God Does Right

Posted on by korgrocker

“The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.”
Psalm 25:8-10 NLT

David wrote that “the Lord … does what is right”. Of course He does, we say. What else could the God and Creator of the Universe ever do, because if He didn’t we probably wouldn’t be here at all because chaos would have prevailed. But then we think, God does what is right from his perspective, not ours. So someone who enjoys being a sinner might not be very happy at all about God doing what is right, especially when they come to stand before the Judge, sitting on the Great White Throne! There are, of course, those who would dispute that God does right, as they survey the mayhem going on around them in the world. They hold God accountable for all the bad things that are happening in the world and, they say, surely a righteous God would not allow such suffering, because it is not right that children, for example, get caught up in wars or catch infectious and debilitating diseases. But such superficial thoughts come from a general lack of understanding and knowledge about God. 

Human thoughts about righteousness are based on morals and justice. The laws of the country in which we live set out what is right and what is wrong, so that all those in the society will benefit. So there are laws against breaking a speed limit, because someone might be hurt through a speed-related collision. Or it is not right to provide a false testimony in a law court, because someone might be fined or incarcerated because of it. But where do these laws come from? Here in the UK, most of them are based on a morality that originated with God. From way back He commanded that the Israelites must not murder anyone, or steal something that belongs to someone else. Laws based on this are accepted as common sense and breaking them will result in a punishment of some kind. We also have to remember that we are all made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) and so we will have within us some of God’s DNA, giving us a conscience even if we are ignorant of the law.

God “does what is right” because He is perfect and His righteousness is perfect too. So in all matters, God’s standards of morality, justice, and so on are set at a standard that is perfection. But achieving God’s gold standard of righteousness is impossible for human beings because of sin. Thankfully, through Jesus, we can attain God’s righteous because He has cleansed us from all our sins. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God“.  We call it the Divine Exchange, in that Jesus took on our sins on Calvary’s cross, and in return gave us His righteousness. What a bargain! An eternal gift of God that is beyond any price. 

But such a divine act of love cannot pass without a response, and we must live our lives accordingly. We cannot just continue in our sinful ways without taking the necessary steps to live God’s way instead of our ways. Some people give up the journey, saying that it is too hard to try and live God’s way. They become quite fatalistic about God’s righteousness, thinking that their destiny was probably pre-determined meaning that there was nothing much they could do about it, and as a result they don’t bother themselves about God and His righteousness. There was a priest in Israel called Eli and he had two sons who ministered with him. Eli’s sons were scoundrels who abused their positions as priests and Eli was too weak to do anything about it, other than offer them a mild rebuke. Even after a man of God pointed out to him the error of his ways, Eli still failed in his responsibilities. So God spoke to the young Samuel in a nighttime conversation and Eli, the priest at the time, asked Samuel what it was all about. We read in 1 Samuel 3:18, “So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the Lord’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best””. We can be like that sometimes, giving up on doing something that we know we should do, but we lack the will and courage to do it. But Paul wrote some encouraging words in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up“. Hebrews 12:12-13, “So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong“. Because of God’s love, we have all the resources we need to live in the light of God’s righteousness. Romans 8:37, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us“.

We pilgrims are on a journey to become more like Jesus. Romans 8:29-30, “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory”. Let us not give up. Our challenges and difficulties in this life are insignificant compared with the time we will spend with Jesus in eternity.

Dear Father God. In times of trial and uncertainty, grant us the strength to persevere. Help us to remember that our struggles are not signs of weakness, but opportunities to grow in faith. May we find your guidance and strength in every step we take, even when the path seems unclear. Help us to trust in your plan for us, even when we don’t fully understand it. Grant us the courage to not give up, but to continue seeking your will, knowing that your love and grace will see us through. Amen.

Justice

Posted on by korgrocker

“O Lord, hear my plea for justice. Listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer, for it comes from honest lips. Declare me innocent, for you see those who do right.”
Psalm 17:1-2 NLT

We start our journey through another of David’s Psalms, and we find that in Psalm 17 David is pleading “for justice”. In the first verse David asks God to respond to “my plea”, “my cry”, and “my prayer”, so David is setting out his attempts to find justice at the hands of the honest and righteous Judge. It would seem that David is being falsely accused of something and he wants God to vindicate him because, as he reminds God, he is innocent and praying with “honest lips”. 

In many ways our societies today are no different to David’s times, because human nature is riddled with sin, and selfish desires will never be far away. We read the media reports and find that our world seems to be fast losing its moral, God-based, compass, and is becoming more and more confused about what is right and wrong. We find parents who are confused themselves and they are bringing up children equally confused, compounding the problem. A society that has turned its back on God will soon find that justice and righteousness are scarce commodities.  

But in it all, we know that there is a God in Heaven who sees all. He knows when justice is being eroded. He knows who is guilty and who is innocent. And He listens to prayers that cry out for wrongs and injustices to be corrected. Here in the UK the majority of our laws are based on our Judeo-Christian roots, and most cases that end up before a judge are resolved righteously. But there are still some cases that warrant anguished prayers for justice, because innocent people are suffering a wrong. 

We pilgrims pray when we observe a lack of righteousness in our societies. In Psalm 7:11, we read, “God is an honest judge. He is angry with the wicked every day“. We pray that God’s anger is focused on righting the wrongs that blight our society. We pray for those who have been falsely accused of a crime they didn’t commit. We pray that laws already passed and those that are still being considered, those that are potentially unrighteous, will be repealed and corrected. We pray for the people who have lost their moral way, and are doing what they consider to be right, in error because they are guided by their own skewed standards. And God will hear our prayers and sooner or later the wrongs will be righted.

But we pilgrims must be careful that we pray with a heart free from sin and from a position of innocence. In Psalm 66:18-19 we read, “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer.” It is easy to take up a cause that, superficially, looks righteous, but inside it contains a different agenda. God  looks on with a holistic view that sees right into the hearts of those involved, so perhaps a starting prayer is to ask God to reveal to us what He, the righteous Judge, sees in it all. Prayers that align with God are powerful prayers indeed, and when He pays attention, righteousness will result. It might not happen quickly. It might not bring about the outcome we expect. But God “sees those who do right”, even us if it applies, and justice will be served.

Dear Father God. You are indeed the Righteous Judge who sees all and will administer justice sooner otherwise later. We trust in Your perfect love and righteousness, and worship You today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Trouble and Strife

Posted on by korgrocker

“My enemies retreated; they staggered and died when you appeared. For you have judged in my favour; from your throne you have judged with fairness. You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have erased their names forever. The enemy is finished, in endless ruins; the cities you uprooted are now forgotten.”
Psalm 9:3-6 NLT

Why is it that so many of the Psalms contain references to “enemies”? David often brought his enemies before God with a request that they be judged and dealt with, leaving him vindicated. And he continued to pray for judgements and punishments to extend beyond his boundaries into the adjacent nations. The political situation in David’s days was volatile and has continued unchanged right up to the 21st Century, with the Middle East being a hot bed of factions and different political interests, with nations, and even people groups within the nations, striving with each other and at times descending into extremes of violence. External influences stoke up the flames of discord and hatred, raising them to intolerable levels, with violence viewed with puzzlement by peoples in other parts of the world. The nations and borders might have changed since David was king in Israel but the strife has continued across the generations almost as though the very ground in that part of the world is cursed. 

Of course, the glib answer to the Middle East’s problems is laid at the door of sin, and the enemy who introduced it to the world, in the Garden, itself being located in an adjacent area, so some have thought, near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Southern Mesopotamia. But whatever the geography, the very fact that there are people regarded as “enemies” indicates that sin is present. David expected God to be his arbiter and rule in his favour, and his writings describe both real and imagined Godly judgement, with punishments meted out on his “enemies” and even their infrastructure.

It is true that God has judged sin and wickedness in the past – think about the situations in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Noah – but does He do that today? Paul wrote in Romans 3:23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard”. From that perspective, does God therefore favour one people over another, and bring judgement to bear in these modern times? But introduce into that scenario the following verses in Romans 3, “Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus” (Romans 3:24-26). Sinners have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, and now stand righteous in God’s presence. This elevates us into a different kingdom, God’s Kingdom, and introduces a different emphasis, as we read in Ephesians 6:12, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places”. Two kingdoms emerge, the kingdom of the world which contains all unredeemed peoples wherever they live, and God’s Kingdom where His people are united through His love and grace. We have weapons of defence and one of offence, all of which can keep us safe from our enemies, should we choose to use them as God has ordained. 

We pilgrims read what David wrote all those years ago and superimpose over his words the principles and perspectives of the Kingdom of which we are a part. We have a Judge who rules with righteousness and love, with mercy and grace, and who will ultimately deal with the sin and sinful people that has polluted this world. We might not see a solution to the battles taking place in the Middle East in our earthly lifetime, but we will one day see all wickedness and evil being dealt with, and banished forever. 

Dear God. You are the righteous Judge, who will fairly deal with all human beings one day. We pilgrims thank You that, although sinners, we have been redeemed by Your Son, Jesus, and can come before You covered over with Jesus’ righteousness. Thank You for the miracle of Your grace and love. Amen.

Jesus’ Judgement is Just

Posted on by korgrocker

“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. I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.”
John 5:28-30 NLT

In His discourse with the Jewish leaders, Jesus spoke much about the life to come, after people have physically died, and how this life would be fairly and righteously compartmentalised into a future either in Heaven of hell. Simply put, those people who believe in Jesus will end up experiencing eternal life, and those people who continue in their sinful and evil ways will experience judgement. But what else is God to do? Our spirits will live forever, and somehow God has to determine how they should be separated. As a holy and righteous God, He cannot have any evil introduced into Heaven. The purity and holiness of the place where eternal life will be experienced cannot be violated. So what else can He do with all these people who refuse to accept His free gift of salvation and prefer to stay in their sinful and evil ways? They have made a choice, which is that they don’t want to be with Him in Heaven.

There are of course those people who mistakenly claim that regardless of their behaviour they will end up in Heaven anyway. They prefer to follow and believe their feelings rather than the hard facts and truths contained within God’s only written work, the Bible. There are others who claim that if there is a Christian God, then He is too loving to consign anyone to eternal death and punishment. Some people feel that the punishment of eternal death does not fit the crime of a finite time spent in a human life of sin, so God cannot be fair at all. Even others claim that being thrown into the lake of fire results in instant annihilation, much as what would happen if someone was thrown into a pool of molten lava. But most people seem to be unengaged and disinterested about their post-death life, and don’t even want to think about it; a head in the sand response.

There may be some people who have created in their minds the thought that there is a third area between Heaven and hell, reserved for people who don’t think they have been bad enough to warrant eternal punishment. People like my neighbour who is convinced that he will just join the “big party downstairs”. After all, he hasn’t stolen anything significant, or murdered anyone, so his thoughts go. But it is significant that this intermediate place is not supported at all in Scripture. It doesn’t exist.

So, we end up with the words of Jesus. Those “who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment“. And Jesus told the Jewish leaders two things – He does the will of His father in Heaven, and His judgement is just. We know from Revelation 20 that God has books that record every action and thought committed by people. So, we have nothing to fear about false testimony or legal loopholes. Everything will be exposed exactly as it happened before God, and everyone else standing there, and there can therefore be no complaint at all that the process lacks justice. The outcome might not be what people want, but the choice is their’s.

Dear Father God. We praise and worship You here on earth for Your love and justice. As the psalmist wrote, “Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens. You have done such wonderful things. Who can compare with you, O God?“ Amen.


Sodom and Gomorrah (1)

Posted on by korgrocker

“Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people.”
2 Peter 2:6 NLT

We read the account of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18. But we pick up the context from Genesis 17:1-2, “When  Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants”. At this point his name was changed from Abram to Abraham (“Father of Many”). Later on this chapter his wife, Sarai, also had a name change, to Sarah, but in the whole touching dialogue between the Lord and Abraham we see a relationship building. Chapter 18 in Genesis starts with the Lord returning to Abraham with two companions, and the hospitable Abraham fed them a meal, after which the men started to look across at Sodom. God had a plan for this city and He decided to tell Abraham about it. ““Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the Lord asked. “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. … So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”” (Genesis 18:17-18, 20-21).

The two men with the Lord started their journey to Sodom, but the Lord stayed with Abraham, who had an inkling about what was going to happen. We then have the extraordinary conversation between the Lord and Abraham, where Abraham interceded for any righteous people who may have been found in Sodom. Genesis 18:25, Abraham speaking, “Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”. The conclusion was that God would not destroy Sodom if He found 10 righteous people there. Estimates about the population of Sodom vary widely, but it appears there may have been about a thousand or so. Living close to these two cities as he did, Abraham must have known about the wicked practices going on. But what do we pilgrims make of the Lord becoming interested in Sodom and Gomorrah because of a “great outcry” and “flagrant sin”? We read in Genesis 19:4-5, “But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”” So perhaps we can conclude that God was appalled with the sin of homosexuality and was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of it. Sodom gave its name to the English word “sodomy”, in the sense of “copulation between two men, whether consensual or forced.” But we receive a little more enlightenment from Ezekiel 16:49-50, “Sodom’s sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door. She was proud and committed detestable sins, so I wiped her out, as you have seen”. 

Such was the relationship between God and Abraham that Abraham was able to remind God of His righteous obligations. He said, “Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” It is something that we pilgrims sometimes forget – God is a God of righteousness as well as love. Of judgement as well as compassion and kindness. God is perfect in all His ways – Psalm 18:30, “God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection“. So everything that God is, is perfect. His attitudes, His behaviour, His thoughts, and His words. So the wicked behaviour in Sodom and Gomorrah was an offence to God and something that reached Him as “a great outcry”. We pilgrims sometimes take for granted God’s grace, in allowing us sinful people to continue our lives here on earth. But there is no sin greater or lesser than any other. Paul wrote, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23). But, praise glory and thanks to God, we read in Romans 3:24, “Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” Such grace wasn’t available to the ancient people living in Sodom and Gomorrah, but nevertheless righteous behaviour was not unknown to them. They knew the difference between right and wrong. Between righteousness and wickedness. They made the wrong choices to satisfy their sinful desires. 

There will come a day when the choices of mankind will bring them before God. There, “the Judge of all the earth” will do what is right. So we pilgrims share His grace to those around us, and by so doing achieve two outcomes – we hold back the righteous judgement of God, and we introduce sinners to our wonderful Saviour.

Dear God. In fear and trembling we remember that You are both a God of love and a God of righteousness. Thank You for Your grace. Amen.