God is Jealous

Posted on by korgrocker

“What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods? No, not at all. I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons. You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too. What? Do we dare to rouse the Lord’s jealousy? Do you think we are stronger than he is?”
1 Corinthians 10:19-22 NLT

Paul asked two questions: “Do we dare to rouse the Lord’s jealousy? Do you think we are stronger than he is?” Taking the first, Paul had already stated that it is impossible to worship demons, in the form of idols, and worship God at the same time. Doing such a thing, Paul said, would be in danger of rousing “the Lord’s jealousy”. Many years before, the Israelites had been told: “You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you” (Exodus 34:14). 

However, we know that jealousy is a sin; so, what does it mean when the word is connected with God? In a human sense, jealousy is a negative emotion we feel when we look at something someone else owns and express a desire to own it ourselves. Jealousy can lead to theft or worse, just for the opportunity to own something we cannot afford to buy. Or jealousy can apply to how we feel about another person’s job, or their ability to do something we can’t. Earlier in Exodus, we read, “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. …” (Exodus 20:4-5a). Notice that God is jealous when someone gives to another something that rightly belongs to Him. Worship, praise, honour, and adoration belong to God alone, for only He is truly worthy of it. Therefore, God is rightly jealous when worship, praise, honour, or adoration is given to idols.

The second question Paul asked was: “Do you think we are stronger than he is?” Of course, the answer is that we are not. But the implication is that by thinking we can involve ourselves with the worship of demons, we are effectively putting ourselves in a place where we think we know best, leaving God out of the situation. This is a dangerous place to be, because our God will not tolerate this, and, with His anger aroused, we are facing a slippery slope that could ultimately end in hell. 

What do we pilgrims make of these two questions? We should first remember our place as God’s children and who our Heavenly Father is. We read Psalm 147:4-5: “He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!” We only have to read Genesis 1, and we find how great God is, so we can never say we know better than He does. God knows more than anyone the importance of worshipping Him, because if we don’t, we will find ourselves worshipping something that ultimately could turn out to be a demon. Those of us who are a bit older will remember Bob Dylan’s song ”Gotta Serve Somebody”, which uses the phrase to mean that everyone must ultimately serve either “the devil or the Lord”. 

We worship God, not because He needs our worship, but because of who He is. Within us is an inbuilt desire to worship, and all because we are created in God’s image. We must never forget who God is and why we need to focus our worship and praise on Him. We turn to Jesus, God’s Son, and remember what He did for us. We remember the time when we nailed our “old man” to the Cross of Calvary, so that Jesus could release our “new man, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”. How can we not turn our praise and worship, our awe and adoration, to our Heavenly Father?

Dear God. Please help us refocus our hearts and minds on You today, so that we can give You the worship You deserve. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Great Assembly

Posted on by korgrocker

“I will praise you in the great assembly. I will fulfil my vows in the presence of those who worship you. The poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy. The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him. For royal power belongs to the Lord. He rules all the nations.”
Psalm 22:25-28 NLT

Psalm 22 has always been considered Messianic, a prophetic declaration of that poignant end to the life of Jesus, an ignominious end to the Son of God on a Roman cross, but, to those who believe, a door opened into Heaven with salvation accessible to all people. But in verse 25, David wrote about being in the midst of a “great assembly” where he will “fulfil [his] vows”. Is that also prophetic or was it something about to happen in his lifetime? It all depends on what was meant by the word “great” because “great” implies a large number of people. But if we consider this to be a prophetic statement, then the “great assembly” is yet to happen. We get a few hints of this in the Bible. Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:14, 17, “For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. … Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever”. Imagine the scale of that meeting, with the numbers of souls so vast that there will be no stadium large enough on earth to even hold a fraction of those present. It will only be a three-dimensional space “in the clouds” that will be large enough to hold this “great assembly”. Imagine the excitement! But I don’t think our minds are capable of truly grasping the impact of that occasion, and the fact that we pilgrims will be there as well. There will be no disappointed people, unable to see Jesus because of all the others getting in the way. By some miracle He will be accessible to all and we will enjoy His presence forever.

What will we do in that “great assembly”? If we turn to Revelation 7:9-10 we read, “After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”” That’s what we will be doing. Again, by some miracle, we will know that we will be standing in front of Jesus, enthroned in His rightful position as the One who brought salvation to mankind. We will be clothed in white and holding palm branches, reminding us of a previous time when the people waved them as He passed. John 12:12-13, “The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!”” In that “great assembly”, the air will be full of “Hosannas” and “Hallelujahs” as the praises of all reverberate around the Heavens.

But who will be there with us? I’m sure that we will know the great saints of old, like Moses or Paul. David will be there I’m sure. But I think it was Martin Luther who said that he will be surprised who we will find in Heaven, but also surprised that some who he thought should be there are missing. And he finished by saying that if he gets there it will be a miracle. However, in that “great assembly” we won’t really care who is, and isn’t, there because it will be all about Jesus.

David wrote that he will fulfil his vows “in the presence of those who worship” the Lord. We all will fulfil our vows, in a sense, because we have all vowed, promised even, to follow Jesus, believing that only He has the words of eternal life. All those years of the struggles between our fleshly natures and the spirit within us will all be gone. All the doubts and fears, the accusations and ridicule emanating from the unbelievers, all gone, because they will be gone. For many living in oppressive and restrictive anti-God regimes where they are persecuted, they will be free at last and able to worship Jesus as they have always wanted to. For our time on earth, the vows we have made will have been hard to keep, but as Jesus said, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

We pilgrims need to hone up our worship skills in the university of life in God’s Kingdom here on earth. we need to get into practice for that great and wonderful day when the worship of the One who deserves all the glory and all the power goes on for eternity. Perhaps we think the we can’t hold a tune or sing a note. Perhaps we think we will never remember all the words. But the reality will be a “great roar” from the “great assembly“. If we listen hard enough we might hear the praise band already tuning up, with the angels humming the tunes. As the lyrics of the old hymn say,

“What a day that will be
When my Jesus I shall see
When I look upon His face
The One who saved me by His grace
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me to the Promised Land
What a day, glorious day that will be
What a day, glorious day that will be.”

Dear Father God. We look into the future, glimpsing that great assembly in Heaven. We pilgrims will be part of it I’m sure, and we will see You at last. Forever and ever. Amen.

In the Assembly

Posted on by korgrocker

“I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you among your assembled people. Praise the Lord, all you who fear him! Honour him, all you descendants of Jacob! Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!”
Psalm 22:22-23 NLT

A distinct shift in perspective from David, now that he has moved on from writing about his enemies, the “bulls of Bashan”. After declaring that God was his strength and writing down his prayer for salvation “from the horns of these wild oxen”, David moves on into the realm of praising God. He starts with a proclamation about the name of the Lord to his “brothers and sisters”. What would he have said? It would not have been just a straight mentioning of the word “God”, or “Lord”. There is so much more behind the “name of the Lord”. To the Jews, there was something so sacred about the “name of the Lord” that they wouldn’t say it out loud, instead using some other reference. So sad that today the name of God has been degraded to become a swear word, a ubiquitous utterance to many. Exodus 20:7 means nothing to such people, “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name”. But we pilgrims know the implication and significance of God’s name, as did David. In Proverbs 18:10 we read, “The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe“. Paul wrote in Romans 10:13, “For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved””, and Paul was under no illusions about the name of Jesus when he wrote, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).‭‭ So, all those people who misuse or denigrate the “name of the Lord” are in for a nasty shock one day.

We pilgrims have much to say about the name of God, and we proclaim His name at every opportunity, realising and understanding what it means. We speak of God with reverence and awe, with a “fear” that acknowledges that we are in His presence continually, human beings created by God and walking in and upon God’s creation wherever we go, and of course aware that He is all-powerful. And that’s the thing. People, in particular those who have rejected God, generally think, with an arrogance that is breathtaking, that their Godless ideologies can exclude God from their lives totally. They think that they were born by accident in a world that accidentally happened, with life upon it again the result of an accident, thus reducing God to the margins, to be rejected and considered the domain of the feeble and unintelligent. And in that environment of lies they, of course, have no time for God, let alone His name. Jesus warned about disregarding God when He said, “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear” (Luke 12:4-5).

But we pilgrims have much to say about God’s name. There are all the wonderful Old Testament names of God, such as Elohim, Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah Jireh, and many more, each displaying and proclaiming a truth about God, and His many character facets. We will never, this side of eternity, ever fully understand God and our feeble attempts to name Him are just that – feeble. But on our journeys through life we find new things about God almost daily, as we ponder His name, through reading His Word, through our interactions with His people, through prayer, through meditation in the Word, and more.

It is sad that many Christians lack the opportunity to proclaim and praise His name in the assemblies because they have perhaps given up on churches and fellowships or lack the opportunities to get to one. In some parts of the world, there are no churches because the authorities have closed them down or don’t allow them to exist in the first place, for example in North Korea. But here in the UK we have plenty of choice and it is sad to find fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who have denied themselves the privilege of being able to worship God in a corporate setting. But David was always seeking any opportunity to “praise [God] among [His] assembled people”. In fact, David was so keen to be in God’s presence that he wrote, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God” (Psalm 84:1-2). He continued, “What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises“, and verse 10 reads, “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked”. I think David liked nothing better that praise God with his brothers and sisters!

I would encourage all pilgrims to heed Hebrews 10:25, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near“. Of course God can speak to us on our own and in isolation – with Him all things are possible – but He also brings His Word through our brothers and sisters. And there is something special about worshipping with fellow believers, “praising [God] among [His] assembled people”.  After all, we will have to get used to it as Heaven will be full of corporate worship (Revelation 7:9-10).

Dear Father God. For those of us without a spiritual home, please help us find the church or fellowship You want us to join, so that we too can spend time praising You with our brothers and sisters. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Praise the Lord!

Posted on by korgrocker

“I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvellous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.”
Psalm 9:1-2 NLT

Another Davidic Psalm from the Bible’s song and prayer book. These two verses contain words such as “praise”, “tell”, “filled”, “joy”, and “sing”. These are all words that are not very common in the secular society around us. Unbelievers won’t experience the joy of being able to praise God. They won’t appreciate the “marvellous things” God has done. They won’t be making their ways to work this morning humming a hymn tune or singing His praises in their hearts. I can remember some years ago walking through an underpass under the River Thames in London and many people were hurrying the other way, heading for work. I was struck by the tight and drawn look on the faces of most of them. No joy visible. No lightness and freedom present. The best efforts of a busker largely ignored. Just people existing in a Godless environment, shackled to a secular world where there is no God worthy of praises, able to fill them with joy. 

In 1 Kings 8:23, Solomon starts his prayer of dedication with, “ … O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven above or on the earth below. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion”. The Psalmists were scathing about those who denied the existence of God. Psalm 52:1, “Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!” It is so sad that all those people who do not know God, who have not ever experienced the joy of salvation, who have never seen the marvellous works created by God, and who have no song of praise to sing, just exist without hope, heading for a lost eternity.

At the start of this day, we pause and step through the door into another Kingdom, where we find God in all His glory. Where we focus on praising Him. Where we feel His joy filling our hearts. Where we feel His touch and His Spirit bringing reassurance and guidance for the day ahead. And as our time with Him draws to an end, we step back into our monochrome world but bringing the colour of knowing God into the dark places of hopeless souls. People with no hope who are desperate to hear some Good News. Where the “marvellous things” of God will be able to penetrate their hardened hearts. In the Old Testament we read about Moses having to wear a veil, because His face radiated the glory of God. “When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord. … But whenever he went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord, he would remove the veil until he came out again. Then he would give the people whatever instructions the Lord had given him, and the people of Israel would see the radiant glow of his face. So he would put the veil over his face until he returned to speak with the Lord” (Exodus 34:29, 34-35). As we pilgrims emerge from our time with God, do we have radiant faces. Are we glowing with the presence of the Lord? Perhaps those around us will see God in us, in our faces, and will feel within themselves something lighten up. And they might even ask us why. Why are we so joyful when circumstances dictate otherwise? We have an answer to that question, in the person of Jesus. Only He has the words of eternal life. Only He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. And we pilgrims, shining like beacons in a dark and dismal world, can introduce the hopeless and depressed around us to our wonderful Saviour.

Dear Lord Jesus. We praise and worship You, the Giver of life to the lifeless, the Giver of hope to the hopeless, and the Giver of salvation to all who come to You in faith and repentance. Thank You. Amen.

Children and Infants

Posted on by korgrocker

“Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.”
Psalm 8:1-2 NIVUK

The Amplified translation of Psalm 8:2 reads, “Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, That You might silence the enemy and make the revengeful cease”. In a world where strength is associated with the most able and ruthless individuals, David writes that God uses the weakest in society for the strength needed to silence His enemies. After Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem He cleared the temple of the money changers and those selling animals for sacrifices, and healed the “blind and lame”, and in the process He upset the Pharisees and leading priests who, we are told, “were indignant”. Why? We read in Matthew 21:15, “The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” But the leaders were indignant”. The next verse reads, “They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.’””

Three chapters earlier in Matthew, Jesus was asked about who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. In the worldly kingdoms, we see the “greatest” as being our politicians, our business leaders, our scientists – we know who they are because their reputations precede them. But Jesus turned things on their heads when He gave a demonstration of who is greatest in God’s Kingdom. We read in Matthew 18:2-4, “Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven”. 

Some years ago, at a children’s church meeting attended by my own children, a child with bad eczema was prayed for by the children around her and to their amazement they watched the eczema disappear before their eyes. They were buzzing that day, their faith built by the works of our gracious healing God. Young children don’t have the hangups and barriers we develop as adults, and God can use them in their humility and innocence to do His work. Interestingly, it was the children in the Temple who were declaring the praises of God. No fear of being thrown out of the synagogues. No fear of what the religious leaders and their peers would think of them. Unwittingly the children knew who Jesus was and they shouted out praises to Him that day, and in the process a stronghold against God’s enemies started to appear. 

In God’s Kingdom it is the weak, those who are childlike, who can be used by Him for His purposes. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-28 we read, “Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important”. Our role model is Jesus, who exemplified a life of Godly obedience and humility but who ended up in the place of highest honour (Philippians 2:9). 

David wrote that it was through children that God’s enemies were silenced. Perhaps our children, and particularly the children’s work, should be the priority in our churches. A common statement amongst Christians is that children are the church of tomorrow. God says that they are the church of today.

Dear Father God. Thank You that Your Kingdom has a place for all believers and not just a favoured few. Please help us to consider and respect those who are younger in our congregations. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Singing in Heaven

Posted on by korgrocker

“And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. They sang, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.””
Revelation‬ ‭7:11-12‬ ‭NLT

If we had ever hoped to find a quiet and peaceful place in Heaven, when we get there, then we are going to be disappointed. Earlier in this chapter, we heard a “great roar” from a crowd too numerous to mention, making a shout of declaration about God’s salvation. And then in chapter five there was a new song being sung, the twenty four elders and the four living beings singing the verse, millions of angels singing the chorus, and then every living creature, on earth, under the earth and in the seas, making a tuneful contribution to the song for the bridge part. Well, here we are with another song being sung, and the lyrics are, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Once again it is the twenty four elders and the four living beings who are singing, prostrated before God’s throne in adoration and worship. Heaven will be full of song, full of shouting, full of praise and worship to God, and full of much God-focused life. Not a quiet place for the dead at all.

How does that make us pilgrims feel? Challenged perhaps? Worried about having to take part? Unable to get our minds around what a different life with God in Heaven will be like? Do we have unrealistic expectations?  Perhaps there are golfers amongst us who expect Heaven to be full of wonderful golf courses, with perfect greens. Or musicians who expect to find Heavenly orchestras, playing with skills out of this world. Or physicists who are looking forward to answers to their unsolved problems and unanswered questions. Or ministers expecting to preach even longer sermons. But none of these worldly views or expectations feature in John’s vision. All he could see was an environment of totally God-focused worship and praise. There will be no room for anything else.

We of course do not know what we will find in Heaven but we do know who lives there. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the mighty and merciful God. He sent His Son, Jesus, to show us the way and invite us to spend an eternity with Him. When we look around us and see how wonderfully He has made us and the earth in which we live, and realise that, through Adam’s sin, this is a world under a curse, populated by sinful people, and then we turn our eyes to what Heaven must be like, totally untainted and just as God designed it, I know it’s going to be a wonderful place to be. So let’s fix our eyes on our Heavenly home, just over the horizons of our consciousnesses, and start to flex our praise and worship muscles so we’re ready and raring to go when the time comes.

Father God. You are worthy of our praise and worship, unrestrained from every part of our beings. Please bring a touch of Heaven to this sin-laden world, and increase our knowledge of who You are. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Vast Crowd

Posted on by korgrocker

“After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!””
“Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white””.
Revelation‬ ‭7:9-10,13-14‬ ‭NLT

Again the scene changes before John in his vision. He now becomes aware of a “vast crowd, too great to count”. They were wearing white robes and held palm branches, and their focus was on God, sitting on His throne, and on His Son Jesus. A “great roar” rose from them, as they shouted out the phrase, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”

Immediately, our thoughts take us back to the last time a crowd shouted out praises to Jesus. Do we remember when Jesus was riding a donkey into Jerusalem and the people were crying out “Hallelujah”? We read in John 12:13, the people “took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!” 

But back to John’s vision. Who were this “vast crowd”? One of the twenty four elders must have had the same thought because he asked John the question, “Who are these who are clothed in white?” John was unable to comment and instead respectfully referred the question back to the elder, who then supplied the answer. The “vast crowd”, too numerous to count, consisted of all the Christians who had died in this time of Tribulation. And in the vision, John recorded, “They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white”. What can this be otherwise than a graphic description about how each of the Christians had gained righteousness and holiness through their acceptance of Jesus’ death on Calvary, crucified on a cross so that His righteousness would be traded for their sin. What a wonderful Saviour!

A thought occurred to me this morning. Are we pilgrims prepared to shout out the declaration John heard in Heaven? Or would we become all embarrassed and instead whisper it under our breath. Do we belt out the songs of praise in our churches and fellowships, or do we mutter under our breaths, afraid that someone might hear us? Are we a people who are openly and honestly prepared to state our faith before all men or do we hide our lights under a bushel, as the phrase goes? Do our workmates, neighbours or families know that we belong to God? Or would they have doubts? Hmmm…

One day, we hope to be numbered with the inhabitants of Heaven, shouting out our praises to our wonderful Heavenly Father and to His Son, Jesus. We need to get into practice here on earth – there will be no passengers in that mighty crowd, or any other gathering of God’s children in Heaven. We will find ourselves in an atmosphere of uninhibited praise and worship, straining every part of our new bodies and souls to give God all the glory.

Dear God. We thank You for all that You have done for us. How can we not praise and worship You? Please help us to cast aside our inhibitions and instead grant You all the praises, all the honour, all that You deserve. Amen.

A New Song

Posted on by korgrocker

“And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For You were slaughtered, and Your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And You have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth.””
Revelation‬ ‭5:9-10‬ ‭NLT

John’ vision in Revelation continued, now with a multimedia theme. He heard a new song being sung by the four living creatures and the twenty four elders. And what a song it was! In just a few words it summed up the sacrifice Jesus made, His worth and authority, His saving act of redemption, the all-encompassing nature of the Gospel, and the establishment of a new order of priests who will reign with Him on earth. This was a song of triumph. A song that the devil would have cringed away from when he heard it ringing forth that day in Heaven. A song that established the relationship with God and His people forever.

It was a new song that John heard. He had not heard anything like it before. This was not a backward-looking song, such as would have graced the synagogues and Jewish worship, with words referring to God’s exploits in the past, good and significant though they were. This was a “now” song, bang up to date. A song encapsulating the New Covenant, sealed with the blood of Jesus not the blood of animals. This was a song containing lyrics that cemented God’s message of hope firmly in Heaven for ever.

What do we pilgrims think of new songs? So much of our church liturgies contain old songs and hymns. We retain them because of our traditions, not wanting to let them go, the familiarity somehow making us feel comfortable and secure. So many of our old hymns are riddled with archaic language that was great at the time they were written but the words have largely lost their meaning today. They celebrated a previous move of God.  Even in modern fellowships, singing songs, penned in the last two or three decades, can become a celebration of our heritage rather than an expression of praise and worship to our wonderful God. But having said all that, it’s not the song or hymn and their lyrics that can be a problem. It’s that somehow in their repetition, something spiritually can be missing when we sing them. In the familiarity our minds can switch off or our thoughts move into a different groove instead of the praise and worship God deserves.

In his vision, John saw Heavenly beings singing a declaration of praise to our wonderful Saviour. He had never heard anything like it before. If he had it wouldn’t have been new to him. The lyrics and the melody introduced a tremendous outpouring of praise in Heaven – but more of that later. Suffice to say today that whatever and whenever we sing, songs new or old, we must somehow always remember who we are worshipping. Remembering all that He has done for us. And in return giving Him all the glory, all the praise, all the worship. With every part of our beings.

Do we ever write new songs ourselves? Poetic lyrics expressing our love for God don’t initially need a melody. On my office wall, I have a poem penned by my wife in 1987. It was a wonderful outpouring of her love for God just a short while before her faith in God was severely tested by my daughter’s potentially life-threatening illness. But her “new song” stayed with her, and is still bubbling from her soul even today. When we write down our God-thoughts we capture something significant in our lives that can stay with us for the rest of our lives. So can I encourage us all to write a “new song”? Let’s put a smile on God’s face today.

Dear Lord God. How can we not praise and worship You? Our amazing and wonderful Father. You who have done so much for us. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

Falling Down

Posted on by korgrocker

“Whenever the living beings give glory and honour and thanks to the One sitting on the throne (the One who lives forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the One sitting on the throne (the One who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honour and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.””
Revelation‬ ‭4:9-11‬ NLT

How do we worship God? With our thoughts? Or with an extravagance of gestures or postures? There were no doubts in the minds of the twenty four elders – they fell down before God. And they selflessly handed over their precious crowns, laying them before His throne. 

I often think it a shame that many people like me, who yearn for the ability to be unconsciously uninhibited in their worship of God, find it so hard to break through the conditioning of those early years, when we were taught that emotion, particularly in men and boys, was not to be displayed. The “stiff upper lip” prevailed. Pain and tears must be suppressed. And, sadly, it is very difficult to cast all that aside. In my morning prayer walks through the West Fife woods in Scotland, I would often wish to cry out to God in praise and worship, overcome by the beauty and awesomeness of God’s creation. But what if someone heard me? Happily, one day all the inhibitions will be discarded, because there will be no choice. God has to be worshipped with every fibre of our beings. 

Worship of God can take many forms. We sing and shout. We compose lyrics for songs. We write poems and prose. We raise our hands in times of praising God, as exhorted in Psalm 134:2, “Lift your hands toward the sanctuary, and praise the Lord“. Incidentally, do we do that? The Christian church has adopted the pose of two hands clasped together at chest height. A safe way of raising our hands? Perhaps. But was the psalmist proposing that we stretch out our arms and hands towards Heaven? The unsafe way?

But with a sigh, we pilgrims reach out to God, who understands our difficulties. We thank Him for His encouragement as He walks and talks with us through our lives. Step by step. Day by day. Responding to His grace and love in the way that we can. Looking forward to that day when the worship of God will be as natural as breathing.

Dear Heavenly Father. We praise and worship You today. We’re so deeply grateful for Your presence, Your loving kindness, and graciousness. What else can we do but worship You? Amen.

Seven Times

Posted on by korgrocker

“I will praise you seven times a day
    because all your regulations are just.“
Psalm 119:164 NLT

The Psalmist says he is going to praise God seven times a day. Why seven? Why not six or eight? What’s so special about seven? In Scripture, the number seven refers to completeness, perfection even, so the use of this number by the Psalmist is particularly significant. In essence, he was saying that he was going to praise God continually and totally. Why? All because he attributes justice to God’s ways. 

To someone today this might appear to be archaic, unnecessary, unachievable or even just plain wrong. But nothing could be further from the truth. Superficially, we probably associate praising God with singing a hymn on a Sunday morning in church. Perhaps, “Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven..”. Or if we’re really bold we might praise Him every day in our “Quiet Times”. And our praise merges into thankfulness for things God has done for us. But when was the last time we praised God for the justice of His ways? Either this Psalmist was on a different planet to us, or there is more to praising God than we might think.

When we become a Christian we embark on a journey aligning our lives to God’s ways. And as we do so, the Holy Spirit works in our lives producing fruit, the fruit of the Spirit that we read about in Galatians 5:22, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”. (We have that number again, with seven different flavours of fruit.) We praise God with our lives as we get closer to Him, following His ways more closely. As we remain in contact with Him. As we respond to Him in obedience. 

We are on a pilgrimage of praise. We praise God when we are faithful to Him. We praise God when we refuse to get angry with the bad driver in front of us. We praise God when we love those around us. We praise God when we wait patiently in the queue for our Covid jag or the supermarket checkout. We praise God when we offer a kind word to someone we meet in the street – sometimes just saying “Good Morning” might cheer someone up – who knows – they might not have heard a kind word for days. The list of praising opportunities are endless. And don’t forget, we praise God because of who He is – our wonderful and amazing Creator, our Heavenly Father. Let’s look around for even more opportunities to praise Him today.