The Promise of Resurrection in Isaiah’s Teachings

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Just as a pregnant woman writhes and cries out in pain as she gives birth, so were we in your presence, Lord. We, too, writhe in agony, but nothing comes of our suffering. We have not given salvation to the earth, nor brought life into the world. But those who die in the Lord will live; their bodies will rise again! Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy! For your life-giving light will fall like dew on your people in the place of the dead!”
Isaiah 26:17-19 NLT

Isaiah describes the efforts the people made so that something would happen. They writhed apparently in agony, “but nothing comes of [their] suffering”. In times of extreme stress and distress, people sometimes do extraordinary things, as much out of desperation as anything else. The bottom line, though, was that Israel’s own efforts could not bring about the salvation they desperately needed. That points us towards a fundamental biblical truth: our ultimate hope does not rest in what we can accomplish, but in what God accomplishes for us. Isaiah wrote that salvation could not come through human efforts, no matter how hard we try. Some people do extraordinary things to maintain their appearance or prolong their lives through this potion or that snake oil, but inevitably their efforts reach an endpoint that keeps them from reaching their ultimate hope. But even that doesn’t stop some people. They arrange for their bodies after death to be frozen, a process called cryopreservation, where their body fluids are replaced with a medical form of antifreeze before their remains are frozen in liquid nitrogen to a temperature of -196 degrees Celsius. But their salvation still cannot be guaranteed, even if, on some future date, they can be unfrozen and brought back to life. Sooner or later, eternal death will result. As we pilgrims know, there is only one way to be saved, and that is through Jesus. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Paul wrote, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God” (Ephesians 2:8). The reality is that no matter how much money you spend, it is impossible to purchase a life after death through anything we can do. Our bodies will die and be returned to the elements from which they have been constructed, but our souls and spirits will live eternally in the place of our choosing. We can reach out in faith to our Heavenly Father, accepting His free gift of eternal life spent with Him, or we can reject Him and find out what hell will ultimately be like. 

There is another Godly “but” in the next verse from our reading today. “But those who die in the Lord will live; their bodies will rise again!” The previous verses speak of pain, failure and helplessness. Then God says that death itself is not the final word for God’s people. David wrote, “For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever” (Psalm 16:10-11). The first “Holy One” was, of course, Jesus, and we know that the tomb in which He was laid was soon empty. Jesus only borrowed it for the weekend. After the death of Lazarus, Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” (John 11:25-26). Early on in His ministry, Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. Such a straightforward and simple statement, but the truth and reality of Jesus’ mission has divided mankind for centuries, with most people choosing to reject what He said. Worse, partly because of Jesus’ heritage and ancestry, there has been an uprising of animosity against the Jews, something we term anti-semitism. But this animosity has been extended to include Christians, and Open Doors has calculated that 388 million believers in Jesus are being persecuted for their faith today. This amounts to 1 in 7 believers across the globe. 

One day we pilgrims will be resurrected. Jesus was the first: the angel said to the women who had come to prepare His body for a proper burial, “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay” (Matthew 28:6). No matter how hopelessly final Jesus’ crucifixion, death and burial seemed to have been, we worship a God who specialises in bringing life out of situations that appear to be hopeless. What happens next is beyond even our wildest dreams. Paul wrote, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). In 1 Corinthian 15:53, Paul wrote, “For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies”. The hope that we pilgrims hold is therefore much more than wishing tomorrow will be better. Our hope reaches beyond the grave. Even death cannot separate a believer from God’s purposes and promises.

Our verses today end with a song. Isaiah wrote, “Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy!”. How marvellous is that! Our future hope is in a life of joy where there will be no more sickness, crying and death. The dead are described as awakening and singing, and we are promised that the grave is not the end; our resurrection will lead to worship. Can we get our minds around the fact that we will wake up in God’s presence with a song of praise on our lips? In our current lives, we may be passing through the valley of death, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. One day we will be singing our spiritual hearts out in God’s presence. It is only God who can deliver the salvation our hearts yearn for, and once again I am reminded that I have been commissioned to tell this fact to those around me. A simple message: “Hell is hot, Heaven is real, and Jesus saves!” 

Dear Heavenly Father. A song is already forming on my lips, a song of worship to You, who loved me so much that You sent Your Son, Jesus, to die for my fellow pilgrims and me. There are no words available to express our gratitude, but grateful we are with every fibre of our beings. We worship You today, and will continue to worship You across the Great Divide into Heavenly places. Amen.

End Times and Trust: Understanding Isaiah’s Prophecies

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“In that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God! We trusted in him, and he saved us! This is the Lord, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!” For the Lord’s hand of blessing will rest on Jerusalem. But Moab will be crushed. It will be like straw trampled down and left to rot. God will push down Moab’s people as a swimmer pushes down water with his hands. He will end their pride and all their evil works. The high walls of Moab will be demolished. They will be brought down to the ground, down into the dust.”
Isaiah 25:9-12 NLT

“This is our God! We trusted in him, and he saved us!” What a wonderful way to start our devotions today, with the thought that God has saved us. But we need to unpick this verse a bit to extract some more important messages. The first thought centres on “in that day”. Once again, Isaiah’s writings refer to a day when the world order will be destroyed, and it must have been of some importance because the phrase “in (or on) that day” occurs 57 times in the Book of Isaiah. God revealed to Isaiah some important truths about what was to come, and Isaiah faithfully wrote down what God revealed to him. But when will that day be? Of course, we don’t know, and Jesus said to His disciples, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know” (Acts 1:7). In Matthew 24:6-8, Jesus set out some signs to look for: “And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come”. So the indications are that we are in the End Times, but, with more events scheduled to happen, we’re not there yet. John’s vision in the Book of Revelation is worth a read for the inquisitive. But, as any mother can tell us, the labour pains can come suddenly or can drag on for days. On the other side of all the End Time events yet to happen, though, there will be a people who will proclaim, “This is our God! We trusted in him, and he saved us!” 

What does it mean to trust in God? Trusting God means relying completely on His goodness, wisdom, and power, even when life is hard or uncertain. It is a daily choice to let go of control, stop worrying, and believe that His character and promises are true. But, human nature being what it is, we find that it is very hard to let go and trust someone else with our lives, both now and in the future. And if that Person we trust is God, who, in the natural, we can’t see or feel or communicate with, face to face… But that is when faith comes into play. The natural response, when we encounter hard and difficult times, is to cast around to find a human remedy. So when money is short, we head to the banks or moneylenders, or use our credit cards. If we are short of food, we think of the food banks. If we lose our jobs, we see what financial assistance, “benefits” we can receive from government agencies. If we are in danger of losing our homes, we think about alternatives, such as staying with relatives, or phone around to find another. But trusting in God means that we set aside our anxieties and instead look to God for a solution. Philippians 4:6, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done”. Jesus said, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:31-33). 

But trusting God also means that we must wait for His solution, and not try to get ahead of Him by producing an Ishmael. Remember the story? God promised Abraham a son, but after a few years of waiting, he and his wife hatched a plan to get one through Sarah’s servant. Ishmael duly appeared, but he wasn’t the son of the promise. That son, Isaac, was still to come. And, as we know, in this world, the consequences of producing an Ishmael still continue. Getting ahead of God would likely produce something second-best, not the perfect result our Heavenly Father has waiting for us. And in it all, when anxieties and problems emerge, as they will in this troubled and imperfect world, we learn the peace that comes from trusting in our Father with our lives and all that we are. After all, we know who controls this world, and we remain faithful and hopeful, calm in all the storms. 

The people will also proclaim “in that day” that God saved them. When God saves us, it means He rescues us from the punishment and power of sin through Jesus Christ. Salvation means that we are delivered from eternal death through our faith in Jesus, who granted us forgiveness and a new relationship with God. Think about it. All the sins, the things that we have done wrong, the thoughts that have polluted our minds, the failure to do what we should have done – the list is endless – have all been forgiven and erased from God’s Heavenly slate. Psalm 103:12, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west”. But it gets better. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ”. We pilgrims can now stand before God clothed with Jesus’ righteousness and adopted as His children. Romans 8:15, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father””.

Isaiah 25 ends with a warning to Moab, but “Moab” can be extended to include all people who refuse to trust in God. Their pompous pride and evil works get in the way. As with all unbelievers, their belief that they didn’t need to acknowledge the Lord God of Israel is their downfall. But He will knock down the fortification of their human walls and defeat them in His judgment. We all know someone in this category, I’m sure, and we must reach out to them with God’s love, sharing His message of hope and salvation, so that the Holy Spirit can bring conviction of their sin. 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent”. Yes, God’s patience is driven by His love and grace for human beings, and we must, in our capacity as His ambassadors to Planet Earth, extend the same.

So we end these devotions today echoing how we started, declaring that the Lord is our God, that we trust in Him, and thanking Him for our salvation. We are truly favoured as God’s children.

Dear Heavenly Father. As we draw to a close in another chapter in Isaiah, we thank You for the prophet and Your messages communicated through him. We thank You for Your Word, and the truths held within, so useful for helping us, and keeping us founded on the Rock who is Christ. Amen.

God’s Grace Through Ruth: A Moabite’s Legacy

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“This message came to me concerning Moab: In one night the town of Ar will be levelled, and the city of Kir will be destroyed.
Isaiah 15:1 NLT

King David conquered Moab, Israel’s neighbour, around 1040 BC, and that was how things stayed until soon after 853 BC when they successfully rebelled and remained a thorn in Israel’s side. In 583 BC they were conquered by the Babylonians and by 400 BC had been absorbed into the Nabataean empire and ceased to exist as a separate nation. Isaiah’s prophecy against Moab was probably written between 739 and 681 BC. The rest of chapters 15 and 16 provide an account of what was going to happen to Moab, an idolatrous nation that was, however, notable for its most famous person, Ruth. 

The Book of Ruth was possibly written by Samuel, as Jewish scholars claim, but it is not an unaminous conclusion. However, what we do know is that Ruth was King David’s great-grandmother (Matthew 1:5-6). The account of Ruth started in the time of the Judges, when a famine was present in Judah. “In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there. Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband” (Ruth 1:1-5).

What happened in Moab was an absolute disaster, because there was no social safety net to look after widowed women. Naomi, a Jewish woman and now a widow, could not have survived on her own, so she decided to return to Bethlehem, taking her daughter-in-law, Ruth, with her. Through the Book of Ruth, we can see how God used a foreign woman at just the right time in the ancestral lineage that led to the birth of Jesus. Ruth was a woman of remarkable qualities, as we read in Ruth 1:16, “But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. ‘ “ Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God”. Such devotion played out in the account of Ruth and her liaison with Boaz, through which a son arrived. “… And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David” (Ruth 4:17). Ruth was a Moabite (historically an outsider to Israel), yet God chose her to be in the genealogy of King David, and ultimately Jesus. This highlights that God’s grace extends to all nations, races, and backgrounds.

Is there anything that we pilgrims can learn from Isaiah 15 and the Book of Ruth? There would seem to be three themes that run through this period in Israel’s history, the first being God’s sovereign providence at just the right time and in just the right lives. Naomi experienced immense bitterness after losing her husband and sons, but God used Ruth’s humble actions in the fields of Boaz to turn their despair into joy. It reminds believers that God is orchestrating events behind the scenes, even during times of grief. Perhaps we pilgrims are going through a time of grief ourselves, when all seems so dark, and when the loss of a loved one is affecting us deeply. For all we know, God is working behind the scenes to produce an outcome that will change our lives and those of our families. Jesus said, “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). 

A second theme concerns the loyalty Ruth showed to her mother-in-law. Instead of pursuing her own interests, Ruth showed profound devotion by leaving her homeland to serve Naomi. As we know, Jesus left the comfort of eternity with His Father in Heaven to come to this world, taking on the form and limitations of a man, an act of breathtaking loyalty marked by His care and compassion for the human race. Ruth’s action was an example of the loyalty we have to Jesus, something that marks both the early disciples and us pilgrims today. 

The third theme concerns Jesus being the ultimate Redeemer. In the Book of Ruth, Boaz acted as a “kinsman-redeemer” (a relative who saves and provides for a destitute family), and he served as a beautiful Old Testament illustration of Jesus, who rescued humanity by paying the ultimate price for our salvation. Jesus is the ultimate redeemer because He paid the debt for sin that humanity cannot afford, rescuing believers from spiritual bankruptcy and bringing them into God’s family. We pilgrims were in a lost and hopeless state, spiritually destitute and unable to provide for ourselves. There is no spiritual equivalent of a social security net. Churches or religion cannot help. There is only one remedy for sin, and that is through Jesus, and we pilgrims bow at His feet this morning, deeply grateful for all that he did for us on the cross at Calvary. 

Dear Lord Jesus. There are no words sufficient to express our deep thanks to You today. We praise and worship You, and will do so forever. Amen.

Isaiah’s Vision: Hope and Judgment in Jerusalem

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“But in that day, the branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious; the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of all who survive in Israel. All who remain in Zion will be a holy people— those who survive the destruction of Jerusalem and are recorded among the living. The Lord will wash the filth from beautiful Zion and cleanse Jerusalem of its bloodstains with the hot breath of fiery judgment. Then the Lord will provide shade for Mount Zion and all who assemble there. He will provide a canopy of cloud during the day and smoke and flaming fire at night, covering the glorious land. It will be a shelter from daytime heat and a hiding place from storms and rain.”
Isaiah 4:2-6 NLT

In his vision, Isaiah could see the day when the Lord would have dealt with the “filth” in Jerusalem by applying “the hot breath of [His] fiery judgement”. He could see a beautiful and glorious city with the survivors, a holy people, washed and cleansed. And the Lord will protect Mount Zion, where Jerusalem was located, with something reminiscent of the flight of the Israelite slaves from Egypt – “a canopy of cloud during the day and smoke and flaming fire at night”.

But what was the “branch of the Lord” that Isaiah could see? Some scholars believe this is a pointer to the coming Messiah, Jesus Himself, the divine descendant of David. There is also mention of the branch in Zechariah 3:8, “Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.” But is this a prophecy foretelling the First or Second coming of Jesus? Perhaps there is more evidence for the Second, because we have read Revelation and the chapter about the new Jerusalem. However, the picture of a redeemed and holy people, a remnant who have survived the destruction of Jerusalem is an encouragement that God will always bring new shoots of growth as he fulfils His promises to His people. Judgment will ultimately come at the End of the Age, and the “filth [of] beautiful Zion” will be washed away. In the parable of the Wheat and Tares we read, “Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn” (Matthew 13:30). Jesus’ parable describes how good and bad people will co-exist until the “harvest”, which is the End of the Age, the day of Judgment. Isaiah also referred to “the fruit of the land”, perhaps an indication of blessing and peace being restored after devastation and judgment. 

Isaiah could see a remnant of God’s people surviving the destruction of Jerusalem. But what about those, the larger group, who will not survive? They are those whom Isaiah spoke out against in the previous chapters. Amongst them were people who “made alliances with pagans”, who practised sorcery, who were involved in idolatry, and who rebelled against God. God views sin very seriously and sooner or later has to deal with it. Judgment is real and will ultimately cleanse His people, but in each generation, a small group of His covenant people remains. Today we are the people, people of the New Covenant, who Peter wrote about in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light”. 

We notice that Isaiah’s vision did not indicate when the judgment would occur. It was a warning to all those who engaged in sinful behaviour, and many, then as now, refuse to believe that God’s judgment would actually take place. People today live their lives without considering that there will come a time when they will be held to account for their sins. That judgment will occur is without any doubt, because, otherwise, why was it necessary for Jesus to come to this world? He came to provide a remedy for sin so that all who believe in Him will not have to face the terror of judgment. I recently met a man who shared a concern that he needed to move out of London for his retirement, but was at a loss about where to move to. I asked him if he had a faith, and he talked about his Roman Catholic upbringing, but admitted that he rarely gave God any thoughts anymore. I gently reminded him of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”, after which I talked about sin and the need for salvation in Jesus, as otherwise the only alternative was that he would “perish“. He went away thoughtful, and I pray that the Holy Spirit directs his house move to a place where he will find a Christian community.

Do we pilgrims know someone who needs to hear the same message? After all, there are plenty of opportunities because Jesus said, “ ... The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Luke 10:2). So perhaps we need to brush up on our testimonies and have them ready for the next person we happen to meet.

Dear Father God. Please lead us to the people You want us to share Your wonderful message of hope with. We thank You for Jesus and all He did for us in Jerusalem, two thousand years ago. Amen.

The Joy of the Lord: Strength for Life’s Trials

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet each other with a sacred kiss. All of God’s people here send you their greetings. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
2 Corinthians 13:11-14 NLT

So Paul finally reaches the end of his second letter to the Corinthians, as he signs off with “I close my letter with these last words”. And his “last words” were an encouragement to any Christian community, detailing as they did wonderful spiritual words like “love”, “peace”, and “joy”, Holy Spirit gifts available to all believers.

“Be joyful” was an instruction that was definitely counter-cultural in the dark days of the first Christian church plants, because believing the Gospel message took place against a backdrop of idolatry and immorality, where being different, following the one true God, directly challenged the idolatrous societies in which they lived. As a consequence, they suffered much for believing in Jesus. But one thing that the world could not remove from them, or us today, is the joy we have within, joy that originates in God Himself through the Holy Spirit. 

In the 5th century BC, the Jewish exiles were rebuilding Jerusalem, and at some point, the wall was finished, the gates were installed, and all the people met together to hear the Book of the Law of Moses read to them. But when the truth of God’s Word penetrated their hard hearts, there was much weeping and sadness. The enormity of their sin and rebellion which had lead to their exile in the first place, was finally understood. Nehemiah 8:9, “Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law”. In the following verse we read, “And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”” Why were the Israelites weeping? Because they were going through a season of repentance for their sin. Their relationship with God was in the process of being restored.

The joy of the Lord is the gladness of heart that comes from knowing God. Such a joy has nothing to do with happiness, which is based on superficial things like owning something or having a day out. Joy for a believer is a feeling deep inside that no matter what they are facing, it will always be there. Because of its supernatural origin, the joy of the Lord—our gladness of heart—is present even through the trials of life. We know we are children of God, and no one can snatch us away from Him, and we are heirs to “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade,” and no one can steal it from us. 1 Peter 1:4, “and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay”. This was the treasure Jesus spoke about in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”.

We pilgrims have been set free, delivered from the clutches of the enemy. We are no longer bound to him by our sin. The joy of this deliverance is life-changing and eternal because we know what we have been set free from. No fear of hell ever again. In the hymn “In Christ alone” there is the line “No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand” and we can live our lives singing that out because it is truth for pilgrims like us everywhere. 

What about the joy of our salvation? Peter wrote, “You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9). King David found that after his sin with Bathsheba, he had lost his joy. A brief foray into happiness had a price, and we read his prayer in Psalm 51. Verse 8, “Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice”. And he followed on in verse 12 with, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you”. In Luke 15:7 Jesus said, “In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” 

On our Christian journey through this life, we grow in maturity and experience more and more joy. Jesus said, “When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (John 15:10-11). Are we pilgrims experiencing overflowing joy this morning? If not, what has stolen it away from us? Worries, anxieties or troubles of any kind? If we can put our hand up to such spiritually debilitating conditions, then we must pause for a moment and adjust our priorities. We must look up to God and not to the issues we experience in this world. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). There is a short poem which reads, “Two prisoners looked out from behind the bars. One saw the mud, the other saw the stars“. Are we mud or star people? I suspect that there wasn’t much joy found with the mud looker.

Dear Heavenly Father, from whom all joy originates. We are in this world for just a short time, so please help us to look up to You, our Source of joy, rather than to this sad world that lacks any sort of joy. Thank You. Amen.

Understanding Godly Sorrow: Path to Healing and Salvation

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.”
2 Corinthians 7:10-11 NLT

Continuing with Paul’s theme of Godly sorrow, we look at the impact Paul’s first letter had made in the lives of the Corinthian believers. If we remember, it was quite hard-hitting, revealing issues that needed courage to expose. But then, some things are better delivered remotely, as in a letter. Paul must have been sure of a positive reception when he wrote the things that he did, because otherwise it might have done more harm than good. In the end, Paul must have received a positive response because he wrote, “Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way” (2 Corinthians 7:9). A bit further down in this chapter, we see that it was probably Titus who delivered the letter and then he stayed awhile, probably explaining and helping with the issues Paul had raised.

The first letter caused a sorrowful reaction in Corinth, but it was a Godly sorrow that “leads … away from sin and results in salvation”. And the positive result was to make everything right, and Paul listed some of the actions and emotions that emerged as the exhortations contained in the letter were applied in the church. Paul was assured that they had done everything necessary. 

We pilgrims come across situations in our lives where things need to be put right. It is not uncommon for a family falling out, usually over something trivial, to lead to a lifetime of estrangement and no further contact. In my family, many years ago, there were four siblings, a brother and three sisters, who had a row over wedding invitations. Now, nearly forty years later, they have all died, and they made no attempt to put things right. The brother never spoke to his sisters again, and he died a bitter man. But such an event is not unusual in families; friends can be chosen, but siblings and cousins cannot, leading to much grace and determination to resolve issues before they become irresolvable. 

Have we upset anyone? Have we stopped speaking to a family member or friend? Have we fallen out with someone, and are harbouring feelings within us that are corrupting our Christian lives? Is our conscience pricking away, nagging us to sort this out, but we’re at a loss to know how to start? Well, the words of Jesus will help, I’m sure. Matthew 5:23-24, “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God“. We need to apply this to our lives today, remembering that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. So we need to take action and reconcile the situation. If someone has upset you by what they have done, we remember Colossians 3:13, “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others“. That’s a big one because our pride will get in the way, but we sometimes see news reports of a parent of a child who has been attacked choosing to publicly forgive the attacker. That’s how we should be, walking in forgiveness to all. There is no point in harbouring bad feelings; someone has said that resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die. Resentment is a kind of narcissistic bargaining, an insistence that our pain should matter enough to reach across time and consequence and punish the person who caused it. It usually does not. The other person may be oblivious, gone, or thriving, but our bodies keep the score anyway. Paul also wrote, “Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). There is no point in unforgiveness and resentment, because Jesus forgave us for far worse. We also need to recognise that we live in a moral universe and that we will all, one day, be held to account for what we have done in this life. God will address the harm that people have done to us. Isaiah 61:8, “For I, the Lord, love justice. I hate robbery and wrongdoing. I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering and make an everlasting covenant with them”.

Paul referred to “Godly sorrow”, which “leads us away from sin and results in salvation“. Ultimately, no relational troubles in this life are worth keeping alive. In the context of eternity, putting things right with another person is a very small requirement.

Dear Heavenly Father. Please forgive us for our stubbornness and pride. We pray David’s prayer, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life”. Amen.

Good Friday

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they nailed him to the cross. …”
John 19:16-18a NLT

Another Good Friday, many will say, as they continue with their work-a-day lives. The shops are open. Office lights are burning. Traffic is just as heavy. Even schools are still open in some places. When the societal amnesia is confronted, people shrug, as though to say, “What is that to do with me?” They might even add, “Anyway, what’s good about nailing a man to a cross and leaving him to die?” A lady in my office once said to me, ”What’s the big deal – a lot of men were crucified in those days”. But the scoffers, shruggers and deniers then go about their business, oblivious to the reality that the dying Man on a cross held the key to their future beyond the grave. One day they will know the truth, as we read in Philippians 2:9-11, “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”. There will be no exclusions, and today’s scoffers will realise that what they dismissed on one Good Friday was in fact the crucifixion of Jesus, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. 

The enormity of what Jesus did for us has never left me, regardless of the number of Good Fridays that have passed. I still marvel at how radical and complete God’s plan was, assuring all who believe in Jesus that they will receive the gift of eternal life. I still cast my mind to Calvary, the Cross and the lonely God-man, dying for me. I will never get over His gift of love, so complete and selfless. I mourn the fact that the sin of mankind required such a radical plan, but my thanks to God know no bounds.

We pilgrims have been “washed in the blood of the Lamb”. We are assured of our salvation, and one day we too will see the prints of the nails and the hole in His side, as we fix our eyes on our wonderful Saviour. So we rejoice today that Jesus went through all that He did, just for the salvation of all who believe in Him. Today, we finish with a 300-year-old hymn by Isaac Watts, which has blessed many a person this day. With it we worship Him, the Son of God

Dear Father God, we thank You for Your Son Jesus and His sacrificial death on a Roman cross. We cannot help but praise You and thank You for all that You have done. Amen. 

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

Forbid it Lord that I should boast
Save in the death of Christ my Lord
All the vain things that charm me most
I sacrifice them to His blood

See from His head His hands His feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing so divine
Demands my soul my life my all

Preach the Message

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church. But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favour on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.”
1 Corinthians 15:9-11 NLT

“For I decided that while I was with you
I would forget everything except Jesus Christ,
the one who was crucified”
(1 Corinthians 2:2).

Paul reminded the Corinthians that he and the other Apostles all preached the same message, the one they “have already believed”. But what was this message? An important question, because if it was fundamental to the first Apostles, it must be fundamental to us pilgrims as well. The answer is the basis for Christianity and our faith. We preach Jesus and Him crucified. The Amplified version of 1 Corinthians 2:2 reads, “for I made the decision to know nothing [that is, to forego philosophical or theological discussions regarding inconsequential things and opinions while] among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified [and the meaning of His redemptive, substitutionary death and His resurrection]”. This verse puts a focus on something very important – the simplicity of the Gospel. Paul was an educated man, who was able to debate and witness before the most senior members of his world. There was not only the Greek philosophers of his day, “He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods”” (Acts 17:18). He certainly grabbed their attention. They took him to the High Council, the Areopagus, to continue his message. On another occasion, he witnessed before King Agrippa (Acts 26). But Paul never forgot the ordinary man in the street, as we read in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some”. 

“For the Son of Man came
to seek and save those
who are lost“
Luke 19:10

But regardless of all his learning, Paul shared a simple Gospel about “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” at every opportunity he found himself in. This message is one we pilgrims are also required to share. The Amplified version of 1 Corinthians 2:2 puts its finger on a problem that can so easily trip us up if we let it: we can get bogged down in “philosophical or theological discussions regarding inconsequential things and opinions” in conversations with others. I recently heard about a street evangelist who was bombarded with a whole list of questions by a young man he was trying to share the Gospel with, and the last question from the young man summed up the irrelevance of the conversation: “Did Adam have a belly button?” Whether Adam did or not, such questions can distract, divert, and dilute the simplicity of the Gospel message. Adam’s anatomy has no relevance to the serious matter of salvation. In His conversation with Zacchaeus, Jesus told him, and anyone else listening, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost” (Luke 19:10). In a section entitled “Salvation is for Everyone” in his Roman epistle, Paul wrote, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved” (Romans 10:9-10). There is nothing complicated about these verses, I think we fellow pilgrims will agree. But the main reason that people put up a smoke screen of questions and arguments is that they don’t want to face into the consequences of responding positively to the Gospel message. I was speaking to a man recently who claimed to be a Christian, but who had not been baptised. When gently challenged, he provided a whole list of excuses as to why he had not taken the next step in his faith. But in love we pilgrims persevere in sharing the simple Gospel message because that is what Jesus has asked us to do. Nothing complicated.

Dear Father God. Please lead us to the mission field that You want us to labour in. By the power of Your Spirit, please give us the words to say and the people You want us to share with, so that You will receive all the glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Judgment

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and ill, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.”
1 Corinthians 11:29-32 NIVUK

In a previous blog, we considered what it means to discern “the body of Christ”. We continue to read today about what will happen to those who fail to “discern” what is really happening in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Reading between the lines of what went on in the Corinthians’ service of Communion, it must have been a bit of a riot compared with our sombre services today. They were apparently turning it into a drunken party, with those with the means to supply their own food and drink having a good time, and those without forced to sit on the sidelines and watch. And in some way, they considered that they were sharing in the Lord’s Supper by doing this. But before we condemn them and take the moral high ground, we must confess that some of us might be doing something equally dishonouring in our own thoughts. 

There were consequences to the Corinthians’ behaviour, and Paul made the association between those who shared the Communion in a way that dishonoured Christ and those who were suffering from illness or weakness, and even those who had died. How could that have happened? There is only one explanation, and that is God has brought weakness, illness, and even death to them as discipline for their failure to observe Communion with proper respect for Christ’s sacrifice and for each other. This could be a stumbling block for Christians who think God is a God of love, grace, and forgiveness and would never do such a thing. But God does discipline His children, “because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son“ (Hebrews 12:6). Comparing with the discipline meted out by human fathers, we read, “They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:10-11).

So, we pilgrims must approach the Lord’s Table in a way that honours Him. Paul wrote, “But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment”. We must judge ourselves first with sincerity. In other words, we must be brutally honest with ourselves before joining in the Lord’s Supper, and we must change our attitudes toward Christ’s death and all those He died for. Then we will not have to worry about God’s judgment afterwards.

But a word for all those anxious in these circumstances, and who fear for their salvation, Paul wrote, “Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:32). When God disciplines us, it does not mean that He has rejected us and slammed the gates of Heaven in our faces. He still loves us and wants us to spend eternity with Him. 

Dear Father God. We are so sorry for the times when we have taken the emblems of Holy Communion in an unworthy manner. We pray for forgiveness and for the Holy Spirit to help us remember You the next time we have the opportunity to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Save Some

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.”
1 Corinthians 9:21-23 NLT

There was a film released some years ago about a catastrophic event that would hit the world in which we live, an apocalyptic situation in which the US Army was instructed to do what they could to “save some”. In a sense, we pilgrims, too, find ourselves in a similar situation, with the world in which we live facing the End Times, which increases the urgency to tell people about Jesus and do what we can to “save some”. Not everyone will respond to the Message of Christ, but just in case, we must look for opportunities to set before people the gravity of their situation. In Matthew chapters 24 and 25, Jesus gave His disciples an answer to a question about the end of the world. Matthew 24:3, “Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”” These two chapters would be grim reading for those who do not believe in Jesus, but such people most probably would not have a Bible on their favourite bookshelf in any case. But as we read down Matthew 24, we see many of the signs happening today that Jesus talked about, signs that are brought to a crescendo with verse 30, “And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory”. In verses 37-39, Jesus said, “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realise what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes”. 

In Genesis 6:9, we read, “This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God“. God used Noah in two ways. The first was the witness regarding the building of that boat. He built it on dry land in a world that had never experienced anything like what was to come. Imagine the conversation with people who had probably never seen a boat and asked Noah what it was for. To be told what was about to happen made no difference, and the response that Noah received was probably one of ridicule. He was perhaps labelled crazy and shunned by those in his society. It took a great deal of faith to build that boat, as it was large and not something that could have been completed in a short time. In fact, the Scriptures seem to indicate that it took one hundred years to build. The second was that God used that boat to save all the animals and Noah and his family. Today, many dismiss the story of Noah as a fable or even a falsehood, despite evidence of a primordial flood all over the world, as documented in geological and fossil records. 

Paul wrote that he tried “to find common ground with everyone, doing everything [he] can to save some”. In our imaginations, we can picture Paul driven by the fear and expectation that Jesus would return very soon, putting an end to the world as he knew it. Thankfully, God, in His grace, has delayed the return of Jesus. Romans 11:25, “I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ”. How many is “the full number of the Gentiles”? We don’t know, but we discern the times. We see some of the signs that Jesus warned His disciples of in Matthew 24, and conclude that His return is closer now than it was two thousand years ago. Jesus said to the Pharisees and Sadducees, who had asked Him for a miraculous sign from Heaven to prove His authority, “ … You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!” (Matthew 16:2-3). The “signs of the times” are with us, dear fellow pilgrims, and we must wake up and do what we can to “save some”. 

We start with our friends and families, persistently praying for them, sharing the Good News, and even begging them to make the right decision for Jesus. Where they will spend eternity is too important a decision to leave to chance and hope. God is full of love and grace. He is patient and kind, and is always ready to receive a repentant sinner into His family. In Heaven, we can just imagine a huge counter, continually ticking up as new Christians are born again, always getting closer to the time when God will say enough. To all those who say that a God of love would never send anyone to hell, we turn again to John 3:16, where we read “… whosoever believes in Him will not perish but will inherit eternal life”. We note the terrible alternative to eternal life, which is perishing. There is no other possible place for mankind. And so we pray, and pray, and keep on praying, that God will have mercy on our generation, on our family and friends, with the hope and expectation that we, through God’s grace and mercy, will “save some”. 

Dear Heavenly Father. We name our friends and family before You today, that You will draw them to Yourself as we share the wonderful Good News about Jesus. In Jesus’ name. Amen.