The Gift of Life

Posted on by korgrocker

“Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. I say this as a concession, not as a command. But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another.”
1 Corinthians 7:5-7 NLT

Paul was obviously celibate, unmarried, and single. His dedication to Jesus and his life were all that mattered to him, and he went through terrible times of physical and mental torment on his missionary journeys. But nothing was going to stop him from propagating the Gospel around the towns, cities, and communities of the Middle East. And if that wasn’t enough, he wrote letters that set out important theology referred to today in what we call the New Testament. Paul was an extraordinary man, God’s messenger to many, and foundational to the early church. But in all that, he had a compassionate and pastoral ministry that provided light and hope for a fellowship of early Christians based in Corinth. The culture and society, in many ways, were sex-based, but Paul cut through all of that with advice, Godly advice at that, about the importance of sexual relationships confined to a marriage alone. However, in response to their questions, he agreed with the Corinthians that, for some, it might be better for them to pursue celibacy, becoming as he was. Paul found great freedom in being fully devoted to Christ, without any distractions, particularly of the sexual kind. However, we note that celibacy is not commanded by God because if it were, the human race would quickly die out. Instead, when it came to matters of serving God, Paul “wished” everyone were single, “just as [he] was”. 

Paul wrote, “Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another”. In the context of this passage of Scripture, he was referring to the gift of singleness, of celibacy, and the gift of marriage. In both cases, this was a God-given gift, but the key is to recognise where God has placed the person involved, who would then have to face the consequences of the decision faithfully. Both marriage and singleness are a calling, and one that should be carefully worked out before God, who supplies the courage and strength required. Paul did not want anyone to try to overcome a God-given desire for sexuality out of a mistaken idea that lifelong abstinence is the best path for every person, in all cases. God has simply given the celibate and the married different gifts, not a lesser purpose. In no way does the Bible suggest unmarried and celibate Christians are more spiritual than married Christians.

This “special gift” referred to by Paul can also be viewed in the context of life itself. Think about it for a moment. Life is granted by God, but when do we thank Him for it? Did we thank Him when we emerged from sleep this morning? Yes, for some, the wakening might be accompanied by pain and suffering, especially if they are struggling with an illness or disability, but life is still there. Nick Vujicic wakes up every morning to face another day without arms and legs. I have a friend who has regular hospital visits for a urological procedure that comes with very painful and debilitating after effects. But God has granted us gifts of life for a reason, because in many ways, life here on this earth is a training ground for what is to come. Paul wrote in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord”. One day, there will be no more sickness and death, but also no more having to consider sexual matters. Jesus said, “For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). Because there will be no more death after we leave this life (Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever“), procreation to repopulate Heaven or the New Earth will not be required. 

We pilgrims have been granted many spiritual and natural gifts, but it is pointless just to leave them still wrapped up and unused. God may have given us a wonderful spouse in the gift of marriage, but He might also have given us a gift of being single. But we mustn’t forget that He has given us the gift of life. Jesus said, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10). Through Jesus, we have a wonderful life. Let’s not waste it.

Dear Father God. We thank You for our gifts of life and pray You lead and guide us in the best way to use them for Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Firm Foundation

Posted on by korgrocker

“In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen.”
1 Peter 5:10-11 NLT

When we consider the word “foundation” what comes into our minds? A builder will think of the concrete and stone that he is building a wall or house on, a base strong and firm enough to support the weight of the structure above it. And that picture will extend into all manner of activities that we get involved in. So a sportsman or woman will develop a foundation of fitness that will enable them to compete in their sport. Their foundations are built on a regime of the correct muscle-building foods, the long hours spent swimming, or running, or repeating the very process they will go through on the competition day. Paul used the sporting analogy when he wrote this in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Don’t you realise that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified”. 

A business will develop prosperity based on the skills and knowledge of its workers. In this context we talk about the founders of a company, who put together a few ideas perhaps in a bedroom or garage, and from there became a success story, growing into a large and even multi-national company. A “foundation” is a beginning, a starting point, something solid and tangible. And something essential for the success of whatever is built upon it.

The Apostle Paul was a Pharisee in the days before he met Jesus on the Damascus Road. Not just any Pharisee, however. We read about his Jewish upbringing in Philippians 3:5-6, “I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault”. Paul’s foundation was on the Law of Moses and the plethora of accompanying rules and regulations that made up the lives of Pharisees. But imagine what happened to his foundation when he met Jesus. It took him days to get his mind round the reality that he had built his life on the wrong foundation. Referring to his heritage and pedigree, we read more of his story in Philippians 3:7-8, “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ”. 

We pilgrims have built our lives on a true and strong foundation – the person and work, death and resurrection, of Jesus Christ. In fact He is the only way, the truth and the life (John 14:6) that we need. Everything in our lives must be built upon Him. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:20, “Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself”. 

There is an old hymn written in 1866 by S J Stone, and the first verse is:
The church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
she is His new creation,
by water and the word.
From heav’n He came and sought her
to be His holy bride;
with His own blood He bought her,
and for her life He died.

It was a favourite of mine in my early Anglican days, and the truths within it haven’t changed at all in the last 160 years or so. Our faith is truly founded on the Chief Cornerstone – Jesus Himself. There is no other foundation that will support our lives on Planet Earth and in the life to come.

Dear Lord Jesus. You are there only foundation that will last when all else is destroyed. We build upon You and Your ways, this day and every day. Amen.

In Conclusion

Posted on by korgrocker

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
Romans 16:24 NKJV
“Now all glory to God, who is able to make you strong, just as my Good News says. This message about Jesus Christ has revealed his plan for you Gentiles, a plan kept secret from the beginning of time. But now as the prophets foretold and as the eternal God has commanded, this message is made known to all Gentiles everywhere, so that they too might believe and obey him. All glory to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, forever. Amen.”
Romans 16:25-27 NLT

In Romans 15:33 we read what looked like a final greeting at the end of the letter, but then Paul continued to write about his friends and fellow workers in chapter 16. Some manuscripts then include another “final greeting” in Romans 16:24. Perhaps the letter was assembled at different times, and Paul was reluctant to say it was finished. He could have been anxious to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, but in the process he sent a double blessing to the Roman believers, God’s peace and the Lord Jesus Christ’s grace.

Paul concludes his letter with a reference to the “Good News”, which was where he started in Romans 1, and he reminded the believers in Rome that the Good News would give them strength. Paul continued by reminding them of something else, and that was the revelation that the Good News was finally made public, a secret no more, and because it included the Gentiles, who had a significant presence in the Romans Church. So the Good News was a revelation of God’s secret plan to make God’s grace universally available to all peoples and nations. There were no exclusions, except for those who rejected God.

In Romans 1:1 we read, “This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News”. That was his mandate. And Paul ends his letter giving glory to God. He knew it wasn’t about him. He knew he was a man with a mission limited by his humanity, but his passion was to do what he could in his time in which he lived, to share God’s heart with anyone who would listen. His theological and oratorical skills convinced many, and offended even more, but he was a driven man, aware of limited time to share God’s grace. We have read the end of the story, and we know that God’s patience will not last for ever. There will be a time when a Heavenly “enough!” will cry out over this world, and God’s Son, Jesus will appear for a second time. God’s glory will fill the heavens, and usher in a new dawn. 

Paul gave glory to God with all he was and all he said. We pilgrims must also. We have in our hands Paul’s baton, running the race for the pilgrim team. The race course is before us. And the people we meet on our journeys need to know all about God’s Good News. For every person who joins the race with us we give God all the glory. It is all about Him and His plan for mankind, a plan so gracious and loving we can only wonder and worship the only One who really matters.

Father God, as we conclude our journey through the Book of Romans, I pray that all who read it will be richly blessed. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Paul’s Fellow Workers

Posted on by korgrocker

“Timothy, my fellow worker, sends you his greetings, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow Jews. I, Tertius, the one writing this letter for Paul, send my greetings, too, as one of the Lord’s followers. Gaius says hello to you. He is my host and also serves as host to the whole church. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you his greetings, and so does our brother Quartus.”
Romans 16:21-23 NLT

Another eight names appear in Paul’s letter to the Romans. We know of course about Timothy; in fact we know quite a bit about him. Paul nurtured him as a “true son in the faith” – “I am writing to Timothy, my true son in the faith. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace” (1 Timothy 1:2). He was well taught in the faith by his mother and grandmother, “I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you” (2 Timothy 1:5). Timothy probably pastored the Ephesian church for a while – in his first letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, “When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth” (1 Timothy 1:3). And Timothy was obviously ill with some gastric condition – Paul advised him to, “Don’t drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often” (1 Timothy 5:23). And there are other little gems about Timothy that we can pick up from Paul’s letters.

Then we find that Paul didn’t write this letter himself, but used the services of a secretary called Tertius. From the customs and traditions of the time, we can draw other conclusions about Tertius. He may have been known by the Roman believers, because that is why he greeted them in this letter. Other traditions say he may have been a slave who went on to become a Bishop, but the one fact we do know something about is that he faithfully transcribed all of Paul’s thoughts and instructions. Perhaps he even thought “How much more, as he started the umpteenth new page!” 

Gaius was the church host, we read, and Erastus was a man in high office, being the city treasurer – a useful man to have in the church role! But in this list of names, a picture of men of solid faith emerges. We are so grateful for the early Christians because of the legacy they left us. We know little about them, and for every name that Paul mentioned there were many more working behind the scenes. But their fortitude in difficult times is a glowing testimony to the love and power of God. We pilgrims today have the opportunity to leave a legacy for the generations and generations following us. We mustn’t waste the opportunities that we have.

Dear Father God. Our gratitude to those early Christians knows no bounds. You know who they are and we look forward to being able to thank them personally one day. Amen.

Totally Convinced (1)

Posted on by korgrocker

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NLT

Paul finishes Romans 8 with an amazing statement of faith, that has been quoted and requoted many times since he wrote it. Through his experience of God, his faith in how much God loved him had transformed him from a vague hope to a position where he was “convinced”. Paul had no doubts that God’s love for him was total. And he was equally convinced that nothing could separate him from it.

Paul lists a number of things that he knows won’t get in the way of God’s love for him, things that perhaps give us a little insight into Paul’s character. He firstly had on his mind his mortality, writing that “neither death nor life” mattered when God’s love was considered. We know that Paul apparently had a total disregard for his personal safety, even expressing his will to leave this life and move on to a new life with Jesus. He wrote in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better”. He was “convinced” that God’s love for him would not be any different whether or not he was dead or alive.

Paul goes on to next mention “angels or demons”. I wonder why they were on his mind? In 21st Century Planet Earth we don’t talk very much about supernatural beings, of any flavour. But Paul’s spiritual insight was acute and he was very much aware of benevolent and malign spirits. In Acts 16:16 we read, “One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes”. The rest of the story in Acts 16 describes how Paul ended up in prison. To Paul, this was a matter of fact encounter with a demon, and he dealt with it there and then. No prayer meeting. No exorcism ritual. No pleading with God. He just dealt with the problem using the power and authority God had given him. So Paul was “convinced” that no spiritual power from anywhere, be it Heaven or hell, could interfere with God’s love for him.

How about us pilgrims? How convinced are we about God’s love for us? And does it make any difference whether or not God loves us? Are we motivated and empowered by His love or are we just living a life that includes an occasional encounter with God on a Sunday in a church meeting, where we sing a few songs or say a few prayers from the prayer book? The fact that God loves us was why Jesus came to this world in the first place. We read again those words in John 3:16, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life”. There is no love greater than that. God’s love for us is not just an abstract thought, a few nice but irrelevant words in the Bible. His love for us has the capability of transforming us from ordinary human beings into a people who, like Paul, have no regard for personal safety and who are desperate to share that love with those around us. God’s love motivated Paul; does it motivate us?

Father. We know your love for us is limitless. We humbly respond and say we love You. We know that without You we are in a hopeless and dark place. But Your love shines within us with a light too bright to extinguish. Thank You. Amen.

Slaves to Sin

Posted on by korgrocker

“Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.”
Romans 6:5-6 NLT

Perhaps we have an image in our minds, of a unified person. Consider a picture of Jesus, and a photograph of ourselves, and then superimpose one over the other. Personally, a unified picture of Jesus and me. How does that make us feel? Good? Apprehensive? Unsure? Yes, all of the above, but that is the reality of the Christian life. Association with Jesus in this way, in true unity, is the only way forward towards our goal of salvation. And Paul’s use of the baptismal imagery continues, with the mental picture of being raised to life just as Jesus was. 

The next thought from Paul profoundly impacts a new Christian’s life. And the older Christian’s too, because we must never forget and slip back into our old sinful ways. When we pilgrims fell onto our knees at the foot of the Cross, a pictorial way of describing how one day we brought our sins to Jesus in repentance, asking for His forgiveness, and believing in Him, we effectively crucified that part of us that was our old life, riven by sin. Now, crucifixion was a terrible way to die. A slow, lingering and extremely painful death. But Jesus went through that to set us free from the dominance of sin over our lives. In fact, the whole process in our spirits was, and is, life changing because we realise that what Jesus did for us we deserved ourselves. Sin has to be dealt with sooner or later. The grace of God is breathtaking, because He allowed His own Son, Jesus, to suffer in this way so that we wouldn’t have to.

Why did Jesus have to go through what He did? There were other forms of capital punishment available to the Jews, such as stoning. That happened to the first Christian martyr, Stephen. Crucifixion was a method the Romans used to put someone to death, and in the process they hoped to deter other people tempted to commit the same crime by attaching a list of their misdemeanours to the cross used. Pilate, the Roman governor who authorised Jesus’ death, ordered that “King of the Jews” was written above Jesus’ head. The Jewish authorities saw Jesus as a threat to their rather fragile relationship with the Romans because He challenged their cosy status quo with His radical teaching and miraculous acts. The people were following Him in large numbers, and, because of their unbelief, the Jewish leaders couldn’t allow the situation to continue. Evil ruled the day but God allowed Jesus’ death to happen because it was all part of His plan of redemption for mankind. 

Because Jesus went through what He did, taking on board our sins, we have been released from their dominance over us. I’m sure we can all think of sinful situations hidden away in our skeleton cupboards, that emerge from time to time to embarrass and harass us. But we don’t have to be slaves to these thoughts anymore, because Jesus has redeemed us from them. The skeletons are buried. Their power to torment us is gone. As Paul wrote, “We are no longer slaves to sin”. We can shut the door on our cupboards and lock them. But it’s up to us now. The question is – what will we do with the key? Hmmm…

Dear Father God. What an amazing and gracious, loving God You are. We worship at Your footstool. Amen.

Adam’s Sin

Posted on by korgrocker

“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break.”
Romans 5:12-13 NLT

The word “sin” is not one that is used very much in today’s societies. It is mostly associated with religion, being defined as an immoral act, or when a law is broken. It is one of those words that make people feel uncomfortable, so they attempt to reduce or eliminate the potential pain by calling it something else, or projecting its reality into a treatable illness rather than calling it what it really is. This particularly applies to words defining sin in the Bible. So “adultery” becomes “an affair”. And, perhaps controversially, taking drugs, or stealing, or drinking alcohol to excess, are illnesses. And so on.

A typical dictionary definition of the word “sin” is “an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law”. So without even mentioned God, the definition connects morality with law, and particularly in a way that involves a higher being. So is breaking a secular law a “sin”? Technically yes, but perhaps not in a way that complies with the dictionary definition of the word. It is rare, even unheard of, to hear the word “sin” associated with a traffic offence, for example.

In Genesis 1:27 we read, “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them”. God doesn’t sin. He never has done. So His original intention for mankind, having made them in His own image, just like Him, was that they would be sinless as well. We must therefore consider what it was that violated God’s creation, and why.

In parallel with the Eden story, a battle raged in Heaven, with an angel called Lucifer trying to take over from God, a sort of Heavenly coup. We read what happened to him in Isaiah 14:12, quoting from the King James Version. “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” Lucifer ended up in the only place available to him – Planet Earth. And it is here that he introduced his rebellious and wicked spirit, here he introduced “sin”. In the guise of a serpent, he caused Eve and then Adam to break the only law that they had been given by God. We read in Genesis 2:16-17, “But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die””. And we all know what happened next – the sad story is recorded in Genesis 3. Sin started with a rebellious angel in Heaven and in due course infected Planet Earth.

Sin happens when we break laws. And in particular God’s laws. The one overriding law that underpins all others was told by Jesus to a local Jewish religious expert. We read in Matthew 22:36-40, ““Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”” So the root of sin is disobedience to God. These simple laws power all other laws, and those who don’t want to sin must start here. And in so doing, they must bring everything they do under God’s scrutiny to see if they line up with these laws.

Perhaps we wonder what would have happened if Adam and Eve had confessed their sin, and were made right again in God’s presence. Their relationship with Him restored. Their sin wiped away and forgotten. But sadly it didn’t happen, and the disease of sin has been with us ever since. A pandemic of all pandemics.

Paul, in today’s verse from Romans 5, states that Adam’s sin became human sin. All have sinned, he said. And it is very true. I don’t know of anyone who has not broken any laws, let alone God’s laws. And all those who sin will ultimately die. That is, unless, they find forgiveness and redemption in God’s presence. Through Jesus we can discover that sins can really be washed away. Forever.

Father God. Only You, the Sinless One, has the power to forgive sins. On our knees today we worship You, deeply thankful for Your amazing grace. Amen.

Rejoice!

Posted on by korgrocker

“So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”
Romans 5:11 NLT

Paul made another statement as though it was a fact. He took it as read, beyond an assumption, that rejoicing would follow the process of belief in Jesus and all that He did at Calvary. Quite a leap for someone in that culture, moving from idolatry, to faith in the one true God. Society wasn’t very kind to those early Christians. But Paul wasn’t being theoretical when he wrote that. He wasn’t living in some different world, divorced from reality. What he wrote to the early Christians in Rome was a perfectly valid statement, designed to set out for them what a relationship with God should be like. A relationship that they could rejoice about. A relationship that was wonderful and new.

We fast-forward to today. If anything, our world is just as hostile a place to Christians as it was in Paul’s day. More so, if we read about the levels of persecution experienced by some. Constant negative news reports wear us down. The hostile spiritual environment where even leaders in the faith struggle and prevaricate rather than act as beacons for God’s ways. Worldly expectations have created a society where God doesn’t exist any more. And here are Christians today who, in spite of all that is going on, are called to rejoice in our relationship with God.

But we pilgrims have made a decision to follow Jesus. Through our faith in Him, believing Him for our future salvation, we do in fact have a “wonderful new relationship” with God. We are indeed His friends, positioned right in the “sweet spot” which He designed for us before the foundations of the earth. We rejoice! It’s not something we can do with one eye on what is happening around us. We do it with both eyes on God, because it is in Him we find a Friend who has overcome the world. We view the natural world through God’s eyes. And in that way we get His perspective. Through prayer we approach difficult situations and relax as God whispers in our ears wonderful words of wisdom and guidance. 

It may have been some years ago that we experienced  the “wonderful new relationship” with God. Perhaps we have taken our eyes off Him a bit. Perhaps we have been worn down by all the information, most of it negative, that bombards us every day. Well there is good news. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “ … Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. Having refreshed ourselves in God’s presence we can experience being friends with God. And that has to be good news. That has to be a wonderful experience. And through it all, regardless of the circumstances, we can rejoice. We look forward to a time when joy is the norm, and worldliness is no more. And because we are God’s children, we can experience that joy right now. 

So if any of my readers are experiencing a lack of joy this morning, feeling they there is nothing to rejoice about, we read these words of Paul. Through Jesus we are friends of God. Meditate on what that means this morning. How amazing is it, that the Creator of the whole universe, wants to be friends with us. That very thought is enough to make even the stones around us burst into praise. It truly is a momentous statement, and one that we embrace through our faith in Him. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:4, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” That is not a statement of delusion. It is a fact and one that will never leave us regardless of our circumstances. Join me this morning in rejoicing, because Jesus is alive, and because we are God’s friends.

Father God. We worship You today. You are the source of joy. You are the mighty One, our Lord and God. Amen.

Strength of Character

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“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.“
Romans 5:3-5 NLT

What is this entity “strength of character”? The dictionary defines the word character as, “the particular combination of qualities in a person or place that makes them different from others”. But the “character” that Paul was referring to was much more than that. Just to be different in character to other people is all very well, but Godly character is something else. This type of character is active, not something that is passive. Godly character is something that is constantly improving, drawing us closer and closer to the person God designed us to be. As we endure the hassles of life, our endurance in maintaining our faith and relationship with God strengthens us, so that when the storms hit, we stand firm.

Someone who has a Godly character is like the wise man in Jesus’ parable about the builders. In Matthew 7:25-26 we read, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock”. The wise man had the right character, because he knew, perhaps from previous experiences, the consequences of building on a dodgy foundation. Perhaps previous “problems and trials” had taught him much and honed his character. He knew that only Jesus had the words of eternal life and would lead him to the right outcome. But so many people instead put their trust on sandy foundations. They trust a friend, or a political party, or their bank account, trusting a substitution for God that will collapse like the foolish man in Jesus’ parable when the storms of life crash against them. They lose their jobs, or their friend moves away and cuts off contact. Their bank account is swallowed up by inflation and they find that there is too much month left at the end of their money. But whatever happens, they find that they have no endurance to get through the crisis. Their character fails the strength and endurance test.

We pilgrims are made of sterner stuff, of course. Not for us a trust in worldly systems that could collapse at any moment. We have built our foundations on the Rock that is Christ. Psalm 18:30-31, “God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. For who is God except the Lord? Who but our God is a solid rock?” Who indeed!

Father God. Only You can develop our characters through the trials and problems of life. Only You can hold our hand and help us. We praise and thank You today. Amen.

Endurance

Posted on by korgrocker

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
Romans 5:3-5 NLT

In the UK at present, in the natural, there seems little to rejoice about. The cost of living has gone up dramatically, impacting a new generation of adults who have never known anything other than very low inflation and interest rates. Energy costs have more than doubled over the space of a year or so and there seems no sign of them returning to the level enjoyed before the Covid pandemic. Eventually, wages will catch up, but “problems and trials” will abound for the foreseeable future. So why did Paul make the statement that the difficulties we are facing into will “help us develop endurance”?  

Paul wasn’t the only early first century Apostle who made such a statement. We read in James 1:2-3, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow”. 

So what is this “endurance”? It is that ability to persevere through “problems and trials” without going under, without giving up, without jumping ship and joining another with less hassles. The Christian life was and is never going to be an easy option. Not only do we have to clean up our own lives under God’s gracious and loving guidance, but we will be largely shunned by those in society around us. In some parts of the world, even the state authorities will be against us. We have many brothers and sisters persecuted for their faith in other countries like North Korea and Afghanistan.

Jesus told His disciples, “But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world”  (John 16:32-33). Jesus was facing into an incredibly difficult situation. He knew He was heading to the Cross and a horrible and painful death. And He knew His disciples would abandon Him to His fate. And here He was, encouraging His disciples with words of comfort. He told them that their future natural lives were going to be full of “problems and trials” and yet, through it all, they would have Jesus with them because, as they would find out later, His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, would be with them, enabling them to “overcome the world”. 

There are many Christians who start well, but then become shipwrecked on the trials of life. Perhaps they are in a church that goes through a difficult time with splits and changes of leadership, and they get hurt in the process. Or perhaps a Christian friend is treated badly by another Christian and they decide that they want no more of this faith. So they stop going to church. They stop reading their Bibles. And before long they have failed to endure. 

What do we pilgrims do, when circumstances seem to conspire against us? Go down the tubes? Or rise up above the difficulties? A Psalmist, Asaph, was facing into an inexplicable situation that severely challenged his faith in God. We read in Psalm 73:2, “But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone”. As we read on, we see the gyrations that went on in his mind as he considered how the wicked seemed to get away with their behaviour. Bitterly, he said, “Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?” And then we read, “Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked. Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do” (Psalm 73:17, 25-26, 28). Asaph regained his perspective. There are many other examples in the Bible, of people who faced into trials and problems. We read about a few in Hebrews 11.

But through it all, we have a wonderful loving Heavenly Father who is always there for us. He will always help us through our times of trial. Somehow in His presence, the trials don’t seem half as bad. There is an old saying, “When the going gets tough the tough get going”. Much truth in that when it comes to endurance.

Father God. Your Son Jesus knew all about trials and problems. We thank You for Your encouragement and guidance when the going gets tough. Through You the world has been overcome. Thank You Jesus. Amen.