Uncertainty

Posted on by korgrocker

“A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if he loves the Lord. But in my opinion it would be better for her to stay single, and I think I am giving you counsel from God’s Spirit when I say this.”
1 Corinthians 7:39-40 NLT

So, Paul wrote that “A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives”. In today’s society, which is conscious of and sensitive to the rights of women, this is not a politically correct instruction. To single out a woman’s responsibility to her husband but not the other way round is enough to make any feminist’s blood boil. But in the misogynistic and patriarchal societies two thousand years ago, instructions such as these were not uncommon. A woman was considered the lesser of the two people in the marriage partnership. In first-century Greece, formal education for women varied significantly according to where a person lived. Corinthian girls would have received little to no formal instruction, instead learning domestic skills like weaving and household management from their mothers to prepare for marriage and motherhood. Male education varied by place as well, but generally involved foundational literacy and numeracy for the wealthy, with higher learning for affluent boys through Sophists and philosophers, emphasising rhetoric and philosophy. Physical training was also standard, often in a gymnasium, to instil discipline and prepare for military service. Today, in Western societies, education is available to all, regardless of sex, providing equal opportunities. This ensures that marriage is equally supported by both men and women, even to the extent of traditional role reversals, with the husband taking on childcare and managing the household.

Paul, however, suggested that, should the husband die first, then the wife, presumably a believer, was free to remarry, as long as the new husband was another believer. But, and here’s the thing, Paul suggested that it would be better for the widow to stay unmarried and remain single. This would not always be the best option for the poor woman, because these were days before Social Security payments were available. The church would have helped out in a way such as was recorded in Acts 6:1, “But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food”. But nevertheless, Paul promoted singleness for the widow, writing, “I think I am giving you counsel from God’s Spirit when I say this”. “I think …” indicates a degree of uncertainty on Paul’s part, as he showed an honesty about what he thought he was hearing from the Holy Spirit.

If we pilgrims are honest with ourselves today, “I think …” is more common than we might be prepared to admit. Faced with an important decision, it is difficult most of the time to separate our human thoughts from God’s thoughts. Although the Bible is full of God’s counsel, on many matters it is difficult to get a definitive answer from it. Yes, we will receive general advice in line with God’s principles, but often we come up against situations about which Scripture is silent. This introduces a difficulty when it comes to matters of direction. “Should I accept this job …”, or “should I date this girl …”. Perhaps, “Should I become a missionary”, or “Should I go to Bible College”, might be options laid before us. For older people, thoughts of moving to a smaller house or a new part of the country to be nearer family might present themselves as potential “I think’s“. So what should a pilgrim do?

If we find ourselves presented with a life-changing option, such as the widow in Paul’s verses today, we must first pray about the situation, believing that through our faith, the Holy Spirit will lead and guide us. In parallel, we might bounce our thoughts off a trusted friend or pastor, obtaining more guidance and a different perspective. But if we’re still not sure, then for the “risk-averse” amongst us, perhaps the best solution is to put the matter before God, leaving it “on the back burner” until we get the confirmation or direction that we need. This is not always best, though, because sometimes God wants us to step out in faith, much as Jackie Pullinger did when she boarded a steamer asking God to reveal to her the port where He wanted her to start her missionary calling. We must also be aware that often, the decision before us may be acceptable to God, whichever way we go and whatever we do. In the end, He wants us to grow in His grace and love, flourishing in the place and bearing fruit where He has placed us.

“I think …” may be a God-thought that we need to act upon. Consider ourselves a sailing ship, tied up in port, while we wait for the right wind, one that is right in terms of direction and speed. But it never comes, and we remain in the port, increasingly unhappy and frustrated, never going anywhere. Sometimes God wants us to launch out and leave the port anyway, because once we are on the move, God can work in the situation to bring the right circumstances. These may not be what we were expecting while in the port, but once on the move, God can show us the course He wants us to take. Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path“. Psalm 37:5, “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you”. Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed“. God doesn’t mind sometimes if we make mistakes. Paul wrote in 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”. Once we are on the move, God will redeem the situation we find ourselves in, and as we look to Him in faith, He will guide us. We don’t know what the future holds for us in our natural lives, but we do know who holds the future, both now and forever.

Dear Father God. We know that You love us and want the very best for each one of Your children. Please lead us and guide us, we pray, as we walk along Your paths in this life, in preparation for the next. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Prayer and Fasting

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

We remember that this chapter started with a question from the Corinthian believers to Paul about sexual ethics, which even floated, as a possible answer, the concept of celibacy. Paul went on to discuss the subject of marriage and how sexual relations should apply in that context, and he expanded on his theme by saying that the married couple, the husband and wife, should “not deprive each other of sexual relations”, but with one caveat, unless they mutually “agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so [they] can give [themselves] more completely to prayer”. This shows that even the closest human bond must at times give way to seeking God. But Paul warns: don’t stay apart too long, lest temptation creep in. Satan looks for moments of weakness, although unity in marriage protects against this.

The refraining from sexual relations is a form of fasting, which is the voluntary abstention from food or other pleasures for spiritual purposes, aimed at deepening one’s relationship with God, although Scripture does not command Christians to fast. God does not require or demand it of Christians. At the same time, though, the Bible presents fasting as something good, profitable, and beneficial. We see how this is beneficial with Scriptures such as Acts 13:2, “One day as these men were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them””. Another Scripture about prayer and fasting is in Acts 14:23, “Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust”. Fasting and prayer are often linked together (Luke 2:37, “Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshipping God with fasting and prayer), but too often the focus of fasting is on the lack of food. Instead, the purpose of fasting should be to take our eyes off the things of this world to focus completely on God. Fasting is a way to demonstrate to God, and to ourselves, that we are serious about our relationship with Him. Fasting helps us gain a new perspective and a renewed reliance upon God.

In 1 Corinthians 7:5, Paul didn’t mention fasting particularly, highlighting prayer as the reason for an abstention from sexual relations, but implicit within the verse is the principle of fasting. We pilgrims should perhaps widen our perspective to include all types of fasting, not just food, but in the process, it is God who leads and guides us. In the end, it is all about Him, not us.

Dear Father God. We want to please You and spend more time with You at every opportunity. Please lead and guide us, we pray, so that all we do is to Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Loneliness

Posted on by korgrocker

“Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress. My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins.”
Psalm 25:16-18 NLT

Loneliness is a terrible place to be. It is something that afflicts too many people, who may be surrounded by their family, friends and neighbours, but lack any meaningful contact with any of them. I recently came across an elderly woman sitting on a seat in the town centre, her walker cum shopping trolley next to her, but she was staring blankly into the distance. I wished her a cheery “good morning” and this unleashed a tale of distress about her life of being alone. She had mobility issues and had struggled to get there after a short bus journey. She was almost marooned in a first floor flat without a lift and her neighbours had no time for her. There was no family close by and she was facing into an uncertain future, lonely and miserable. Her situation is not unique by a long way and there are many in the UK today just like her. Just this morning I came across a man sitting on a park bench, seemingly impervious to the cold wind. He seemed to be in a lonely other-world and only briefly returned my greeting before lapsing back into his musings. God once said to me that sometimes all He wants me to do is to say “Good Morning” to someone when out on my daily walks. An opportunity to share God’s Gospel of hope will perhaps come later.

David confessed to being alone in spite of all the people around him. At least at this point in his life when he wrote Psalm 25 he seemed to lack the companionship of someone like Jonathan, King Saul’s son. We read about the start of his friendship in 1 Samuel 18:1, 3, “After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David. …  And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, because he loved him as he loved himself”. The next few chapters in 1 Samuel provide a story of an increasingly unstable Saul and how Jonathan tried to mitigate the attacks against David. And then in 1 Samuel 31:2 we read, “The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons—Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua“. David was devastated, as we can expect. 2 Samuel 1:11-12, “David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news. They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the Lord’s army and the nation of Israel, because they had died by the sword that day“.‭‭ After Jonathan, David never really seemed to build a friendship with anyone, and here he is lamenting in Psalm 25 about being lonely. He grumbles to God, “Feel my pain and see my trouble“.

Loneliness was something God wanted mankind to avoid right from the beginning of His creation. Genesis 2:18, “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him“”. Adam was never going to be lonely with God and Eve blessing his life. In those idyllic days in the Garden, God used to walk with Adam and Eve in the coolness of the evening (Genesis 3:8) but note that because of sin, that custom ceased, and Adam and Eve had the potential to become lonely. The devil has tormented mankind ever since the Fall, to fuel his intention to destroy and abuse anything to do with God. Loneliness is one of the ways in which he causes distress to mankind.

Jesus experienced loneliness, but for a different reason because He often withdrew to desolate places to pray. In those times He communed with His Father in Heaven. However, Jesus’ final loneliness appeared when He was crucified. It was there, pinned to a Roman cross, taking onto Himself the sins of the whole world, that His Father turned His back on His only Son. We read, “Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”” (Mark 15:34). But that loneliness experience was not for long because Jesus said, “Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father” (John 16:28), and then, “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” (Act 1:11).

We pilgrims will never be lonely because of Jesus. He is the Friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), and He has promised never to leave us. Matthew 28:20b, “ …  And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age“. Every time we sit down to pray there is a minimum of four people there – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, and ourselves. Feeling lonely today? Then pick up the phone and call a dear friend, or call Jesus Himself. He is alive and waiting your call.

Dear Lord Jesus. Thank You for always being close to us, an ever present Help in times of trouble and loneliness. Help us to look around for those who are lonely and neglected, so that we can bring the sunshine of Your hope into their lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Deep Distress

Posted on by korgrocker

“Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress. My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins.”
Psalm 25:16-18 NLT

If we read the news reports today we will find stories of “deep distress” leaping out of the pages, assaulting our standards of right and wrong, inciting panic, and even sucking us into having the same feelings ourselves. We could be excused for thoughts about what a terrible place the UK is to live in. Stories of debt, council tax arrears, forced installation of prepayment utility meters, homelessness, paedophilia, murders, phone thefts – the list is endless and our senses of decency are violated day after day. Well, what we experience today was not unknown in David’s day. Of course, in those days it was a different culture, a different society, but ever since the Fall, human beings have been in “deep distress” whenever and wherever they have lived. David had problems that he said were going “from bad to worse”, putting him on what looked a downward spiral into misery and depression. What his problems were he doesn’t say, but running a kingdom was never going to be easy, with stories of intrigue, internal jostling for positions, thoughts of attack, and that was just in his palace. There were the threats from the nations around him. There was a people to govern and keep happy. Idolatry was also a problem in Israel, generation after generation. And then there were all those wives and concubines …..

All of this got too much for David and he cried out to God for mercy. In desperation, he asked God to “save [him] from them all”, and, for good measure, he confessed all his sins. David was prone to depression, and we can see that in his writings. Psalm 31:9, “Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress. Tears blur my eyes. My body and soul are withering away“. And then we have Psalm 13:2-3, “How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die“. David had many personal struggles, and his affair with Bathsheba was such an example. In that whole episode he broke several commandments – the sixth (murder), the seventh (adultery) and tenth (coveting someone else’s wife) come immediately to mind. But before us men start adopting a position on the higher moral ground, claiming that we have never done any of these things, remembering the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 and 6 will soon bring us back down to earth. Matthew 5:21-22a, 28, “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! … “But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart”. But with all his real and imagined potential struggles, no wonder David found himself in “deep distress”. 

Are we pilgrims in “deep distress” today? Due to poor choices or unforeseen circumstances, we might find ourselves in a place of being overwhelmed by our problems. Fortunately we have a loving Heavenly Father who will help us get back to the place where we should be. There is much in His Word that will help us, and a good place to start is in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take”. I also find encouragement in Paul’s suggestion, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Or how about 1 Peter 5:7, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you”. Through all our problems, though, we must never lose hope. Paul wrote, “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” (Romans 8:28). The one positive thing in all our problems is that we can pray. Unfortunately, we see time and time again that people in our churches who find themselves in difficulties, then stop fellowshipping with their fellow believers, preferring to stay at home. But sharing our problems with a trusted believing friend, praying together, will soon bring a solution. At a time of personal “deep distress” during my daughter’s illness, an army of prayer warriors rose up in the church my wife and I attended, and, in answer to theirs, and our, prayers of faith, she was healed so totally and miraculously that the doctors wrote on her medical notes that “this is nothing short of a miracle”. 

We have a loving Heavenly Father, who loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die for us, for the forgiveness of our sins. That is how much He loves us, and He will not see His children struggle in “deep distress”  for a moment.

Dear Lord, in the midst of our times of distress, we seek your comforting presence. Wrap us in your loving embrace, and grant us the serenity to face these troubled moments. Let your divine light shine upon us, banishing the shadows of fear and doubt. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Enemies

Posted on by korgrocker

“You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honour me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever”.
Psalm 23:5-6 NLT

Who are these enemies, and why are they worthy of mention in this otherwise God-focused Psalm? David’s Psalms make frequent mention of his enemies, For example, Psalm 3 starts, “O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me“. We could be forgiven for thinking that David went about his life permanently looking over his shoulder in case there was some malign attacker coming after him. We know that there were nations around Israel who were hostile to David, nations such as the Philistines and the Moabites, and there were also enemies of David within Israel, people such as Saul and David’s son Absolom. So David wasn’t short of an enemy of two, and it caused him no end of distress. Often David was upset because the hostile words directed towards him maligned his Lord as well. Psalm 3:2, “So many are saying, “God will never rescue him!”” In his next Psalm David railed against enemies intent on destroying his standing in his community. He wrote, “How long will you people ruin my reputation? How long will you make groundless accusations? How long will you continue your lies?” (Psalm 4:2). At other times, David’s enemy would seem to be himself. The first three verses of Psalm 6, “O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage. Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. I am sick at heart. How long, O Lord, until you restore me?” In the light of God’s holiness, perhaps he was regretting his sinful humanity. Or he may just have been physically sick. But in it all, David had enemies, and he was looking forward to the day when God’s favour was publicly displayed for all to see. In a sense, it happened in his time on Planet Earth because David turned Israel into a strong and prosperous nation, in full view of the nations around him, the “feast” being a description of God’s blessings and provisions. Or perhaps David was also looking forward to another time when he would be living “in the house of the Lord forever”. But whatever the context, David was musing on the thought that it would be nice if he was vindicated in full view of all those who otherwise tried to do him harm, physical or verbal.

Today, we pilgrims look around and, at least here in the West, we don’t have enemies as such. There are no marauding bands of reprobates, intent on doing harm to us. The most we will experience is the occasional abusive or malign social media post, if we are stupid enough to engage with Facebook or similar. Or perhaps someone will shake their fist at us if our driving falls below an acceptable level of competence. But then we pause to think. Paul wrote, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). We will find these “evil rulers and authorities” both inside and outside of ourselves. Paul addressed his internal “demons” in Romans 7, “So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. …  I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. … But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me” (Romans 7:14, 21, 23). Perhaps we get a picture of an angel perched on one shoulder and a demon on the other, warring with each other as they whisper in each ear. There is a battle going on inside of us as we try to live sin-free in God’s Kingdom but our “old man” still insists on climbing out of his coffin, causing us to sin once again. And of course we remember that the devil is out to get us as well. 1 Peter 5:8, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour”. We pilgrims live in a hostile environment, our sinful humanity pulling us down, and the devil himself making it hard for us to get up again.

So, how do we pilgrims deal with our enemies, whatever their origin, spiritual or otherwise. The first step is to identify our foe, because often we will rationalise or ignore a problem. For example, sometimes a particular temptation comes our way and our sinfulness prevails and tries to tell us that perhaps just a peep at a particular picture won’t really matter. Or, “it’s not really a lie, because I want to protect another person”. 1 James 1:14-15, “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death”. As someone once said – you cannot stop birds flying over your head but you can stop them nesting in your hair. Sometimes, the devil will oppress us. For example, something will happen that seems just plain “bad luck”. A car accident or a falling out over something trivial. A series of events that seem inexplicably linked. At such times we pray and ask God for protection and remember what Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:9a, “Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith ...”. And if the foe is a physical one, then we must exercise wisdom, avoiding situations that could be dangerous. For example, it makes little sense to walk in dark and lonely places late at night.

Paul helpfully wrote about the whole armour of God, in Ephesians 6. There he was in a Roman jail, chained to two Roman soldiers, and he couldn’t help noticing their armour, and from that he developed a word picture of the spiritual armour available to us. Ephesians 6:13, “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm”. And we mustn’t forget Ephesians 6:18, “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere“.

We pilgrims have enemies. It would be foolish to think otherwise. But we mustn’t become complacent. Instead we must be diligent praying for ourselves and for our families and loved ones. One day we will indeed sit down to a wonderful feast, and all those who have maligned us, spiritually or physically, will only be able to look on. It will be too late by then for them to join us at the table, and so we do what Jesus asked us to do while there is still time. Matthew 5:44, “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” It may be hard but until we release those who abuse us into God’s hands in prayer, we will be bound by their threats.

Father God. Please help us not to be complacent and fall into error because we forget about our enemies. We pray for Your protection for ourselves and for our loved ones. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Prayer for Pilgrims

Posted on by korgrocker

“May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed. May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers.
Psalm 20:4-5 NLT

Psalm 20 is a “Psalm of David” so to whom is this prayer directed? The Bible scholars call this a “Royal Psalm” as it is written, they say, by the people about their King, David himself. So perhaps a better title would be a “Psalm about David”, with “about” replacing “of”. But from this perspective the Psalm makes more sense, and David merely recorded the Psalm from the prayers and other sentiments said about him. So, is this a Psalm we can discard as just being about David or does it have some helpful content for us today?

Yesterday we looked at God’s response to His people in their “times of trouble” and today we consider a more positive perspective as we look forward beyond any current problems to what lies ahead. What plans have we pilgrims made? What are our “heart’s desires” as we journey onwards in our lives? We must have some, because otherwise we will quickly die in our faith. Remember the verse, “Where there is no vision, the people perish …” (Proverbs 29:18a)? What we hope to do, and how we are going to make it happen, becomes our vision for the future. In the natural, we make plans for holidays, or employment. For where we live or who we are going to marry. But what about our spiritual lives, a part of us that is even more important? Sadly, many people become pew warmers, going through the motions of Christianity, but failing to leverage its potential in their live. A verse of advice from Paul to Timothy – 2 Timothy 3:5, “They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!” I’m sure we have all come across religious people in our lives – I met two men yesterday who were more interested in looking after their church building than the Person who should be worshiped there.

There is much written in the Bible about what a pilgrim should be doing. Jesus said that we should follow Him, but what does that look like? To find out we must read the Bible over and over again, and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to us what Jesus wants us to do and how we are to do it. As an example, we read the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age“. On my prayer walks each morning I speak to people, looking for an opportunity to share the Gospel, but I’m sure all of us pilgrims do the same. Jesus’ Commission is not just for missionaries traveling to remote parts of the world. Jesus also wants us to pray. Matthew 6:6, “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you“. Notice that Jesus said “When you pray” not “If you pray”. 

And we pilgrims pray for each other. The Apostle Paul was a great prayer warrior – Colossians 1:9, “So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding”. And we cannot overlook Paul’s wonderful and touching prayer in Ephesians 3, “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit”. It’s a prayer that rises to a crescendo, rich with vision and purpose, as Paul prayed, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think“. The challenge to all believers is, does our vision extend to allowing God to “accomplish infinitely more …”  in our lives. 

The prayer over David included asking God to grant him success for his plans, for answered prayers, victory, and the fulfilment of his heart’s desires. And the same prayer hangs in the air over all God’s people. God’s Word is eternal, not just for one man on one occasion. In excitement today, we need to grab hold of all that God has for us, because that was why He sent His Son, Jesus. One day we will be with Him, and hope to hear those words, “well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).

Dear Father God. We are citizens in Your Kingdom, workers for You on Planet Earth. Please lead and guide us in Your ways. And we pray for our fellow believers, that You will envision them with power in all they do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Cries for Help

Posted on by korgrocker

“They called for help, but no one came to their rescue. They even cried to the Lord, but he refused to answer. I ground them as fine as dust in the wind. I swept them into the gutter like dirt.”
Psalm 18:41-42 NLT

Gruesome language from David in our verses for today. Not words that apply literally though; instead an allegorical representation of what David would perhaps have liked to do to his enemies. David was showing his disdain for his enemies when he wrote about grinding “them as fine as dust”, because dust is considered useless and of no consequence, a nuisance to be discarded. But what David felt about his enemies was not in itself a problem to them. After all, what people we don’t know think of us is not really of any consequence. What matters is having a relationship with people, such as our friends and family, that contains mutual love and respect. 

We turn to God and wonder what He thinks of His enemies, all those people who deny that He exists, or refuse to obey His commands. Does He consider them as “dust” in a world full of people numbered ” … like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore …” (Genesis 22:17)? In the brief life spans of human beings they have an opportunity to make choices about their relationship with their Creator God. But afterwards they may indeed become like “dust … swept … into the gutter like dirt”. There will come a time when God’s enemies will be in a place where they effectively don’t exist anymore. Like dust, they will be useless and will have lost the opportunity to spend eternity in a wonderful place called Heaven. Instead they will find themselves in a terrible place, regretting forever their wrong choices, hence the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:42). They are dust, unloved, unnoticed and ignored.

In our societies, people without a relationship with God will nevertheless have a faint but tangible impression that there is a “higher power” somewhere, overlooking our planet. These people, however, will have rejected a personal and loving relationship with Him, putting themselves in the focus of Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:23, “But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws’”. But notwithstanding this, such people, in a time of crisis, will call out to God for salvation from whatever they are facing. And they find that, as David recorded, “He refused to answer”. Why should God answer the prayers and cries for help from people He doesn’t know?  David had a great relationship with the Lord, and He had many testimonies of answered prayer, such as earlier in Psalm 18:3, “I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies”. But David noted that when his enemies called upon the Lord, He refused to answer. 

God always answers prayers, including cries for help, if we pilgrims are patient enough and sensitive enough to hear God’s voice. God’s answers fall into three categories – “Yes”, “No”, and “Maybe” or “Not Yet”. How long it will be before His answers to our prayers and cries for help come about is up to our faith. Jesus said, “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours” (Mark 11:24). Matthew 21:22 adds the word “faith”, “You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it”. We understand, of course, that our prayers must align with God’s will if we are looking for a positive answer.

In John 9 we can read the account of the occasion when Jesus healed a blind man. In the ensuing, rather scathing and hostile conversation with the Pharisees, the blind man said, “We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will” (John 9:31). That verse showed an insight into God’s ways that applies to all who call upon His name for salvation. David’s enemies cried out to the Lord for help but “He refused to answer” because God didn’t know them – they were sinners. 

The Bible is full of references to the conditions necessary for God to hear us. Proverbs 15:29, “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous“. 1 Peter 3:12, “The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil”. And a few words from the old Apostle John, “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for” (1 John 5:13-15). 

Dear Father God. We know that You listen to our prayers and always give us an answer. We understand that what we hear may not align with our human thoughts, but we trust You in knowing what is best for us. Please increase our faith, we pray. Amen.

Prayerful Assurance

Posted on by korgrocker

“I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray. Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. By your mighty power you rescue those who seek refuge from their enemies.”
Psalm 17:6-7 NLT

David expressed his assurance about his prayer life. Put simply, he prayed because he knew God would answer him. There is something about prayer that people misunderstand. We have our liturgical prayer books such as the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Or we can soon find books of prayers overflowing with feel-good poetry. And of course we have the Psalms, a wonderful God-inspired resource written many years ago. A dignitary might write down a prayer when asked to open an assembly, and we have the time of prayers at a school assembly. But prayer has become to many a stilted and flowery statement rather than what it should be – part of conversation with God. In a human setting, two people will engage in a conversation and will talk to each other in a way that communicates their thoughts and feelings, opinions and fears. Human communication is very much a two-way process of talking and listening, as issues are discussed and even problems resolved. But somehow we struggle to communicate with God. It could be that we can’t see Him. Or because He may not respond in a way that we need Him to, so that the conversation can continue. And so we have devised a process called prayer, a one-sided verbalisation of our needs and wants that we launch into the air like paper aeroplanes in the hope that one of them will fly all the way to God’s throne and He will pick it up and answer. Some people get quite good at praying, with long monologues full of “thee’s” and “thou’s”, spontaneously spoken out in a church meeting, and afterwards they feel quite good about themselves, considering the job done. A cynical view? Perhaps, but even Jesus’ disciples struggled with prayer – it’s not a new thing that only modern believers suffer from.

Conversation with God is what prayer is really all about, and, like any other conversation, it is two-sided. David was assured of that, because he knew confidently that God answered his prayers. But what do we pilgrims expect when we pray? Are we equally as confident that God will answer our prayers?

Part of a conversation between two people is a getting-to-know-you process. The way another person responds to a question, or reacts to a statement, exposes their inner person and contributes to a relational process that either grows well, even into friendship, or it brings the conversation to a speedy end with incompatible differences. We can’t ask God direct questions about Himself, but all the information we need is contained within His Word, the Bible. And the more we read it, the more we will find out about our wonderful God.

Jesus taught about prayer in His Sermon on the Mount. We read in Matthew 6:5-6, “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you”. Jesus continued, “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” And then we have what we call the Lord’s Prayer, a template for praying the God way. Matthew 6: 9-13, “Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one“. How many times have we recited that prayer in a church service, words that we know from memory, but what do they really mean in practice? Jesus didn’t say that His prayer was all that there was. He said “Pray like this …”. There’s worship here, gratitude, expression of needs, an appeal for God to touch earth once again, a confession of sins, and protection from evil. Not a complete list of tick boxes, but an outline to which we add our own flavour, seasoned by our relationship with God.

With regard to his prayer life, David was a simple soul. He spoke out his fears and his needs. He reminded God of His obligations. He ranted and raved at God when under duress, emotional outbursts that we wouldn’t dare repeat in case we upset God. But David knew His Lord, and could confidently say that his prayers were answered. How about us pilgrims? Are we just was confident or merely going through the motions? But one thing we do know is that at the start of the day we need to get close to God. It may not always be convenient. Some days we won’t even feel like it, preferring to have extra time in bed. But the more we spend time with God in prayer, the more we will find that he respond to our stuttering verbalisations, giving us the assurance we need in times of need. The assurance we receive from God is indeed blessed.

Dear Father God. Once again we come to You in worship and with thankful hearts. We know that You are there for us, each and every moment, leading, guiding and assuring us on every step of our pilgrimage to Heaven. Amen.

The Lord’s Guidance

Posted on by korgrocker

“I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety.”
Psalm 16:7-9 NLT

Have we pilgrims ever woken up in the morning with the answer to a difficult and seemingly insoluble problem solved, and in the front of our minds? Well, the answer is here before us today. David wrote “even at night my heart instructs me”. How can that happen? Well, we might spend the night sleeping but our wonderful God doesn’t. Psalm 121:3,“He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber“. God is awake and watching over us, night after night. We may toss and turn, fretting over the problem, but quietly and in the background, the Lord is working, and sorting things out for us – if we let Him. And here’s the thing. Why is it that we so often turn to God as a last resort instead of praying, asking for help, and, in faith, sleeping peacefully while God works things out for us. Of course, the solution He gives us might not be the one we would ideally like, but if we trust Him then He will resolve the issues.

David writes some wonderful promises of God in these two verses before us today. The Lord guides us, He is always with us. He is right beside us, and through all of that, we will not be shaken. What a wonderful picture of God’s care for each one of His children. David had no doubts because he knew, a positive statement of fact.

And because of these promises, David “bless[ed] the Lord”. How did he do that? By his praise, his worship. His prayers, his faith, his obedience – in fact by acknowledging all that God had done for him and for all His wonderful attributes. David had a close relationship with God, so close that as he went about his business he was conscious of God beside him, leading and guiding. Was this just for David and the saints of old, and not for us? Was a personal relationship with God just for the times long ago and not applicable in today’s world? Of course not because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), and if that is true of God’s Son then it must be true of Father God as well. 

So, how do we develop a personal relationship with God, as David did? It starts at the Cross of Calvary, where God’s Son Jesus died instead of us taking on the punishment for our sins personally. We confess our need for Him, admitting that we are sinners, and in faith look to Jesus as our Saviour. But this is not to be just a one-off experience. We then need to develop a personal relationship with Him, by prayer and reading all about Him in His only written Book, the Bible. Like David, we spend time with God, including Him in our daily lives, in our decisions, in how we relate to those around us, in our jobs and schools, and not just on a Sunday. It’s a day by day thing. And we find that the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. In John 14:16-17, Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you”. And, of course, we can’t do all of this on our own, because we must join a Bible-believing church where fellow believers can help us to grow spiritually. 

Of course, our relationships with God don’t end with the grave, and we know that we continue to live with God, enjoying eternal life with Him forever. I had the privilege of being able to pray with a dear lady lying in a hospital bed, in her last hours yesterday. She had had a life full of troubles and problems but through them all, she had remained firm and vibrant in her faith in the Lord. And as my wife and I prayed, the peace that came over her was remarkable. She received a glimpse of Jesus, I’m sure, a preview of what was to come just two or three hours later. What a wonderful God we serve, and, as David did, we bless Him today, and every day.

Thank You Father, that You are with us day by day, Your presence always there. Amen.

The Groaners

Posted on by korgrocker

“O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you. Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.”
Psalm 5:1-3 NLT

Oh dear! David seemed to be in a bad place when he started to write this Psalm. I wonder what was troubling him. Perhaps he was suffering from a sickness, or a physical condition that was causing him some pain. Or was it a problem that today we would categorise with a mental health diagnosis? Was he depressed or something like that? But whatever it was he was at least praying, communicating with his Heavenly Father. There are of course those who might question how these words from David’s pen could be inspired by the Holy Spirit, as they seem to reflect a very human condition. But they are an example to everyone, because they expose the fact that people hurt, and God understands how we feel. If David was able to pour out all his troubles before God, then so can we.

But David was not in a good place. He was groaning and sighing, not at peace with himself. He needed help and had obviously woken up a bit distressed. It is almost as though he was incarcerated somewhere because each morning when he woke up he prayed, perhaps for deliverance, and then waited “expectantly”.

In it all, there is much here that a modern day pilgrim like us can relate to. How did we wake up this morning? Well rested and full of the joys of spring, leaping out of bed, ready to take on all that the day was about to throw at us? Or did we wake up heavy in heart, groaning, tired after a sleepless night? There will be some who find themselves imprisoned by their circumstances, trapped in a loveless marriage perhaps, or forced to go to a job that they hate. In today’s society there are many reasons for being a groaner at the start of the day.

But David left us with a remedy for the groaners, a timeless solution that will never fail. He gave us three pointers that we would do well to follow when in distress. The first is to acknowledge God for who He is. David had no doubts that God was his “Lord and King” and he prayed to no-one else. The second point is to lay the problem, the one that is causing us to groan, before the Lord. Cry to Him for help. Ask Him to listen to our prayers. Voice out our prayer, audibly if necessary. Thirdly, we must do something that we are not particularly good at. We must wait patiently expecting an answer. God is always ready to speak to us, far more than we are to listen. Acknowledge, petition and wait. Three very simple pointers to write but perhaps a little more difficult to apply – that will take us a lot of practice and perseverance.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for David’s honesty, as he poured out before You all that mattered to him. Please help us to learn from his example. In Jesus’ name. Amen.