Standing Strong

Posted on by korgrocker

“If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”
1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NLT

As we review the previous verses and chapters, we find that Paul addressed some false assumptions the Corinthian believers were making. There was much in their culture and society that would be considered sinful, but through God’s grace, the believers somehow wrongly thought that He would overlook their sins if they joined in with certain idolatrous and immoral customs. Paul even wrote about the sins of grumbling and rebellion, such as those committed by the early Israelites on their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. However, all of Paul’s exhortations were ultimately addressing the need for the believers in Corinth to be holy and upright, exemplifying right living, and being beacons of light and hope in a dark and evil society.

The believers in Corinth were saved from the consequences of their sin through God’s grace, but that did not mean that God would necessarily leave them alone to continue with their sin-tainted lives and ignore the consequences of their actions. Paul warned the Corinthians that they must not belittle the reality of God’s grace and think that they were “standing strong” when in fact they were in danger of a heavy fall. Through grace, we are saved, but God also wants to purify our lives, using Jesus as our example. Paul said this to the Ephesian church, “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2). Whenever I consider the practical reality of God’s grace and holiness, of sin and temptation, I always return to Ephesians 4:22-24. “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”. We refer back to our baptism, where we left our “old man” under the waters, and adopted the visage of a “new man” and all that entails. We cannot realistically expect to stand firm in our faith, and make assumptions about our status before God, but continue to live in our old, sinful ways.

Some of the believers in the Corinthian church had become supremely confident in their standing before God, but as we know, such confidence can be delusional. Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” It is wrong to assume that salvation brings us immunity from the earthly consequences of our own behaviours. Taken with other comments made by Paul, it also serves as a warning to those who are arrogant or careless about their standing in Christ. If we persist in sinful behaviour, then God, our loving Heavenly Father, will discipline His children. In Hebrews 12:10-11, we read, “For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterwards there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way”. The reality of living the Christian life is that God will help us deal with any persistent sin.  God can and does use various methods of discipline. He may use trouble at work, hardship at home, or troubles in the ministry. God may allow us to experience loss, as David learnt. God may send physical ailments or even death. Often, God allows the natural consequences of our sin to run their course. One thing is certain: God will deal with us with love and kindness. He is never harsh with us. We should note that discipline is not the same as condemnation. God disciplines His children, but He does not condemn them. Discipline is related to training and growth; condemnation is associated with punishment and guilt.

Although some in the Corinthian church thought they were untouchable, standing strong in their understanding of God’s grace, Paul warned them to be careful and realise that there were temptations in their lives that could lead them astray. The same applies to us pilgrims today. We must never become so complacent that we become arrogant. We must continually read the Word, applying its precepts to every facet of our lives, both to ourselves and our relationship with others. And we also pray for God to shine His spotlight on our lives, asking Him to point out to us anything that we need to deal with. “Then [we] will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard [our] hearts and minds as [we] live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

Dear Father God. We pray the same prayer as David did, “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” (Psalm 139:23-24). As we stay close to You, we know that You will guide us in Your ways. Amen.

Some Of Them Did

Posted on by korgrocker

“Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.” And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.”
1 Corinthians 10:5-8 NLT

These verses today are in a section of my Bible entitled “Lessons from Israel’s Idolatry”. Paul was deeply troubled by the news of events unfolding in the Corinthian church. This situation was particularly influenced by the type of society in which the Corinthian believers lived, characterised by its emphasis on idol worship and the flagrant immorality that accompanied it. Part of the problem as well was that some of the Corinthians joined in with the idolatrous meals, eating meat that had been offered to idols, and in the process, upsetting more sensitive Christians who would not touch anything even remotely associated with idols. In Exodus 32, there is the account of the Golden Calf episode, where the Israelites persuaded Aaron to make a calf out of the gold jewellery donated by the people. In Exodus 32:6b, we read, “ … After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry”. Moses was up the mountain, and the Lord told him what was going on in the camp. He said to Moses, “How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt’”” (Exodus 32:8). Idolatry, pure and simple. The punishment was brutal, and we read later on that three thousand idolaters were killed by the Levites. “Moses told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Each of you, take your swords and go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other. Kill everyone—even your brothers, friends, and neighbours.” The Levites obeyed Moses’ command, and about 3,000 people died that day” (Exodus 32:7-8). But the retribution didn’t end there, and the last verse in Exodus 32 reads, “Then the Lord sent a great plague upon the people because they had worshipped the calf Aaron had made”. 

Paul warned the Corinthians about what would happen if God wasn’t pleased with them because of their idolatry. He implied that death would result, and that they should consider the events in the wilderness all those years ago as a warning. But it was clear that the Corinthians misunderstood what many Christians still misunderstand today. They believed their freedom in Christ—their freedom from following the law of Moses—meant they were free to indulge in sinful desires without fear of consequences from the Lord. But we pilgrims, of course, maintain that we don’t worship idols, picturing a Golden Calf hanging there in our imaginations. But there are many other kinds of idols that we need to be aware of. An idol is anything that takes the place of God, and when we consider that, we find that perhaps we do find objects or even people that we can idolise. A sobering thought for us Christians today. 

There is also the issue of sexual immorality, another blight on the Corinthian societal landscape. Paul wrote, “And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did”. And he continued with a warning about the consequences of such a sin, as we read in Numbers 25. The Israelites were in proximity to Moab, and we read in Numbers 25:1, “While the Israelites were camped at Acacia Grove, some of the men defiled themselves by having sexual relations with local Moabite women”. Summary justice resulted in one wrongdoer being put to death, having been caught in the act, and a plague followed that killed 24,000 people. “ … Phinehas thrust the spear all the way through the man’s body and into the woman’s stomach. So the plague against the Israelites was stopped, but not before 24,000 people had died” (Numbers 25:8-9)—gruesome details but a sombre warning to the Corinthian believers.

So what about us pilgrims today? Idolatry and sexual immorality are two sins that have been a curse for the human race for many years. While it’s true that believers are saved from damnation through faith in Christ by God’s grace, Paul’s message is that believers everywhere must understand that the Lord will discipline them in this life, if necessary. Will that discipline come from plagues or even death? Will an idolatrous or immoral believer suffer an early death? Not necessarily to both these questions, but we should never underestimate the power of God’s justice. God, in His grace and mercy, will award plenty of time before He feels He has to act, and we must never assume that just because God is apparently turning a blind eye to our misdemeanours, that He is ignoring them. 

Dear Father in Heaven, thank You for Your grace, mercy and love, limitless and constant. Please forgive us for our waywardness and sins. We pray with David, “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”. Amen.

Grace and Peace (1)

Posted on by korgrocker

“This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes. I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.”
1 Corinthians 1:1-3 NLT

Of course, these three initial verses in 1 Corinthians were a standard greeting for Christians, representing the custom at that time for a letter to start, rather than end, in that way. Believers have always needed bountiful supplies of God’s “grace and peace” in their daily lives, as one crisis after another engulfs this wicked world in which we live. But what do we mean by these two words? Taking the word “grace” to start with, we believe it is God choosing to bless us rather than curse us as our sin deserves. It is His benevolence to the undeserving. That really sums up God’s answer to the dilemma facing human beings everywhere. Through our sinful behaviour and thinking, we propagate the evil that defines mankind (remember “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”?) and we human beings deserve judgement, but for a time we enjoy God’s grace. It wasn’t always available, as we can find out in Genesis 6:5-6, “The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart“. That poignant conclusion to these two verses, that God’s heart was broken, has always deeply affected me, because it exposes God’s disappointment with the way that His creation, so full initially of promise and companionship, has become corrupted and nothing like what he originally intended. But God did not extend His grace to the people living at that time, as we read in the next verse, “And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them””. Thankfully God had a plan, and there is always a “but” – “But Noah found favour with the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). And we see God’s gracious response in Genesis 8:21, “And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things“. ‭‭When God makes a promise He keeps it.

We believers are living in the light of God’s grace, and because of it we are where we are, favoured and blessed children of God. Ephesians 2:8, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God“. The Old Testament blood offerings were in God’s plan for His people so that they could show their faith in Him through their sacrifices. But in the New Covenant, Jesus became the ultimate blood sacrifice. Hebrews 10:3-5, “But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer”. And here’s the amazing manifestation of God’s grace, “For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time” (Hebrews 10:10). 

But we must consider how God’s grace is shown to us. Starting with Jesus, we remember His forgiveness, His gift of the Holy Spirit, abundant life (John 10:10), a place in Heaven; the list goes on. We worship a good God, and we must never minimise what He has done for us; we are a people who deserve judgement rather than favour.

Grace comes from God alone, and as a consequence we show grace to others. Galatians 6:1-2 provides a glimpse of how we must treat our fellow believers, “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ”. How often do we rather avoid such a person, missing an opportunity to be gracious to a fellow believer? Another way we show grace to others was touched on by Paul in Romans 12:7-8, “Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honourable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone“. We must never look for a way to get our own back on that arrogant driver who nearly involved us in an accident because they did something stupid. Or get upset with someone who wrongs us in a public place with their behaviour. Or think of ways to respond in kind to the office bully. We forgive them because God first forgave us. That’s grace in action. And we remember that there will come a time when they, as well as us, have to stand before God to account for the way they have behaved.

And so we pilgrims are a gracious people, showing grace to others because God has been so gracious to us. We remember the parable of the wicked servant that we find in Matthew 18. A servant who owed his master an impossibly large sum of money was forgiven the debt, but another servant who owed him just a little was pursued aggressively for repayment. We all know the story. The account of the first servant, who was forgiven so much, but who declined to forgive his fellow servant, didn’t end well for him. Matthew 18:34-35, “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””. We must be a gracious and forgiving people, because of God’s grace and forgiveness given so freely to us. The very thing that was blocking our entry to Heaven, our sin, was removed from us when we believed in Jesus, when we embraced His forgiveness and were cleansed by His blood. That’s grace. 

Dear Heavenly Father, so full of grace and love. We praise and worship You today for all You have done for us, and for Jesus, who made it all possible. Help us to extend Your grace to those around us because the people we meet need it as well. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Deep Distress

Posted on by korgrocker

“Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress. My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins.”
Psalm 25:16-18 NLT

If we read the news reports today we will find stories of “deep distress” leaping out of the pages, assaulting our standards of right and wrong, inciting panic, and even sucking us into having the same feelings ourselves. We could be excused for thoughts about what a terrible place the UK is to live in. Stories of debt, council tax arrears, forced installation of prepayment utility meters, homelessness, paedophilia, murders, phone thefts – the list is endless and our senses of decency are violated day after day. Well, what we experience today was not unknown in David’s day. Of course, in those days it was a different culture, a different society, but ever since the Fall, human beings have been in “deep distress” whenever and wherever they have lived. David had problems that he said were going “from bad to worse”, putting him on what looked a downward spiral into misery and depression. What his problems were he doesn’t say, but running a kingdom was never going to be easy, with stories of intrigue, internal jostling for positions, thoughts of attack, and that was just in his palace. There were the threats from the nations around him. There was a people to govern and keep happy. Idolatry was also a problem in Israel, generation after generation. And then there were all those wives and concubines …..

All of this got too much for David and he cried out to God for mercy. In desperation, he asked God to “save [him] from them all”, and, for good measure, he confessed all his sins. David was prone to depression, and we can see that in his writings. Psalm 31:9, “Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress. Tears blur my eyes. My body and soul are withering away“. And then we have Psalm 13:2-3, “How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die“. David had many personal struggles, and his affair with Bathsheba was such an example. In that whole episode he broke several commandments – the sixth (murder), the seventh (adultery) and tenth (coveting someone else’s wife) come immediately to mind. But before us men start adopting a position on the higher moral ground, claiming that we have never done any of these things, remembering the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 and 6 will soon bring us back down to earth. Matthew 5:21-22a, 28, “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! … “But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart”. But with all his real and imagined potential struggles, no wonder David found himself in “deep distress”. 

Are we pilgrims in “deep distress” today? Due to poor choices or unforeseen circumstances, we might find ourselves in a place of being overwhelmed by our problems. Fortunately we have a loving Heavenly Father who will help us get back to the place where we should be. There is much in His Word that will help us, and a good place to start is in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take”. I also find encouragement in Paul’s suggestion, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Or how about 1 Peter 5:7, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you”. Through all our problems, though, we must never lose hope. Paul wrote, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28). The one positive thing in all our problems is that we can pray. Unfortunately, we see time and time again that people in our churches who find themselves in difficulties, then stop fellowshipping with their fellow believers, preferring to stay at home. But sharing our problems with a trusted believing friend, praying together, will soon bring a solution. At a time of personal “deep distress” during my daughter’s illness, an army of prayer warriors rose up in the church my wife and I attended, and, in answer to theirs, and our, prayers of faith, she was healed so totally and miraculously that the doctors wrote on her medical notes that “this is nothing short of a miracle”. 

We have a loving Heavenly Father, who loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die for us, for the forgiveness of our sins. That is how much He loves us, and He will not see His children struggle in “deep distress”  for a moment.

Dear Lord, in the midst of our times of distress, we seek your comforting presence. Wrap us in your loving embrace, and grant us the serenity to face these troubled moments. Let your divine light shine upon us, banishing the shadows of fear and doubt. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Dusty End

Posted on by korgrocker

“Let the rich of the earth feast and worship. Bow before him, all who are mortal, all whose lives will end as dust. Our children will also serve him. Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord. His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born. They will hear about everything he has done.”
Psalm 22:29-31 NLT

Why did David write, “all whose lives will end as dust” rather than “those who will die”? Both phrases mean the same thing, both referring to a human being’s mortality, but of course we know that. About Adam we read in Genesis 3:19, “By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return“. Adam was originally made from dust, as we read in Genesis 2:7, “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person“. But were human beings originally intended to be immortal, because it was only after the Fall that Adam was informed about his ultimate demise and destination. In Genesis 1:27 we read, “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them”. We know that God is immortal, so if human beings were made “in His image”, would that have included immortality? God intended a very different world to what we have today, with the first inhabitants living a very long time, even after sin had entered Planet Earth. 

Most people are unable to contemplate the end to their earthly lives. When we were young, such a subject was never given much thought because the prevailing attitude was that we would live forever. People generally know that they have to face death one day but it is something they can’t control and therefore don’t think about it. A friend of mine once said, “I don’t fear death, but I just don’t want to be involved”. But death can and does happen to all ages and the wise amongst us make suitable preparations. I don’t mean getting affairs in order, planning a funeral service or starting a funeral plan with the local undertakers. I mean ensuring that the bits of us that are immortal, our souls and spirits, go to live in the right place. That is something we do have control over, through the grace of God.

People of all ages and regardless of sex all have bodies that one day “will end as dust”. Increasing years will introduce aches and pains and even serious health challenges reducing qualities of life, and Western countries in particular are facing into the problem of having a large and health-demanding elderly population. A human being is made up of many chemicals and a large amount of water (about 60% of an average adult’s body apparently) but it will all one day break down into its constituent parts, parts that David defined as “dust”. A depressing thought for most people, but for us pilgrims it will be just the beginning of an adventure we can only marvel at and look forward to. 

Paul wrote quite a bit about the process of dying but he followed it with the facts about resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15:42b Paul wrote, “ … Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.” He continues in verse 44, “They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies“. In our current human lives, we have a glimpse of what it means to live in the Kingdom of God, but we will never experience the fulness of such a life until we have a body that is appropriate for God’s Kingdom. And then comes the crescendo of the final experience, “For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies” (1 Corinthians 15:53). 

But we must read 1 Corinthians 15:47-49, “Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man”. We must meditate on this and chew over the wonder of it all. One day we will have a body like Jesus’ resurrected body. Read that sentence again, and again. Jesus was about 33 when He was so brutally put to death. Do we ever want to be 33 again? In a body that will never die. In a body which will never experience death, or pain, or sickness? Is that a resounding “YES” that I can hear?

I suppose we must think for a moment on the fate of all those who don’t believe in Jesus. They too will be resurrected but will find themselves standing before a Great White Throne. Revelation 20:12, 15, “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 anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire“. Has anyone thought why people have to be “thrown” into their final destination? Purely because they don’t want to go there. Hell will not be a place that anyone will walk into by choice. Jesus said, “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:41-42).‭‭ 

But we won’t dwell on the fate of the wicked, because we do our best to tell them about what is ahead. Not to frighten them into the Kingdom, as preachers of old used to do, preaching sermons in which they dangled their audience over the flames of hell. William Booth was reported to have said, “Most Christians would like to send their recruits to Bible college for five years. I would like to send them to hell for five minutes. That would do more than anything else to prepare them for a lifetime of compassionate ministry. I am not waiting for a move of God, I am a move of God!” But we tell our friends and families and anyone we meet about our testimonies of God’s grace. How God has done so much for us, saving us from the finality of a horrible existence beyond the grave, that will ultimately be full of their dust.

Father God. We thank You for Your grace and favour, so liberally poured out on mankind, grace manifested by Your free gift of salvation. Please help us to tell all who we meet about You . In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Entering The Sanctuary (1)

Posted on by korgrocker

“Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts.”
Psalm 15:1-2 NLT

David asked a difficult question, as he started to write Psalm 15. It was a straightforward question, that highlights the differences between a sinful man and a holy God. A gulf impossible to bridge, or so we think, because mankind is unable, by his own efforts, to reach the standard of holiness required by God. There will be nothing that is impure or unholy allowed, or even able, to be in God’s presence. God gave Moses instructions about how God could be accessed in the Tabernacle, because just to walk in when he felt like it would have dire consequences. Leviticus 16:2, “The Lord said to Moses, “Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover”. The rest of Leviticus 16 provides instructions about how the High Priest and the people can be purified of their sins, a process of which we’re grateful we don’t have to follow today. But David was aware that a person’s sins would exclude them from God’s presence, hence his first answer to the question – “those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts”. But such an answer created more questions. Who is really absolutely blameless? Who speaks absolute truth? 

During the time ever since David took up his pen, the same questions have hung in the air. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day had derived a code of conduct based on the Mosaic Law, with additions from the Rabbis, through which they believed they could achieve personal righteousness. But Jesus knocked that thought on the head in His Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:20, “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!”

How do we become righteous? We start off with the verse part way in the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3:16-17, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him“. And Paul guides us to the next step, “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:22-24). Through repentance of our sins, through our faith and belief in Jesus, and through God’s grace, we embark on our journey to Heaven “justified freely by His grace”.

It is only righteous people who can enter God’s presence. We pilgrims enjoy “imputed righteousness”, righteousness that is credited to us because we have been made right with God. Jesus took on the punishment for our sins and gave us, in exchange, His righteousness. What a Saviour! A double exchange that cost Him everything and gave us right standing before God forever. This is a message that is News so good that we cannot but share it with anyone who will listen and at every opportunity.

Dear Lord Jesus. We love You, we worship You, we praise You, we thank You. Your grace has saved us forever. Amen.

Lips and Hearts

Posted on by korgrocker

“Neighbours lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts. May the Lord cut off their flattering lips and silence their boastful tongues. They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content. Our lips are our own—who can stop us?””
Psalm 12:2-4 NLT

‭‭Strong stuff here – “flattering lips” and “deceitful hearts”, “boastful tongues” and “lies”. According to David, it was a problem in his day, but, as we know, it is still a problem thousands of years later. David associated such behaviour with his neighbours. The politically disillusioned today will perhaps immediately think about the behaviour of one or more of our politicians. Some will know that our 21st Century lawyers spend a lot of time untangling lies from truth. Human nature hasn’t changed much at all, it seems. David was quite dramatic in requesting action from God to cut off the “flattering lips” and the “boastful tongues”, but did he really expect God to do such a thing? Imagine the scene if God had in fact performed the surgery that David had asked for – all the people wandering around, unable to communicate, lips and tongues no longer present, because, after all, who has never told a lie? 

David continued, expressing the attitude of heart that is a symptom of the people indulging in lying behaviour. And of course what people think will be expressed verbally – David referred to this as people having “deceitful hearts”. Today we know that in our hearts, our thoughts and imaginations, we brew all sorts of scenarios and outcomes. We process what we see, we consider an uncomfortable situation, we receive negative and accusing comments, and we even imagine situations that might happen to us but haven’t just yet. And in consequence our minds produce a response that more often than not has considered lying as an option. Our sinful nature sometimes considers a lack of truth as the best outcome, because, so we think, the truth instead might dig us into an even deeper hole. And so today, all the problems with hearts, tongues and lips prevail, just as David observed with his neighbours. 

The Apostle James wrote much about tongue problems. James 3:2, “Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way”. He continues, “And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself” (James 3:6). And James really hit home with this thought about tongues, “Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!” (James 3:9-10). I don’t think anyone would disagree with James because he expressed a sobering reality that impacts everyone, even us pilgrims. 

If we left things there, we would all be depressed. We would end up in the same place as the Apostle Paul, who wrote, “I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” (Romans 7:22-24). But the next verse explodes with hope and a solution to our sinful lips. “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin” (Romans 7:25). We turn the page and start reading Romans 8, and the warm glow of hearts now thankful and free from condemnation overflow us. Lips redeemed and free from deceit and lies. Praise be to God! Heavenly surgery takes place, not with a scalpel, but with the blood of Jesus redeeming us from our sins. Of course, we endeavour to clean up our lives, and pursue righteousness even if it causes us short term problems. But as we do, God’s peace and love will follow us all the days of our lives.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your patience, Your grace and mercy. Instead of dispensing the punishment we all deserve, You sent Jesus, to free us from our sins. We are so grateful. Amen.

Is It legal?

Posted on by korgrocker

““Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him? This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them!” Then Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, spoke up. “Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” he asked. They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself—no prophet ever comes from Galilee!” Then the meeting broke up, and everybody went home.”
John 7:48-53 NLT

There appeared to be a meeting of the Pharisees and the other religious leaders, possibly convened to follow the attempt to arrest Jesus and bring Him before them to face charges of blasphemy. The dynamic of the meeting is interesting, in that there appears to be one person speaking for all those present. But there was dissent from a man called Nicodemus. We remember him as the man who went to Jesus by night for a meeting. We read in John 3:1-2, “There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you””. But from what Nicodemus said, it appears that the Jewish leaders were going to kill Jesus without a trial. John 5:18, “So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God”. How they were going to kill Him in the Roman-governed province was unclear.

To the religious leaders, the Law of Moses, as they interpreted it, was of paramount importance. It must have been a nightmare for the Romans, because there was effectively two legal systems in operation. But the Jews walked a tightrope between the demands of the Law and restrictions placed upon them by the Roman occupiers. They knew that if they stepped too far out of line then the Romans would brutally deal with them. But as we can see from Jesus’ trial, the Romans were quite happy to allow the Jews to judge religious matters, though with restrictions when it came to capital issues. John 18:31, ““Then take him away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them. “Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied”. 

It is interesting that so much of our legal system here in the UK is based upon the Law of Moses, and it is only in the recent past that more radical changes have been made. For example, the mandatory death sentence for crimes such as murder was only repealed in living memory. But sadly, the UK is becoming increasingly secular with the Christian witness and influence slowly dwindling away. The gap between the state and the church is ever widening, with our politicians introducing laws that would have been unheard of in the mid twentieth century, and with negative consequences resulting. Abandoning God’s laws and replacing them with modern Godless ideologies is a dangerous strategy that will increase the devil’s influence on our societies bringing chaos and strife.

Nicodemus asked, “Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” Having to ask that question is a long way from the intent of the Law. Jesus was later asked about what was the greatest commandment, and His reply was to love God with all your heart, and to love your neighbours as yourself. Such a message seemed a long way from the venom and anger of the Pharisees, intent on upholding their interpretation of the Law regardless of God’s plan for human decency. But before we pilgrims make any comment we have to ask ourselves the question about our own responses to others, particularly when we start using Bible verses in judgement of another. God has a higher law based on love, and when that becomes the starting point, a journey can be commenced that will eventually bring resolution in times of conflict. Jesus is recorded as saying in John 3:17, ”God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him“. Instead of bringing judgement and punishment Jesus said, ”For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost“.

Jesus’ teaching and message was a long way from that dispensed by the Jewish leaders, which was probably why they hated Him so much. God has a law much higher than that followed by the Pharisees and it is based on love and grace. He is not a stern figure with a policeman’s hat and a truncheon leaning over the banisters of Heaven reaching down to beat us at every sinful opportunity. He is a loving Father, who corrects us when we stray and who affirms us when we do well. The question “Is it legal” doesn’t apply in the courts of Heaven.

Dear Heavenly Father. We thank You for Your love, grace and mercy. Where would we be without You? We worship You today. Amen.

The True Bread

Posted on by korgrocker

“Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.” Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.””
John 6:32-35 NLT

Jesus is in the middle of a conversation with the Galileans, as He ministered in the region of Capernaum. On the east side of the Sea of Galilee He had fed them, providing full stomachs of bread and fish for five thousand men and their families. The news of this miracle had preceded Jesus and when He returned to the other side of the Sea, they hoped that He would feed them again, and again, and … “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.” But Jesus raised the conversation to considerations of spiritual food, by informing them that Father God in Heaven is offering people bread from Heaven that will sustain them to eternal life. Then came the message that the people were having difficulty in understanding – Jesus Himself was this bread from Heaven. Spiritual manna that would mean those who consumed it would never be hungry and thirsty again. Jesus said that He Himself was the Source of life for those that came to Him and believed in Him. 

Jesus’ message weaved a thread of gold throughout the Gospels. A timeless truth that was so profound but one that was largely rejected by a people soaked in Pharisaical tradition, the Law and its rules and regulations. The concept of believing in a Man, even if He was the Son of God, rather than adhering to the traditions and liturgy of the Jewish faith at that time, was something they couldn’t accept. But Jesus’ message that He was the Bread of life is still valid today in this season of grace in which we live. Everyone needs spiritual sustenance. In Jesus’ day, the people weren’t satisfied with the religion prevailing at that time, but their hardness of heart blinded them to the greatest message of hope this world has ever seen. Today, people try and feed their spirits through hedonistic pleasures that last for a brief time only to disappear with the morning dawn. If only they could see that the spiritual food they need is just there for the taking.

The psalmists wrote, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?” (Psalm 42:1-2). There were many Jews over the years who longed for spiritual food to satisfy their souls, to the extent that they even wrote about it. David found His source of life in His shepherd, the Lord Himself. He wrote, “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. … Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:1,6). A soul satisfied by the food that brings life, and life, full and eternal.

Dear Lord Jesus. Only You have the words if eternal life. Only You can satisfy the yearning within our souls. We praise You today. Amen.

The Graveyard Dead

Posted on by korgrocker

“And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man. Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.”
John 5:27-29 NLT

Some ominous words from Jesus. To the Jewish leaders, He said that He had life-giving power and because of that, all those who had died and were in their graves, no matter where they were, would hear His voice. And the result was that they would rise again. I expect the Jewish leaders were seriously looking for a way out of this conversation and were probably regretting that they had bothered to pick Him up for a minor misdemeanour about telling someone, who Jesus had just healed, to pick up His bed and walk. 

Do we take what Jesus said literally? I think we can because He Himself was dead in a grave, and was resurrected. Lazarus, His friend, was dead in his grave and had been there for four days, and Jesus, through His “life-giving power” raised him from the dead. In His own case, Jesus’ resurrected body was superficially just like His old one, but it also had special supernatural powers enabling Him to walk through walls, amongst other things. And then there was that day when He ascended into Heaven. The Apostle John recorded at the end of his Gospel, “This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate. Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written”. All the accounts about Jesus post-resurrection, and recorded in the Bible, actually happened before reliable witnesses, so we can therefore, I believe, take what Jesus said to the Jewish leaders in a literal way. 

So, to all those people who believe that when we die we will experience a transition into nothing – people who are referred to as Annihilationists – are in for a nasty shock if what Jesus said is true. These people believe that there is no after life, with their consciousnesses being extinguished, and their physical bodies eventually returning to the elements from which they were formed. However, such a belief is not supported by Scripture, and Jesus warned people repeatedly that they will eventually be held to account for their sins. God had the power to raise His Son from the dead, and that same power will one day raise everyone from the dead too. Jesus said, “Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment”. The “good” Jesus referred to wasn’t good works – doing things for others that could be defined as being “good” – but the good of believing in Him. Ephesians 2:8-9, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it”. 

When we die, our spirits go to a place of waiting. We know from Scriptures that those who die as believers will go to a place called Paradise (read what Jesus said to the repentant criminal on the cross next to His), or a place of torment (read Jesus’ account of the Rich Man and Lazarus). And then one day everyone who has ever lived will receive a resurrected body. Acts 24:15, “I have the same hope in God that these men have, that he will raise both the righteous and the unrighteous”. After which, there is to be a time of judgement. Revelation 20:13, “The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds”. Jesus very clearly told the Jewish leaders what the results of His judgement would be.

Jesus, the Son of God, came to this world as God’s plan for dealing with evil and sin, and human beings have a choice before them. They either believe in Jesus and receive God’s forgiveness, or they don’t. The outcome of the choice made was made very clear by Jesus in His conversation with the Jewish leaders.

But in the meantime, and while there is still time, we pilgrims have the opportunity to tell people about God’s love and grace, and His plan for their salvation. Surely we owe it to our friends and families and anyone else we come in contact with?

Dear Father God. Please go before us and prepare the way for the conversations You wish us to have with people who need to hear about You. Open their ears, we pray, and help us to say the right words. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.