The Indwelling One

Posted on by korgrocker

“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”
John 14:15-17 NLT

God created man with a physical body and a spirit. We all have these attributes but it is how we consider them that is important. The societies in which we live are full of people making their claims about diets and nutritional foods, all to help us live healthier or longer lives but little attention is paid to the spiritual side of our beings. This is left to the gurus and the yogis, the ministers and the rabbis and imams. But the relationship with God through the Holy Spirit is definitely only appreciated by a minority of people, with even many Christians wary of a contact with the third member of the Trinity. In our secular cultures, the Holy Spirit is generally ignored or avoided.

About the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognise him”. Why is that, do we think? One answer is that the devil has indeed blinded people’s eyes and senses, and propagated a lie about God. Another reason is that we live in a touchy feely world, where anything intangible or invisible is avoided and ignored, leaving an obscure academic cohort of philosophers to debate such things. But the reality of the presence of the Holy Spirit is denied and ignored.

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit visited certain people at a time of necessity to empower them for a particular task. For example, we read in Judges 6:34 how the Holy Spirit came upon Gideon, “Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him”. In 1 Samuel 16:13 we read, “So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah”. David was not only anointed with oil, he was anointed with the Holy Spirit as well. In the following verse, we see how the Holy Spirit departed from King Saul, “Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, … “.  

In John 14:17, Jesus also said, about the Holy Spirit, to His disciples,  “But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you”. An incredible verse, with Jesus perhaps saying that His presence and that of the Holy Spirit, were one and the same, but Jesus could see forward to the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came to live in each one of the people present in that upper room, and has been available for every believer ever since. We can see the many occasions in the Acts of the Apostles where the Holy Spirit came to live with believers. 

Sadly, there are those today, who claim to be Christians, but who deny the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. In his book “The Normal Christian Birth”, David Pawson writes about the four factors present in a born again believer. We can also find them in Acts 2:38, “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”. We repent of our sins, we believe in the Lord Jesus, we seek and realise baptism in water, and we receive the Gift of, or baptism in, the Holy Spirit. John 1:33, “I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptise with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptise with the Holy Spirit'”.

So, dear fellow pilgrim, have you received the gift of the Holy Spirit? Have you been baptised in the Holy Spirit, as John said of Jesus? Does He dwell within you? If not, then seek God today because the Holy Spirit is waiting at the door of your heart, ready to enter. And He will never leave you and He will lead you into all truth. How do I know? Well, Jesus said so. And Peter continued – Acts 2:39, “This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God”. 

Dear Father God. In this moment we reach out to You and receive once again a fresh infilling of Your Spirit. Your Spirit moves within us and changes a monochrome world into a vivid multi-colour world. Thank You. Amen.

The Advocate

Posted on by korgrocker

“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”
John 14:15-17 NLT

Who is this “Advocate”? The Amplified version of the Bible helps – “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counsellor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever—” (John 14:16). The impression emerges that there are insufficient words in the English language to describe who the Advocate is. The Greek word is parakletos, from where we get the word Paraclete, another description of the “Advocate”.

But we know who the “Advocate” is because He is the third Person of the Trinity – the Holy Spirit. And Jesus continued – “He … will never leave you” and “He … leads into all truth”. This is mind blowing! That God would condescend to live within us through the Person of His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is beyond humbling. And the fact that he will never leave us … Through ever situation we are ever likely to encounter, God is there with us. Perhaps we comfortable Western believers can see how our brothers and sisters in other places in the world can look death in the face and overcome the persecution, the loss of property, the imprisonment and even death. God is with them and He never leaves them.

The Holy Spirit “leads [us] into all truth”. Earlier in John 14 Jesus said that He is the truth, and even though He isn’t with us in person, that truth is still with us. We find that the “truth” is in God’s Word and as Paul wrote to Timothy, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). There are many customs in our modern times, many of them with dubious intentions, that don’t appear in the Bible, but it is amazing that there are Holy-Spirit-inspired principles to follow that apply today. For example, mobile phones didn’t exist in Jesus’ day, but we know how to use them in an honourable way through Biblical principles, the Holy Spirit providing us with guidance as we use them. And the Holy Spirit will lead us in our daily lives wherever we find ourselves. 

One of my favourite verses is in Acts 2, embedded in Peter’s amazing sermon following which three thousand people were saved. He described the Holy Spirit as being a Gift to all believers. “Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Paul reminded all believers that the Holy Spirit lives within us. “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 8:11). How can we pilgrims ever refuse this amazing God-gift? Free and powerful, the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth. No secular philosopher or scientist, atheist or otherwise, can ever make such a claim, as they fumble their way through a dark devil-inspired corridor of ultimate shame, searching for truths that are only found through our amazing God.

Heavenly Father. We praise and worship You, with gratitude for Your heavenly Gift, the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Comforter. Amen.

Jesus’ Commands

Posted on by korgrocker

“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”
John 14:15-17 NLT

Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments”. Perhaps we wonder what they are, so, we reach for our Bibles and start to work our way through the Gospels, considering carefully Jesus’ every Word. The first command we find in Matthew 4:17, “From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near””. A couple of verses on we find, “Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”” (Matthew 4:19). So, from Matthew 4 we have Jesus’ commands to repent of our sins and to follow Him. But when we get to Matthew 5 the enormity of what it means to obey the commands of Jesus starts to dawn. Someone has calculated that there could be as many as three hundred commands that Jesus left us with. By the time we get to the end of the Sermon on the Mount we will be reaching for the anti-depressives. In our human strength it is not possible to know and be obedient to all the commands of Jesus. And in any case, should we try, we would be heading for membership of the ancient order of the Pharisees, who maintained that they were righteous because they obeyed every jot and tittle of the Law of Moses. But we should remember that the commands of Jesus are not just a to-do list; they are an invitation to a relationship with God Himself. 

In 1 Peter 1:16 we read, “For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy”“. In Hebrews 12:14 we read, “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” Self-explanatory verses, that, combined with Jesus’ command that we obey His commandments, define the pass mark for entering Heaven. 

But just because we find it impossible to obey all Jesus’ commands shouldn’t mean we should just give up. With God everything is possible, as we read in Matthew 19:26, ““Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible””. We understand just how impossible it is for us to keep God’s commandments and how often we fail to do so and can therefore never be righteous before God on our own accord. It is Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross that pays the penalty for our sins, and in return we receive His righteousness. Romans 10:9-10, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved”. 

So we pilgrims, with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit living within us, obey Jesus’ commands. And if we fail and slip up, as we often will, we come again to the Cross in repentance. And in our pilgrimage we become more like Jesus, day by day, command by command.

Dear Lord Jesus. You left us with a legacy of commands and examples for us to follow. But You didn’t leave is on our own to muddle through. We thank You the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who helps us each and every day. Amen.

“The Devil Made Me Do It”

Posted on by korgrocker

“It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.”
John 13:2 NLT

Is “the devil made me do it” a valid excuse? It certainly wasn’t for Eve after the incident with the serpent. “Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” … Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you””(Genesis 3:13, 16)‭‭. Eve had to face into the consequences of her sin. But in her case, the desire to do something she wasn’t supposed to do was there, and the serpent acted as a catalyst to resolve the conflict in her mind. Eve wasn’t unique by any means, because how many times have we found ourselves in sin, having rationalised in our minds that the act of doing what we shouldn’t doesn’t really matter. The excuses and mental gyrations we go through to justify our sinful actions. “Just this once won’t really matter, after all everyone does it”. “I’m doing some research to find out more about this web site”. And so on. 

Regarding Judas, the reality was that he was already inclined to betray Jesus. We can only guess at a reason. Perhaps he was disappointed that Jesus wasn’t going to bring about the revolution in Israel that he thought He should. Perhaps he suspected that Jesus knew about his proclivity to steal from the common fund. The foot washing event that happened after supper might have been the vehicle that finally tipped Judas Iscariot over the edge, because soon after, he left the meeting to go and make arrangements to betray Jesus. But he wasn’t walking along one day and suddenly found that there was the devil or one of his representatives walking with him. The devil cannot make us do anything, but he is a master in finding our weak spots and leveraging them so that we fall into sin. In C S Lewis’ book “The Great Divorce”, there’s a fascinating account of a ghost complete with a little red demon, with tail and horns, sat on its shoulder, constantly whispering in its ear. So it is with the devil sometimes, it seems.

The action of Judas in his betrayal of Jesus started a chain of events that probably went far beyond what Judas was expecting. Perhaps he thought that he could force Jesus to become King and deal with the hated occupiers. But to look on and see what was happening over the next few hours wasn’t, or so some think, what Judas had in mind in his act of betrayal. We read what happened with Judas in Matthew 27:3-5, “When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.” “What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your problem.” Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.” 

One day everyone will stand before God to give an account of their lives, and the excuse, “The devil made me do it” won’t wash with God. James wrote, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). John wrote, “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world” (1 John 4:4). Through the power of the Holy Spirit, who lives within us, we have all the resources we need so that we are never tempted to say, “The devil made me do it”.

Dear Father God. Thank You for giving us Your Spirit, so that through Him we have the power to be overcomers. Amen.

Recharging Batteries

Posted on by korgrocker

“So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death. As a result, Jesus stopped his public ministry among the people and left Jerusalem. He went to a place near the wilderness, to the village of Ephraim, and stayed there with his disciples.”
John 11:53-54 NLT

The village of Ephraim wasn’t far from Jerusalem – just thirteen miles. But in those days that was far enough for Jesus to allow things to calm down in Jerusalem and get some peace from the threats of the religious leaders. His public ministry had divided the people into those who believed in Him, and those who didn’t, and it was the latter group that had decided to look for a way to kill Him. Such a course of action, by the religious leaders and their followers, men and women who claimed to follow the Law of Moses, people who knew that murder was on the list of the Ten Commandments, was extraordinary. But such was the anger being stirred up by the devil. He knew that Jesus was a real threat to him and he was going to do anything he could to close Jesus down, and allow him to get on with his devilish business of interfering with the lives of men and women, by introducing more and more evil and wickedness into the world. 

Jesus stayed in the village with His disciples. A useful time for bonding and teaching. A time for a de-briefing to allow all that His followers had seen to be discussed. Learning opportunities and a time of rest to enable Jesus to prepare for what was about to come next. 

We pilgrims sometimes need to take an example from Jesus, in that He spent time with His Father, resting in Him and recharging His spiritual batteries. And by so doing He was always ready and prepared for what was to come next in His life. By spending time with God we pilgrims will find answers to our questions, refreshment for our souls and resources for the day ahead. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need“. In our time spent with God we mustn’t neglect reading the Bible. Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path“. And of course we mustn’t neglect John 15:4, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”

Just as we can never survive for long in a natural lives without food, we cannot survive for long spiritually without spiritual food. Jesus went to Ephraim to receive His father’s wisdom for what was to come next. We pilgrims must often head for our spiritual Ephraims to recharge our batteries, and receive a new infilling of the Holy Spirit to resource our day ahead.

Dear Father God. We ask today for a fresh infilling of Your Holy Spirit so that rivers of living water will flow from us to those around us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Brother With Two Sisters

Posted on by korgrocker

“A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.””
John 11:1-3 NLT

Chapter Eleven in John’s Gospel introduces Jesus’ friends, Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. They lived in a place called Bethany, a village located about two miles from Jerusalem on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. So it was quite close to Jerusalem and someone walking from there would take about forty minutes. We know little about the three siblings, but a story was about to unfold that had earth-shattering consequences. The account in John doesn’t appear in the other Gospels, although references to Mary and Martha do. But we do know that Jesus was friends with this small family unit, and probably stayed with them as often as He could. 

We know a little about Mary, because she “poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair”. John 12:3, “Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.” And we know a little more about the two sisters from the account in Luke 10, where Martha bustled around preparing a meal for all the hungry guests – Jesus and His disciples – while her sister, Mary, chose to sit at Jesus’ feet, listening to His teaching. This is a well know story often referred to today, with some women identifying either with Martha or Mary in the course of their Christian journeys.

Lazarus became sick. With what we don’t know, but it was important enough for his sisters to send a worried message to Jesus. But the picture emerges in our minds of this ordinary Israeli family, living in a house large enough to accommodate guests. Lazarus and his sisters were probably at the younger end of the age spectrum, but there is no mention of parents or other relatives. Circumstances conspired to leave them, apparently reasonably well off, as three siblings living together on their own. John provided just the bare minimum of facts about this family unit, leaving us to try and fill in the gaps. 

But we pilgrims can relate to the concerns of being ill, and especially if a person close to us is unwell. A parent with a sick child. A wife with a sick husband. A Mary and Martha with a sick brother. Part of life as a human being living on Planet Earth is having to deal with sickness. This wasn’t God’s plan when He created the human race. Instead, we live in a world corrupted by sin, and under the power of the “god of this age”, and because of that we will experience illnesses, all the way from a common cold through to the ravages of cancer. When Jesus came He offered eternal life to all who believed in Him. This wasn’t an infinite natural life extension but eternal spiritual life. Yes, there were well documented occasions, such as in the account we are reading today, when Jesus healed the sick and even raised the dead. Today, there are still miraculous healings that take place through God’s servants and these are all down to God and His compassion.

There was a bond between Lazarus, Martha and Mary that was strong and able to withstand what would be coming to them in the days and weeks ahead in John’s account. But we pilgrims need to be on our guard because the devil excels in breaking up families, and especially Christian families. The devil will want to destroy anything that God has created and ordained. We know from Genesis 2 that God ordained marriage between a man and a woman – “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one” (Genesis 2:24). From the man/woman union comes a family, and family life, and two of the Ten Commandments confirm the importance of the family. The sibling family residing in Bethany were perhaps unusual, but they demonstrated a familial bond that was important.

In a spiritual sense, we are part of a much larger family, made up of the children of God. The devil will want to divide and conquer the church of which we are a part, so we need to be on our guards. And that is the message today as we explore the account of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, and what was about to happen in Bethany.

Dear Father God. You designed the family unit and put within us Your family dna. You too are a part of a family unit, together with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We pray for our families and know that even if we aren’t in a family unit, You are there with us. We are so grateful. Amen.

Know the Scriptures

Posted on by korgrocker

“They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.” Jesus replied, “It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’ And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’ why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world.”
John 10:33-36 NLT

More clear speech from Jesus. Faced with a situation where the people around Him wanted to kill Him because He claimed to be the Son of God, a blasphemous claim in their eyes, Jesus pointed out what was written in Scripture. Jesus quoted a verse from Psalm 82 – “I say, ‘You are gods; you are all children of the Most High” (Psalm 82:6).  But the Psalmist, under the power of the Holy Spirit, then wrote, “But you will die like mere mortals and fall like every other ruler”. Of course, these references to “gods” were not assigning the recipients some form of divinity, but God was pointing out through the Psalmist that anyone who has some degree of control over another, such as a judge or someone in a position of authority such as an employer or civil servant, has a power that is godly (note the small “g”). And God then included a warning that such “gods” will themselves be accountable for their actions. Such judges were perhaps referred to by Paul in Romans 13:1, “Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God”. Jesus was saying if those who hold a divinely appointed position can be considered “gods,” how much more can the One whom God has chosen and sent be the Son of God.

The Scriptures, what we believers refer to as the Old and New Testaments, are a rich and limitless source of information, all of which was inspired by the Holy Spirit through over 40 authors and over a period of 1500 years or so. The more we pilgrims read the Bible, the more we find out about God, and what we don’t know about Him. We can read a passage of Scripture one day, and then find more from it at a subsequent reading. Such a divinely inspired book is unique and it connects us to our Heavenly Father, inspiring us, and touching our spirits with His love and grace. Sadly, many theologians over the years have interpreted the Scriptures in certain ways and have veered away from God’s original intentions. This is how cults have developed, and some have even changed the Scriptures to suit their beliefs. 

But we pilgrims are committed to the Bible and all it contains. We take seriously the warning at the end of Revelation, “And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book” (Revelation 22:18-19). Instead, we agree whole-heartedly with Peter’s words in his first epistle, “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment” (1 Peter 2:2). The “pure spiritual milk” constitutes God’s complete, special revelation, encapsulated in what we now know as the Bible. So we pilgrims read the Bible and re-read it, feeding our souls on God’s Word. There we will find peace, purity and food for our souls. There is no other religion in the world that has a God who died for us so that we can have eternal life. All the other religions expect works to take place, so that our place in eternity is earned. We pilgrims are saved purely by grace. There is no other way into God’s presence.

Dear Father God. Only You have opened a door into Your presence. Other religions fail to find it, no matter what they claim. So we fall on our knees before You today, in grateful worship. Amen.

Power of God

Posted on by korgrocker

““Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.””
John 9:2-5 NLT

That poor man had been born blind in a culture that left him with no option but to be a beggar. A sad situation where the man would have had no self respect and he would have been reliant on others for most of life’s basic requirements. But Jesus assured the disciples that the man’s blindness was not caused by sin. Instead, He implied that on this occasion there was an opportunity to demonstrate that the “power of God” was able to cure this otherwise incurable condition. Should the man be able to see would be a miracle that the Pharisees and the other religious leaders could never be able to explain away.

There is a connection between this man being blind, living his life in a world of darkness, and Jesus being “the light of the world”. In a physical sense the blind man was walking in a dark world that could only be illuminated by the “power of God”. In a spiritual sense, the far more common condition of sin could only be remedied by belief in God and the One whom He sent, Jesus, His Son. There is an immediate connection between physical and spiritual blindness and Jesus demonstrated for that, and subsequent, generations that it is only the “power of God” that is capable of bringing a remedy. 

Jesus told His disciples that there were things to do that could only be done while it was daylight. Once the night had come, these tasks would no longer be possible. Because Jesus was the “light of the world” perhaps He was implying that once He had left the world the opportunities to perform the “works of God” would leave with Him. That would certainly have been the case except for one thing – the sending of the Holy Spirit. We read in John 14, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. …. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognise him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you” (John 14:12-13, 16-17). 

Sadly, there are many Christians today who believe that the “power of God” was only for the apostolic age and they deny that God’s power is manifested anymore in works of healing. But Jesus left us with His Great Commission, and we read in Mark 16:15-18, “And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptised will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”” We Christians agree that we must share the Gospel, the Good News about the saving love and grace of God, but the Commission goes on to describe manifestations of the “power of God”. Speaking in tongues, casting out demons and healing the sick were specifically mentioned by Jesus. We have the power of God through the Holy Spirit who lives within each and every believer. And so, we believers have a challenge. The Holy Spirit works through us to do the works of God – if we let Him.

Dear Father God, please forgive us for taking those elements of Scripture that we feel comfortable and safe with, but ignoring or forgetting the rest. We have Your Heavenly resources at our disposal, and through faith we can use it to Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Insults

Posted on by korgrocker

“Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.” The people retorted, “You Samaritan devil! Didn’t we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?” “No,” Jesus said, “I have no demon in me. For I honour my Father—and you dishonour me. And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the true judge. I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!””
John 8:47-51 NLT

In front of Jesus, as He taught in the Temple, was a hard-core group of “people” who had started to throw some serious insults at Him. Presumably those in the original crowd who had professed their belief in Him had gone on their way, perhaps rejoicing that they had met the Son of God. The remainder of the crowd was what John called “the people”. This group was seriously rattled by what Jesus had said, and continued to say, about Himself, His relationship with His Father, and His message of eternal life. They were so rattled in fact that they resorted to insulting Him by calling Him a “Samaritan devil” and that He was possessed by a demon. Who were these “people”? Well, the Pharisees would have been well represented along with religious lawyers and others, all of whom had a vested interest in the continuation of their hold over the religious and social lives of the common people. They could not survive if their authority was removed from them by Someone who called Himself God’s Son, and who was preaching a message that circumvented their rules and laws.

But Jesus deftly sidestepped their insults. He was above their behaviour and wasn’t going to be drawn into a slanging match with the “people”. Instead, He calmly pointed out that there was no demon in Him, and then He drew the conversation back to His original message. Again He tells those before Him, “anyone who obeys my teaching will never die”. 

Isn’t it strange that professing to being a Christian or preaching a Gospel message seems to bring out the worst in some people. Jesus warned His followers that this would happen as we can read in the Beatitudes. “God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way” (Matthew 5:10-12). Peter wrote in his first epistle, “If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4:14).

We pilgrims know that by “coming out” as a Christian in our schools or workplaces will open us up to all sorts of abuse, some of which is subtle, like being quietly overlooked for a promotion or some other reward, or not so subtle, as being ostracised or excluded from workplace events. The Gospel message for which we stand will cause offence because it confronts the sin that soaks the unbelievers around us. A Christian will make such people feel uncomfortable even before he or she has said a word. Indeed, it should, because all true Christians have the Holy Spirit living within them, and a sinner will recoil away from God’s presence. 2 Corinthians 2:15-16a, “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. …”. Have we ever noticed something like a perfume around a Christian? It’s not a smell of dusty churches with elderly people and even older carpets. It’s a peace, an assurance, something almost imperceptible that seems to filter down from Heaven and God’s throne. Unbelievers are aware of this as well, but to them it brings an awareness of their sin, and insults against God and His people start to rise in their throats. But as Jesus said, this will make us happy because our treasure chest in Heaven is being added to. we won’t be the first of God’s children to suffer insults, and we won’t certainly be the last.

Dear Father God. As we stand firm on the Rock that is Jesus we pray for those around us, that they too will feel Your presence, and respond to Your love and grace. Amen.

Who Are You?

Posted on by korgrocker

“That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.” “Who are you?” they demanded. Jesus replied, “The one I have always claimed to be. I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful.” But they still didn’t understand that he was talking about his Father.”
John 8:24-27 NLT

We know from the previous chapter in John that Jesus clearly stated who He was and why He had come. The people were divided in their opinions and some thought He was indeed the Messiah but most were unconvinced. We read in John 7:43-44, “So the crowd was divided about him. Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him”. To be around Jesus was a disturbing experience because He never pandered to people’s egos. He was totally transparent and taught the truth wherever He went. Here in the Temple, He seemed to be surrounded by a people who seemed to lack understanding, refused to believe what He said, and they even appeared quite hostile to Him. But we know why. The Apostle Paul summed it up in 2 Corinthians 4:4, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God”. Perhaps the commission God gave Isaiah still applied, “And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people, ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’ Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing”” (Isaiah 6:9-10). But whatever the reason, most people didn’t believe in Jesus and demanded that He gave them an explanation about who He was that fitted into their world view. Here was a Man, who claimed to be God’s Son, saying that they won’t get into Heaven unless they believed in Him, something totally at variance with what they had been taught by their religious teachers, that salvation came from following the Law of Moses.

Of course, we pilgrims have asked the question of Jesus and believed in His response, that he is indeed God’s Son and salvation comes through none other than Him. We read in Acts 4 the account of Peter and John being arrested and brought before the Jewish authorities to explain how they had healed the lame man at the Temple gate. Acts 4:7, “They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”” Peter’s defence was robust and truthful. He replied, “Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:10-12). In spite of the miracle that had been committed in Jesus’ name, the Jewish leaders refused to believe in Jesus. Rather, they wanted to close the two Apostles down, so that their “propaganda” (Acts 4:17) would not spread any further.

But how would we respond if someone came to us and asked the question, “Who are you?” We would, of course, start with our name, and perhaps say a few words about ourselves. Things like where we are from, what we do for a living, where we live and so on. But Jesus only had one answer – I Am – a reply that ultimately led to His death. Perhaps, when we pilgrims have an opportunity to say who we are, we should grab the initiative and point to Jesus, as Stephen did – Acts 7:56, “And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honour at God’s right hand!”” Such an answer that points to Jesus may not endear us to our listeners, but I can just see a smile on Jesus’ face as we speak.

Dear Lord Jesus. Thank You that You are with us day by day, through the power of the Holy Spirit within us. At every opportunity we will tell of How wonderful You are. Amen.