Residence Permits

Posted on by korgrocker

“But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”
Romans 8:9-11 NLT

Scientists claim that there could be just as many non-human organisms living within or upon us as there are human. Wee beasties such as the bacteria in our gut. The microscopic mites that live on our skin. And many others as well. There is a synergistic process at work that mutually benefits both us and the other organisms. But none of this was what Paul was referring to. He said that there is also a synergistic process going on within our spirits. Within us lives either sin or the Holy Spirit. And we will be controlled by one or the other. 

Our spirits are home to a violent battle between two opposing enemies. They are battling to take control over our minds, our actions, over who we are. There will be no prisoners of war. It’s a fight to the death. But God, through His love and grace, will win in the end, if we let Him. Paul reminded the Roman Christians that “even though your bod[ies] will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God”. Sadly, we live in bodies that will eventually wear out and die – sin will overtake us one day. But our spirits will live on, in a wonderful partnership with the Holy Spirit.

But Paul continued by reminding his readers that the “Spirit of God” is so powerful that He raised Jesus from the dead. And through that same power He was going to “give life to your mortal bodies”. But we know that our bodies will become lifeless one day, and end up buried or cremated, ultimately to disappear from this life forever. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church the following words, “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1). One day we will receive a new body, and we get a few clues about what that might be like from reading the Scriptures about Jesus after His resurrection.

The Holy Spirit living within us has a transformational impact on who and what we are. We are given access to God’s thoughts. We are able to follow His ways. We really do become a new creation, as Paul wrote about in Ephesians 4. No more do we have to be controlled by our sinful thoughts. But we have a choice. Who have we provided a residence permit for? Sin or the Holy Spirit? Hmmm…

Dear Father. Thank You for Your grace and love. Without it we would be a miserable and lost people. Please help us to allow Your Spirit to refine and improve us, so that we become more like Jesus in true holiness and righteousness. Amen.

The Human Jesus

Posted on by korgrocker

The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.”
Romans 8:3-4 NLT

Our sinful natures, ubiquitous and universal, give control freaks a problem. No matter how hard they try, they will never be able to control their seemingly unstoppable ability to commit sins. As Paul said in these verses today, even with the help of the Law of Moses, they will be too weak to effectively live up to God’s righteous standard all of the time. We may all succeed in staying righteous for a few moments, but then, at the very least, our thoughts will wander off and focus on something sinful. But thankfully, God didn’t walk away from us, wringing His hands in despair. He sent His Son Jesus “in a body like the bodies we sinners have”. Surely, He must have thought, they will listen to My Son.

We know from the accounts of the Apostles that Jesus lived His life as one of us but in a sinless state. No-one has ever been able to point a finger at Jesus and say, “Aah, but what about …”. We know how His life ended. Surely the greatest and most devastating miscarriage of justice there has ever been. But by God allowing His Son to be sacrificed, He “declared an end to sin’s control over us”. 

We note from these verses today that God didn’t do away with the Law. But we know that, because Jesus said so in Matthew 5:17, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose”. The Law, according to Paul, had a “just requirement” that had to be fully satisfied. And it still does. Jesus told His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit to help them, and by following Him, they would be released from the power of sin over their lives. Jesus said in John 15:26, “But I will send you the Advocate —the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me”. And we know how that happened if we read Acts 2.

Through Jesus, there is no more condemnation for sinners like us. As the old song says, “It is no longer I that liveth but Christ that liveth in me”. And because He lives in us through His Spirit, He helps us so that no more will we be under sin’s power. We are free! Praises be to God!

Dear Lord. You set us free from the power of sin and death at Calvary. Please help us to share that truth with all those we meet. In Your precious name. Amen.

Good to Evil

Posted on by korgrocker

“Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good. But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.”
Romans 7:11-13 NLT

Paul found himself in a situation in which he was perplexed. Once he was exposed to the demands of the Law, he discovered that his thoughts and deeds, some habitually committed since his earliest days, were actually sinful. The Law was a standard against which he found himself falling short. However, he found that if it wasn’t for the Law, he would never have known that what he thought or did was wrong.

As an example from society today. The expression “Oh my god” is ubiquitous, even being abbreviated to OMG in messaging, but do the users of this expression know that they are violating the second commandment from Exodus 20, “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name” (Exodus 20:7)? Without the benefit of the Law perhaps they would never have known. Of course, people, even Christians, claim that, because of Jesus, the Law no longer has any jurisdiction over them. But that isn’t really the case. Jesus said, as recorded in Matthew 5:17-19, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven”. 

So Paul lamented the fact that because of the Law, he found out that he was a sinner. He recognised that the Law was good, even holy, but because of it, it had effectively an evil purpose. 

Of course, we need laws to set boundaries on our lives and prevent society from falling apart. Without the Highway Code, drivers would have no idea of what constitutes a safe journey. Imagine the chaos if no-one knew what side of the road to drive on? But should we veer into the wrong lane, even by accident, we know that we have committed a dangerous act and put ourselves in danger. 

The Law acts as a constant reminder, a perfect standard, against which we pilgrims can gauge our progress in the Christian life. But thankfully, falling short need not be fatal, if we cover ourselves with Christ’s redeeming power, and listen to the Holy Spirit whispering within us. The old Apostle John wrote, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9). What is He saying to us today? Many activities and thoughts will drown Him out if we are not careful and allow Him space. He is always more willing to speak than we are to listen.

Dear Father God. We thank You for Your grace and mercy. Your care for us knows no limits. Thank You. Amen.

Death to the Law

Posted on by korgrocker

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.”
Romans 7:4-6 NLT

Perhaps we can see how the Roman Christians became a bit confused, prompting Paul’s detailed and enlightening letter. They must have thought that if the Law was replaced by something far better – their faith in the redeeming power of Jesus – then they were free to do what they wanted. Paul associated the Law and its many rules and regulations about what to do and what not to do with arousing within them the desire to do what they shouldn’t. Imagine the scene. There is a door to a cupboard in the house and a small boy living there is warned to never open it and look inside. What is the first thing he would do when the opportunity arises? He will open it and have a look. Perhaps if he had not been given that instruction, he might never have given it a thought. Paul wrote, “the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds”. 

Paul wrote that because of Jesus and all that He did at Calvary, and through their faith in Him, they were released from the power of the Law. So for the small boy in our example, instead of listening to his “evil desires”, he has the opportunity to listen to the “still small voice” of the Holy Spirit within him, leading him to make the right decision. Perhaps not a good example but it hopefully illustrates the point.

God’s Spirit has unfettered access to the hearts and minds of redeemed Christians. And we pilgrims welcome Him in with open arms. Without the Holy Spirit we are very spiritually impoverished and thrown back to a time when all we had was the letter of the Law. But thanks to God and His wonderful plan we have a new way – life in the Spirit.

There was a principle taught to youth groups a few years ago, and it spawned a number of wrist bands with the letters WWJD engraved on them. The letters stand for ”What Would Jesus Do”. Perhaps this could be a mid point between the legalism of “obeying the letter of the Law” and true life in the Spirit. For most people it is perhaps too big a leap going from a Law-inspired life of sinful thoughts and actions to one of pure obedience to the Holy Spirit within us. So on occasion there might be a fog of doubt and confusion as to whether the voice within was really the Holy Spirit. To put skin on the Spirit’s voice is often helpful in times of uncertainty. But as we listen more and more to the Holy Spirit within us we increasingly recognise His voice and learn, almost intuitively, how to learn the ”new way of living in the Spirit”.

Dear Father God. What would we do without Your Spirit’s dwelling within us? Going back to slavery in the Egypt of laws is not an option we can consider. We are so grateful. Amen.

Regrets

Posted on by korgrocker

“No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”
Romans 3:11-12 NLT

Paul’s grasp and memory retention of Scripture verses from what we call the Old Testament was extraordinary. Google didn’t exist in those days. Not only did Paul remember Bible passages, but he also knew how to use them, or how to interpret them, in connection with his daily life, and the lives of those around him. So here he is continuing to remember and write down Scriptures that apply to what he had been told about the Christians in Rome. He hadn’t been to visit them of course, so the intelligence he had received must have been solid enough for him to write the words he did. And we’re grateful that he did, because his words are just as relevant today as they were two thousand years ago.

In the verses we are looking at today, Paul is quoting from Psalms 14 and 53. The implication behind Paul’s thinking is that wisdom is associated with God and all that He demands. Perhaps we can rationalise and say that the societal factors applying in Paul’s day were different to 21st Century Western societies. Two thousand years ago, the pre-Christian pagan society in places like Rome was being influenced by the early Christians, who brought with them the wisdom of God and all His ways. But Paul mourned the apostasy of those early Christians, quoting well-worn scriptures penned in a day when people had largely turned their backs on God. 

It is said that we in the West now live in a post-Christian society, where the reality of the Godly roots that founded our laws and society have been hijacked by ignorant and foolish people, who claim them for their own. And now such people are introducing a new morality not based on God. Just look at recent legislation introduced by the Scottish government. The verses that Paul quoted still apply today, as they always have done. Mankind hasn’t changed, with sin often getting the upper hand in the minds of our leaders and politicians, drawing them into paths that are unwise. Rather than seek God for the right way, they follow their sinful inclinations and choose a wrong way. 

Paul wrote the words that he did in the hope and expectation that something redemptive would happen in the hearts of those who heard them. We often remember that God never changes, and we are so fortunate that his unchanging character and ways are recorded for us in faithfully-translated books we call Bibles. Collections of God’s sayings that are founded on the willingness of faithful people to record what He said to them through His Spirit. Paul’s letter was addressed to God’s people who had lost their way a bit. And it probably brought many of them back on track, as the Holy Spirit brought Paul’s words to life in their day to day lives.

We pilgrims too have an opportunity to dig into the Holy Scriptures, seeking God there for the sake of our societies. Bringing to life the wisdom of God, influencing a godless society largely populated by people who “have turned away”. We look for opportunities to provide alternative Bible-based morality and laws because we know that therein lies the wisdom of God. 

Father God, we thank You again for Your Word, the Bible. So full of wisdom and Your thoughts. Please encourage us to read and re-read it, because it contains the Words of eternal life. Amen.

Trouble and Calamity

Posted on by korgrocker

“There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. But there will be glory and honour and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. For God does not show favouritism.”
Romans‬ ‭2‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Paul continues his letter to the Roman Christians with a reminder about the dangers of sin, evil and wickedness. Words that really have the same connotations and, as we would expect, they will have the same consequences. Perhaps there are some today, reading these verses in Romans, who are getting the impression that in Paul’s day, life was riven with overt and disgraceful displays of pure evil. We would be misguided should we believe that, because, as we read Paul’s list of misdemeanours, we find that much of the evil he describes is hidden from public view. It applies to attitudes of heart, and deeds committed behind closed doors. 

In our society today, much of the evil Paul was so dismayed about has come out into the open, with, for example, marches and events promoting and celebrating evil behaviour, with legislation helping to ease restrictions on laws and precepts originally established by God, and pressure on society to conform to a new morality which has no place in the Kingdom of God.

Paul therefore warns his readers that those who continue to practice evil acts will end up in bother, or, as he wrote, “trouble and calamity“. But why did Paul highlight that Jews would experience “trouble and calamity” in advance of the Gentiles? After all, as it says in Romans 2:11, “God does not show favouritism“. Paul himself was a Jew, so perhaps that influenced his thoughts. After all, his nation, the Jews, were God’s chosen people, so they should have been well aware of what constitutes evil behaviour.

Notice the words that Paul uses – “ keeps on doing”. Paul was highlighting constant bad behaviour. A lifestyle of evil. Paul wrote about the consequences of this in his letter to the Galatian church. We read in Galatians 6:8, “Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit“. “Trouble and calamity” and “decay and death” all result from sinful behaviour. Perhaps some have already made the connection between evil practices and avoidable diseases, such as liver, heart or lung failure. But that will not be the only result of evil. Paul’s thoughts also extend into what is going on in people’s minds, and ultimately, what impact evil behaviour will have when people encounter that terrible day when they stand before God’s white throne?

What is the remedy for an evil lifestyle? We read in 1 John 1:9, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness“. But that was a Scripture written for the benefit of Christians, so it is unlikely that people who live in an ungodly way would read it and make the connection. God in His wisdom has given us some guidelines for drawing people away from a life of sin. People preached a tremendous sermon on the Day of Pentecost. We read in Acts 2:37-38, “Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit“”. But how did Peter’s words “pierce their hearts”? I’m sure the people who heard his sermon could have let his words flow over their heads. It is the Holy Spirit who brings conviction of sin, as we read in John 16:8, “And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment“. As believers, we only have to deliver the message of the Good News. The Holy Spirit will do the rest.

Notice that Peter’s sermon included the message of repentance and turning to God. Sometimes I think we evangelical pilgrims forget that message when we are talking to people about God’s love and grace. The only remedy for an evil lifestyle is repentance, turning away from their evil behaviour and instead towards a life living God’s way. Confessing sins on their own, important though that is, is not enough. 

We pilgrims continue to preach the Gospel at every opportunity. Spreading the word of God’s love and kindness. Telling people that the time is short. And praying that God will touch them and draw them into His eternal presence.

Dear Father God. We are so grateful for Your words of instruction. Please help us to heed them ourselves, as well as share them with others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Immanuel

Posted on by korgrocker

“All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).”
“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.”
“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!”
Isaiah‬ ‭7:14, 9‬:‭2‬, ‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Immanuel. The Hebrew word meaning “God is with us”. Way back in the early chapters of Genesis God was so close to mankind that He walked and talked with the first man, Adam. At that time, Heaven and Earth were in contact, with God passing freely between them. God was with us. In those days, Planet Earth had not been corrupted by sin. But after the Fall, that desperately sad moment when sin entered the world, Heaven recoiled from Earth, in horror that sin had made such a liaison impossible and no longer viable. There is no place for sin and wickedness in Heaven. The only time that sin did in fact erupt in Heaven was when Lucifer decided to rebel against God, and he ended up being cast down to Earth, along with a third of the angels who rebelled with him. God still yearned for the opportunity to be with His creation, human beings, but had to be content with the occasional contact through His Spirit and via angels. But God had a plan.

Isaiah prophesied that there will come a time when God will be with us once again here on Earth. Look at the sequence of events. It starts with a virgin conceiving. How can that happen? It was obviously not a natural event – even in today’s medically-enlightened times it can only happen with a manual intervention. In Isaiah’s prophecy such an event was nothing short of miraculous, and could only have taken place with God’s involvement. The sign continued with the birth of a Son. A Son who was both human and divine. The theologians call this the Incarnation. John wrote about this event – we read it in John 1:14, “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son”. The miraculous sign continues with the declaration that the Son will be called Immanuel, “God is with us“. Once again God was walking on Planet Earth.

Thankfully, God’s liaison with Planet Earth didn’t end with the Ascension. Jesus left the Earth, knowing it was in good hands. We read in John 14:16 (AMP), “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counsellor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever—”. The Holy Spirit has been with us ever since, acting as Jesus would have done, had He still been with us.

We pilgrims are deeply grateful for God’s plan, that is still being outworked with us today. God is still with us.

Immanuel, we praise and worship You today. Amen.

Immanuel

Posted on by korgrocker

“All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).”
“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.”
“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!”
Isaiah‬ ‭7:14, 9‬:‭2‬, ‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Immanuel. The Hebrew word meaning “God is with us”. Way back in the early chapters of Genesis God was so close to mankind that He walked and talked with the first man, Adam. At that time, Heaven and Earth were in contact, with God passing freely between them. God was with us. In those days, Planet Earth had not been corrupted by sin. But after the Fall, that desperately sad moment when sin entered the world, Heaven recoiled from Earth, in horror that sin had made such a liaison impossible and no longer viable. There is no place for sin and wickedness in Heaven. The only time that sin did in fact erupt in Heaven was when Lucifer decided to rebel against God, and he ended up being cast down to Earth, along with a third of the angels who rebelled with him. God still yearned for the opportunity to be with His creation, human beings, but had to be content with the occasional contact through His Spirit and via angels. But God had a plan.

Isaiah prophesied that there will come a time when God will be with us once again here on Earth. Look at the sequence of events. It starts with a virgin conceiving. How can that happen? It was obviously not a natural event – even in today’s medically-enlightened times it can only happen with a manual intervention. In Isaiah’s prophecy such an event was nothing short of miraculous, and could only have taken place with God’s involvement. The sign continued with the birth of a Son. A Son who was both human and divine. The theologians call this the Incarnation. John wrote about this event – we read it in John 1:14, “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son”. The miraculous sign continues with the declaration that the Son will be called Immanuel, “God is with us“. Once again God was walking on Planet Earth.

Thankfully, God’s liaison with Planet Earth didn’t end with the Ascension. Jesus left the Earth, knowing it was in good hands. We read in John 14:16 (AMP), “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counsellor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever—”. The Holy Spirit has been with us ever since, acting as Jesus’ representative, and doing those things that Jesus would have done, had He been with us.

We pilgrims are deeply grateful for God’s plan, that is still being outworked with us today. God is still with us.

Immanuel, we praise and worship You today.

Abandoned by God

Posted on by korgrocker

“So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Just to recap, we reached this point because Paul said people in general had the knowledge of a Creator God, but instead of offering Him the thanks and worship that He was due, they went off and worshipped their own idols. We read that such people ended up in an arrogant position, claiming that they were operating wisely in whatever they were doing. But their thinking became more and more foolish to the point that they developed a very distorted view of God Himself. And the consequences were this –  God abandoned them to their own devices. Presumably their consciences no longer functioned as they should have done and they behaved much as the Israelites did, as we can read in the last verse in the Book of Judges, “…. all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes“. (Judges 21:25b).

But it’s a very serious and potentially devastating situation to get into, to be abandoned by God. Normally, people go through life with at least some behavioural constraints due to their consciences. Even people who claim to have no religious belief intuitively know the differences between right and wrong, because God through His Spirit is working gently behind the scenes. But consciences can fail to work as they should, and Paul wrote about this problem to his son in the faith, Timothy. We read in 1 Timothy 4:1-2 (AMP), “But the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons, [misled] by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared as with a branding iron [leaving them incapable of ethical functioning],”. How does a conscience become “seared”? When we sear something like a finger, we burn it, and that then renders it insensitive, at least for a while, to touch and feeling. The nerves are damaged and don’t function as they should. Similarly, it is possible to sear our consciences by constantly overriding their signals until the still small voice within us fails to be heard any more. When that happens, God has effectively abandoned us, and the inbuilt restraints put in place when we were created are removed, leaving us “incapable of ethical functioning”. 

Without a functioning conscience and abandoned by God, a person’s ability to do what is right is impaired and one consequence is that they end up doing “vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies”. what Paul was warning about can be seen in society today, with more and more blatant and public exposures of sexual sins that must break God’s heart. Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, calls such behaviour “vile and degrading”, but to someone with a seared conscience, abandoned by God, they see nothing wrong. In fact they embark on public displays, even hijacking one of God’s signs, a rainbow, and in the process waving their arrogant and angry fists in the face of God. 

Another worry is the way God has abandoned society. The “vile and degrading” actions of individuals are now being promoted by corporate organisations and even government institutions. A race to the bottom is going on unconstrained, with our legislators introducing or changing laws to ease the transition to a “vile and degraded” society. Society in general is increasingly becoming accepting of sinful behaviour. We live in an unhappy age.

It is difficult in these desperate times for us pilgrims to make a stand against such blatant sinful behaviour. But we still have a window of opportunity to extend God’s grace and love even to those currently living in a state of God’s abandonment. Here in the UK we are not yet persecuted to the extent that speaking out about “vile and degrading” practices is a crime. But there is little time left before it will be. As we read in Revelation, there is a time coming when all people will have to stand before God and account for their behaviour. And we pilgrims pray that God’s grace will continue; we pray more grace, more love, Lord. How we need You in these difficult and desperate times! Paul’s warning is perhaps even more relevant today than it was two thousand years ago.

But in the middle of a seemingly hopeless situation, there is hope. There is always hope. Jeremiah got the message. He wrote in Jeremiah 32:17, “O Sovereign Lord ! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!” Nothing is too difficult for our loving Heavenly Father. And with that knowledge we can pray with assurance that God’s ways will prevail. Jesus made it quite clear, in a conversation with Peter and His other disciples, that He was going to build His church. We read in Matthew 16:18, “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it“. In the end, there may be many people who find themselves abandoned by God. But that makes no difference to the long term reality, that one day, Jesus’ church will finally be built. See you there?

Dear Father God. We do indeed pray for more of Your grace and love to permeate into our societies. Without You this world would be a dark place indeed. We pray for our families and friends, that You will touch them with Your presence through the power of Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Utter Fools

Posted on by korgrocker

“Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.”
Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What did Paul have in mind when he made the statement “Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools”? Perhaps he was referring to a human trait common today, and probably just as prevalent in his times. Consider the following phenomenon. There are people who seem to have developed strange ideas or theories about God and the spiritual world. Their worldviews or thoughts of anything to do with religion, particularly if they are not Christians, can be wild and “off the wall”. They develop a philosophy that seems to fit in with their natural observations of the world around them and the behaviour of people that they come into contact with. They then create their own ideas and propagate them to anyone prepared to listen. Take for example the viewpoint sometimes heard, that all Christians are hypocrites, and therefore the worship of God is a pointless exercise. This is probably based on their observations of a particular church-goer who acts “holier than thou” on a Sunday but who behaves in a very worldly way at other times. But they then extrapolate this to include all who claim to have faith in God, painting them all with the label “hypocrite”. A journey in their minds then continues trying to make sense of why churches exist, developing all sorts of weird theories in the process. More disturbingly, they go on to develop skewed ideas about God, and their self-derived “wisdom” ends up making them “utter fools”. Sadly, modern liberal theologians have attempted to reconcile the views of both the god of this age and the God we worship, coming up with what is to them a wise solution responding to societal pressures around issues including sexuality and marriage, but instead developing foolish ideas that deny Biblical truths.

Such a phenomenon is not just the domain of non-religious people. It can affect, or infect, Christians as well. Paul, in his verses in Romans, was writing to Christians. Can they too acquire the “utter fools” label. How do we avoid thinking up “foolish ideas of what God was like”? As Paul pointed out in an earlier verse in Romans 1, we can find a glimpse of God’s character in the creation around us. But most of what we come to know about God is found in the Bible. His character and attributes just ooze out of every page, every chapter, every verse. The Scriptures have much good advice for those tending towards the foolish end of the wisdom spectrum. Psalm 14:1 relates to what Paul has been writing about, “Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!” There’s also much truth in Proverbs 3:3, “People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.” In fact, there’s a whole section in Proverbs 14 devoted to fools and their foolishness. But I love the verse, 1 Corinthians 1:27, “Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.” The Christian faith is counter-cultural to the extent that people in the world around us designate us as being fools, when the opposite is true in God’s Kingdom.

Idolatry can be in many different forms. The conventional view is of statues, effigies of saints, or similar people, long dead and who have perhaps some sort of cult status. Just walk into an old church or cathedral and many will be found. Or an idol can be made out of a living person. Have we not heard expressions such as “He worships the ground she walks on”, an observation of a love-struck teenager? We can also easily make an idol out of our hobbies, TV interests; in fact anything that takes our focus away from God and His ways.

So we pilgrims plod on our way, conscious that it easy to be diverted from the narrow way into boggy and hazardous ground full of pitfalls to lead the unwary Christian into foolishness. We must spend time constantly in God’s Word, learning more and more about Him, and always aware of the need to give Him all our thanks.

Dear Father God. We worship You today, the Source of all we need in this life and the next. We are grateful for the work of the Holy Spirit, constantly nudging us back into keeping to Your ways, day by day. Amen.