Understanding Paul’s Thorn: Lessons in Humility

Posted on by korgrocker

“If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.”
2 Corinthians 12:6-8 NLT

I wonder what Paul saw and heard in Heaven. We don’t really have a clue about what is there, although Jesus called it Paradise. Revelation gives us a few glimpses of what John saw there, with a door opening for him to reveal a throne with the One sitting on it, appearing as brilliant as gemstones. There was a sea of glass, an emerald rainbow, flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder. Elders, 24 of them, wore gold crowns and white robes. Living creatures were there constantly singing a hymn of praise to God. But this was all that John could describe in a brief glimpse of Heaven. Paul had a similar experience, being “ … caught up to paradise and [where he] heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell” (2 Corinthians 12:4). John was told to write down his experience, but Paul was commanded not to. It’s possible that Paul saw what eternity would be like and now knew things the rest of humanity could never know. Such an immeasurable gift would have given Paul seemingly limitless confidence to keep preaching, despite terrible suffering. It also gave him the perspective that such suffering in this life was not worth comparing to the glory of eternity. 

A lesser person than Paul would have become puffed up with pride and would have gone through his life boasting about his experiences. After all, if someone today meets a special person, such as a royal, or a famous actor or actress, they make sure everyone knows about their experience. So just in case, Paul “… was given a thorn in [his] flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment [him] and keep [him] from becoming proud” (2 Corinthians 12:7). What would this have been? The imagery Paul creates here is that of a sharp object, like a sharp piece of wood, stabbed into his body, unable to be removed, bringing chronic pain and discomfort. Paul attributed it to it being a “messenger of satan”, and we read that he begged the Lord to take it away from him. It was something that he was constantly aware of, but it was not so debilitating that his ministry was affected. 

There has been much speculation by scholars and theologians about what Paul’s thorn was, with suggestions that it was his eyesight. We know from Galatians 6:11 that his writing had to be enlarged to make it visible to him. We also know from Acts 23 that Paul had a problem in trying to discern who the high priest was amongst the gathered members of the Sanhedrin, perhaps due to his poor eyesight. Then there are some who think he might have had a tremor of some kind, such as a friend of mine has. 1 Corinthians 2:3, “I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling”. Perhaps Paul had a problem articulating his words in a way that could be easy to listen to or understand. 2 Corinthians 10:10, “For some say, ‘Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!’”. But this is all speculation, and we won’t know what his “thorn” was until we can ask him ourselves one day. 

But whatever the cause, Paul had a physical condition that kept him from becoming proud about his wonderful experience in the Third Heaven, a place he referred to as paradise. Paul was therefore continually in a state of humility, knowing that God had allowed something to happen to him for a purpose. We should also note that Paul attributed his condition to satan, meaning that God had given him permission to cause him some distress. We know that this can happen, because of the story of Job. We read in Job 1:10-12 the account of a conversation between satan and God about Job, and satan complained, “You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” “All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence”. Nothing happened to Paul by the devil without God’s permission, and we can assume the same. Why would God allow such an attack from the enemy? If it were against us, we could assume it was for our higher good, as it was with Paul. In Hebrews 12:6 we read, “For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child”. It is possible that the devil would be allowed to assist in this process.

If any of us pilgrims are living with a physical condition that is debilitating or unwelcome, we must never assume that it is a “thorn in our flesh” as it was in the case of Paul, or given to us by satan. We live in a fallen world, and sin will sometimes be manifested through illness or disease. But whatever the situation, we learn to look up rather than inward, because it is only as we see God and perhaps catch a glimpse of the Third Heaven that we can find the strength to continue in our lives here on Planet Earth. 

Dear Father God. We confess our sins before You today. Please forgive us for our moaning and complaining. Instead, we pray for a glimpse of Heaven to sustain us through Your Spirit, in our years ahead. Thank You. Amen.

Receiving Credit: God’s Perspective vs. Worldly Views

Posted on by korgrocker

“But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message,”
2 Corinthians 12:4-6 NLT

What do we pilgrims get credit for? It starts with our goals and aims in life, so a student will get credit for passing an exam, or an athlete for winning a medal. Someone with an unblemished payment record will be assigned a good credit score and, similarly, will be eligible for a credit card. In our employment, a good worker will be credited with a pay rise. A good preacher will receive credit for their oratorical skills or perhaps for their knowledge of the Bible. Receiving credit for something brings with it a glow of self-importance or self-satisfaction. But these are all worldly examples, and they do not apply in God’s Kingdom, where self-promotion is never valued. It is only God who gets the glory. 

In Genesis 15, we can read the story of Abraham and the covenant God made with him. It started with a vision which we can read about in Genesis 15:1, “Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great’”. But this was a problem for Abraham because he had no heir to his wealth, and he was concerned that it might instead go to one of his servants. But there then came the promise, “Then the Lord said to him, ‘No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir’” (Genesis 15:4). And just to confirm His promise, “… the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, ‘Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!’”. How would we have responded in such a scenario? Here was Abraham getting close to 100 years old, with a wife not far behind, barren as well,  and yet God was promising a son? I would think it would have been a miracle if the old couple were having sexual relations at that age, let alone seeing the fruit of it with a child. And yet we read in verse 6, “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness”. 

There are many spiritual blessings that we are credited with, not the least our salvation. And we mustn’t forget the physical blessings we receive as well, all credited to anyone created by God. So we have the environment around us, in a world just right to sustain the lives God has populated this planet with. We have our life, our health, our families, food on our tables, homes and clothing. God has credited us with many blessings. And all these things are there for us through God’s love and grace.

But back to Paul. He had much to boast about, with his vision of being taken up into the Third Heaven. Not many people, if any, can boast about such a thing. However, Paul wasn’t going there, and instead, he only wanted credit for the things he was doing for God and what God had done in his life. He didn’t even want to make claims about this, preferring to let people see it in the way he lived and acted, and through what he said. So it should be the same for us pilgrims. Self-promotion may be the way of those living a worldly life, but it is not the way for Christians. Paul was a very humble man, and he encouraged believers to be the same. He wrote, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” (Philippians 2:3-5). Jesus said to His disciples, “… You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave” (Matthew 20:25-27). 

We pilgrims, to our credit, believe in God. The Apostles creed starts with “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth”. But it doesn’t stop there. A bit further down we read, “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord”. And it finishes, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting”. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our Trinitarian God, the One we worship. And every time we speak out that creed, believing what we are saying in our hearts, then our faith brings us credit with God. 

Dear Heavenly Father. We do believe, but please forgive us for the times when we have doubts and waver in our faith. Thank You for Your many blessings and provision, Your love and grace. And Your patience with us. Amen.

Paul’s Warning: Beware of Persuasive Fools

Posted on by korgrocker

“Again I say, don’t think that I am a fool to talk like this. But even if you do, listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little. Such boasting is not from the Lord, but I am acting like a fool. And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too. After all, you think you are so wise, but you enjoy putting up with fools! You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face. I’m ashamed to say that we’ve been too “weak” to do that! But whatever they dare to boast about—I’m talking like a fool again—I dare to boast about it, too.”
2 Corinthians 11:16-21 NLT

There is something deeply unsettling about listening to someone who is clearly confident—but quietly wrong. Confidence has a way of persuading us. It carries weight, presence, and often admiration. Yet in 2 Corinthians 11:16–21, the Apostle Paul exposes a sobering truth: not everything that appears wise truly is. In this passage, Paul does something unusual. He begins to “boast”, but he does so reluctantly, even apologetically. He calls it what it is: foolishness. “Again I say, don’t think that I am a fool to talk like this. But even if you do, listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little” (2 Corinthians 11:16). It’s clear that Paul is not comfortable with this approach. Boasting, in his mind, is not the way of Christ. And yet, he adopts this tone for a reason.

The church in Corinth had become enamoured with a different kind of leadership. Certain individuals, whom Paul later describes as “super-apostles”, had arrived with impressive credentials, persuasive speech, and a commanding presence. They measured success by outward standards. They spoke with confidence. They looked the part. And the Corinthians were captivated. Paul’s irony exposes the flaws in the Corinthian mindsets: “After all, you think you are so wise, but you enjoy putting up with fools!” (2 Corinthians 11:19). In other words, he wrote, you think you are being discerning, but you are tolerating what is actually foolish. In accepting their new leaders, they were taken in by their polished, persuasive words and outward appearances. The problem was that the Corinthians were taken in by these men, lacking discernment, and resulting in them ending up in a dangerous situation

The problem in Corinth is not confined to the first century. If anything, it has intensified in our own time. We live in an age saturated with voices in sermons, podcasts, videos, and books, with each one competing for attention. And often, the voices that rise to the top are not necessarily the most faithful, but the most compelling. We are drawn to confidence and apparent clarity, with the speaker or writer being a charismatic person who seems to say all the right things and who even comes across as a source of truth. But Paul reminds us that confidence is not the same as truth. It is entirely possible for someone to speak boldly, persuasively, and even attractively, and yet be fundamentally misaligned with the Gospel. The Corinthians fell into this trap. They confused charisma with authority, eloquence with truth, and self-promotion with spiritual maturity. And before we get on our high horses and claim that would never happen to us, we are no less vulnerable.

One of the striking elements of our verses today is how willingly the Corinthians accepted these “foolish” voices. Paul says they “enjoy putting up with fools”. We almost get the impression that they were very comfortable and accepting of what the “super-apostles” had to offer. There is almost a sense of eagerness and an appetite for what these teachers had to say, and that raises an uncomfortable question for us, because what do we, as Christians, tend to celebrate and promote? I know someone who spends a lot of time watching Christian speakers on TV, big names who tick all the charisma and charm boxes and confidently speak about Bible verses, even relating them to world events and what they believe is coming. They may even include appeals for donations, thereby manipulating their viewers’ emotions. It is easy for such people to present themselves with confidence and polish, but these are not the marks Paul points to as evidence of true ministry. In 1 Corinthians 2:2-5, Paul wrote, “For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.”

At the heart of Paul’s irony in our verses today is a call to discernment. The Corinthians believed themselves to be wise, yet their discernment was compromised. They were not testing what they heard carefully enough. They were not looking beneath the surface. And so Paul, almost reluctantly, met them on their own terms. If they valued boasting, then he would “boast” as well, but in doing so, he exposed how empty that standard really was.

What do we pilgrims make of all this? I think that Paul has put his finger on something we all need to consider – how discerning are we? When a speaker preaches a sermon, or engages with us in a Bible Study or prayer meeting, do we accept at face value what is said, or do we critically test and examine his or her words? Do we ask ourselves questions such as, “Is this teaching faithful to Scripture?” Or “Does this reflect the character of Christ?” And does the presenter provide the message with a spirit of humility, or is there a brashness or overconfidence present? In James 1:5-6, we read, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind”. We need wisdom whenever we hear messages or read books that contain confident, and even dogmatic, statements, and we should discard anything that has a whiff of falseness or overemphasis.

Paul ironically wrote, “After all, you think you are so wise, but you enjoy putting up with fools!” (2 Corinthians 11:19). This verse is a warning as much as it is a rebuke. In a world full of confident voices, the greatest danger is not always obvious error; it is persuasive foolishness. Beware the kind of message that sounds right, feels compelling, and gains traction, yet subtly leads us away from the simplicity and humility of Christ.

Dear Heavenly Father, we pray for wisdom in our world, where strident and competing voices clamour for our attention with messages of falseness and error. Guide us into all truth we pray, and we do so by looking to Jesus, who is the Author of truth. Amen

The Dangers of Comparing Ourselves to Others

Posted on by korgrocker

“For some say, “Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!” Those people should realise that our actions when we arrive in person will be as forceful as what we say in our letters from far away. Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!”
2 Corinthians 10:10-12 NLT

There were a group of men full of their own importance in Corinth, men who had emerged as leaders in the congregation and were hostile to Paul’s ongoing involvement in the church there. They subversively undermined Paul and his teaching and preached their own version of the Gospel. They may even have attempted to include some of the Gnostic or other erroneous teachings in their messages, although there was no evidence of that from Paul’s letters. Perhaps Paul gave a hint of concern when he wrote, “You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us” (2 Corinthians 2:17). But regardless of what really was the situation in Corinth, Paul was pulling no punches and he had some hard words about “these other men who tell you how important they are”. 

About “these other men”, it seems that their self-declared importance came from “comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement”. Straight away, we can see the danger in this, because a human being is no proper standard of measurement. Yes, we can get out the tape measures and the bathroom scales, the blood pressure monitor and the thermometer, and make certain physical measurements, from which a comparison can be made with others. For example, a person’s temperature can be compared with the temperatures of many others, and a good idea can be obtained about their health from that, with an elevated temperature indicating some form of infection. But when it comes to spiritual matters, then there is a problem. There is no final arbiter of the state of a human being other than God Himself, because He is absolute truth, whereas people are not. A person with all the Bible knowledge in the world, even a professor of theology or an expert Bible scholar, can fall short in the comparison stakes. 

“These other men” in Corinth were comparing themselves with each other, but what was the criterion they were using in the comparison? Was it their ability to pray in public? Was it their knowledge of the Gospel? Was it their ability to preach and bring a message that everyone could understand? Or was it their boasting about how good or rich they were, something supported by their material status in the Corinthian society? That latter question exposes the human problem of comparing oneself with others, using the physical or external attributes of their appearance in the comparison. So today, young girls can end up in trouble by comparing themselves with film stars or catwalk models and making decisions based on diet or clothes. Men can suffer the same from their prowess on the golf course, in the gym, or from the car they drive. 

But how do we pilgrims consider ourselves? Are we comparing ourselves with anyone? If so, what criterion are we using, and anyway, why are we doing it? Paul wrote about this in Philippians 2:3, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves”. Paul continued, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. …” Philippians 2:5-7a). So we pilgrims aspire to being humble, but what does that look like? This can be applied too far, so that the person shies away from offering an opinion or praying in public, lest they be considered boastful. In Romans 12:3, Paul provided some light on the situation. “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us”. We pilgrims must honestly do and say things in accordance with our faith that we have in the gift God has provided for us. How do we reach this point? Through prayer and, in the end, trial and error, perseverance with humility and the willingness to say we were wrong if necessary. 

There is no merit in comparing ourselves with others because their gifting and faith will be different to ours. All God asks us to do is in accordance with how He has made us and resourced us with His Spirit. In the Kingdom of God, the worldly rules don’t apply, and most of the time carry the caption “sin”. The Psalmist wrote, “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked” (Psalm 84:10). That is where I want to be. Many around us may claim to have a good life, something they conclude by comparing themselves with others, but all we must aspire to is a life of service to God. As we look up into Heavenly places, there will be no time to look to others.

Dear Father God. What can we say but “sorry” for the time we spend comparing ourselves with those around us. Please forgive us, we pray, and we ask for help when we get trapped in such a way. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Pretentious Speeches

Posted on by korgrocker

“Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again. But I will come—and soon—if the Lord lets me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God’s power. For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit?”
1 Corinthians 4:18-21 NLT

Can we remember those days as a young child, having been caught out for some misdemeanour, or having been sent home from school with a bad report? Our mother said, “Wait until your father gets home!” and there was then a long wait, full of dread, as we anticipated a major telling-off or worse. Possibly, sanctions would follow, such as a loss of liberty, a favourite toy or some other punishment. Well, Paul said to the Corinthians that some naughty children amongst them reckoned that he was too busy elsewhere to return and bring correction and discipline. These “arrogant” people thought that without Paul with them, they could continue in their pretentious ways without fear of getting a telling off and being made to look the small people that they really were inside. 

Why was Paul feared so much by the Corinthian congregation? After all, he was only a man and wasn’t even very good at preaching, so they thought. But we find that Paul had one attribute that they couldn’t dispute, and which provided authenticity to his presence. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, “When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you, I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than relying on clever and persuasive speeches, I relied solely on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom. Still, in the power of God”. The power of the Holy Spirit was something that would have filled them with dread. His was the opposite approach to those “arrogant people” who were giving puffed up speeches full of their own claims and arrogance, but were nothing more than hot air. It was one thing to claim greatness. Still, another to prove it by “the power of the Holy Spirit“.

Of course, there would have been those who claimed that God was full of grace and love and would never do anything harmful to anyone. But I wonder if the story of Ananias and Sapphira had reached the Corinthians? Perhaps it had, and the news would have filled them with dread. Acts 5: 3, 5, 10, “Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. …  As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified.  … Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband”. Those present when all this happened, we are told, were terrified. I expect they were, because in those days, such a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power gave an incredible weight to the Word of God, and His expectation for integrity and honesty in the hearts and deeds of believers everywhere. On the positive side, there was the account of the lame beggar, healed at the Temple’s Beautiful Gate, an account we can read in Acts 3. But despite all this, there were still some in the Corinthian church who must have had little respect for the Holy Spirit and instead displayed an arrogant tendency to make “pretentious speeches” before the rest of the congregation. It is one thing to claim greatness but another to prove it through the Holy Spirit’s power. 

Perhaps those arrogant and pretentious members of the Corinthian church would have done well to read a couple of Scriptures, which they would have had access to, because they are both in the Hebrew Bible. Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall”, might have been a good one to remember. Another we find in Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2:3, “Stop acting so proud and haughty! Don’t speak with such arrogance! For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done; he will judge your actions”. But Paul said that the final arbiter was the answer to the question – did “they really have God’s power”? It is not by their words that they would be judged, but by their actions.

We pilgrims can learn much from these verses at the end of 1 Corinthians 4. It does not matter what we say in our Christian lives. Those around us will soon sniff out a fraud. Someone who acts all religious on a Sunday morning will soon be caught out if they act in a worldly way in the office on a Monday, with foul and unedifying speech and demeaning behaviour. Arrogant claims are just a puff of wind and will soon be discerned by the Godly. In the presence of brothers and sisters in Christ, such arrogant people can have a disruptive and negative effect, leading to division, quarrelling and strife. Factions will develop, and before soon, a church will start to disintegrate. It is just as well today that the Holy Spirit’s power is not manifested in an Ananias and Sapphira way, because with such a manifestation, much of our national religious denominational structure would collapse overnight. Imagine the chaos, the anxiety, fear and soul-searching! But that is not to say that God will not achieve His own ends in other ways. There may be nothing so dramatic (however, it would be foolish to discount such a move of God, by the way), but He is patient and kind in this season of grace, and nothing will get in the way of His will and purposes for His church. Remember that one day we pilgrims will form part of the Bride of Christ, wedded to Jesus forever (Revelation 19:7-9). 

In Philippians 2, Paul set out the true way that we believers should behave and present ourselves in our churches and fellowships. Philippians 2:3-5, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had“. No “pretentious speeches” were ever heard from the lips of Jesus, and none should come out of our mouths either. 

Dear Father, we need Your help. Our humanity gets in the way of our spiritual desires, and we all have a tendency to act in a worldly way. Please forgive us and lead us on the path of true righteousness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Reigning With Christ

Posted on by korgrocker

“You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us! I wish you really were reigning already, for then we would be reigning with you.”
1 Corinthians 4:8 NLT

Paul suggested with a bit of sarcasm that the Corinthians had begun to “reign in God’s Kingdom” without involving Paul and Apollos and, presumably, other leaders sent to bless this wayward congregation. They had developed this line of thinking because they thought they were already receiving the future blessings of Heaven in their earthly lives, not understanding that they had much to learn and consequently receive. God had graciously provided all the spiritual gifts they needed, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:7, “Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed“. So perhaps the Corinthians thought that they didn’t need anything more, but Paul administered a good dose of realism with 1 Corinthians 1:26-27, “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong“. But their worldly behaviour in judging the merits of Paul and Apollos exposed a reality gap between what they thought they had become and what they really were. These were just ordinary people saved by God’s grace, but still needing the basics of God’s teaching so that they would grow up to become the people of the Spirit that God desired. 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, “Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you, I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?” The Corinthians seemed to have become so arrogant that they believed that they were “reigning with Christ” already, not realising that their worldly behaviour was getting in the way of God’s purposes.

So what does “reigning with Christ” really mean? In Romans 5:17, we receive some insight that provides an answer: “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” Unbelievers live in a kingdom where death reigns. Romans 5:14, “Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come”. Because of Adam, sin always brings death. Death became king. It ruled the lives of every person born from Adam, and it still rules our societies today. Until the point when we pilgrims became believers in Jesus, we too were living in the kingdom of this world, living in a place that was without hope and subject to a curse that would result in our ultimate “death” in a place we call hell. Of course, we are referring to spiritual death, and we know that through Jesus, life will reign supreme and eternal. Through His grace, we are reigning in God’s Kingdom, and it is all about Him, Jesus our Saviour. In other words, receiving God’s justification by placing our faith in Christ not only frees us from the kingdom of death, it allows us to rule in the kingdom of life alongside Jesus, as the very children of God.

Do we reign with Christ today? Romans 8:15-17 (MSG), “This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!” We pilgrims know the future because we have faith in God and His promises. But in the here and now, we receive a foretaste of what is to come, because we are co-heirs with Christ “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings so that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:17 NIV), but we note the added caveat – “sharing in [Christ’s] sufferings”. But what does this suffering look like? Well, for a start, we will be persecuted. It may be in a low-key way here in the West, or it may come to physical harm, as in other parts of the world. We will be ostracised in the office or in any other social gathering, considered as having “weird” beliefs. If we stand firm in our faith, it may reduce job opportunities and even exclusion from certain jobs. And we must also die to our previous sinful lives so that we can live a life of purity and holiness. 

If we wish to “reign with Christ” there is a cost, but ” … the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (1 Peter 5:10). Our life on this earth seems to have the potential to go on forever when a person is young, but the reality is that, compared to eternity, it is little more than a puff of wind. So, fellow pilgrims, let us reign together in God’s Kingdom, set free through the blood of Christ.

Dear Father in Heaven. Please help us in our lives today, as we reach out to You for the resources we need to be Your people of faith in a dark, sinful world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Leading the Humble

Posted on by korgrocker

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

David wrote, “He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way”. This simple and informative sentence is also profound and fundamental, and essential for the health of pilgrims everywhere. Quite simply, to continue our journey in the right way, receiving God’s teaching to help us, means we have to be humble. Three words that are the opposite of “humble” are “proud, arrogant and conceited”, and, unfortunately, I have come across many people, particularly in employment, whose actions and personality are described perfectly by these three words. There again, I suppose that everyone, at one time or another, has behaved in the same way at some time in their lives. But in our secular world, humility is considered with negative connotations, associated with words such as meekness, and humble people are often considered as being inferior to their more arrogant and assertive peers. 

So what does it mean to be “humble“? There are two New Testament Scriptures that make it clear that humility is something we have to work at. 1 Peter 5:5-6, “In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honour“. And then we have Ephesians 4:2, “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love“. And of course we mustn’t forget what Jesus said in Matthew 5:3, “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth“. Paul wrote in Colossians 3:12 that humility is something that we put on much like when we get dressed, “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience”. So being humble is a mindset, a life-choice, and humility something that a pilgrim must adopt if he  or she is to grow to be more like Jesus. 

Humility is not an option for Christians, because some commentaries even state that it must be a prerequisite before we can even be saved. A humble person is one who has put to death their “old man” and replaced it with the “new man” Paul wrote about in Ephesians 4:22-24. “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy”. A proud person, puffed up with a sense of their own importance, will never empty themselves to the point that God’s grace will flow and provide His resources for their journey. An un-humble person will be full of themselves and they go round singing the old song “I’ll do it my way”, but, unfortunately for them, they can’t. It has to be God’s way, or no way.

Jesus gave His disciples, and us, an example of what being humble looks like. In John 13 we read the story of how He left the dinner table where He was enjoying the Passover meal with His disciples, and adopted a servant’s role to do the most menial and demeaning job a servant could be called to do. He washed His disciples feet. Peter objected because, after all, this was His Lord and Master, and anyway, rabbis don’t go around washing people’s feet. After all the feet had been washed (including those of Judas, by the way), Jesus gave an explanation. John 13:14-15, “And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you”. So we pilgrims look around at our peers, our friends and family, and must ask ourselves the question – have I washed any of these feet? Not necessarily literally of course, but do we have the attitude that we look out for ways in which we can do something similar? 

Perhaps we pilgrims, myself included, need to do a regular checkup and set ourselves a humility test. Unless we pass the test we will limit God’s grace in our lives. God will lift up those who are humble – Luke 14:11, “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted”. 

Dear Lord, help me to be humble. Grant me the grace to see my own flaws and shortcomings, and to recognize that my gifts and talents are not my own but a gift from you. Help me to prioritise others’ needs and well-being above my own desires and ambitions. May I be more concerned with serving you and others than with pleasing myself. Forgive my pride and arrogance, and fill me with your humility. Amen.

The Teachable

Posted on by korgrocker

“Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.”
Psalm 25:4-5 NLT

David asked the Lord to teach him, but what was the curriculum and method of the teaching? After all, David was skilled in most of what he put his hand to. Perhaps there’s a hint in the previous few words, “Lead me by Your truth”, because the teaching that David required was to be based on God’s truth. There is more information in Psalm 86:11, “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name”. The curriculum for learning God’s ways must be unlimited, so how long would it take to complete the course?

A prerequisite before we apply David’s request for God’s teaching to our own lives is that we must be teachable. How open are we to receive any sort of teaching let alone that from God? How did we get on at school or college? Can we accept correction or embrace new ideas? And do we rely on someone else to deliver us teaching in a form we can understand and accept? Or, do we individually ourselves rely on the master Himself to teach us through the Holy Spirit within us? If we are to learn God’s ways we must be teachable, and prepared to stick the course even when there going gets tough. There was a time when Jesus’ teaching was too hard for some of His disciples. About His teaching, “Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?” Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? … At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him” (John 6:60-61, 66). So, we must be open to what God has for us because He wants us to become more like Him. Paul wrote, “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29), so if God chose us to be like His Son, Jesus, then we had better be prepared for much teaching. 

In a secular setting, to be taught about anything, we need to go one of two routes; either a formal educational path delivered and monitored by teachers and tutors, or a self-help route, where the student uses published resources to learn what is required. There may of course be a combination of both in certain educational environments, but there is then usually an exam followed by a certificate or diploma for the successful candidates. But in the Kingdom of God, things are different. We went to be taught the ways of God but the course curriculum will be different for each one of us. But the bottom line is that we want to be more like Jesus and to get there we have to follow and obey His teachings. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). A secular education has one major difference to being educated by God and that is about ourselves. In the world an education does not ask anything of us and we can continue to live our lives as we always have done, sin and all. In the Kingdom of God, being taught costs us our lives because we have to hand them over to God. That’s what taking up a cross is all about. There is one other thing that we must be aware of and that is the length of the course. We do not embark on, for example, a two year diploma in whatever. Instead the course we enrol on for lasts for the rest of our lives. And one day we will cross the Great Divide and receive our diploma, hearing the Master Himself say “well done. ….”. 

Jesus also told us that we must be teachers. Matthew 28:19-20, “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”. As disciples ourselves we are taught by God’s Word, through prayer, and through the pastors and teachers who lead our churches and fellowships. And we communicate what we have learnt to those around us, those who have perhaps started on the course a bit later than we did. Are we pilgrims teaching anyone? Before we go down the tubes, admitting that we aren’t, don’t forget that as we shine in our families and communities, we are unconsciously teaching them. But we must be prepared nevertheless, to sit down with a friend or family memory and share the Word and our testimony with them, praying with them and encouraging them. We tell them our stories about Jesus and all that He has done for us, helping them too along the narrow way that leads to glory.

Dear Lord, we praise you for being the author of all truth and thank you for our ability to be able to learn. Please help us humbly pursue wisdom and learning for your glory and to serve others. Lead us by your Spirit, we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Worm or King?

Posted on by korgrocker

“But I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned and despised by all! Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads, saying, “Is this the one who relies on the Lord? Then let the Lord save him! If the Lord loves him so much, let the Lord rescue him!””
Psalm 22:6-8 NLT

There are two perspectives for this Psalm and these verses before us today. The whole Psalm seem to be a prophesy about the execution of someone and the only Biblical event that seems to fit was the crucifixion of Jesus. The graphic details and the parallels with that fateful day on Calvary’s hill are too similar to ignore. Jesus was mocked as He was hanging on the cross, and we read, ““Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!”” (Matthew 27:40). But of course the Lord Himself was hanging there, and, although He had the power to do so, He continued to suffer and ultimately die, because that was His mission to Planet Earth. John 12:27 records, ““Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came!”. It is incomprehensible to us human beings that, knowing what was to come, that Someone, God Himself but for a time a Man like ourselves, would willingly die in the way that He did, to bring about the salvation of everyone ever since who believed in Him. In John 15:13, Jesus said, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends“. ‭‭Paul wrote, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners”. (Romans 5:6-8). David could see an event in the future, an event revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, of an execution taking place, and he wrote down what he saw. Did he understand what he was writing? Probably not, though he perhaps had a few dim and cloudy thoughts.

The other perspective could have applied to David himself, but there is no record of him experiencing such an event as he describes. But we mustn’t forget about David’s personality. He was a sensitive man prone to negative feelings and he easily found himself depressed and crying out to God when things around were against him and causing him distress. For example, we read in Psalm 13:2, “How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?” The next verse reads, “Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die“. So we have this impression of David being in a difficult place, spiritually and physically, and crying out to God in prayer for relief from his condition and whatever was causing it in the first place. So, from this understanding of David, we can see how he would have easily lapsed into a form of self-pity, imagining what other people think of him, and generating pictures in his mind of scenarios portraying his worst nightmares.

And that brings us to thoughts we have of ourselves. Can we relate to what David wrote in our verses today, or are they incomprehensible to us? How do we view ourselves? Some people I meet seem to be impervious of what others think about them. They are so full of themselves that they are unable to consider that they might be at fault about anything. Criticism of their actions and words seem to pass them by and they shrug them off, apparently without another thought. Other people are mortified if they think someone else disapproves of them or something that they have done, even in the slightest way, and they go red with embarrassment and try and hide somewhere. But there is a sweet spot between these two extremes, and Paul wrote about it Romans 12:3, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you”. In Philippians 2:3-5, we read, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus“. We pilgrims have to find that “sweet spot” which is having a confident but realistic view of ourselves and our capabilities, but also having a sensitive and appropriate response to others.

David considered himself a worm, the lowliest of people, even though he was King of Israel. But we pilgrims are children of God. 1 Peter 2:9-10, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy“. And from that position as the “people of God” we praise and worship Him as our Father and Creator, realising that through Jesus we have been snatched from the fires of hell and instead assigned the privilege of being citizens of the Kingdom of God. But that must never bring arrogance and pride. God Himself loves His creation, with a love so vast that He did not hold back from sending His own Son to be a sacrifice for our sins. And we too must “love our neighbours as ourselves”. There is no other way.

Dear Father God. We are Your children, with all the benefits that result. But we are also responsible for showing Your love to those around, loving the unlovely, helping the less fortunate than ourselves, and being Your arms and legs to further Your Kingdom. Please help us we pray. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The Humble

Posted on by korgrocker

“You rescue the humble, but you humiliate the proud. You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness. In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.”
Psalm 18:27-29 NLT

Humility is not a word revered by most people these days, but then, as now, the same dichotomy between humble and proud people features in the difference between the two kingdoms. In God’s sight, the humble are exalted, and the proud are humiliated. In the world’s sight, the humble are trodden on and the proud elevated. But what is being humble all about? One dictionary definition, with a secular viewpoint, says, “humility is a low self-regard and a sense of unworthiness”. Another expands with, “humility involves having an accurate opinion of oneself and expressing oneself modestly as situations demand”. But as is often the case, a real life example brings out the true meaning. If we look at Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel when he said, ““Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favour with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus” (Luke 1:30-31), it was not one of pride at being especially selected by God Himself. Instead she modestly and humbly said, “ … “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her” (Luke 1:38).

David wrote that God rescues the humble, but why would they need rescuing in the first place? Perhaps a comparison between David and his adversary Saul brings out a man who depended on God for his position and situation in life, and one who relied on his own strength, ignoring God. One became King, the other was killed in battle. David was rescued many times from his enemies because he displayed the quality of humility favoured by God. 

Regarding Psalm 18:27, the Amplified version of the Bible reads, “For You save an afflicted and humble people, But bring down those [arrogant fools] with haughty eyes“. We pilgrims have all met “arrogant fools” haven’t we? In fact, we might at one time have even been one ourselves. A dictionary definition of pride is “a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements”. Straight away we can see the difference with humility with the word “own”. A humble person depends on God and looks to Him as the Source of all they are. A proud person looks only to himself. The root of pride is of course sin, and we need to be careful in striking the right balance between God’s ways and our ways. So even though we might achieve great things, we point to God and His provenance as the real reason for our success. But sadly, we have a tendency to adopt a feeling of pride in our achievements, excluding God in what we do. 

David wrote that the proud will be humiliated, and we see an extreme example in Acts 12. Herod Agrippa, the last king of Judea, granted an audience to the people of Tyre and Sidon, and we read what happened after Herod gave a speech, “The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”” (Acts 12:22). But his pride took over and we read in the next verse, “Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died“. Was Herod humiliated? Sadly, very much so.

Peter wrote, “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honour” (1 Peter 5:6). James said much the same thing, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honour” (James 4:10). Jesus warned, “But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12), and of course we mustn’t forget, “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth” (Matthew 5:5).

God upended the world’s view of people when He expressed a preference for those who meet His criteria of humility. It’s a choice that we make, when faced with situations where pride is in danger of rearing its ugly head over the parapet of our lives. At a time when the world’s opinion of us is one of praise, we instead point to our Father God, and give Him all the glory. We quietly get on with our lives, batting aside all attempts by ourselves and others to take the glory for ourselves. When we feel that warmth of pride starting to emerge within us, we snuff it out before it blossoms into sin. If we don’t then God will deal with us in a much less comfortable way.

Dear Lord God. You have granted us ways that allow us to serve You, with talents and abilities much admired by others. Please help us to keep the lid on any thoughts of pride in our achievements and instead give You all the glory for all You have done in our lives. We praise You today. Amen.