Paying Taxes

Posted on by korgrocker

“Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honour to those who are in authority.”
Romans 13:6-7 NLT

Well, here are an unpopular couple of verses. The civil authorities have the right to impose taxes on their citizens, and these can be a constant source of tension between the governments and the people. Paul wrote that “government workers need to be paid” but things have gone a lot further than that, with taxes extending into supporting welfare payments, health, defence and so on. In the UK tax year just finished, over £1000 billion was raised across every tax source, an extraordinary amount I think we can agree. But Paul’s writings were clear – pay your taxes. And the reason he gave was that the “government workers” are “serving God in what they do”. 

We pilgrims, living in a 21st Century society, can get caught up with the perceived injustices of a system that has gone far beyond what Paul ever considered. I wonder what he would have written today? But, then, I think his letter wouldn’t have changed one jot. In John 17 we can read Jesus’ prayer for His disciples and in it He made it clear that we are part of the world, the societies, where we live. In John 17:15 Jesus said in a prayer to His Father about His disciples, “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one”. To me, Jesus was saying that we are entrenched within the world system, with all its implications, including the need to pay our taxes. Earlier in His prayer, Jesus said, “Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are” (John 17:11). To Jesus the important principle for His disciples was unity and love for each other, joy, righteousness and holiness, all principles of the Kingdom of God but considered less important in the secular societies in which we live. God knows that we are obliged to pay our taxes, and that is part of what constitutes our “needs”, something that Paul wrote about in Philippians 4:19, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus”.

Over and above our obligation to pay taxes, we are encouraged to present our offerings to God. This usually means giving money so that our spiritual leaders can be supported and encouraged as they devote their lives to caring for their flock, their congregations of God-followers. Our money also supports the buildings and other necessities that go to form our churches (though, sadly, in some denominations the buildings and infrastructure seem to have become more important than the people). But our offerings to God can also include our time and possessions. We hold all that we have in open hands, making what we have available to God. 

Father God. Everything that we have belongs to You. Please help us to be good stewards. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Bless the Persecutors

Posted on by korgrocker

“Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.”
Romans 12:14 NLT

In 1955 a man called ‘Brother Andrew” started smuggling Bibles into communist countries, and founded an organisation called “Open Doors”. The work grew, and “Open Doors” has for over six decades supported persecuted Christians all over the world. They maintain a “watch list” identifying the most dangerous places to be a Christian, and their statistics are sobering. They estimate that 360 million Christians worldwide suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith – that’s a staggering 1 in 7 believers. In the top fifty of persecuting countries are North Korea, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and far too many others. But , as an aside, we should also note that in many of the countries where Christians are not persecuted, the church is in decline.

Paul echoed the words of Jesus by asking his readers to bless their persecutors. Jesus’ teaching can be found in Matthew 5:10-12, “God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way”. He also taught His followers to pray for their enemies, as recorded in Matthew 5:43-44, “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbour’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”

Christians are counter-cultural in their faith, turning round the expected norms in society, turning them into something that challenges natural human behaviour. There has to be a Higher Power to make this happen because we mortals are wired by sin to respond so differently. How was Jesus able to pray for those Roman soldiers as they hammered crude iron spikes through his hands or wrists. Amidst the normal screaming responses there would be curses ringing through the air. Luke 23:33-34, “When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice” (emphasis mine). The answer was that He was, and is, God and man, but in His humanity He was able to show us the way. What other religion has a God who came to this earth, taking on human flesh, thereby showing how much He loves us? The hardened Roman soldiers were challenged by Jesus’ response to the nails and His death, as we read the comment of the Roman centurion, “When the Roman officer overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, “Surely this man was innocent”“(Luke 23:47). 

Thankfully, we in the West don’t suffer much for our faith. Not like those in other countries, who spend large parts of their lives in prison. Who experience beatings or rapes. Who lose their homes and jobs. The persecuted Christians are in good company. We read in Hebrews 11:36-39, “Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised“. 

But we pilgrims can pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters. We can regularly return to the Open Doors website to find up to date information for prayer. And we can pray for ourselves as well, because here in the UK there are dark clouds already forming on the horizon. There is a new ideology emerging with adherents who want to cancel anyone who don’t agree with them and their extreme views. They want to close our churches because what we preach is to them an existential threat, and they are lobbying politicians to get them to introduce legislation that will make it illegal to pray with, or for, someone who, for example, wants to go against God’s order and change gender. Even if the person concerned has asked for prayer. Christian leaders are being pressurised to officiate at same-sex marriages; some have already capitulated. Liberal “Christians” are reinterpreting the Bible to suit society’s increasingly strident anti-God requirements. Christians are being sacked from their employment because they wish to wear a cross or other religious artefact. Persecution is here, folks. But we pray for our societies, and our misguided leaders, that God will bless them. Why? Because Jesus has asked us to. 

Father God. We pray that Your people will rise up and stand firm against the dark forces that are coming against us. Please help us, Lord. In Jesus’ name and for His sake. Amen.

Rejoice in Hope

Posted on by korgrocker

“Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”
Romans 12:12 NLT

What do we hope for? The answer will depend on our circumstances. A resident of Ukraine will be hoping for an end to the current war. A young single mum in poor quality accommodation will be hoping for something better. A young man stuck in a dead end job will be hoping for a new opportunity. People hope that they will win the lottery. After another breakdown, a driver will be hoping that they can afford a new car. A student will be hoping that they get a good mark in their finals. An old person lying in a hospital bed will be hoping that they can get home soon. The list of “hopes” is endless, and totally related to our circumstances at the time. But these are all temporal “hopes”, grounded in our humanity and time being spent on Planet Earth. They all refer to a “hope” pinned to a point sometime in the future. Possibly to come to fruition, if at all, in a day or two. Or years away. The “hope” of mankind is a wistful thought, unlikely to happen, but rooted in a fantasy, often totally unrealistic but imagined anyway. Call it wishful thinking.

Paul wrote about a different “hope”. Galatians 5:5, “For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope”. Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”. Romans 8:23-25, “And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)” Can we see the picture that is building through these Scriptures? Through our relationship with God we have faith that what He has said will come to pass. So our hope is much more than wishful thinking. It is rooted and grounded by faith in the assurance, through the Holy Spirit living within us, that one day we will be in God’s presence, with all that means.

Paul was convinced that the hope he had was going to happen. He started his letter to Titus, “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness – in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time” (Titus 1:1-2, emphasis mine). No messing about with Paul. His hope for the future and eternal life was based on something far more tangible than human hopes and wishes. It was based on his faith that what God said will happen will indeed happen one day. 

We pilgrims have a message of hope for this hopelessly dark and evil world. We too have a “hope” like Paul’s, sharing His faith and assurance. And we must tell those around us, in our families, communities, schools, and workplaces, that Heaven is real, and Jesus saves all who come to Him. Living out our hope will not be easy. We will experience ridicule and persecution. Opportunities in this world may be lost to us. We will have to make difficult choices as we live out the hope we have for an eternal future. However, Jeremiah exposed God’s heart when he wrote, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11, emphasis mine). Wherever we are in our Christian walk, we have a hope, an assurance even, that one day in the future we will be with God in Heaven. The Holy Spirit who lives within us says so. 

Dear Father God. One day we will be with You in Heaven. You promised us that in Your Word. You said it, so we believe it. We pray that this transformational truth will motivate and empower us as we share the Good News with all around us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Leadership (1)

Posted on by korgrocker

“In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”
Romans 12:6-8 NLT

We all know what qualities we like to see in a leader. We look for integrity, charisma, fairness, enthusiasm, competence, and so on. We also know that some people are born to be leaders, but most are followers. Another fact is that there are many leaders out there who shouldn’t be in such a role, because they lack the necessary abilities and qualities. Paul wrote to his son in the faith, Timothy, and pointed out to him the sort of qualities a church leader should have. We read them in 1 Timothy 3:2, “So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach“. 

Paul starts by making a statement that is contentious in mainstream Christian organisations, that a church leader must be male. David Pawson, the controversial Bible teacher, who sadly died recently, wrote a book “Leadership is Male” that reflected a view that was totally based on his understanding of the Scriptures. In his autobiography “Not So Bad As The Truth” he wrote, ”My second ‘reactionary’ belief is of male leadership, in the church and the home. I believe it is a God-given role and responsibility, not a question of superiority at all. God made us male and female, with distinct and complementary functions. The current trend to blur and even obliterate the distinction, both inside and outside the church, owes more to the spirit of the secular age than the Holy Spirit”. Pawson’s belief was founded on a fundamental interpretation of Scripture, not only shared by him, but we won’t dwell on this point – we each have to make up our own minds.

A church leader must have the quality of being “above reproach”. In other words, the person must not live a life that lacks integrity or honesty. He (or she) must behave in a way that is an example to their followers. So it would not do their reputation much good, if they are caught shoplifting or even speeding. Such behaviour would disqualify them from leadership. In the 1990’s, the Assemblies of God evangelist, Jimmy Swaggart, was found to have visited prostitutes. His high profile confession and subsequent events were well reported at the time, and the incident led to his withdrawal from ministry. Such behaviour fails to meet the quality of being “above reproach”. But before we take the moral high ground, we must remember that we are all sinners. It’s just that some people are more vulnerable to media scrutiny.

The next quality of a church leader, as listed by Paul, is that he must be faithful to his wife. Obvious really, because much of a church leader’s ministry is about relationships. How can a leader preach or teach about the family, if his own is in ruins? A pastor who cannot manage his own family must have a question mark hanging over him. Some years ago, I heard of a pastor whose wife left him to form a relationship with another man. As far as I am aware, he did what he could to rescue the situation, but without success. So he left the ministry, traumatised and sad. There was always the possibility that some of the blame for the situation would rest with him regardless of the circumstances. 

Dear Father. We pray for our leaders, that You will be with them day by day, guiding them in all truth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Teach Well

Posted on by korgrocker

“In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.”
Romans 12:6-7 NLT

What comes into our minds when we think about teachers? Someone standing at the front of a classroom, piece of chalk in hand, writing equations on a chalkboard? If so, this was not the sort of person that Paul had in mind when he wrote about those who have the gift of teaching. In modern days, we find there are several effective teaching methods, often used with varying results to an audience, often hostile and unreceptive, such as in some of our schools. But in the Christian sense, a teacher is someone who can expound Scripture, delivering truths and guidance to receptive people. What better place to start than with the best Teacher there has ever been – Jesus Himself?

Matthew 4:23, “Jesus travelled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness“. Matthew 7:29, “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law“. Jesus was a well-regarded and successful Teacher because He taught from a position of experience. He could teach about the Kingdom of God because He was God. He could teach about the Good News because He was the Good News. He could teach about healing because He healed those who were sick. Unlike the Jewish teachers of His day, He didn’t just teach about something. Because of this, the people of His day noticed that He taught with authority. 

In our Christian environments, our teachers are, of course, not divine in their teaching. They are human beings like the rest of us. But God helps them to teach, and teach well with a gift of teaching. Paul encouraged Timothy to appoint Elders in the church he was overseeing. He wrote, “So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2 – emphasis mine). Paul also wrote about Elders to Titus, as we read in Titus 1:9, “He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong“. So in Paul’s day, the church leaders were expected to be able to teach their congregations. In the days of the early church, before the Canon of Scripture had been established, erroneous teaching was common, and Paul warned Titus about teachers of error. In Titus 1 he continued, “Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted. Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good” (Titus 1:15-16). Now that we have our Bibles, we have a solid foundation for our teachers to follow, and, like the Berean Christians in Acta 17:11, we can check them out, “And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth“.

But it is not just Biblical teachers who teach us. Colossians 3:16, “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts“. Part of our responsibilities in living the Christian life is to “teach and counsel each other”. What do we teach? “The message about Christ”, as Paul said. But, on reflection, we are indeed all teachers. It may not be in a formal setting. It may just be a brief conversation at the church door, or over a coffee. As we share life together, we can unconsciously teach each other. And we look to God for the gift that enables us to teach well.

Dear Father God. We are life-long learners, always looking to You, the Source of all that we are. Please continue to equip us to share our faith and teach others, to the measure of the grace You have provided. And please help us to be receptive to all that You teach us through others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Certain Things

Posted on by korgrocker

“In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophecy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.”
Romans 12:6 NLT

So God has given us “different gifts for doing certain things well”.  We listed in a previous blog the seven ministry or service gifts – leading, faith, encouragement, teaching, hospitality, prophecy and giving. These are all practical gifts, graciously given by our loving Heavenly Father. And with them we can do “certain things well”. What things? 

As we review the gifts that Paul lists in Romans 12, we find that they are there mostly to help us in our life experiences with other people. In particular, the gifts of encouragement and hospitality help us to help others, who find themselves in negative territory. The other gifts are there also, providing invaluable resources for living in the way Jesus has requested for His church. 

So how do we get these gifts from God? His grace, being so available, means that the door to His gift cupboard is wide open. Imagine a room full of precious jewels or banknotes, riches that are there just for the taking, and we find that it is unlocked. All we have to do is to ask God for the gifts we need. Obviously, there are some prerequisites that need to be in place before the gifts can be dispensed. We must have a loving and obedient relationship with God, but from that we love those around us. 1 John 5:1-2, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments”.  It is that love, agape love, that underpins the motivational gifts we need.

We pilgrims live in a land of “certain things”. In the 17th Century, the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, a man called John Donne, included the following quotation in a sermon. ”No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” We are in constant contact with our neighbours and friends, in our communities, in our workplaces, in our schools and colleges. As John Donne said, we are involved in mankind, and we need all the gifts in God’s goodies cupboard to enable us to do what God has asked us to do. We may not see Kingdom fruit in our lifetimes, but we do what God has asked us to do anyway, with the gifts we need to do them.

Dear Father God. You have been so generous to us. But the biggest gift by far was, and is, Jesus. Thank You Lord. Amen.

Self Honesty

Posted on by korgrocker

“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”. 
Romans 12:3 NLT

This is a difficult one. What do we think of ourselves and our abilities? And how do we know? There are some empirical ways of assessing our abilities, and academic exams are one of them. We might, for example, think we are good at arithmetic, and we can prove it by passing some sort of test. The same would apply to a driving test, where we can demonstrate to an external examiner our ability, or not, as the case may be. Similarly, we might think we are good at speaking a foreign language, something that is easily confirmed by a visit to that country. But these are all specifics. The problem comes when, for example, we say we are good at a subject like art just because we can pass an arithmetic test.

I used to work for someone who was an expert in his vocational field. He wrote for scientific and technical journals, and people consulted him about their theories and projects. So he started a company to market his products, thinking that he would have the same expertise and abilities when it came to business matters. Sadly he didn’t, and the company collapsed. Now here’s the reason – he didn’t have an honest evaluation of himself. He should have read the verse we are looking at today. The problem in much of today’s employment, particularly in white collar environments, is that those who climb the promotion ladder have to make claims about how good they are, by talking up their abilities. I was once in a project meeting with a very confident manager, who impressed the project sponsor by his apparent knowledge of the subject in hand. Afterwards I complemented him on his knowledge, to which he replied, “in a land of blind men, a one-eyed man is king”. The reality was that he had a good grasp of all the buzz words, but little else. But life isn’t like that for most of us.

At the other end of the scale, I have known people who are really good at something, but they lack the confidence to leverage their abilities, failing to make them a useful addition to their lives and the lives of others. But the emphasis in Paul’s message would indicate that this is less of a problem then being overconfident, by thinking that “you are better than you really are”.

Was Paul merely applying what he was writing about to spiritual matters or everything that the person, the “each of you”, was involved in? He was probably, in my opinion, referring to life, everything the person was involved in as they went about their everyday lives. Paul also included some guidance in his letter to the Philippians. “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” (Philippians 2:3-4). He 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 2:5-7). The world has got it wrong. Society demands that self-promotion is necessary to get on, and be better than anyone else. The Christian way is the opposite, one of humility and preferring one another. A way where we step back and allow God to do the promoting. Because of Jesus’ humility, He was honoured, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names” (Philippians 2:9).

Paul writes about self-evaluation through the faith that we have. To present this as an example, perhaps someone who claims to have a healing ministry, but doesn’t see the fruit of it, may not have the faith to make their claim. There is a partnership between a person’s spiritual and natural abilities, seasoned with the faith that comes from a lifetime of service to God.

So we pilgrims, humbly in God’s presence, work with Him to maximise our potential for His kingdom. Through our faith in Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit working within us. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). And, in the end, that is what we really want to do – please our loving Heavenly Father.

Dear Father God. We praise and worship You today, deeply grateful for Your presence in our lives. Please help us, we pray, to serve You with faith and in truth, trusting that it is only through You and Your Son, Jesus, that we can really succeed in all that You have for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.


Living Sacrifice

Posted on by korgrocker

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”
Romans 12:1 NLT

Paul starts this chapter with an “And so”. Other translations use the word “Therefore”. He is referring to all that he has written in the previous verses and chapters, and because of all this, Romans 12:1 is the proper response. Paul “pleads” with his readers to do something, something that perhaps they would find hard or difficult. How can we give our bodies to God? He is Spirit. Our bodies are physical. Flesh and blood. But the Jewish Christians would have known what Paul was getting at. Animal sacrifice was very much a part of the Jewish religion, at least while they had a temple. But is Paul here saying that they, his readers, should be the sacrifices instead?

First of all we should remember that Jesus put an end to the practice of animal sacrifice, by becoming an eternal offering for sin. In Hebrews 10:5 we read, “That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer””. Why did Jesus do that? Hebrews 10:10, “For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time”. And then Hebrews 10:18, “And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices”. 

But Paul “pleads” with his readers to “be a living and holy sacrifice”. It can’t be anything to do with forgiveness for sins, because Jesus was the ultimate and eternal sacrifice. There is, perhaps, a clue when Paul adds the reason for giving our bodies – “because of all he has done for [us]”. How can we properly respond to God for what Jesus did for us at Calvary? It is no good offering Him our money, or anything else that we own. And neither will working for God in some religious role, such as a missionary or minister, be good enough. No, God wants us, body, soul and spirit, our entirety. 

It is easier in many ways to go through the religious motions of being a Christian. Going to church. Attending the prayer meetings. Putting a tithe in the offering. Standing on a street corner with a collecting box for the poor. But none of this costs us what God is really looking for – our selves. We must bring our wills to God, and lay them on His altar. 

Paul said that our sacrifice, our bodies, must be “living and holy”. Nothing else is acceptable to God. Our bodily sacrifice has to be alive, because then our wills, our selves, are active and making decisions God’s way. If we were dead there would be no benefit, either to us or to God. And we mustn’t forget that God will only accept what is holy into His presence. Hebrews 12:14, “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord“. We are sanctified – made holy – through Jesus. Colossians 1:22, “Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault“. 

Through our willingness to present every facet of our lives to God, for His service and worship, and because of the blood of Jesus, we are an acceptable sacrifice to God. Of course, we become stained and soiled by our sin and the sins of others, but by confessing our sins to God we are forgiven, becoming a living and holy sacrifice.

Dear Father God. We respond to Your servant Paul’s pleadings today. We reach out to You in praise and worship. Amen.

God’s Power and Glory

Posted on by korgrocker

“Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.”
Romans 11:33-36 NLT

Paul finishes his musings about the greatness of God with the thought that God holds everything in its place through His power and for His glory. Of course, we know that God is good and nothing bad can come from Him, don’t we? Surely to do what we perceive are “bad things” must be impossible for Him. However, God receives much blame for the negative things that go on in the world. For the wars. For someone’s illness. For a mugging in the street. Because it’s raining on a summer holiday. Blame is aimed at Him, whether trivial or serious. Even insurance companies refer to an uninsured loss as an “Act of God”.

We pilgrims know that sometimes God disciplines His people, either corporately or individually. At the time we might think that God is capriciously dealing out some form of punishment for our misdemeanours, and we mistakenly feel that God is not good anymore. But in Hebrews 12:5-6 we read, “And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child””. God is always seeking our highest good, and when we stray off the narrow path, He will never hesitate in drawing us back to the right way, even if it involves us in some pain. And we have Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them“. Scripture tells us that God dispenses good gifts. We read in James 1:17, “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow”. 

So where does all the bad stuff come from? Can any of it be attributed to God? Obviously one source is sin and another is from the devil, although we can read Old Testament accounts of God allowing, or even making, bad things to happen. He may even initiate them for His redemptive purposes. Or bring them in judgement, as we saw in the Old Testament accounts of the Flood and Sodom and Gomorrah. We also know that God abhors sin, but allows it to run its course, for now. We may observe, read about, or even experience, an illegal act, such as an assault, which would violate God’s moral code. Surely He should intervene or at least, bring some form of punishment? But we know that one day Books will be opened and everyone who has ever lived, or will live, will have to account for their deeds, facing into the consequential punishment for their actions. We should note, however, that we sometimes confuse bad things with immoral things – God’s morality is above reproach.

The other difficulty we have when considering the bad stuff that happens to people, is that, although it may happen by accident, it may not be stoppable. As an example, a friend of mine tripped over in his garden yesterday and banged his head and cut his arm in the process. Should God have stopped that happening? Accidents happen in our world, whether we like it or not. Although God is of course capable of stopping them, and may do so from time to time, we cannot expect Him to intervene at every occurrence. What about natural disasters? Should God have stopped the recent earthquake in Turkey? The Revelation account tells us that this may be one more sign of the End Times.

The conclusion we can draw from Scripture is that God will give us gifts that are good. A sinful world suffers bad things, but in this time of God’s grace we can assure ourselves a future that is going to be good and perfect. God holds the world together for His ultimate glory, but He allows mankind to make its choices. And choosing sin will inevitably bring bad stuff to our world. Through Jesus, the ultimate “Good Gift”, we can find forgiveness for our sins. And through it all, we give God the glory that is rightfully His. We may not fully understand why things happen, good or bad, but we trust God, because only He can see the end from the beginning, and every stage in between.

Dear Father God. Only You know the words of eternal life. Only You can be trusted in this sin-tainted world. So, we thank You for Your grace and love – where would we be without it? Amen.

The Full Number

Posted on by korgrocker

“I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.”
Romans 11:25 NLT

Paul unfurls a mystery before his readers. He said that while the people of Israel, the Jews, refuse the Gospel, the gentiles will benefit from God’s grace. But this won’t last forever, because there is a limit on the number of Gentiles who will come to Christ. The obvious question, of course, is – how many is the “full number”? Is God close to achieving that number? We don’t know – only God does. But there is coming a day when God will decree enough! And then we will see the hearts of the Jews responding at last to their Messiah. 

Jesus said, as recorded in Matthew 24:14, “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.” The implication is that the “full number of Gentiles” won’t be achieved until the whole world, including all nations and people groups, have heard the “Good News about the Kingdom”. One statement that people who try to find fault with God suggest is that He isn’t fair, because there is always the possibility that someone, somewhere, will never hear the Gospel, implying that they will be denied the opportunity to respond to God. A good answer is perhaps the suggestion that if this concerns them then they should sign up to be a missionary just in case, and go and search out remote peoples and nations tucked away in some inaccessible corner of the globe. But, almost as a catch all, Paul wrote in Romans 1:20, “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God”. Jesus said that the Gospel will be preached everywhere, but Paul follows that up by the thought that people don’t really have an excuse if they fail to respond to God. One day, we will all stand before God but secure in the knowledge that He will certainly always be fair. People will only ever be judged on what they know, not what they don’t know. And we can rest assured that everyone will be judged by what they know, not what they don’t know.

We currently live in a season of grace. The full number of Gentiles as not yet been reached – we know that, because we do not yet see the wholesale softening of the hearts of the Jews. But it won’t be long. The number of different translations of the Bible is staggering. The extent and reach of the Gospel is as never before. There is a feeling of urgency in spiritual realms, and we can see the end time story unfolding and aligning itself to world events, just as the old Apostle John wrote in the book of Revelation. So how prepared are we? And how are we communicating that feeling of urgency within our families and communities? Do we pray everyday for God to wake up those around us and soften their hearts so that they will feel the gentle wind of the Spirit flowing around them and through them?

Paul wrote about the mystery of how God made the Gospel available to the Gentiles. Our gratitude can know no limits. God’s love for His family, regardless of their origin, is mixed with His grace to reach everyone who is open to Him. It is a mystery no more. It is reality.

Dear Father God. Once again we thank You for Your grace and love. Please lead us to anyone who has not yet responded positively to Your Good News. Over our lives we have planted many Gospel seeds. Please bring on a time of harvest before the final click of Your salvation clock. In Jesus’ name. Amen.