Confidence

Posted on by korgrocker

“In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.”
2 Corinthians 1:9-11 NLT

Where, or in whom, do we place our confidence? Paul and his fellow missionaries went through a situation in Asia that brought them close to death, and from what he wrote, there was nothing that they could have done about it. Paul found that the only place they could be confident was in God, and God came through for them, rescuing them from mortal danger. In our Western societies, much is made of self-confidence. It seems to me, as I look around in public places, that younger people, particularly those born around the Millennium, are so full of confidence. And yet, to counter that, there is so much said about mental illness in this demographic. Is it possible that the majority of our younger people are placing their confidence in the wrong place? Come to that, this is not just a question for the young: it also applies to older generations. 

Most people today will never experience a life-threatening situation like Paul’s, but on occasion, we hear tales of people who cried out to God in terrible circumstances, with no one else to turn to. They didn’t spend the time of day with him at any other time, but to so many, God is the last resort when all else has failed. Inbuilt within people is the vague knowledge that there is a God, but He never appears in their thinking when things are going their way. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, wrote, “For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort” (Philippians 3:3). “Human effort” is translated elsewhere as the flesh, that part of our beings that it is not a good idea to put our confidence in. Accompanying that is the confidence that people put in their qualifications, their jobs, their upbringing, and their genes. But to put our confidence in our human nature is to believe a lie, because we are totally incapable of fixing all the adversities that come our way.  I remember that some years ago, at a company where I worked, a particularly high-flying young manager aggressively chased promotions, upsetting and trampling on people in the process. He was particularly self-confident in his abilities and rose to a very senior position in his career very quickly. But he had a hobby that was potentially dangerous, and one day his parachute failed to open, and he fell to his death. A sad day for his wife and young family, but his self-confidence was of no help to him during his final moments. 

There is much good advice about where our confidence should lie in the Bible. For example, Psalm 118:8, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man”. The next verse is similar: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes”. Another place where confidence would be misplaced is in the “princes“, politicians in government and others in authority. Our princes of power are not known for their sensible and Godly decision-making; instead, they are more likely to let us down when life becomes difficult. But to trust in God is the ultimate security, as Paul and his companions found out. Only God can rescue us from adversity, and as we go through our lives trusting in Him with our life decisions, He will keep us on the right path. Through our faith in Jesus, we are children of God, and, as the writer to the Hebrews said, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need”. 

In our lives, there will be occasions when we make poor decisions, and God will not necessarily protect us from the consequences. For example, a thief who has been caught stealing from a shop will have to face the consequences of his actions, no matter how many times he calls out to God for help. But God’s grace is there for the thief, as one found out in the final hours of his life spent on a Roman cross. God will accept any person’s repentance and cleanse them from all sin.

So we, pilgrims, place our confidence in God and His Word. Biblical self-confidence is confidence in God’s Word and His character. We put no confidence in our flesh, but we have every confidence in the God who made us, called us, saved us and keeps us.

Dear Father God. We can come into Your presence, graced with the robe of Jesus’ righteousness. We thank You for Your Son Jesus and all that he did for us two thousand years ago. Amen.

Paul in Trouble

Posted on by korgrocker

“We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us. We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.”
2 Corinthians 1:7-9 NLT

Paul and his companions seemed to be in trouble. In fact, the trouble was so devastating that they thought they “would never live through it”, and they “expected to die”. We don’t know what this trouble was, but in other Biblical accounts, we can find out the extent of Paul’s sufferings. 2 Corinthians 11:23b starts the list, “ …I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again”. Why did Paul do it? Whereas today a preacher of the Gospel in the UK can expect to do so without fear of reprisal, it hasn’t always been so, and in some parts of the world, a missionary would be treated in the same way as Paul was. There is something about the Gospel that introduces a dichotomy into society, separating people into those who support the things of God and those who don’t. And the schism can become violent, on occasion. But sadly, the majority sit between the two extremes: people who are disinterested and uninvolved. Jesus had something to say that applies to this majority as well as the Laodiceans to whom it was addressed, “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!” (Revelation 3:15-16). 

For people with strong opinions on anything, there are always consequences, and that was true in Paul’s day as well as in 21st-century Britain, and the USA, from all accounts. Lifting our heads over the parapets of societal norms can put such people in the firing line for legal action or fear of arrest. Public preachers of the Gospel in the streets of our towns and cities are at the mercy of malicious accusations, and if they try to talk about Jesus near an abortion clinic, then they risk arrest for breaking a law designed to quash what should come under the heading of “free speech”. But the worst that can be expected is arrest, a court appearance, and a fine. Not so, however, in Paul’s day, where summary “justice” was the norm, with public whippings and beatings designed to keep order in a fractious society. 

But in all this, Paul never stopped trying to convince people of the truth about Jesus and all that He had done for human beings. Personal danger was something he ignored. But Paul put his finger on an important factor in all this: the need to rely on God. The threat of death was no barrier to Paul because his faith in God was unshakeable: God can raise the dead. Having experienced so much, Paul was uniquely positioned to help those facing the same persecution that he was. Paul’s suffering was so severe that it brought him and his companions to the end of themselves. They were helpless and forced to put all their hope in God. Suffering can do the same for any believer, removing whatever we falsely hope in and landing all our hope in the powerful God we trust. Earlier in 2 Corinthians, Paul wrote, “Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer” (2 Corinthians 1:6). Paul wrote this to the Philippians while chained to soldiers in a Roman prison cell: “For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it” (Philippians 1:29-30). 

“Preach the Gospel and if necessary use words.”
St Francis of Assisi

There is a cost to being a Christian. Jesus never wanted us to sit in a pew and be a passive Christian, never interacting with others in society. In my morning prayer walks and at other times whenever I can, I try to invade people’s personal space as inoffensively as possible because the message I have to share is too important to consider individual sensitivities. I may be rejected, but I always hope to plant a Gospel-seed that will ultimately lead to eternal life. A frosty reception sometimes needs to be endured for the sake of Jesus. Of course, not everyone has the opportunity to share their faith in this way, but we do what we can as the Holy Spirit leads. But whatever we do, I hope we never get into the trouble that Paul did.

Dear Lord Jesus. You commissioned us to make disciples wherever we are in this world. Please lead us and guide us through Your Spirit, so that we can introduce You and Your saving grace whenever possible. In Your precious name. Amen.

Final Words

Posted on by korgrocker

“Here is my greeting in my own handwriting—Paul. If anyone does not love the Lord, that person is cursed. Our Lord, come! May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Corinthians 16:21-24 NLT

Final words from Paul after his long letter, the second-longest (after Romans) that Paul wrote. He had answered all the questions from the believers in Corinth, so it was time to sign off. While the authorship of this letter was attributed to Paul, he probably had assistance from Timothy and others, and according to early church historians like Jerome, the letter was dictated by Paul and written by an amanuensis called Titus. So at the end of the letter, Paul wrote a greeting in his own handwriting. In the final verses of the epistle to the Galatians, we read, “Notice what large letters I use as I write these closing words in my own handwriting” (Galatians 6:11). It is thought that Paul had poor eyesight, preventing him from writing letters himself. That was perhaps confirmed by the episode in Acts 23:1-5, where Paul appeared unable to distinguish the High Priest’s person in the meeting of the High Council.

“whosoever believes in Him
will never perish
but have eternal life”

But in his final words, Paul summarised much of what he had said in this letter by saying that all those who didn’t love the Lord were cursed. Of course they were, and will be when they find themselves standing before Jesus, unless they repent of their sins and believe in Him. In Galatians 3:13, we read, “But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree””. Why is it that Christians, then and now and in the ages in between, get so preoccupied with liturgies and doctrines, when the important thing is so simple – “whosoever believes in Him will never perish but have eternal life”. The colour of the altar cloth, or who sits in which pew, the beauty of the stained glass windows, or the splendour of the Prayer Book, will make no difference to those still living under the curse of sin.

1 Corinthians 16:22 ends with the Aramaic saying, “Marana tha”, meaning in this translation, “Our Lord, Come”. That thought must have often occurred to Paul, as he suffered so much for sharing the Gospel throughout his years of ministry. Those times he spent in jail, often chained and beaten, cold and hungry. If only Jesus would come and end his suffering, but it wasn’t to be just yet. He still had work to do. There was more gracious theology yet to flow from his pen to encourage the saints scattered through the Middle East.

“God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”

Paul then went on to give a blessing: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you“. Grace is a word much overlooked by believers today because we take it so much for granted, but the acronym “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense” defines it well. But if we really stopped to think about how God’s grace has impacted our lives, both now and for all eternity, we can do nothing else but fall on our knees before our wonderful and amazing God. The tragedy is that God’s favour in sending His Son, Jesus, to die for us and take on the punishment that we deserved, so that we could spend eternity with Him in heaven, is largely ignored and rejected by the majority of our fellow citizens. Society today has no place for God, let alone His grace, and it has pushed our Christian faith to the margins, considering it a domain for rather wacky and delusional people. But we pilgrims need God’s grace to live in this sad and bad world, because we are the only ones who have the words of eternal life. Imagine a society without God and His grace. Some would define that as hell on earth. And we thank God for those of our faith who are prepared to stand up and be counted, challenging, often at great personal cost, the evil ways in our society. One day, they will be vindicated, as those who have persecuted them stand before God to give an account of their evil ways.

Finally, Paul expressed his love for the Corinthians. It hasn’t been an easy letter to write, as he wrestled with how to put into words the Holy Spirit-inspired thoughts within him. But it was that love that he first experienced through his encounter with Jesus that he extended to the believers in Corinth. From all accounts, they responded positively to it, and a second letter followed a few months later. But more of that tomorrow.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your obedient servant Paul, and the legacy that he has left us. May we too be gracious and loving servants, looking out for each other in this increasingly belligerent world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Holy Kiss

Posted on by korgrocker

“The churches here in the province of Asia send greetings in the Lord, as do Aquila and Priscilla and all the others who gather in their home for church meetings. All the brothers and sisters here send greetings to you. Greet each other with a sacred kiss.”
1 Corinthians 16:19-20 NLT

1 Corinthians 16:20 is translated in the NIV, “All the brothers and sisters here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss”. Sacred or holy, the meaning in this verse is the same. In the culture of Paul’s day, a kiss was a common form of greeting between family members and close friends. In some parts of the world, this custom has continued, and we find the same instruction from Paul in Romans 16:16, “Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings”. Peter wrote the same, “Greet each other with a kiss of love. Peace be with all of you who are in Christ” (1 Peter 5:14), so it was not just Paul’s suggestion.

In our Western and British culture, a kiss is retained for romantic or sensual purposes, and is not associated with a Christian greeting (although I did attend one church where the pastor asked the congregation to greet each other with a kiss – it didn’t go down well!). Instead, when asked, the congregation will greet each other with a handshake, a hug, or no physical contact at all. And in every case, some words of welcome or reference to something known about the other person accompany the greeting.

In the Church of England, they have formalised the greeting into an action called the “Passing of the Peace”. This practice involves a liturgical exchange between the minister and the congregation, after which members of the congregation greet one another. The standard words used during the service are from the Common Worship texts: The minister says, “The peace of the Lord be always with you”, and the congregation responds, “And also with you”. The minister then usually encourages the congregation with words such as, “Let us offer one another a sign of peace”. The practice is intended to symbolise the congregation’s reconciliation with one another and their becoming one body of Christ before sharing in the sacrament of Communion. Parishes are encouraged to ensure that the greeting is inclusive and that visitors or those who do not know many people are not left out. I think it is rather sad that the intent behind the “holy kiss” has had to be formalised in this denomination, and even misinterpreted just to involve “peace”, good though that is. 

So what was the purpose of greeting each other with a “holy or sacred kiss”? Over the centuries, the practice of greeting one another with a holy kiss adapted to fit various cultural contexts. What remained constant, however, was the godly principle of mutual love and respect for our brothers and sisters. In Romans 12:9-10, Paul wrote, “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other”. When greeting another person, regardless of the context, social norms and sensitivities must be honoured. I used to know a young man who couldn’t cope with physical contact at all, and when this sensitivity emerged in a church context, everyone quickly honoured him with restraint. At the other end of the spectrum, an old lady in the church loved hugs and really appreciated gestures of love and acceptance.

The adjective “holy” or “sacred” in the NLT translation indicates that this kiss embodies the love, purity, and sanctity of Christian fellowship. Jesus said to His disciples, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:34-35). We can demonstrate Christian love in a number of ways, but I sometimes think that those in the society in which we live would never know just by looking at us together. A public greeting that differs from the norm of handshakes might perhaps be a good idea. What do my fellow pilgrims think?

Dear Lord Jesus. You gave us a new commandment to love one another, and we are so sad that we too often fail in this part of our Christian life. Please help us, we pray, to treat each other in the faith well, and with the love that You commanded. In Your precious name. Amen.

Be Strong

Posted on by korgrocker

“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.”
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NLT

We’re considering two short verses containing three “Be’s”, a “stand”, and a “Do”, all action words requiring effort to apply in a world where passivity seems to be the norm. Although these verses were written to the early Christians in Corinth, they equally apply to Christians today. Then, as now, society was largely biased against believers in God, choosing instead to pursue gods of the people’s own making. And at the root of the lives of unbelievers was the propensity to pursue sinful activities that titillated their hedonistic tendencies. Such a root often sparked a “what’s in it for me” response when situations arose that required a more positive solution. So Paul, seeing the dangers, wrote about the care a believer should take to avoid being sucked into behaviour that was sinful and against God’s expectations for His children.

Just thinking about Paul’s exhortation to “Be strong” perhaps reminds us of something that Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it”. In John Bunyan’s “The Pilgrim’s Progress”, the Narrow Gate, which he also called the Wicket Gate, is the crucial first entrance to the King’s Highway. It symbolises the deliberate choice to begin the Christian life by turning to Christ for salvation from the City of Destruction, representing repentance, faith, and leaving the world behind to find relief from sin’s burden. I always imagine a road on which many people are walking. They don’t know it is going to lead to an eternal death, but it seems a relatively easy path to take, and, anyway, everyone is going that way, so it can’t be all bad, can it? But then, covered in weeds and almost hidden, is a small gate made of wood and of the type found in many a garden. Perhaps curiosity takes a person through the gate onto the way that leads to God. But the path is heavy going, and many obstacles are in the way, and when it becomes too hard, a glance to the rear shows that the broad road is only a step away. In such circumstances, Paul encouraged those early Christians, and by implication, we Christians today, to “Be strong” and keep going on the “narrow road” because, whether we like it or not, there are times when we need to be strong. 

Perhaps we have woken up this morning feeling a bit lazy, but because it is a Sunday, we decide to give church a miss. Just once won’t really matter, will it? And we snuggle down under the duvet to enjoy another hour or two of sleep. Or perhaps someone in the office where we work is organising a night out to somewhere we would feel uncomfortable being in, but we don’t want to upset anyone, do we? Perhaps we decide to join in, with the thought that maybe we could leave a bit earlier. It is on occasions such as these that we need to “Be strong”. As many Christians have found out, the Narrow Way and the Broad Way are paths that we cannot walk on at the same time. 

Jesus made the choice clear when He was teaching about money and possessions. We read in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money”. We cannot live a worldly life and a Godly life at the same time. Joshua set out the choice that must be made to the Israelites, as we read in Joshua 24:15, “But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord”. Joshua knew all about what making the wrong choice meant.

“But those who trust in the Lord
will find new strength.“

So today, dear fellow pilgrims, what choice are you making? Yes, the battle is hard to fight. Yes, we’re tired, and we think that sometimes it will be so much easier to slip back into our old ways. There was a time when disciples left Jesus because His teachings were too hard for them. John 6:60, 66, “Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?” … At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him”. In the next verse we read Jesus’ response, “Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”” But Peter’s reply was one that has reverberated down the ages ever since; “Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God”” (John 6:68-69). That is what being strong means, so we turn to Isaiah 40:29-31, “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint”. Can we feel ourselves being lifted up today? With an inner strength, we look forward, not along a path that leads to hell, but one that leads to eternal life.

Dear Lord Jesus. Thank You for supporting us in the hard times and encouraging us when we stumble and fall. Thank You too for carrying us when we’re too tired to go on, and helping us to be strong when we need to be. We worship You today. Amen.

Embracing the Open Door: Paul’s Call to Evangelism

Posted on by korgrocker

“In the meantime, I will be staying here at Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost. There is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me. When Timothy comes, don’t intimidate him. He is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am. Don’t let anyone treat him with contempt. Send him on his way with your blessing when he returns to me. I expect him to come with the other believers.”
1 Corinthians 16:8-11 NLT

Paul was staying in Ephesus when he wrote 1 Corinthians, and a substantial distance of over 500 kilometres across the Aegean Sea separated the two congregations. Without a postal system, Paul would have relied on a merchant or some other traveller to transport the letter. But Paul was apparently reluctant to leave Ephesus at that time because there was a “wide-open door for a great work” in that city. We note that this “great work” was not easy for Paul because many opposed him. But that was never going to stop Paul from doing the Lord’s work, no matter the consequences. We can read about one of the dangers Paul faced in Acts 19, when the silversmiths in Ephesus started a riot because they feared their business would suffer from Paul’s evangelism. There was fierce opposition to the Good News about Jesus in those days, as the devil tried desperately to stop his worldly kingdom from being eroded.

If we fast-forward to today, to our 21st-century Western societies, we find a distinct lack of emotion expressed toward the Gospel. But resistance to the things of God is still here in the UK, as we are increasingly finding out that British Christians are being persecuted for “crimes” such as silent prayer and, as a recent case exposed, for preaching the Gospel from John 3:16, both within the abortion clinic buffer zones that have been established in this country. Sadly, we have had a series of governments that have passed laws that go against Biblical truth, and even more sadly, Christians here have let it happen. 

“The harvest is great”

But as we look around our cities, villages and towns, what do we see? Churches with dwindling congregations? Worldliness abounding through a plethora of betting shops and drinking houses? People pursuing hedonistic activities but neglecting their souls? I’m sure Paul looked around Ephesus and observed much the same, because human nature hasn’t changed much over the times in between. But rather than view what was happening as a negative, Paul instead considered the opportunities for preaching the Gospel, describing the city of Ephesus as a “wide-open door”. Jesus looked around at the people in Galilee and saw an opportunity. We read in Matthew 9:36-38,  “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields””. When Jesus was in Samaria, He felt the same way, and He said to His disciples, “You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest”. So, the problem with reaching our societies for Christ might not lie so much with the message as with the lack of people preaching it. So, as we look at the people around us, what do we see? A mission field just waiting for someone to bring in a harvest of souls, or a place of barrenness incapable of producing any fruit?

“The Lord opened her heart”

Even Christians will discourage their fellow believers from reaching out to those around them. There are many excuses offered, and I was recently told by a minister’s wife that there is little point in reaching out to strangers during my morning walks because evangelism is only really effective with people we already know. But such thoughts didn’t stop Paul, and they won’t stop me either. We read about Paul and Silas’ visit to Philippi in Acts 16:13-14, “On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshipped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying”. God went before Paul and prepared the way. And He will do the same for us, as we commit our ways to Him.

Today, we must always be prepared to share the Gospel and our testimonies. The “wide-open door” is still there, and God is still in the business of preparing the way. How prepared are we, though? What stops us from reaching out to people? Fear of what they might say? Fear of rejection? Paul experienced all of this and worse. Yes, we will experience knockbacks, but even in contact with others, we might just plant a seed that will grow over time into someone finally accepting Jesus for themselves. So today, we must look at the day ahead and commit it to God, asking Him to show us who He wants us to share Jesus with. 

Dear Father God. There are many people around us who, in their spirits, desperately need to hear about You and Your saving grace. Please go before us, preparing the way, and please give us the courage we need to share Your Good News. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Church and Money

Posted on by korgrocker

“Now regarding your question about the money being collected for God’s people in Jerusalem. You should follow the same procedure I gave to the churches in Galatia. On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once. When I come, I will write letters of recommendation for the messengers you choose to deliver your gift to Jerusalem. And if it seems appropriate for me to go along, they can travel with me.”
1 Corinthians 16:1-4 NLT

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul has covered a lot of ground, much of it apparently in response to a letter the Corinthians had written to him. As we turn the page into the last chapter, Paul addresses their practical question about how to collect money “for God’s people in Jerusalem”. What he suggested has become the norm in Christian churches. “On the first day of each week,” money was to be collected from the congregation and used as the Holy Spirit leads. For us pilgrims, the week starts on a Sunday, with corporate and public worship meetings held in churches, community centres, schools, wherever a room is available. Such gatherings even take place in people’s homes, if the numbers are small. But an important part of worship is taking a collection, in which every person present gives money for the work of the church. Of course, in today’s internet age, many give online by scanning a QR code or similar, or through the banking system with standing orders, but the same principle remains. 

Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians in about 55 AD, during the period before the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. In the middle of all the political unrest, the Christians in Jerusalem were going through a terrible time of persecution and were desperately in need of help with their poverty. As we read in Acts 12, the Apostle James was martyred, and Herod Agrippa went on to imprison Peter, intending to put him on trial. Christians were not at all popular with the Jews in those days, and the Judean Christians were not the only believers suffering persecution. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul acknowledged how much they, too, were suffering. 1 Thessalonians 2:14, “And then, dear brothers and sisters, you suffered persecution from your own countrymen. In this way, you imitated the believers in God’s churches in Judea who, because of their belief in Christ Jesus, suffered from their own people, the Jews”. By contributing from their resources, the believers in Corinth were able to help other believers who were in need, but there was a spin-off benefit that was important. The Corinthians were mostly Gentiles not of Jewish ancestry, and it provided for them the opportunity to heal any rifts that had developed between Jews and Gentiles. It also established the principle of unity between Christian churches, wherever they were, and regardless of the ethnicity of their congregants.

Today, we collect money from our congregations and use it for God’s work as well as for practical requirements, such as the upkeep of the church building or renting alternative space. Then we have the church leaders to provide for. Some churches struggle to do even that because of their numbers, but others have a surplus and can budget to use it to support evangelical work, missionaries, food banks, and other philanthropic work as God leads. Paul suggested that the believers “should each put aside a portion of the money [they] have earned”. How much that should be is often debated, with some proposing ten per cent of earnings, others suggesting different amounts. But whatever decision is reached, it should be between the believer and God, who sees what is going on inside a person and in their bank accounts. 

A Christian is a believer who obeys the Lord, who follows Him and His teachings, and who is a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Such a life is very different from that of unbelievers, and there will be sacrifices accordingly. We pilgrims devote our time and resources to God, because we love Him and want to please Him in all that we do. There is a principle of sowing and reaping that applies in God’s economy, and the agricultural analogy covers many aspects of a believer’s life. Money, time, our behaviour, hospitality, and so on. The principle means that if we sow sparingly in any of these areas, then the harvest that we reap, will be equally sparse. Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows“. Jesus Himself taught, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you”.

In these verses today, Paul wasn’t suggesting that the Corinthians believers were a bit stingey with their money. Rather, Paul was suggesting a way to budget their giving so there wasn’t a problem with collecting it all at once. Good practical advice and one that has followed him into the twenty-first century.

Dear Father God. Thank You for the resources You have given us, and for helping us to use them wisely. Amen.

Understanding the Sting of Death: A Biblical Perspective

Posted on by korgrocker

“”O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:55-57 NLT

What is the “sting of death”? Perhaps we can consider the analogy of a scorpion or a bee. A bee is frightening because of its stinger; if the stinger is removed, the bee can still buzz around, but it can no longer truly harm us. The Bible teaches that death only has a sting because of sin. Without sin, death would not be a punishment or a source of spiritual “poison”—it would simply be a transition.

Paul wrote, “the law gives sin its power”, This means the Law (God’s moral standards) highlights our sin, making the “sting” feel even sharper because we realise we have fallen short of those standards. But to which law was Paul referring? Usually, when we refer to the Jews and the Old Testament, the “law” we have in mind is the Mosaic Law, as found in Exodus 20, and all the rules and regulations found in the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. Human beings love structure, such as that contained in the Law, because otherwise a lawless existence results. Imagine the chaos if there were no laws in our society, and everyone behaved as they saw fit. Because of sin, society would very quickly disintegrate. Moses gave the Israelites God’s Law, as revealed to him on Mount Sinai, as a covenant, to reveal His holy character, set them apart as His chosen people, teach them righteousness, reveal their inability to save themselves, and guide them in worship and daily life. An unbeliever is justly condemned in God’s sight by the Law that was given to His servant Moses. But what about those who are not Jews? Paul wrote about them in Romans 2:14-15, “Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right”. Jesus Himself said this about the Law, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved” (Matthew 5:17-18). 

The problem with the Law is that even when it is in place, no one can keep it in a way that fulfils God’s requirements. All it does is expose the sin that is ingrained within us. Jesus exposed the intent of the Law when He taught, “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment’” (Matthew 5:21). The Pharisees were very good at keeping the outward aspects of the Law, and in this case claimed a tick in the “do not murder” box. But Jesus pricked their righteous bubble when He said, “But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell” (Matthew 5:22). In Matthew 5:20 Jesus said, “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!”

Paul wrote that “the law gives sin its power” and regardless of the law, human beings, Jews or otherwise, can never be good enough to meet God’s standard on their own. We all know the verse in Romans 3:23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard”. But rather than leave us in a hopeless situation, God sent His Son, Jesus, to take on the punishment for sin that we deserve. Paul wrote, “He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” God’s plan was for mankind to be reconciled to God. Jesus took on Himself our sins and gave us His righteousness so that we can truly be God’s children, able to enter His presence.

This is exciting for us pilgrims because we have the assurance that one day we can enter Heaven, crossing the Great Divide free from the sting of sin and death. We lived a life that started when we responded to God’s call and repented of our sins, believing in our wonderful Saviour. A quote from “Gotquestions.org”, “Christ became the end of the Law by virtue of what He did on earth through His sinless life and His sacrifice on the cross. So, the Law no longer has any bearing over us because its demands have been fully met in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ, who satisfied the righteous demands of the Law, restores us into a pleasing relationship with God and keeps us there. No longer under the penalty of the Law, we now live under the law of grace in the love of God”. 

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?“

The sting of sin and death no longer appears in the hearts and minds of us pilgrims. Can we feel the flood of God’s love and grace pouring over us? Can we truly claim that the “things of earth go strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace”? According to what we believe, Jesus took the “sting” (the penalty of sin) upon himself. Because Jesus rose from the dead, death is viewed as a defeated enemy. It may still happen physically, but its “poison” (eternal separation from God) is gone. Forever.

Father God. We thank You that we never die but instead transition from this life into eternal life, where we will be in Your presence. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” Amen.

A Wonderful Secret

Posted on by korgrocker

“But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.”
1 Corinthians 15:51-53 NLT

There is something amazing coming for us pilgrims. Our bodies are going to experience a transformation into immortality. Although it was always God’s intention to grant immortality through the Tree of Life, sin corrupted mortal bodies. So there is a problem with our natural, physical bodies, because they cannot exist in God’s domain. “What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever” (1 Corinthians 15:50). But anyone of advancing years will know all about the limitations of our physical bodies. The aches and pains increase with age and bring some to the point where they don’t want to carry on. Some experience a constant merry-go-round of hospital visits, GP appointments, and calls upon the local pharmacist, all of which combine to dictate a way of life that never appeared in God’s plan for humans. Sooner or later, God’s people will need a new body, one suitable for spending eternity with God. A new body that will never die.

We don’t know when this event will happen, of course. But the Bible includes many references to the End Times, and when the end of the world was going to happen was one of the last questions the disciples asked of Jesus. His response was, “And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. … And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:6, 14). There have been many predictions of when the world will end, and in 2015, apparently, 22% of the UK population believed that such an event would happen in their lifetimes. Even religious men and women, like John Wesley, were tempted to make a prediction (1836, in his case). Charles Russell, a forerunner of the JW’s, proposed that Jesus would return in 1874, and when He didn’t, Russell then suggested that Jesus had indeed returned but invisibly. But Jesus was clear that no one knew when the world would end except God Himself. Matthew 24:36, “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows”. 

Some in the Corinthian church were puzzled because, in their number, a few deaths had apparently occurred. How will these believers, therefore, experience a transformed body? So Paul put their minds at rest by saying, “those who have died will be raised to live forever“. Not an illogical suggestion at all, because of what happened to Jesus. He was dead, graveyard dead, and yet was resurrected that first Easter Sunday morning. We pilgrims know that one day Jesus will come and take us to be with Him. John 14:3, “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am“. We know how that will happen, because Jesus told us. Matthew 24:30-31, “And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven“.

All this was a mystery to the Corinthians, but with the benefit of the Bible, we know better. I don’t know about you, fellow pilgrims, but I’m looking forward to receiving a new body. A transformed and resurrected body just like Jesus’. No more tears, no more sickness, no more death, and in God’s presence forever.

Dear Heavenly Father. We all pray together, “Come Lord Jesus”. Amen.

The Heavenly Man

Posted on by korgrocker

“The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.”
1 Corinthians 15:45-49 NLT

At first sight, these verses seem to be a bit confusing. But Paul was simply comparing two separate bodies, an earthly, physical body, of which we are all very acquainted, and the heavenly, spiritual body that we are yet to acquire. We know that the original body given to Adam was formed from “dust” – Genesis 2:7, “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person”. I imagine a sculptor forming a statue of a man from a lump of clay (a big lump!). We don’t have to look far to see statues in our churches and city environments. But only God can bring them to life with the “breath of life”. In the Valley of the Dry Bones in Ezekiel’s vision, he saw the bones rattling together and forming skeletons. “Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them” (Ezekiel 37:8). In the next verse, we read, “[God] said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again’””. It is only God who can bring life to an inanimate object, life that is His to command. 

“I am fearfully and wonderfully made“

It is interesting to ponder the progress being made by engineers and scientists in creating humanoid robots. They can produce objects that are superficial copies of human bodies, but without the extraordinary complexity of God’s creation that includes His breath. The devil cannot create anything, but one wonders if this is him trying his best. The first Adam had a physical body containing products of the earth on which he lived, but he, and we, are more than a bag of different chemicals, regardless of what the evolutionists tell us. As the psalmist David wrote, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvellous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well” (Psalm 139:14). 

Paul wrote, “What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later”. We will not receive our spiritual bodies until we have finished with our natural bodies. The old cartoonists sometimes depicted a person’s spirit leaving his body and floating off somewhere to do something in accordance with the storyline. But this doesn’t work because the two types of body, natural and spiritual, are formed in different places. The natural body is earthly, and the spiritual body is Heavenly. Consider two totally different universes, each made of totally incompatible materials. We only know about worldly matter, and we have senses that can detect it, analyse it and use it to continue our lives here on earth. An unbeliever will find the limits of his knowledge here because his natural mind will ignore any thoughts of there being a universe made of materials that don’t exist on earth. But God created human beings with an embryonic spiritual body inside, a body that will never be found with a surgeon’s knife. The inner spirit within all human beings manifests in vague stirrings that point to something or someone outside of themselves to whom they owe their gift of life. Our spirits empower our souls with emotions that form the essence of how human beings behave and respond to others. But there is no surprise about this to a believer in God, people like us, pilgrims who know that God created us and all that we are, body, soul and spirit.

One day, Paul wrote, our natural bodies will die, and then we will receive our spiritual bodies. It is then that we will become Heavenly bodies, just like Christ’s. Paul wrote, “heavenly people are like the heavenly man“. He also wrote in Philippians 3:21, “He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control”. Jesus is in Heaven just now, complete in His resurrected body. It is a spiritual body and we will be given a body just like His. We can’t ask for more!

Dear Heavenly Father. We don’t know exactly what we will be like in Heaven, but we do know that You desire the best for us. We worship You today. Amen.