Disciples (2)

Posted on by korgrocker

“As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.”
John 1:36-37 NLT

‭‭I wonder if John’s two disciples knew what they were getting into when they decided to follow Jesus. Before them was three years with the Master, the “Lamb of God“, Himself, followed by a demanding but mostly rewarding life punctuated by times of extreme danger, personal discomfort, beatings and, finally, a violent and painful death. That time spent with Jesus was life changing for those two disciples but they never turned their backs on the “Lamb of God”. 

But for anyone today there is this dichotomy of choice – we either follow Jesus or we follow the devil, the latter being the default position. If we don’t want to spend eternity with God in Heaven, then we have no need to do anything. No need of going to church, or reading the Bible, or praying to our wonderful Creator. But the choice to follow Jesus will inevitably set us apart from the majority of people in the world, and at times we will feel as though we are swimming against a tide. Here in the West, we will not suffer beatings and a violent death – not yet anyway – but we may experience ridicule and be ostracised, excluded by those who have chosen the common path.

But it is a privilege to be able to follow the Lord. Choosing to be a follower of Jesus means setting ourselves apart from the world. We aspire to grow in our faith, aspiring to be more like Jesus, seeking to please Him at every opportunity. Though we diligently sit in the pews, listening to, and taking part in, the services, what really matters is putting into practice what we are hearing. James 1:22, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves“. And as a follower of Jesus, we strive to share the Gospel with those around us, making disciples of the Master wherever and whenever we have the opportunity. Being a Christian means a life of joy, as we share in the wonders of the Kingdom of God.

Dear Lord Jesus. As the old hymn says, “I have decided to follow Jesus”. We sing it together today. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Jesus is God

Posted on by korgrocker

”No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.”
John 1:18 NLT

I have never seen a famous historical person such as Shakespeare or John Wesley, because they were dead before I was born. But I know about them from their writings and biographies, and have seen artist’s impressions through paintings and drawings. But God is different. Even though He has always existed, no-one has ever seen Him, for one simple reason – He is Spirit. Human beings are natural and physical. There are occasions in the Old Testament when the greats of old such as Moses, Elijah and others apparently came close to seeing God, but not in any coherent and tangible way. But back to, for example, John Wesley. Although I have never seen him in the flesh, I can find out many details about him. His life has been picked apart by others who knew him to the extent that I can almost imagine that I have met him in person. 

When Jesus came, He revealed God to us. In the same way a son can tell us much about his father, through his memories, his mannerisms, his looks, Jesus told us much about His Father. We read in John 14:8-10, ”Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me“”. In his Colossians letter, Paul wrote, “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body” (Colossians 2:9). 

So we pilgrims, by following Christ, follow God, and in Him we will find a complete diet for our souls. In our natural world, there is much fretting and fussing over the food we eat, or don’t eat, or can’t eat. I know someone who is almost paranoid about the perceived harm done to their body by ultra processed foods. There are many diet sheets loudly proclaimed by their adherents. But there is only one diet for our spiritual lives and that can only be found in the Bible. Nothing ultra processed there! In this Book we will find out all that we need to know about our Trinitarian God. Fellow pilgrims – are we reading it? As often as we can? Through it God feeds our spirits. 

Two thousand years ago a baby was born, of peasant parents in humble surroundings, but that Child started a life dedicated to His Father that ended on a Roman Cross in the greatest sacrifice, and consequent moment in history, that this world has ever seen. Many, if not most, have discounted it as being irrelevant to them and their lives. But we need to proclaim this wonderful Son to all regardless. At every opportunity. How else will people know the wonderful God, the Creator of this Universe?

Dear Father God. Thank You for Jesus and all You have done for us. Amen.

John Testified

Posted on by korgrocker

“John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”“
John 1:15 NLT

John knew who Jesus was, that day on the banks of the River Jordan. And it wasn’t just his knowledge that Jesus was his cousin. It was the reality that God had sent His Son to this world, and John recognised Him as its Creator. He exists eternally, and for a brief few years He walked amongst His people embodying “grace and truth”, discarding eternity for time, a throne for humanity. John testified about “Him“, Jesus the Son of God, the Messiah they had all been waiting for. Did anyone else at that time know who Jesus really was? Or was it only John? There was certainly much in the way of expectation, going back hundreds of years, but no Messiah had emerged onto the Israel landscape. Had there been false messiahs and false prophets in the years before Jesus? He Himself warned about such a phenomenon, as we read in Matthew 24:24, “For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones“. Whatever the people were expecting, however, a baby in a manger would not have even occurred to them. And a man like themselves would have been difficult for them to accept, as Jesus found out when He was teaching in the Nazareth synagogue. “When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. … Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”” (Luke 4:16,22). But Jesus knew how difficult it would be for the people to accept Him as Messiah. Jesus said to them, “But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown” (Luke 4:24). If Jesus had burst into the Middle East, leading a huge army, then they would have accepted Him as their Messiah, but an itinerant preacher and teacher who could do a few miracles would not have been on their radar.

“John testified about him”, we read. But how did John know that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah? Later on John had doubts, because after he had been imprisoned by Herod, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” (Matthew 11:3). But on the banks of the Jordan, John had no doubts. The Holy Spirit within him left no room for any other possibility. The crowds there heard his message, his testimony about Jesus. 

In the world around us, in our communities and societies, there are many who could possibly relate to John and his message. In those days, people went to the Jordan, perhaps encouraged by their friends, who told them about this wild prophetic character with his Messianic message. Today, in the frantic information glut that surrounds us, the message of a Messiah quickly gets drowned out. But we pilgrims have a message about the Son of God and what He has done for us. There was that time when we were re-born into God’s family. And since then there have been occasions where the Holy Spirit has helped us sort out the life problems that we call sin. Like John we have a testimony. We experienced a life-changing event that put us on the road to eternal life with God Himself. The world around us is desperate for good news. We have it, and lots of it. We pray for opportunities when we can share what God has done for us. We won’t necessarily find crowds like John. But we will find opportunities to tell our stories of a Messiah, Jesus Himself. And what a wonderful story it is!

Dear Lord Jesus. As we follow You, day by day, please lead us to those who are waiting for Your message of Good News. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Final Words

Posted on by korgrocker

”You already know these things, dear friends. So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.“
2 Peter 3:17-18 NLT

Peter has come to the point in his letter when he finally decides he has written all that needs to be written. There’s nothing more to be said. A final warning to his readers to “be on guard”. Watch out, he wrote, because there are wicked people out there who are preaching error and leading people away from the truth about Jesus and His Gospel, distorting and twisting His message of Good News and hope for the future. Perhaps we are tempted to think that this was an early church phenomenon, and Biblical preaching and teaching today is much less prone to error. But thinking this is just what the devil likes. Complacency leads to apostasy, and an ineffective Christian life. We pilgrims must never cease our journey. We must never become becalmed in a morass of distractions, diverted from our mission.

Peter exhorted his readers to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ“. To grow takes effort, and God wants us to mature as Christians. A “baby” Christian cannot stay in that infantile state forever, but sadly many do. Just as a human baby looks to their mother, “baby” Christians expect their pastors or ministers to do everything for them, feeding them a palatable diet that they can enjoy. And when such attention is unavailable they look elsewhere for their spiritual input. They think that another church will supply their needs. Or perhaps they find a spiritual “creche” somewhere else, and go there instead.

It is by God’s grace that we can grow and He allows us the time and space to mature as Christians. Sometimes I check in again with those verses at the end of Acts 2. ”All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). We have distorted the purity of the Gospel with our liturgies, our “all about me” Christian worship songs, our pews providing fellowship limited to the back of a person’s head, our programmes to raise funds for the church organ or new roof instead of furthering the Gospel to those in need. The Christian life is all about Jesus and following Him and His teaching. We have wonderful resources in the Bible and its many translations, and we must study it with the devotion the early believers had. We must pray so fervently, that something significant happens in our prayer meetings. Acts 4:31, ”After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness“. We must look after each other, in times of fellowship not just restricted to a hand shake after the Sunday meeting. God’s grace abounds when His people are flowing in His ways.

Peter encouraged his readers to grow in grace and knowledge, and that will require a shift in our Christian world view and life style. Paul summed up this way of life in Colossians 3:1-4, ”Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory“. The Bible teaches us much about the “things of Heaven”, and we must appreciate the reality, as believers, that we are now citizens of Heaven. We must adopt the laws and customs of our new world. It is here that our eyes are opened and we realise the sinful and worldly ways that we have left behind. The transition from the old kingdom to the new will take a lifetime, as we “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. 

Dear Father God. We thank You for Your servant Peter and his letters so full of Your grace and love. We pray together today that Your Words will be food for our souls. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Make Every Effort

Posted on by korgrocker

“And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.”
2 Peter 3:14 NLT

Peter starts off this verse with a passive “wait”. As we pilgrims look forward to the new heavens and earth, we wait. I don’t suppose we have any choice, because only God knows the future and will make things happen according to His plans and purposes. But in that we can play our part. The previous verses in 2 Peter 3 implied that we have a role in hurrying along the coming “day of God”. We pray, we share our messages of hope, we praise and worship the coming King. We do all we can and we wait, but Peter came up with another specific requirement. He wrote “make every effort” to do something else – “to be found living …”. We need to get ready for the coming Lord, and in an active way that will impact every remaining moment of our lives. 

Firstly, Peter wrote that we should be found “living peaceful lives”. That has two element to it – living at peace with those around us, but more challenging perhaps, living at peace with ourselves. The first is perhaps one in which we can work at quite easily. We avoid doing anything that will upset anyone else. Paul wrote in Romans 12:18, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men“. The writer to the Hebrews went a step further, “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). It will take effort, but it is achievable. There will of course always be those looking for a fight, but as the Proverb says, “A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare” (Proverbs 15:1). With the Holy Spirit within us, we are empowered to live at peace with those around us. So when we face a difficult situation, we pray for the right response. When someone provokes us, we remain silent. When we have the opportunity to stand up for ourselves, perhaps if wrongly accused, we gently and non-confrontationally, state our case. When Jesus was before Pilate, we read in Matthew 27:12, “But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent“. Jesus also said, “And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said” (Luke 12:11-12). So as far as we are able, we live at peace with those around us.

But, secondly, what about inner peace? There is a worldly route to inner peace and tranquillity, the “gurus” will claim, through meditation, mindfulness, the use of therapists and other strange and, in the end, useless methods. There is only one route to inner peace, peace with ourselves, and that is through Jesus. He is the Prince of Peace. Inner peace is wholeness in mind and spirit, and it includes our consciences. Many people suffer dreadfully from a lack of inner peace because they are full of guilt and their consciences are constantly nagging them, dragging them down. They can become ill with symptoms caused by their mental chaos. So they end up with a psychiatrist who may help for a while, but in the end it is only God who can heal an inflamed and enraged conscience. Confession and restitution can work wonders in restoring an inner peace. In the world around us there is much that can cause us anxiety and destroy that inner peace. Wars, political instability, secular ideologies and so on. But these are all temporary phenomena and boulders put there by the enemy to trip us up and destroy our peace. We pilgrims look beyond the circumstances at the horizon where we see the emerging light of a new dawn. 

Peter wrote that our lives must be “pure and blameless in his sight”. It’s all about holiness and there is a connection with peace. Our lives must be found to be holy in His sight and there is only one way – Jesus. We reach out again to Him today, connecting with the Prince of Peace, the Lord of lords, the King of kings, our wonderful Saviour.

Dear Prince of Peace. We thank You for Your words of eternal life, bringing us a future and a hope. Amen.

‭‭

The Same Word

Posted on by korgrocker

“They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.”
2 Peter 3:5-7 NLT

There are ahead of us in time certain world events that will be catastrophic in their totality, as Peter described. But before we get there we are in a season of grace where we have the opportunity to consider who or what this “same word” really is. We think of a word as being something articulated and mouthed in our own languages that helps us communicate with those around us. From an early age, babies learn to speak and communicate, and through schooling, this extends to both spoken and written words. Information is contained in words, and without such a form of communication the world would be a poorer place. 

God Himself used words to create the heavens and the earth. We know the Genesis story well. Those verses that started “Then God said…”. The scientists and technologists have tried many times to emulate what God can achieve, but one thing they have failed to do is to speak in a way that creates something from nothing. One thing I always ask evolutionists and physicists, if I get the opportunity, is “Where did all the matter come from in the first place?”. They talk about the “big bang” and other complex theories, but of course, they have no answer to the origin of matter. Only God can create something from nothing, by a word. Neither can they answer the question, “Why is there matter and life around us, and not just nothing?”. It is usually at this point that the conversation changes. 

John’s Gospel starts with, “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone” (John 1:1-4). John set the scene for who Jesus really was, and is, right at the start of his Gospel, and we have to embrace the implications of this when we think about Him. The Son of God Himself was directly involved in the “same word” that uttered “Then God said …”. In fact, John said He was that Word at the very creation of the world. But after this He fulfilled God’s plan for mankind by becoming one of us. Who ever heard about a God who created the world and then became a part of that creation? The One with unlimited power and presence becoming a limited human being. And all to enable human beings to find God, their Creator, and turn to Him so that they could live with Him forever. Such love and grace!

But back to the consideration of what is to come. According to the Bible, Jesus didn’t just come to this world, born as a human baby, living and dying, and then never to be seen again. That “same word” still exists today. And we know that he is actively at work in Heaven preparing a place for us, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14:1-3). And one day He is coming back. Hebrews 9:28, “so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him“. 

But we also know that one day everyone will be judged according to what they did in their lives. Revelation 20:12, “I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books“. And the One who will be the Judge is Jesus Christ Himself. John 5:22, “In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge“.

So we have gone full circle, in a way. The same Word, who spoke into being the world we know, will one day utter judgement on those who come before Him. No more “gentle Jesus meek and mild”. The last judgement will be a scary occasion “when ungodly people will be destroyed”. In fact, the very Word that created will speak out punishment and judgement, scaring even the created environment to disappear. “And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide” (Revelation 20:11). But because of our loving and gracious God, we have an opportunity, in this season of grace, to embrace all he has for us. The Word who become flesh died for us at Calvary, that our sins would be forgiven and His righteousness able to cover us like a cloak, enabling us to enter God’s presence. Don’t miss this opportunity. Grab every opportunity to warn those around us. One day it will be too late.

Dear Father God. We reach out to You today, deeply grateful for Your love and grace. Please forgive us for our sins. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Word

Posted on by korgrocker

“They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood.”
2 Peter 3:5-6 NLT

Here we are on the first day of 2024. It will probably be a year of change, to follow on from the past year of change. We look back and perhaps wonder how we survived. But here on the intersection of two events in the calendar perhaps there is something within us providing a hint of Holy-Spirit-inspired excitement. Is this the year Jesus will return? Will revival break out in our communities? We don’t know, but what we do know is that God has plans. We are not discarded resources, fit for nothing anymore. We are children of God, and He wants to use each one of us for His will and purposes. That is why we have been created, and perhaps we need to look up today and echo the words of Isaiah 6:8, “Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”” We have a message of hope that the sad and cynical world around us needs to hear.

But back to our verses today from 2 Peter 3. We can sometimes forget that the world was created. But Peter obviously hadn’t. Referring to the “scoffers” described in the previous verses, he pointed out that they had “deliberately” forgotten all about the Creation story. In Genesis 1:6-8 we read, “And God said, “Let there be an expanse [of the sky] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters [below the expanse] from the waters [above the expanse].” And God made the expanse [of sky] and separated the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so [just as He commanded]. God called the expanse [of sky] heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day” (Amplified version). God created with a Word. He spoke and amazing things happened. But we should take note that God used part of His creation to administer judgement to a whole world of ungodly people, as Peter pointed out to his readers. The “scoffers” in previous verses thought that the world in which they lived was unchanging. They said, ” … From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created” (2 Peter 3:4b). But they “deliberately forgot” the Flood and the changes it brought to this planet. 

The “scoffers” will also not have read the rest of the story. Jesus Himself warned of catastrophic events still to happen. Matthew 24:29, “Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken“. Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear“. And, ominously, Jesus reminded His disciples of the event long ago, “People didn’t realise what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 24:39). We tend to be complacent, thinking that because the sun rises every day, and we have air to breath, that the world is unchanging. Of course, the ecologically conscious amongst us warn about global warming and assign blame to man-made use of fossil fuels. They hold conferences and feel good when world leaders sign pledges to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but in general the events Jesus warned about will bring a whole new dimension to the meaning of climate change. In fact, as we read in Revelation 20, there will be no climate left capable of changing. But in Revelation 6:12-14, we read, “I watched as the Lamb broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood. Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth like green figs falling from a tree shaken by a strong wind. The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places.” 

We need to be aware that the world is not immune from change. Astronomers tell us of events far away where stars flare up and disappear. It could happen to us as well. But there is Someone who is unchanging, and who will last for eternity. We read Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Malachi 3:6, “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed“. ‭‭We don’t know when the world will end. But we trust in the One who holds the world in His hand.

Dear Father God, the unchanging One. Thank You for Your unchanging Word, the living Word, Jesus. Amen.

Wholesome Thinking

Posted on by korgrocker

“This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Saviour commanded through your apostles.”
2 Peter 3:1-2 NLT

This is Peter starting to wrap up his letter, reminding his readers in Asia Minor what the purposes of his letter were. In fact, his first letter had the same purpose as his second – making and encouraging disciples. He wanted to strengthen their faith so that they could stand on their own spiritual feet by themselves. If there was anyone qualified to write this letter, with its encouragements and wisdom, its warnings and scope, it was Peter. The fisherman from Galilee, impetuous, outspoken, but with a special place in church history. Jesus said to him, “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it” (Matthew 16:18). So as a trusted disciple with a trusted mission in the future of Jesus’ church, the local representation of this church in the five provinces of what is now modern Turkey was important both to him and to God. In fact he referred to his readers as “dear friends” perhaps indicating that he knew them all personally. 

In Peter’s day there was no New Testament as we know it. The Apostle’s teaching was the gold standard for those early believers and it was only through the letters written by them, or by personal visits, that the Gospel message was propagated. Peter was executed about 68 AD and his second letter was probably written a year or two before that. The Gospels may have been written just after this, though we can’t be sure. So those early believers were particularly vulnerable to false teaching and error. But Peter carefully “tried to stimulate [their] wholesome thinking and refresh [their] memory“.

What did Peter therefore wish to remind the early believers of? A disciple of Jesus Christ builds his faith on the foundational truths of the Gospel, truths laid down by the Apostles, the men who had been with Jesus. The men who stood up in the Sanhedrin and confounded the Jewish leaders with their boldness and wisdom. Acts 4:13, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.” What a tremendous accolade – being noticed as having been with Jesus. Do those around us make the same connection? Hmm..

Jesus’ first disciples were giants of the faith. They had experienced the tongues of fire at Pentecost. They were men driven by their love of Jesus and the Holy Spirit within them. The words of Jesus never forgotten, words still ringing in their ears. And words they now repeated over and over again to anyone who would listen and who would embrace the Saviour as they had done. Words of eternal life, of the Kingdom of God, of Jesus Himself. 

What is the “wholesome thinking” that Peter referred to? Paul’s words might help us with an answer, because he reminded his readers of how they should align and renew their thoughts. We read in Ephesians 4:21-24, “Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy“. Those early believers weren’t on their own because they had the Holy Spirit within them, bringing to their remembrance what they had been taught. Bringing to their minds “wholesome thinking” from the teachings of Jesus.

What do we pilgrims think about such a reminder from Peter’s letter? Don’t need to hear it? Or something we take on board and remind ourselves to once again open the Bible, perhaps to a section we have neglected.  There are many distractions in our world and our thoughts can quickly rush off to irrelevancies and even untruths. We are constantly exposed to information, most of which is unwholesome and can even draw us away into wrong thinking. We, like those early Christians, need to “refresh [our] memories”. Regularly, and frequently. And against the timeless truths of Scripture, the things of the world grow strangely dim. We need to become, and stay, close to Jesus – only He has the words of eternal life.

Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways; reclothe us in our rightful mind, in purer lives thy service find, in deeper reverence, praise. Amen.

Returning To Sin

Posted on by korgrocker

“And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.””
2 Peter 2:20-22 NLT

This is a tragedy. I know people who once came to experience God’s saving grace through Jesus, who travelled for a while in His presence, but who then rejected Him and returned to their old sinful ways. Some of these people are personal friends and who are now in a spiritual desert, cynical, disillusioned and in denial. Often it is not God they have rejected, but the church, a fellowship of believers, who has turned them away. There may have been a misunderstanding, or a situation that was clumsily dealt with. But it may have been nothing to do with the church of which they were a part. Perhaps they started the journey but found the going too tough for them. Perhaps sin was so entrenched in their lives that they found themselves unable to rely on God and His love and grace. But in the end, they turned their back on the One who was their Saviour and Lord. 

Why is it that some people, who have received a glimpse of God and His Kingdom, who have even experienced God’s healing love and grace, then turn their back on Him? There was the case in Palestine of people who believed in Jesus but succumbed to peer pressure. John 12:42-43, “Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than the praise of God“. In the parable of the soils, there was the case of the good seed that quickly grew up but didn’t last for long. Matthew 13:5-6, “Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died“. In both cases, worldly pressure and the pleasures of sin created an environment where following Jesus was too big an ask for them. Their lives were dominated by short term considerations rather than the prospect of eternal life after they die.

After Jesus fed the five thousand, He went on to teach about Him being the Bread of life. We read the account in John 6. He said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh” (John 6:51). He went on to say, “But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day” (John 6:54). ‭Hard teaching indeed for a people who recoiled in disgust at anything that superficially looked like cannibalism. But the outcome was, “Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”  … At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him” (John 6:60, 66). There are some Christians who started their pilgrimage only to find some Biblical teaching that they couldn’t accept. A lady I know has a son who is a homosexual, and she was unable to accept what the Bible says about such a lifestyle choice. Even after much counselling infused with God’s love and grace, she finally decided that God and His ways were not for her. 

The writer to the Hebrews said this, “For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame” (Hebrews 6:4-6). Hard words that surely must penetrate through the façade of those who have rejected Jesus. 

There are some people in my community who have known God in the past, but have rejected Him. People who think they are good people (and they are of course by the world’s standards) but are unable to once again turn to God. Of course, “It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance” by my own efforts. But God will never give up on His children. His Spirit will always be there, drawing them towards the One who has the words of eternal life. Sadly, Peter had to write, “It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life“. But we pilgrims pray for those we know who now live in a life away from the One they once knew. God’s grace in without limit, even for them.

Dear Father God. What else can we do other than kneel at Your feet with grateful hearts? Amen.

Being Enslaved

Posted on by korgrocker

“They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.”
2 Peter 2:19 NLT

I’ve mentioned it before, that old Bob Dylan song. The chorus lyrics go like this, 

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed 
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

Peter wrote, “For you are a slave to whatever controls you”. A slave is a servant, but without the opportunity to escape from their bondage. People think that slavery in the 21st Century in Western societies doesn’t exist, but nothing can be further from the truth. In 2021, over 12,000 people held in slavery conditions in the UK were referred to the authorities, but the true number is thought to be much higher and in the region of 130,000. Criminal exploitation is the most common reason but there are others, and people are held in appalling conditions, under the control of cruel and heartless individuals. In Biblical days, slavery was common and an accepted part of society. The Old Testament contains specific teachings about how slaves should be treated. New Testament writings, particularly from Paul, were addressed to slaves and contain some insights into the conditions in which they lived. Ephesians 6:9, “Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favourites“. And then there is the letter from Paul to a man called Philemon who owned a slave called Onesimus, who had apparently absconded and ended up known to Paul. The Bible doesn’t specifically condemn slavery but it does provide a blueprint showing how we should treat our fellow human beings, reminding us that we are all God’s creation. Those who violate God’s teachings and principles become vulnerable to His judgement.

The Bible does say much, though, about slavery to sin, and that was what Peter was writing about. Paul wrote, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard“. So slavery to sin is a common affliction of human beings, but it doesn’t need to be. John 8:34-36, “Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free“. The only way that we can escape being a slave to sin is through Jesus. Only He can set us free, and He did that through His death at Calvary. His shed blood will cleanse us from all our sins. 

So the question has to be, what is controlling us? Our natural state is to be a slave to sin. That governs our behaviour, our habits, our likes and dislikes and so on. In our sinful state we know no better; well, that is until we meet Jesus. It has to be said that sin is, or can be, enjoyable, because it panders to our fallen nature. But sinning isn’t God’s way. When we trust Jesus for freeing us from our sins, and instead taking on His righteousness, we become acceptable to God. In his first letter Peter wrote, “For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy“” (1 Peter 1:16). Holiness is a prerequisite for being in God’s presence, and one day we will truly be perfect and holy, and able to be with God in Heaven. The alternative is to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a while before taking up residence in a place where the consequences of sin knows no limits‭‭. There we will find the ultimate sinner, the devil himself.

Peter wrote that false teachers, rather than showing believers the way to eternal life, corrupted the message about Jesus and God’s saving grace, because they themselves had failed to embrace it. Instead they preached a message that continued the same “sin and corruption” that they themselves were experiencing, and were slaves to. We pilgrims know better of course, and we propagate God’s message of forgiveness at every opportunity. We watch out for any message that preaches otherwise. And we regularly ask God the same question that David did in Psalm 139:23-24, “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.” And He will.

Father God. We do ask that question in Your presence today. Please help us to have the courage to face into anything that gets in between us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.