and time again, with a thankful heart. With a deep gratitude to God for His provision in a dire time of need. And I can remember, particularly after one event, an emotional surge of thankfulness that fell into the “thrill” category. But we can’t go through life looking for the thrills, sudden bursts of fairground-like emotions – day by day He constantly watches over us and the Holy Spirit nudges us when we need to change direction or change a decision. We cannot fail to be thrilled by a God, the Creator of everything, who so intimately cares for each one of us, even to the extent of counting and numbering all the hairs on our heads! And the Psalmist continues with a song of joy, spontaneously bursting out from a thrilling experience. It is a good exercise to sit down with a paper and pencil and list all the “great works” God has done, not just for us, but for our families and friends as well. And we can rejoice and be thrilled by them too. The Psalmist also refers to God’s thoughts – now there’s a whole new dimension. How can we know God’s thoughts? The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, finished the second chapter with this verse, “For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.” So through our relationship with Jesus we can know His thoughts – not completely of course, but we can gain a glimpse  of what God is thinking, in the knowledge too that all His thoughts will line up with what He has said in His Word.

The Psalmist ends these verses today with a reference to a “simpleton” and a “fool”. Strong words describing someone who rejects God by behaving in an unacceptable way, not realising that one day, in spite of their apparent earthly successes, they will be destroyed. Sometimes that will happen in this life, but it will surely happen in the life to come. One day the “wicked” will stand before His throne of judgement.

So where do these verses leave us. I would say in the knowledge of the stark and even extreme dichotomy between God’s way and a godless way. There is no middle ground.

Angels?

Posted on by korgrocker

“For he will command his angels concerning you 
to guard you in all your ways; 
they will lift you up in their hands, 
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
Psalms‬ ‭91:11-12‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

These were the verses used by the devil during the second temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, soon after He was baptised. Isn’t it strange that so many people shrug off the Bible as irrelevant, but, of the forces behind our universe, One was the author of the Book and the other used it as a reference. But the question remains – were these verses part of a prophetic glimpse of the coming Messiah, or can they apply to us today?

What do you think about angels? They figure frequently in the Bible passages, even being named, liked Michael and Gabriel. And we read in Revelation 12 and other passages about a rebellion in Heaven and as a consequence satan and his angels were evicted. But are angels with us today? Do we have, as many claim, guardian angels? I personally believe that angels exist – the Biblical and other evidence is too strong and clear, in my opinion, for there not to be angels. From verse 9 in this Psalm, we could draw the conclusion that part of the benefit of being a God-dweller is that God will appoint angels to look after us, but when our lives fall apart, as they sometimes do, does that mean we haven’t been living in God’s refuge, under His protection? And if we read verse 16 as part of a Messianic prophecy, does the long life bit apply to Jesus, because He was savagely killed at the age of 33, or thereabouts. So this Psalm perhaps raises more questions than answers. 

However, this Psalm gives me an overwhelming sense of God’s provision. His love and grace, His protection and concern for us, His people, bursts out of the page into my spirit. Yes, we will experience much pain and grief in this life, even when we are close to God, even when we spend much time in His presence. It’s a sinful world and the enemy will do his utmost to cause us hassles. And we can compound our difficulties through making wrong choices at times. But through it all shines this wonderful truth that God is there for us, with His army of angels, waiting to help us in our times of need. Perhaps we won’t really know the full extent of how he has helped us in this life until we reach the life to come. And it is there that we might perhaps meet our “guardian angels”. Any thoughts?

Terrors of the Night

Posted on by korgrocker

“You will not fear the terror of night, 
nor the arrow that flies by day, 
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, 
nor the plague that destroys at midday. 
A thousand may fall at your side, 
ten thousand at your right hand, 
but it will not come near you. 
You will only observe with your eyes 
and see the punishment of the wicked.”
‭Psalms‬ ‭91:5-8‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

These words from Psalm 91 have sustained me on several occasions. There was one occasion when the redundancy sword was hanging heavily over the organisation where I worked. The usual double whammy of too many employees and insufficient work to sustain their employment. And my own department and position was particularly vulnerable. But God in His mercy popped verse 7 into my mind, “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.” Thankfully, I survived the redundancy exercise, but several colleagues didn’t. God in His mercy reassured me, and His Word sustained me in the run up to the announcement. 

But there are other nuggets in these few verses. Night terrors, for one. Isn’t it strange that when we lie in bed the problems of the previous day, or the day to come, assume proportions far in excess of reality? And instead of praying and touching base with our loving Heavenly Father, we lie in a terror-sweat, building imaginary scenarios in our minds. Or am I the only one who has experienced those sorts of “terrors in the night”?

The verses go on to explore the life experiences that can be so debilitating. Physical violence from weaponry. Illnesses and plagues. Infestations from other forms of life, microscopic or otherwise. These things can induce fears in each one of us. The Covid “plague” is particularly relevant today and I have dear friends who live in fear, adopting a hermit-like existence, just in case they become afflicted by the virus. “What-if” fears can be a blight on our lives in themselves.

Verse 4 of this Psalm is where we need to camp. Under the wings of our loving Heavenly Father. Because it is there that we will find the protection we all need. There are no terrors in His presence, just love and reassurance, kindness and grace.