The Rod and Staff

Posted on by korgrocker

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honour to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”
Psalm 23:1-4 NLT

David’s pastoral poem develops with a reminder about the shepherd’s rod and staff. In those long ago days, when sheep followed shepherds, from meadow to meadow, and the shepherd lived with them, because grazing often took the flock a long way from home, there was a need for weapons and other means to protect the sheep from predators and from their own wayward ways. Such implements were the rod and the staff, essential tools in the shepherd’s hands. The rod was a sort of club, heavy enough to do serious damage to a lion or a bear, as David told Saul in 1 Samuel 17:34-35, “But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death“. So the rod in David’s hands was a formidable weapon, and he would have been skilled in using it.

The shepherd’s staff would have been something more familiar to us today, as it was a long slender pole with a crook at the end. Examples can be found in tourist shops in Scotland, but David’s staff would have been much more than a decorative souvenir. It was a device used to protect and direct wayward sheep, the crook fitting nicely around the sheep’s neck, allowing it to be guided back onto the right path. 

The rod and staff were essential to the shepherds in David’s days, and having been one himself, David knew how to use them effectively. In the shepherd’s hands, one protected the sheep from attack and the other provided the comfort of being led to safety. But Psalm 23 starts with another perspective, “The Lord is my Shepherd”. David considered himself as a sheep and the Lord as his Shepherd. The pastoral analogy can be found in Ezekiel 34:2 where we read, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep?”, a rebuke delivered to the Israelite authorities. In the Israelite economy, sheep and goats were an important source of income and food, with skins and wool for clothing, and the leaders of the people had a responsibility to provide protection and to foster a secure economy, just as a shepherd had to for the sheep and goats in his care. In a similar way the religious leaders were failing in their duties, allowing apostasy and neglect permeate the Jewish religious society. But Ezekiel continued with “the word of the Lord” and he issued a damning indictment against the leaders who were failing in their responsibilities. “As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, you abandoned my flock and left them to be attacked by every wild animal. And though you were my shepherds, you didn’t search for my sheep when they were lost. You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I now consider these shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, and I will stop them from feeding themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey” (Ezekiel 34:8-10). Significantly, Ezekiel went on to write, “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day” (Ezekiel 34:11-12). 

We saw the fulfilment of Ezekiel’s prophecy with Jesus. He said, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd sacrifices His life for the sheep. … I am the Good Shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep” (John 10:11, 14-15). Jesus was, and is, the Good Shepherd. He is totally trustworthy, strong and capable. He leads us, His sheep, to all the right places where we can flourish as His followers. He protects us from harm, as we trust in His ways, and if we err and stray from the right paths, then He will gently draw us back. 

We pilgrims may also be responsible for shepherding others, in our families, churches or friendship groups. You see, we have been blessed by our knowledge of the Good Shepherd and His ways, because He is the Way to eternal life. But there are those around us who behave like “sheep without a shepherd”, with no apparent moral compass, no idea of right and wrong, other than by following the other wayward sheep in our societies. Without any perception of the Good Shepherd, they try to shepherd themselves, a way of life that will not end well for them. And in the process they find themselves in places without green pasture and peaceful streams, caught up in lifestyles bringing chaos and confusion, their souls shrivelled and malnourished. And so, we pilgrims try and lead and counsel them by example, by word and deed, behaving as under shepherds to the Great Shepherd Himself. We may not have physical rods and staffs, but we have the Word of God, with which we can bring God’s truth and comfort into needy people’s lives.

We also will have our own under shepherds, our pastors and ministers, who are responsible for spiritual guidance and care in the churches and fellowships of which we are a part. We support them and encourage them as we hear Your word from their lips, and feel the benefit of their prayers uttered over us day by day. God has designed a system for our care just as a shepherd looks after his sheep. And in it all we look to Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith.

Dear Good Shepherd. We thank You for Your guidance and provision for us sheep, so prone to take wrong paths and end up in trouble. We thank You too for our pastors who care for us, Your servants who diligently shepherd us in our daily lives. Thank You for Jesus, the Good Shepherd who willingly gave His life for us. Amen. 

Bringing Honour

Posted on by korgrocker

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honour to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”
Psalm 23:1-4 NLT

David has packed much into these first few verses of Psalm 23. Meadows and streams where strength is renewed and guidance provided for a spiritual walk along the “right paths”. David lived in a society where it was assumed that God was real and everyone believed in Him. Of course that is not to say that sin didn’t exist. Quite the opposite, as we find when we read the historical accounts of the Israelites. Take for example what happened just after Joshua died. Judges 2:11-12, “The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord“. But if those idol worshipers had thought about their relationship with God, the Lord who brought them out of slavery in Egypt to the land that He had prepared for them, then they would have realised that they were not bringing honour to His name. But at this point in their lives they probably didn’t care. After all, they would have said, “everyone is doing it”, an age-old justification for bad, sinful, and Godless behaviour. 

“Bringing honour” to something or someone is considered important even today. An opposite to “bringing honour” would be bringing into disrepute, something that can be a dismissible offence in many companies and organisations. For example, one HR consultancy website reports, “Bringing a company into disrepute refers to actions or behaviour by an employee, contractor or representative that negatively impacts the organisation’s reputation. It can include conduct both inside and outside the workplace that creates public criticism, loss of trust or damage to the company’s standing with stakeholders, customers, or the public. In such situations, the employee can be said to be bringing the company into disrepute, which may give the employer legal cause to take disciplinary action“. If an secular organisation looks so negatively at a member who is failing to bring them honour, and doing them reputational harm, how much more will God look on if His children behave in the same way, bringing His name and Kingdom into disrepute? Some Christians like to attach a bumper sticker to their cars, such as “Jesus Saves” or a fish symbol, signifying their relationship with God. But if they then are caught exceeding the speed limit is that not bringing their faith into disrepute? And even if they are not caught, what does that say about them to the society in which they live? A common argument put forward by people who refuse to go to church, is that such buildings are full of hypocrites, people who behave in one way within the walls, but in another way outside. A churchgoer who acts piously in a meeting but who swears and verbally abuses the referee from the terraces at a football match is bringing God’s name into disrepute.

Whether we feel like it or not, we pilgrims are people who must bring honour to God. After all He is our Father and we are His children, and people around us will be watching us because the only glimpse most of them will get of God is through us. 

So, moving away from the opposite of “bringing honour” to God, how do we bring honour to Him and His name? 

Firstly, we must realise that it is not just the outward manifestation of honour that we should be concerned about. It is also about what is going on inside of us. Isaiah 29:13, “And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote“. The people Isaiah describes are not bringing honour to God. When Samuel was in the home of Jesse, acting on God’s instructions to select the future King from his sons, he heard God say to him, “ … Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). 

Secondly, we bring honour to God in our homes. How are we husbands treating our wives, and vice versa? How are we treating our parents, or our children? Jesus repeated what Moses had decreed, “For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honour your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death’” (Mark 7:10). Paul wrote, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Through our righteous relationships within our families we bring honour to God and His name, and the attitudes we foster in our homes will spill over into our workplaces and anywhere else where we meet people.

Thirdly, we bring honour to God and His name by our relationship with Him. What is going on in our hearts? As Isaiah wrote, are we only following man-made rules, deluding ourselves that this constitutes a relationship with God? When He was asked what the greatest commandment was, “Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38). There is no half-hearted way of “bringing honour” to God. It is a whole-life commitment. A question we must regularly ask ourselves is about what we are doing, or watching on TV, or anything else. Is God getting honour out of this or am I behaving like a wayward child, dishonouring my Father? 

Thankfully, God is “slow to anger and quick to forgive”. He knows the pressures of living in a secular society. After all, His Son Jesus did just that, but He never sinned. Doing things the world’s way is not the only way, because Jesus is the Way and all who follow Him “with all [their] hearts” will bring honour to His name. 

Dear Father God. Our gratitude to You is never enough. You deserve so much more, for to You is all the praise and glory. Amen.

Right Paths

Posted on by korgrocker

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honour to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”
Psalm 23:1-4 NLT

David wrote that the Lord guided him along “right paths”. Of course, in the pastoral context of this Psalm, there would be paths in the wilderness that would be far from ideal, and at the end just more desert or, at best, poor quality grazing. These would have been the “wrong paths”. The shepherds in those days relied on their local knowledge to find all the best of the “green meadows” and the “peaceful streams” necessary to assuage the sheep’s hunger and thirst. It was a very different environment in David’s day, because the sheep knew that they had to follow the shepherd along the “right paths” to find pasture. If they didn’t then they would soon lose their way and get lost in a dry and dusty landscape, where they wouldn’t survive for long. Here in the UK sheep are mostly kept in fenced-in fields and don’t need leading anywhere unless the farmer moves them to another field, but then it is a case of herding rather than leading. 

Speaking to the Pharisees and other religious leaders, and comparing them to sheep, Jesus said, “But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:26-27). His allegory highlighted the difference between two flocks of sheep – those that believed in Jesus, and had a relationship with Him, and those who didn’t because they followed a different shepherd. Earlier in John 10, Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15). If asked which shepherd they followed, the Pharisees would have said God Himself, but their “God” was different to the One who was the only true God, the One from Heaven Jesus, Himself. The Pharisees had constructed their own god, starting with the Law and the prophets but then adding and subtracting the bits as they thought best. But as Jesus said to them, “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things” (Luke 11:42). They had replaced a relationship with God with legalism, relying on their own strength. But before we become all smug and climb up to the moral high ground, Christians can be legalistic as well. They say all the right words, they turn up for the Sunday services and warm the pews. But they fit the prophecy from Isaiah 29:13, “And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote“.

David’s statement that the Lord “guides him along right paths” suggests that there must also be “wrong paths” to be followed, with guidance being supplied by someone else claiming to lead the sheep. Jeremiah warned about false shepherds, “What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the Lord. Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: “Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them” (Jeremiah 23:1-2). Today, the danger of being lured away by false shepherds remains. Cults spring up, led by men and women who claim a special word or revelation from God (for example the JW’s), and the sheep are fooled by seemingly logical and good-sounding arguments, to their ultimate detriment. But as Jeremiah wrote, the false shepherds, driven by evil, will come to judgement with a verdict that, for them, will not be a good ending.

The Jews were comfortable with the idea that they were God’s chosen people and that He was their Shepherd. But then Jesus came along, claiming to be the Good Shepherd, the Gate to the sheepfold, offering salvation only through Him. And then He said, “I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd” (John 10:16). That would really have upset the Jews, because what could He have meant other than the Gentiles, you and me? Jesus was a divisive Figure in His day, and still is today, with many people rejecting His claim to be the only Good Shepherd.

But back to the “right paths”. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “ ... I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me“. John 10:9, “Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures“. There is no other way to Heaven, to salvation and eternal life., except through Jesus. Only He is the “right path” and any other claim by any other religion or faith is the “wrong path”. There is only one place to which “wrong paths” will lead … but we don’t want to talk about that!

Dear Lord Jesus. We proclaim to all who will listen that there is only one way to eternal life with God, and that is You. Not Mohammad. Not Buddha. Not Hari Krishna. But only You. Thank You that before the world was even created, You had Your hand upon us. Amen.

Other Sheep

Posted on by korgrocker

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.”
John 10:14-16 NLT

The shepherd in those days was well acquainted with his sheep. He knew their names and little foibles. Their features, shapes of their ears and so on. And those sheep recognised his voice so that when he called them by name they came running. Jesus used what was common knowledge in those days to make the point that He was the Good Shepherd. Not only was He a good shepherd but He was the best. In fact Jesus was a Shepherd who went far beyond what even a good earthly shepherd could accomplish. He promised all those that believed in Him, who followed Him, that they would receive eternal life, as we will find out one day. We know as well that Jesus did sacrifice His life at Calvary. Although He could have called on the Heavenly army to protect Him, He chose not to, being willing to die so that He would take on the punishment for our sins, giving us life, just as the Palestinian shepherds sometimes did, to protect their sheep. His was a sacrifice that only the Good Shepherd could make. 

Jesus was speaking to a Jewish audience, probably in Jerusalem, a place that He likened to the sheepfold in His parable. Jesus was quite clear about who He had come to save and minister to. Matthew 15:24, “Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”” Jesus never wavered from His mission, fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies about the Jewish Messiah. But it was also clear that He expected His people, the Jews, to continue His mission to the Gentiles. He said to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, “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). But back in His Good Shepherd parable, Jesus said a strange thing that puzzled those listening – “I have other sheep too”. Who were they? Who else could they have been other than the Gentiles, those who were not Jews. And aren’t we non-Jewish believers glad about that! If Jesus had only come for the Jews, and only the Jews, we would still have been on the outside, excluded from the blessings of God’s grace. From what Jesus said, it was clear that He expected His mission to continue, reaching the whole earth through his Jewish disciples – Matthew 28:18-20, “Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age””. The Great Commission indeed!

Jesus’ mission continues with His 21st century “sheep”, we pilgrims. We reach out to the “other sheep” around us with the Good News of a worthwhile future. I met someone the other day who was quite depressed because they confessed to having no hope. A fertile ground for sharing about Jesus and the hope that only he can supply. And as we share the amazing Jesus we know with others, the “sheepfold” fills up with people around us who are longing for the love and security that only God can provide.

Dear Heavenly Father. As Your children we pray for all those around us, that Your message of Good News will be planted deep within them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Hirelings

Posted on by korgrocker

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.”
John 10:11-13 NLT

The hired hands, or hirelings, were shepherds employed for their services as shepherds. They weren’t really interested in the wellbeing and protection of the sheep, rather being focused on the money they were earning. And in the event that a wolf appeared with desires of a lamb chop meal, the hirelings would head for a place of their own safety. As Jesus graphically portrayed, without a shepherd, the flock of sheep would be attacked and scattered or even killed. Jesus said about the hireling, “He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd”. 

Who was Jesus referring to when He spoke about hirelings? It seems rather obvious that He had the Pharisees in mind. They were notorious in their reputation for looking after their own interests and, as far as Jesus was concerned, that was why they wanted to close Him down and eliminate Him from their otherwise cosy world of being religious leaders. But as they proved repeatedly, the Pharisees weren’t interested in the wellbeing of the people. Jesus had harsh words to say about them, as we read in Matthew 23:3-4, “So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.” As we read on in Matthew 23, we see many more things Jesus said about the “hirelings”, the Pharisees, and none of them good.

Today, we too have good shepherds or hirelings. The good ones are men and women who are sincerely devoted to the spiritual care of the people God has given to them. But we also have hirelings who are just in the ministry for any financial or other benefits they can find. A good shepherd today is a Bible believing man or woman who genuinely cares for their congregation. Peter wrote about them in 1 Peter 5:2-4, “Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t Lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honour”. The role of a good shepherd, an elder or pastor for “the flock that God has entrusted to [him]” could not be more clearly put.

We pilgrims are most likely parts of a local congregation, but we have a shepherd leading us, pastoring us through life’s journeys, and who is keeping us safe through sound teaching. God has delegated our care to such a person, and the good shepherds take their responsibilities very seriously. But we also have the responsibility to care for ourselves, by following the Good Shepherd Himself, by reading God’s Word and through our prayers. Jesus didn’t come to ordain ministers. He came as the Good Shepherd to lead His followers in the ways of truth. We pilgrims know that we have a relationship directly with God Himself. He is our loving Heavenly Father and we are His children.

Dear Father God. We worship You today, our Creator God, our loving and gracious Heavenly Father. We thank You for Your promise of eternal life, a promise that will never be broken. Amen.

The Good Shepherd

Posted on by korgrocker

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.”
John 10:11-13 NLT

Just a few verses ago in John 10, Jesus declared “I am the gate for the sheep” (John 10:7b), and now He said “I am the good shepherd”. It is noteworthy that Jesus said the rather than a good shepherd. There was only One who was worthy enough to claim that unique position. But the picture is emerging of Jesus being the protector of His flock, first by protecting them in the sheepfold by preventing wolves, thieves and robbers from stealing them, and then by looking after them as they followed Him towards good pastures. Sheep are incredibly helpless animals and need a lot of looking after, but all they had to do, to ensure their health and safety, was to trust and follow the shepherd.

This parable however was mainly devoted to building a picture of human needs and God’s provision. Faced with the human equivalent of wolves, thieves and robbers, a person is relatively helpless, and this is even more true in the spiritual realm. Without God in their lives, a person’s spirit will wander aimlessly through a life that leads to a nasty end, but beforehand will experience attacks from all and any evil sources. But those who enter through the Gate, that is Jesus, will find a place of safety and comfort. God’s spiritual sheepfold is a place unreachable by the devil’s wolves, thieves and robbers. 

But we should also note that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, was prepared to sacrifice His life in the protection of His sheep. The death of a shepherd protecting his flock was not an unusual event in the days of sheep herding in Palestine two thousand years ago. But as we know, Jesus was prepared to give His life for the sake of His sheep., and he did so at Calvary just a year or two after He told this parable to the people round Him. Jesus could have run away from the sheep, as a hired hand would most likely have done when the flock was faced with a wolfish attack or some other danger. But instead, as the Good Shepherd promised, He sacrificed His life so that His flock at that time and down through the following generations, would be protected. The power of the enemy was defeated at Calvary and through Jesus we sheep have eternal protection for our souls.

Dear Father God. We praise and worship our Good Shepherd today and every day, with grateful hearts. Amen.

Respect Everyone

Posted on by korgrocker

“Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.”
1 Peter 2:17 NLT

There are four instructions in this short verse. Two refer to being respectful and the others to love and fear. So a lot to consider.

Respect is in short supply in society today. It seems that everyone has their own ideology or set of views and they insist that whatever they think is supported and affirmed to the detriment of everyone else. As an example, strident calls are being made about gender issues, and woe betide anyone who disagrees with the multi-gender adherents. Those who disagree are branded with all sorts of unpleasant and totally unfounded names. They are pilloried on social media and no-platformed in public speaking engagements. There are many other issues in which debate and mutual respect are denied. Perhaps the root cause is society’s abandonment of Christian teaching and rejection of God, with a new morality, false in its content, emerging to replace it. An anything-goes morality that is based on a form of self identification and a declaration that the person concerned is his or her own god. Scotland, where I live, has the reputation of being the most secular country in Europe, and we are starting to see the down side of that in the legislation being produced by confused and godless politicians. But where at one time people were respected for their views – not necessarily agreed with, but respected at least – now there is little or no acceptance of another’s views. Respect is a commodity in very short supply. 

Back in Exodus 20:12 we read, “Honour your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you”. Respect starts in the home by being implanted in children through good parenting, but with so many broken families, basic teaching like this doesn’t seem to count for much these days. And the lack of respect spills over into the classrooms, with teachers being abused just for trying to do their jobs, educating the next generation of adults in our societies. In Matthew 7:12, Jesus taught about the “Golden Rule”, “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets”. 

Respect is based on grace. Our Heavenly Father has graciously accepted us pilgrims, warts and all. With all our funny ideas and sin-ridden ways, we can, through Jesus, approach His throne with boldness. He sees our struggles to make sense of a complex and evil world. He sees us agonising over the abuse of a child, or the ill-treatment of another human being. And we know that He is also saddened by the behaviour of mankind. But God had a plan and Jesus came for damaged and confused people, who were, as He said, like sheep without a shepherd. But we have a Shepherd now, and God’s plan is being worked out through His children, fellow pilgrims such as us.

Dear Father God. We are Your children, saved by grace. Please help us reach out to others, extending Your grace to those without. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

No More Tears

Posted on by korgrocker

“… “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white. That is why they stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his Temple. And He who sits on the throne will give them shelter. They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun. For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
Revelation 7:14b-17

Earlier in this Revelation chapter, John saw in his vision a great crowd clothed in white gowns and holding palm branches. And they were shouting out a declaration of why they were in Heaven – solely because God saved them. He saved them from the consequences of their sins. He saved them through His grace and mercy. He saved them so that they could spend eternity with Him. And John is told that this great crowd of souls were wearing robes of white. Not just an earthly white, but these must have been a dazzling white because they had been washed in Jesus’ blood. There would have been no impurities in those robes. They epitomised total righteousness and holiness. And those souls deserved to wear them because they stood firm through such difficult times.

John tells us that this great crowd were standing in front of God’s throne, serving Him continually in His Temple. But then comes the really compassionate and poignant bit. However, to really appreciate what John saw about these souls, we have to remember what they had been through. They had all lived through the consequences of the six seals revealed in the precious chapter in Revelation. So from the first seal, they would have been involved in many battles. The second seal brought war and slaughter, and some of the “great crowd”would have perished here. The third seal led to desperate times of famine, when hunger and thirst would have been the norm, and people would have died from malnutrition. The fourth seal brought more hunger, along with summary executions and disease. The fifth seal revealed God’s people who had been martyred for their faith. And finally, the sixth seal destroyed their homes through an unprecedented series of natural disasters, rendering them homeless. But here’s the thing. Our wonderful Heavenly Father gave them shelter. Never again were they to be hungry or thirsty. Jesus was going to look after them, and provide for all their needs. And all the tears that would have become common place, would never return, because God had wiped them all away.

We don’t understand why God’s people will be caught up in the Great Tribulation. Some will resent the fact that God won’t take them away from the earth before He exercises His judgement on all those who remain. One day we will find out why, but in the meantime, we pilgrims carry on through our lives, trusting in the One who gave us life in the first place. 

Dear Father God. We have so many questions. But with unshakeable faith and trust in You we offer you our grateful thanks for helping each one of us on our journeys. You stand with us through the hard and difficult times. You lead and guide us when the way forward seems confused. And we thank You that one day You will bring us to pools of life giving water, sustaining us through eternity. Amen.