The Meat Conclusion

Posted on by korgrocker

“If someone who isn’t a believer asks you home for dinner, accept the invitation if you want to. Eat whatever is offered to you without raising questions of conscience. (But suppose someone tells you, “This meat was offered to an idol.” Don’t eat it, out of consideration for the conscience of the one who told you. It might not be a matter of conscience for you, but it is for the other person.) For why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks? If I can thank God for the food and enjoy it, why should I be condemned for eating it?”
1 Corinthians 10:27-30 NLT

1 Corinthians 10 is a chapter rich in references to idolatry and the issue of food offered to idols. It even contains a warning about the behaviour of the Israelites as they slowly journeyed to the Promised Land from slavery in Egypt. But in our verses located towards the end of the chapter, we see Paul reaching a conclusion. He said that if the food before him, regardless of its source, can be eaten with thanks for it being offered to God, then the only potential harm in eating it is if, by so doing, it would offend someone with a weaker conscience. We’re back to the principle of loving others, looking out for them, and preferring them to ourselves, a principle that should be deeply ingrained in Christians everywhere. However, the issue of food offered to idols doesn’t impact believers today in the same way it did in First-Century Greece.

To the Jews, however, quite rigid laws apply for the consumption of meat. Such laws determine which types of meat can be eaten and which can’t, and they also apply to how the animal must be slaughtered. Adherents to Islam have a similar set of rules and regulations. So we end up with meats that are “kosher” or “halal”. Jewish dietary laws, known as “kashrut”, were given to the Jews for several reasons, including a divine commandment in the Torah, to maintain Jewish identity and separateness, and to elevate the act of eating into a religious ritual. 

Peter faced a dilemma when he had a vision from God concerning the consumption of animals. Peter was staying in a place called Joppa, a city located on the coast, approximately 40 miles north of Jerusalem. At the same period when Paul had his Damascus Road conversion, Peter was travelling around, eventually ending up in Joppa. During his journey, he performed many miracles and saw many turn to Christ. In Joppa, there was a woman called Tabitha (or Dorcas in the Greek), who became ill and died, and we read in Acts 9:39-40, “So Peter returned with them; and as soon as he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other clothes Dorcas had made for them. But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, “Get up, Tabitha.” And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up!” But here was Peter, still staying in Joppa, when he had a vision, which we can read about in Acts 10:10-13. Peter “ … was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them””. Peter’s response was in the next verse, ““No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean”. The voice in Peter’s vision then said, “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean”. Paul must have reached the same conclusion about meat and its origins at some point on his post-conversion journeys, and he was able to advise the Corinthians accordingly. 

“Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean”

We pilgrims can learn a lesson or two from all of this. Sometimes, it is easier for believers to isolate themselves as far as possible from worldly things. Such behaviour may not involve certain types of food, but it will include our relationships with people who aren’t Christians. Therefore, we tend to avoid contact with unbelievers whenever possible. But if we do so, how can we share the Gospel —the Good News about Christ —with those who need to hear it? That was why Peter received the vision. He obviously received God’s intended message, because we read what he said to the Gentile Cornelius, and those gathered with him, in Acts 10:28, “Peter told them, ‘You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean”. And so it is with us. So, when we meet someone today, we do not recoil in case we become corrupted by the encounter, but instead we consider the person before us as a potential child of God. We reach out to them, in any way that we can, looking for an opportunity to tell them about Jesus and His saving grace.

Dear Father. You have ordained our lives of service, and we don’t want to do anything that gets in the way of sharing Your Good News. Please lead and guide us, we pray, to the places where we need to go and in the relationships we need to make. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Law and Grace

Posted on by korgrocker

“You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.”
1 Corinthians 6:12-14 NLT

Much of the Bible is devoted to the sinfulness of man and the grace and love of God. This common theme weaves a path through the Bible as though it were a coloured thread, meandering through the warp and weft of a rich Scriptural tapestry, depicting God’s love all the way from Genesis to Revelation. In the Old Testament, the sinfulness of man was exposed by the Law of Moses, but in the New Testament, God’s grace came to the fore. Paul openly wrote about the conflict between God’s Law and His grace in Romans 7, where we read, “Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet”” (Romans 7:7). But then he wrote, “But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good” (Romans 7:12). Jesus Himself exposed the dilemma caused by the Law when He said, “So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:19). But then He went on, saying in the next verse, “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!” 

Paul wrote much about the law and God’s grace in his letter to the Romans, and Romans 5:20-21 gives a succinct contrast between the two: “God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. So it is understandable how believers became confused by grace and reached a position where they thought they could do what they wanted because God’s grace would cover their sins. But Paul went on to tell the Romans, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2). For those who thought that they could keep on sinning, Paul said, “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin” (Romans 6:6-7). And Paul continued to make his point, writing, “Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realise that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living” (Romans 6:15-16). For anyone confused about the Law and God’s grace, sin and righteousness, they should read and study the Book of Romans until the Holy Spirit instils the contents deep within our souls. 

So, back to the Corinthians and Paul’s letter. He mentioned two specific areas of concern that the believers there seemed to be indulging in, and both pertained to their appetites. Of course, being set free from the Law meant that forbidden foods were no longer off-limits. However, Paul pointed out that not all things that went into their stomachs would be beneficial to them. But we pilgrims know that, don’t we? A diabetic will know the foolishness of eating foods with a high sugar content. An alcoholic will know that wine, beer and spirits are beverages to avoid. But the Law listed certain animals that should be avoided as food as well, practical advice that Moses wrote about in Leviticus 11. However, in Romans 14, Paul tied the consumption of certain foods to honouring and thanking God, providing an emphasis that provided the Holy Spirit the opportunity to bring correction and guidance. And further on in this chapter, Paul advised that what we eat and drink should be sensitive to other believers, who might struggle with what is on offer. So, for example, eating meat in the presence of a vegan believer might introduce difficulties for them, and drinking wine while an alcoholic is present would lack wisdom. 

The other appetite that Paul mentioned concerned sexual immorality. This is a very challenging topic for many believers because it strikes at the very reason for a human being’s inbuilt desire to propagate the human species. Our sexual appetites have been designed by God to provide both children and pleasure in the process. But the enemy has once again taken something good and sacred, and twisted and defiled it in a way that degrades our minds and bodies. About our bodies, Paul wrote, “They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies”. Earlier in the chapter, Paul mentioned sexual sins, adultery, prostitution, and homosexuality, all corruptions of God’s design and sacred order, but more of that in another blog.

It may be theoretically possible to achieve God’s standard of righteousness by following the Law. Still, if the Pharisees failed to achieve the right standard, then no one else could either. God could see the difficulties and struggles that human beings were experiencing with sin, and that was why Jesus came, bringing God’s grace to this earth, grace in the person of the God-Man, Jesus. The simplicity of the Gospel, that Jesus died in our place, taking onto Himself our sins, and in the process allowing us access to God’s presence covered in Jesus’ righteousness, is breathtakingly awesome and mind-boggling. That is God’s grace. Yes, the Law is still there and, as Paul wrote, it will continue to remind us of our sins, but through God’s grace we can bring them in repentance to the Cross, assured of His forgiveness. And as we progress in our Christian lives, the process of sanctification continues, making us more and more like Jesus. Paul wrote, “So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:21). Amen and amen.

Dear Heavenly Father. Your grace and forgiveness to a sinful world are beyond understanding, and we know that we haven’t earned it. Once again, we come into Your presence as Your children, deeply grateful for Jesus. Amen.

The Given Ones

Posted on by korgrocker

“Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began! O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”
John 17:24-26 NLT

A poignant end to Jesus’ High Priestly prayer. In human terms it could have been prayed by a parent concerned for their children and forced to leave them behind before they embarked on a long journey. Of course people want their loved ones to be with them wherever they go. But Jesus wasn’t praying about some future event – He wanted His disciples to be with Him in the present. But they were right there in the Garden with Him, weren’t they? In the language used it is sometimes easy to confuse the natural and spiritual lives and I’m sure the disciples were a bit confused. As well as being a Man standing before them on the Mount of Olives, Jesus was also the second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, and He had been with His Father “since before the foundation of the world”. John 1:1-2, “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God”. But Jesus continued in His prayer, desirous that His friends would also see His glory

Jesus had previously told His disciples, “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). In another Bible translation, the “rooms” or “places” become “mansions”, but whatever was being planned, the disciples knew it would be a wonderful place. If we read on in John 14, we find the profound response of Jesus to Thomas’s question – “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me“” (John 14:6). 

The disciples had been chosen by Jesus after he spent a night in prayer, and in our John 17 verses He confirmed that it was His Father who had given them to Him. They were a motley crew, if ever there was one. Fishermen and a tax collector just to name two professions amongst them. But even though they had been chosen and given by Father to Son, they still had a choice to make. They had the benefit of knowing Jesus, and that implied a relationship based on faith and trust, in that they believed He was who He said He was, the Son of God. And we know that these men had spent a turbulent three years with Jesus, being trained for what was still to come. But they still had to choose to follow Jesus, regardless of what that meant. Some disciples on the periphery of Jesus’ followers found that His teaching was too hard for them, and we read in John 6:66, “At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him“. After this we read, “Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God”” (John 6:67-69). They were faithful followers, even though one of them would later turn away from Him and betray Him. 

We pilgrims have been chosen by God. Ephesians 1:4, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. ... ”. So God has kept His promise to us. But there is a choice also to be made from our side. We cannot just hear God’s call and then turn our backs, as many do. Instead we turn our faces towards Him, embracing whole-heartedly His love for us. As Jesus said, it is only Him that has the words of eternal life.

Father God. We respond to Your love and grace with grateful hearts, full of gratitude and worship. Amen.

Known and Chosen

Posted on by korgrocker

“ … I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace.”
1 Peter 1:1b-2 NLT

The believers living in Turkey were to be the readers of Peter’s first epistle. And Peter highlighted several things about them. Firstly, they were a people “chosen”  by God, and the choice was made “long ago”. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes” (Ephesians 1:4). It is an amazing thought that when God created the world He could see all of time rolled out before Him and He could see who would be His chosen people in every time slot. But Peter wasn’t promoting a strange idea – the Holy Spirit had revealed it to him and the other Apostles. Of course, some people will say that it is pointless wanting to be a Christian because God has selected, has “chosen”, who He wants as His followers. If you are not one of the “chosen” ones then hard luck! Others will say that God’s choice was based on His knowledge of what the believer would choose. But either way, Peter encouraged the believers in Turkey with the thought that God knew them and chose them.

Secondly, Peter informed the Turkish believers that they were “holy” through His Spirit. They had been “cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ”. The amazing fact about Jesus’ death at Calvary was that Jesus took on board all our sins and in return gave us His righteousness, so that all believers everywhere can stand before God in holiness. The believers in the five provinces had come to Jesus in repentance, leaving the burden of their sin at the foot of His cross. As Peter pointed out, this act of repentance was through their obedience to God.

Thirdly, Peter pointed out that “God’s chosen people” were foreigners. Strange, because these people lived there in the region of the five provinces. They had most likely been born there and brought up in that society. So how could they have been “foreigners”? This is something that we believers need to realise and accept. Jesus said in John 15:18-19, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you”. When were chosen to be His followers, we moved citizenship from the kingdom of the world to the Kingdom of Heaven. We have a new passport. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:20, “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Saviour”. The problem for us pilgrims is that we are keen to cling onto “dual nationality”. We like to have a foot in each camp, in each kingdom. 

Peter now moved on to give a blessing to his readers. “More and more grace and peace” he wrote. With what we know of the challenges facing the early adopters of faith in Jesus, they would need all the grace in God’s treasure chest to be able to live in peace in an antagonistic society.

Jesus commanded us to “come out of the world” because we are no longer a part of it. Of course, we have to live in our societies, work in our offices and factories, go to secular schools and colleges. But in it all we remember what is written on our passports. We have been born again into a new Kingdom, and one day we will join Jesus there. And we too will need all the “grace and peace” available to be able to survive unscathed and uncorrupted in a foreign land.

Father God. Thank You for choosing us to be Your children. Amen.

Christ Came

Posted on by korgrocker

“Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.”
Romans 15:8 NLT

We Gentile pilgrims sometimes forget that Jesus was a Jew. He would have been Middle Eastern in appearance, not as commonly portrayed in Western films as a white Caucasian man. In fact, Matthew 1 records His genealogy all the way back to Abraham. He was a descendant of King David and fulfilled the Jewish expectation of their Messiah. Zechariah 9:9 was just one verse amongst many prophesying the coming King, “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt”. As we know, that very prophecy came to fruition on the first “Palm Sunday”. Isaiah 9:2, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.” This prophecy from Isaiah continued – Isaiah 9:6-7, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen”!

There were many promises in the Hebrew Scriptures about the coming Messiah. Jesus Himself repeated the prophecy from Isaiah 61 when He preached in the synagogue in Nazareth. He said, ““The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favour has come. ” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day”” (Luke 4:18-21). Jesus was clear and focused about His mission. And He fulfilled it to His own people, the Jews.

In Matthew 15 we read about the encounter between Jesus and a Gentile woman, whose daughter was seriously ill. The dialogue wasn’t going well for the woman and we read in Matthew 15:24, “Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”” Jesus was clear that His mission was to be a servant of the Jews. But we read that the woman persisted in her demands that Jesus heal her daughter – we read the conclusion in Matthew 15:28, ““Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed”. As an aside, perhaps this gracious miracle opened the door for the Gospel to be preached to the Gentiles. 

Way back in Genesis we read how God chose Abraham, a man on whom He would found a nation, the Jews. What followed was a series of promises to His people, generation after generation, until the Messiah finally arrived. The Incarnation of God’s Son complete. Jesus served the Jews throughout His life here on Planet Earth, but sadly His own people rejected Him. It was all part of God’s plan, of course, but we must never forget that the Jews are still God’s chosen nation. Zechariah prophesied that one day the Jewish nation will finally accept their Messiah. we read in Zechariah 12:10, “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died“. We are grateful for the Jews. They have suffered much over the many generations since Abraham, but God has always had His hand upon them. We thank God too for the early Jewish Apostles and evangelists who took God’s message of hope and grace to the Gentiles.

Father God. What can we do other than worship You, and thank You most sincerely for Your grace and love. Amen.
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Acceptance

Posted on by korgrocker

“Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.”
Romans 15:7 NLT

Another “each other” pops up in Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians. “Accept each other”, he writes.  And he makes the point that the reason we have to do that is because Christ accepted us. The principle here is that Jesus showed us the way, and because of His example, we do likewise to others. When we think about it, Jesus chose and accepted a real motley crew of disciples. There were fishermen, a tax collector, a Zealot intent on liberating Israel by force, and others. Perhaps a good cross section of the ordinary people in Palestine at that time, and Jesus accepted them all. Incidentally, one thing that they all had in common was that they were all sinners.

Jesus told a story about the importance of extending God’s grace to others. We find the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18. A king called in the debts of one of his servants, who owed him a sum way beyond his capability of repaying. But just before his wife and children were sold into slavery to find the money for the debt, the servant begged the king to be patient with him and grant him time to make the repayment. But we read in Matthew 18:27, “Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt”. The relief that must have flowed over that servant! The gratitude that he must have felt. But unfortunately, he didn’t extend that forgiveness to another servant, who owed him money. Just a small sum. Nothing significant. But the servant ignored his debtor’s pleadings and we read in Matthew 18:30, “But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full”. The situation was fed back to the king, who became very angry. We read how the story ended in Matthew 18:32-35, “Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart””.

Of course, this story was to do with forgiveness. Christ has forgiven us of so much, a debt way beyond what we could ever repay. And in the same way He has accepted us, warts and all. We are a people who are very unattractive when viewed from a Heavenly setting. We sin our way through life, and yet a sinless God has forgiven us and accepted us through what Jesus did for us at Calvary.

The moral of the parable that Jesus told is that we should do to others what He has done for us. God has accepted us, so we must accept others. And Paul finished today’s verse with the thought that as accepting each other ripples through His church, God will receive all the glory. We’ll add to that our praise, and thanks, and worship, as well.

Dear God. Thank You for accepting us. And we pray for the strength to accept our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.

Insults

Posted on by korgrocker

“For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.” Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.
Romans 15:3-4 NLT

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In Romans 15:3, Paul quoted the second half of Psalm 69:9, “Passion for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me”. He was of course referring to Christ. We saw how Jesus dealt with corruption in the Temple in Jerusalem –  we can read the story in the Gospels, but but after the event His disciples remembered this prophetic verse from Psalm 69, “Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me”” (John 2:17). Jesus was truly counter-cultural and suffered insults from those around Him as a result. 

We believers too will discover that society will throw insults at us. And the availability of social media has amplified the vitriol that is aimed at Christians. If you want to find out what it might be like, just type “Jesus was crucified for me” on a Facebook page. Or even a Bible verse that confronts some of the current ideologies around sex and gender. The world is full of keyboard warriors ready and waiting to hurl insults at counter-cultural Christians, especially those who are willing to stand up for what they believe the Bible says. But the insults that Jesus experienced didn’t even end even when He was dying on the cross. We read what the soldiers did and said in Luke 23:36-37, “The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself“”! And even the crucified criminal on the next cross had a go at Jesus. He said, “One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it“” (Luke 23:39).

In 1 Peter 4:14,16, we read, “If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. … But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name“! In our Christian journeys there will be a lot of opposition, because what we believe confronts a sinful and evil world he’d on. Insults are at the minor end of what we could suffer. Jesus warned His followers what would happen to them, “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers” (Matthew 24:9). John’s vision recorded in Revelation tells us much about the Last Days, the times in which we are now living. Sober reading, and we pray for ourselves and our families. 

But those who shake their fists at God and insult Him do something pointless and damning. Don’t people know that, at a stroke, God could eliminate them, and cut short their time on earth? But we know His patience, His grace and mercy, won’t last forever, and there will come a time when the fist-shakers will find out that their insults and bad mouthing will have an outcome too horrible to even think about. Jesus received the insults of His people, and so will we, of ours. But we know that one day all the negatives in this life will be eclipsed by the positives in the life to come. Worth a “thank You God”?

Father God. Please give us patience and forbearance when we are abused and insulted by those in our societies. And please help us respond well, honouring You in the process. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Thought Programming

Posted on by korgrocker

“Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Romans 12:2 NLT

“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.”
Romans 12:2 J B Phillips

The implication of Romans 12:2 is that the world thinks and acts in a different way to God. How did that happen? After all, weren’t we made in God’s image? Of course, we know the answer. It’s all down to sin. Even though we know, intuitively sometimes, how God would behave, we act in a different way, because it feels good. Or it’s an easier option. We could very quickly compile a table with three headings – Behaviour, God’s Way, World’s Way. And the results would be shocking. Let’s take some examples:

BehaviourGod’s WayWorld’s Way
Treatment of enemiesLoveHate
Response to accusationsTell the TruthTell Lies
TemptationDon’t give inJust do it
AdulteryRun from itGive in – no one will know
RelationshipsPrefer one anotherLook after ourselves
   

The list is endless and I’ve left a space for our own additional and personal contributions. Wise old Paul could see the “behaviour and customs of this world” for what they were – riven and influenced by sin.

Paul appealed to his readers to allow the transforming power of God to change them from worldliness to Godliness. And that is never more important than in these dark and Godless days. Days when the society around us is confused and misguided – as an example, just look at the mess the Scottish politicians have made with their legislation to allow a person to change their gender at will. A mess that could have been prevented if they had just opened a Bible. On the same subject, there are people who blatantly and openly behave in homosexual acts, and engage in “Pride” events. Businesses decide that they can sell more of their products if they embrace fashionable ideologies and customs. The societal cauldron in which we live is constantly fuelled by sin, becoming a merry go round of behaviours that compete to be the worst possible. Thankfully, believe it or not, God holds back the worst excesses. One day His restraints will be removed and society will become a forerunner of hell. However, before anyone takes issue with that statement, we need to note that there are many Godly behaviours we can see even in ungodly people. Kindness, love, or other-centredness for example. God’s grace will shine through mankind in many different ways, even in those who don’t know Him, but there will come a time when His grace will be replaced by judgement.

So the question must be – how do we let God change us, in the way we think and behave. Some years ago, youth events would be taught how to obtain God’s perspective of a behaviour by thinking “What Would Jesus Do”. Rubber wrist bands were handed out with the initials WWJD engraved on them. And that is really the way we find out what God’s thoughts are. The teachings of Jesus in the Gospels are fundamental to our every day lives, and as we read them and align ourselves to His principles, we will find that increasingly we become a new person, thinking God thoughts. We must remember what Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right“. Reading the Bible, and referring to it for guidance, will expose us to God’s thoughts, with the consequence that we will “learn to know God’s will for [us], which is good and pleasing and perfect”. 

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your grace and mercy, as they guide us day by day through our journey to paradise. We worship You today. Amen.

Riches, Wisdom and Knowledge

Posted on by korgrocker

“Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!”
Romans 11:33 NLT

At the end of a passage where Paul has considered God’s gracious mercy to both His chosen people, Israel, and the Gentiles, or non-Jews, he is overwhelmed by God. Paul cannot get his mind around all that God is and does, and lapses into praise. And failing to fathom the depths of God, he exclaims, “How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!” Paul had a very healthy view of God’s greatness and his lowliness. Perhaps he would have considered himself to be a clay pot wondering how the potter created him. But Paul realised that through all the agonising about his people, and when they would be saved, if at all, he realised that, in the end, it is all about God.

As Paul realised, we can never enter God’s domain and think His thoughts and share in His plans. God said in Isaiah 55:8-9, ““My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” But Paul looked up and received a glimpse of God through a human-limited fog, understanding once again that God’s greatness is beyond his experience. And we realise that as well. We too can only marvel how unlimited God is, in all His ways, thoughts and deeds. 

I heard recently of how a conference speaker was delayed in reaching the departure gate at an airport, to find that her plane was being rolled back from the terminus, and she had missed it. The next one involved a wait of four hours, meaning that she would miss the first conference session. Finally boarding this flight she found herself sitting next to a smartly dressed businessman who opened a conversation, asking what she did for a living. To cut a long story short, the speaker led him to making a decision for Jesus. Did God engineer circumstances to allow His grace to reach someone in desperate need? Someone more important to God than a conference preach? We don’t know God’s plans, but sometimes the circumstances accumulate to the extent that, in hindsight, we see His hand at work.

Paul knew he would never understand God’s ways. But he trusted Him. His life was totally committed to serving God, come what may. And he ended up suffering all sorts of abuse for the sake of the Gospel. He allowed God to use him, whatever the need was. Are we pilgrims totally committed to serving God, regardless of what the cost will be? We aren’t all Pauls of course. But, like the conference speaker, we may find ourselves in a situation that may be inconvenient but one that figures big-time in God’s plans. Whenever things go wrong, upsetting our schedules, perhaps we need to look to see if God is doing something, keeping our eyes and ears open to leverage any opportunities for the sake of the Gospel. 

Paul was overwhelmed in wonder about God’s “riches and wisdom and knowledge”. Everything about God combines to provide an unlimited and total ability to reign and rule over the earth and all who live in it. We pilgrims need to keep our spiritual eyes and ears wide open in obedient service to the One who knows all things.

Dear God. You are the Source of everything. Nothing happens without Your permission. And we trust You with all that we are and all that we have, knowing that You care for us in every way. We thank You and praise You today. Amen.

Jealous Jews

Posted on by korgrocker

“I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead!”
Romans 11:13-15 NLT

Paul himself was a Jew. And even though he had been sent as a missionary to the Gentiles, he never passed an opportunity to share God’s message with his fellow Jews so that he “might save some of them“. In that well-documented encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus made a profound and eternal statement, “You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews” (John 4:22). A prophetic word from God’s Son, who knew His mission, that, as a Jew, He would be the Source of salvation for all. And we know what happened at Calvary. A Jew was crucified at the instigation of His fellow Jews. Such a tragedy. 

We read in Acts 10 how Peter shared the Gospel with Cornelius and his household, but when he returned to Jerusalem we read that his fellow Jews were not happy at all. After he had given his report about what had happened, we read, “When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life“” (Acts 11:18). There was no doubt. God made salvation available to the “rest of the world“, and even appointed Paul as the “Apostle to the Gentiles“. Paul was sure about his mandate. We read in Ephesians 3:6-8, “And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News. Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ“. But Paul was very much aware of God’s heart, that His grace would extend across national and tribal boundaries.

Christians today are ethnically diverse. We don’t claim a common ancestor other than God Himself and His Son, Jesus. But in that diversity, we celebrate together with the praise and worship of our wonderful Heavenly Father. One day we will be joined by God’s chosen people,. No-one will be left out. We read in Revelation 19:1, “After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting, “Praise the Lord! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God”. It will be an amazing experience being a part of that “vast crowd”.

Would the Jews have been jealous of the Gentile believers, especially when they could see how the Holy Spirit had been poured out on them as well? Possibly, but not those who understood God’s heart and His amazing grace. More of a problem was the people with hard hearts when Jesus was preaching and teaching His fellow Jews, those who failed to recognise their Messiah. The Pharisees were certainly jealous of the miracles, signs and wonders that Jesus performed in their midst. But that’s another story.

We pilgrims all stand alone in God’s presence. We are each unique, with our own spiritual DNA, and our own God-ordained mission. However, it is always a temptation to look jealously at other Christians, perhaps those with gifts that we wish we had. Thoughts like I wish I could preach, or lead worship, or pray or … whatever, like another Christian, can become a hurdle and cause unnecessary resentment. In John 21:21-22, Peter looked at another disciple, John, perhaps to take Jesus’ penetrating gaze off himself. But Jesus was having none of it. We read, “Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?” Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me“”. That’s all that matters. We must all focus on following Jesus. We’re not responsible for another’s relationship with God. There is no place for jealousy in God’s Kingdom.

Dear Heavenly Father. We know that the only thing that matters is You. We thank You for the love and grace You have individually for each one of Your children. Thank You. Amen.