The Olive Grove

Posted on by korgrocker

“After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples.”
John 18:1-2 NLT

In Luke’s Gospel, we read, “Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives” (Luke 22:39). The Mount of Olives was close to Jerusalem, and it was there that Jesus and His disciples spent time together, enjoying the cool of the evening after what was probably a hot day. It was a sanctuary of peace for them, peace in turbulent times where they faced into the antagonism of the Jewish religious leaders. A place of prayer and sharing, a place where the disciples could relax with their Teacher and their Lord. A place where spiritual batteries were recharged for anything to be faced the next day. A grove of olive trees became a place of sanctuary.

The word “sanctuary” first appeared in the Old Testament and it was a place where God dwelt with His people. Exodus 25:8, “Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them”. A sanctuary in Old Testament times became the Tabernacle and later the Temple. Moving into New Testament times, church buildings emerged and here in the UK the landscape is scattered with hundreds, if not thousands, of beautiful, but mostly totally impractical, buildings, sanctuaries that have become monuments to past moves of God. But even today, there is something special about sitting in a pew in a church building, surrounded with light streaming through stained glass windows, looking at an altar where we hope that God will reveal His presence and grant us peace in our time of need.

We pilgrims need a sanctuary, where we too can sit at the Master’s feet in our own personal Olive Grove. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-29, “ … Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls“.  The Psalmist David found his sanctuary in God. He wrote these verses from Psalm 62, “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall never be shaken“. 

Personally, I find my sanctuary amongst the natural world around me, where I can see and hear God’s creation, splendid and unique. Every bird that sings and every flower that has burst into life provides a backdrop to where I find God’s peace and presence, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard [my] heart and [my] mind in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). And from my spiritual olive grove I find once again the place of rest, a sanctuary for my soul. Where, dear fellow pilgrim, is your “Olive Grove”? Somewhere where the heavy burdens of life in this mad and bad world can be left at the Master’s feet? God always wants to meet with us. He is always accessible. And there is a place where Heaven touches earth, right where we can find it. It may be an “Olive Grove” or it may be somewhere else, but there we will find rest for our souls.

Dear Father God. It is mind-boggling to realise that the Creator of this Universe wants to meet with us, within the sanctuary in our hearts. Please help us to remain open and willing to commune with You and find the peace that our souls yearn for. Amen.

In the Presence of God

Posted on by korgrocker

“The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in His Temple. For He will conceal me there when troubles come; He will hide me in His sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock. Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me. At His sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and praising the Lord with music.” Psalms‬ ‭27:4-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In these three verses, David, the Psalmist, expresses his overwhelming desire to be close to God. So close in fact that he wants to be constantly in God’s presence, because it is there he has a relationship that transcends anything possible in the world around him. It is there that he gets lost in a place that doesn’t exist on planet earth. It is there that he can put aside the humdrum of human life and rise up into heavenly places. Of course, I don’t believe for a moment that he went through his life with his head in the clouds, “too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good”. He was at this time, I believe, a monarch in waiting, surrounded by antagonists and associated problems of life, which would scupper most of us and threaten to separate us from our relationship with God. Perhaps, in David’s place, we would even be shaking our fist at the heavens, asking the question, “Why has God allowed this to happen to me”? But David found his strength, his spiritual food, in the house of the Lord, hidden in His sanctuary. And it was there that he became lost in praise and worship, in wonder and joy, in the presence of God.

And so it should be with us. What is coming against us in our earthly humanity? Life can be difficult sometimes. Just existing can be traumatic. But all the resources we need are there in God’s presence. We can park the problems of life and instead spend time with Him. The problems may not go away and will be waiting for us when we return, but by spending time with God, they perhaps become less significant and strident. And perhaps we can learn too to delight in the Lord, offering praises and singing to our wonderful Creator.

Sanctuary

Posted on by korgrocker

“I love Your sanctuary, Lord, the place where Your glorious presence dwells.” Psalms‬ ‭26:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There’s an old film I saw in my childhood where Quasimodo cried out, “Sanctuary, Sanctuary” in a scene from the film depiction of Victor Hugo’s book. The hunchback was claiming his right to being in a safe place, free from abuse. Or so I remember. A sanctuary is a place or state where we feel secure, and to the Psalmist, David, his sanctuary was the place where God lived. And having been brought up in an era when churches were revered, I still get a sense of peace and tranquility in a church building with stained glass windows and an altar. Perhaps I was brought up to think that God lived there.

But where does God really live? Where is His glorious presence? We are informed in 1 Corinthians 6:19 that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. So God lives within us. And one of Jesus’ titles was “Immanuel” which means “God with us”. And so it is. Through Jesus, God came to live on this earth, offering us the opportunity to live with Him for ever, in His “sanctuary”, eternal life. And it is in and through Jesus that we will see and experience the “glorious presence” of God. Make sure you don’t miss it, Folks.