The Humble

Posted on by korgrocker

“You rescue the humble, but you humiliate the proud. You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness. In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.”
Psalm 18:27-29 NLT

Humility is not a word revered by most people these days, but then, as now, the same dichotomy between humble and proud people features in the difference between the two kingdoms. In God’s sight, the humble are exalted, and the proud are humiliated. In the world’s sight, the humble are trodden on and the proud elevated. But what is being humble all about? One dictionary definition, with a secular viewpoint, says, “humility is a low self-regard and a sense of unworthiness”. Another expands with, “humility involves having an accurate opinion of oneself and expressing oneself modestly as situations demand”. But as is often the case, a real life example brings out the true meaning. If we look at Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel when he said, ““Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favour with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus” (Luke 1:30-31), it was not one of pride at being especially selected by God Himself. Instead she modestly and humbly said, “ … “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her” (Luke 1:38).

David wrote that God rescues the humble, but why would they need rescuing in the first place? Perhaps a comparison between David and his adversary Saul brings out a man who depended on God for his position and situation in life, and one who relied on his own strength, ignoring God. One became King, the other was killed in battle. David was rescued many times from his enemies because he displayed the quality of humility favoured by God. 

Regarding Psalm 18:27, the Amplified version of the Bible reads, “For You save an afflicted and humble people, But bring down those [arrogant fools] with haughty eyes“. We pilgrims have all met “arrogant fools” haven’t we? In fact, we might at one time have even been one ourselves. A dictionary definition of pride is “a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements”. Straight away we can see the difference with humility with the word “own”. A humble person depends on God and looks to Him as the Source of all they are. A proud person looks only to himself. The root of pride is of course sin, and we need to be careful in striking the right balance between God’s ways and our ways. So even though we might achieve great things, we point to God and His provenance as the real reason for our success. But sadly, we have a tendency to adopt a feeling of pride in our achievements, excluding God in what we do. 

David wrote that the proud will be humiliated, and we see an extreme example in Acts 12. Herod Agrippa, the last king of Judea, granted an audience to the people of Tyre and Sidon, and we read what happened after Herod gave a speech, “The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”” (Acts 12:22). But his pride took over and we read in the next verse, “Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died“. Was Herod humiliated? Sadly, very much so.

Peter wrote, “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honour” (1 Peter 5:6). James said much the same thing, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honour” (James 4:10). Jesus warned, “But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12), and of course we mustn’t forget, “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth” (Matthew 5:5).

God upended the world’s view of people when He expressed a preference for those who meet His criteria of humility. It’s a choice that we make, when faced with situations where pride is in danger of rearing its ugly head over the parapet of our lives. At a time when the world’s opinion of us is one of praise, we instead point to our Father God, and give Him all the glory. We quietly get on with our lives, batting aside all attempts by ourselves and others to take the glory for ourselves. When we feel that warmth of pride starting to emerge within us, we snuff it out before it blossoms into sin. If we don’t then God will deal with us in a much less comfortable way.

Dear Lord God. You have granted us ways that allow us to serve You, with talents and abilities much admired by others. Please help us to keep the lid on any thoughts of pride in our achievements and instead give You all the glory for all You have done in our lives. We praise You today. Amen.

Satisfied Hunger

Posted on by korgrocker

“Arise, O Lord! Stand against them, and bring them to their knees! Rescue me from the wicked with your sword! By the power of your hand, O Lord, destroy those who look to this world for their reward. But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones. May their children have plenty, leaving an inheritance for their descendants. Because I am righteous, I will see you. When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.”
Psalm 17:13-15 NLT

Again, a theme of the difference between people who “look to this world for their reward” and God’s “treasured ones”, a difference between unbelievers and believers, finishes Psalm 17. At first glance, David would seem to be obsessed by God’s judgement of the wicked unbelievers, comparing them with the lot of the favoured believers, between those heading for a lost eternity, and those who will go to live with God forever. But then what could be more important? Compared to eternity, the life span of a human being is indeed infinitesimally short. James 4:14, “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone”. Eternity is a concept that is difficult to imagine, because humans are constrained in a temporal world, the result of sin with lives cut short in a cursed world, a world that, as Paul wrote in Romans 8:22, “ … has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time“. But in this world, the believers and unbelievers jostle along, side by side, heading for a final separation at the End of the Age. 

David wrote that the unbelievers, by their choices, will end up satisfied with the things of this world, a portion allotted to them as a reward for their brief life. In 1 Timothy 6:7, Paul wrote this to Timothy, “After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it“. That is the truth about temporal rewards. So many people spend their short lives trying to accumulate wealth, property, goods, and the things of this world, only to reflect on their death beds that none of it can go with them across the Great Divide. And we even find that such people find that their lives are shortened by the stresses and anxieties involved in the process. 

Jesus said, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:19-21). We pray, “Give us this day our daily bread”, echoing David’s prayer for God to “satisfy the hunger of [His] treasured ones”. Our “daily bread” isn’t just the food we eat of course. It also refers to our spiritual “bread”, the Word of God that sustains our souls. God’s food is a complete formula designed for the health and wellbeing of all. 

David finished Psalm 17 with the thought that one day he will wake up and see God’s face. I sometimes think of Lazarus, graveyard dead and who had been buried in a tomb four days previously. He was wrapped in grave-clothes, lying on a cold slab in a rock tomb, when suddenly through the cloth strips covering his ears, he heard someone calling his name with a loud voice. Jesus, of course, called out, “Lazarus, come forth” or probably more colloquially, “Lazarus, come out of there!” and that was enough to miraculously wake him up and completely reverse the decaying process. We next find Lazarus hopping his way out of the hole in the rock, constrained by the strips of cloth that had been tightly wrapped around him. I would have loved to have been there, seeing the reaction on people’s faces, but the thrust of this story is what it could mean for all believers one day. After we too have died, will the next thing we hear be the voice of Jesus calling our names? What applied to Lazarus will apply to us as well, because we too have been called out of darkness into God’s wonderful light. Lazarus woke up in a dark tomb to then continue his previous earthly life, having to die again one day, but we will wake up to a life with God, and, as David wrote, “be satisfied”. 

David was certain that because he was righteous then he will see God one day. We have the same assurance, because Jesus Himself gave us His righteousness in exchange for our sin. That momentous day on a hill called Calvary was enough for Jesus to take on all our sins, receiving the punishment that was ours to bear. And amazingly, because of Jesus, we will see God one day. Too good to be true? Too good not to be.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your Son Jesus and all He did for us. May we live our lives honouring to You, day by day. Amen.

Multiplied Troubles

Posted on by korgrocker

“I said to the Lord, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you.” The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them! Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood or even speak the names of their gods.”
Psalm 16:2-4 NLT

Just a few words previously, David wrote about the “Godly people in the land” but here he is now pushing back at “those who chase after other gods”. He exposed a dichotomy between believers in God and the unbelievers around him who believed in false gods. If I was an extraterrestrial alien looking at the behaviour of the Israelites spanning a few hundred years, I would have observed a bountiful and merciful God who had miraculously fed a large number of Israelite slaves, after parting the Red Sea to facilitate their escape from Egypt, for a period of forty years. I would have observed how time and time again God had helped them overcome their enemies, after bringing them into a land this same God had promised to them, and He even parted the River Jordan, then in flood, to allow everyone to cross over to the other side. And yet I would have now been very puzzled, because so many of the descendants of the favoured people had now rejected the very God who had helped and supported them. What had gone wrong? 

The alien would have probably shrugged his shoulders (if he had any) at this point and moved on elsewhere, not wanting to have anything to do with such an irrational people. But the answer to the question can be found in a single, three-letter word – sin. David observed that in his day, those of his fellow Israelites who had abandoned the God of Israel would soon find the trouble that God had warned them about. In Deuteronomy 28 there is a list of all the troubling curses that will be incurred by those who choose to reject God and stop following His laws and precepts. The curses start with Deuteronomy 28:15, “But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you“, and the chapter continues with a list of troubles that will come upon them. As we read on we find that troubles do indeed multiply. The lure of the sinful practices that accompany the worship of idols was so strong that many Israelites chose the way of evil, but soon afterwards they experienced the fruit of their idolatry.

Today, a secular society finds that life is afflicted with modern day equivalents of multiplied troubles. I’m saddened by David’s statement referencing the “sacrifices of blood” that were taking place in the name of the other gods, wondering if the same sacrifices are continuing today in the abortion clinics and in our hospitals. I observe a society increasingly at odds with itself, with strange ideologies emerging, with economic woes endlessly appearing both at the macro and micro levels, with people trampling over each other in their race to fulfil their selfish desires. By default, those people who do not follow God will reap their rewards at the altars of their own false gods. 

Paul wrote in Romans 1 about “… God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused” (Romans 1:21). Paul continued, “Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles” (Romans 1:22-23). But here’s the thing that applies to the times in which we live, “So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies” (Romans 1:24). It’s a terrible thing to be abandoned by God, and what He said through Paul has come to pass, with “multiplied troubles” appearing in the idolaters lives. Paul finishes Roman 1 with these verses, “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarrelling, deception, malicious behaviour, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too“. Soberly, we know that their troubles won’t end at death, with another appointment waiting to be kept and the ultimate judgement taking place.

David wanted to have nothing to do with the people who “chased after other gods” with good reason, and neither must we pilgrims. We of course continue to try to draw the idolaters back from their sin with our stories of what God has done for us, and the Good News of what Jesus did for every human being at Calvary, should they choose to believe in Him. These days, idols might not be a wooden or stone edifice located in a home or shrine somewhere, but they exist in peoples’ lives. If we asked an unbeliever today if they instead have an idol, they worship, they would probably say of course not. An idol can be anything the takes the place of worshipping God. An idol can be another person, particular an actor or a pop star, (popular saying – “he worships the ground she walks on”). Or perhaps a motor car, or a mobile phone. Some people spend a lot of time playing computer games. The list is endless.

It might be a good idea if we pilgrims ask God if there is anything in our lives that shouldn’t be there, things that could lead us into idolatry. Paul’s instructions were clear – he wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:14-15 “So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. You are reasonable people. Decide for yourselves if what I am saying is true“. And having decided we move on, in worship to the only God worth the name.

Dear Heavenly Father. We pray, “lead us not into temptation”, and today we pray that we will not be tempted to run after idols, of any persuasion. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

All Have Become Corrupt

Posted on by korgrocker

“Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!”
Psalm 14:13 NLT

A damning indictment of the human race from David. He equates those who say “There is no God”, or fail to seek Him, with people who lack wisdom and are corrupt. The corrupt, he writes, also fail to do good. He wrote that “The Lord looked down from Heaven” to make this observation, but does the word “entire” include righteous people as well? But then, who of us is really righteous? Imagine the grief that God must have felt, as sin entered the human race and made everyone “corrupt”. We remember Paul’s words in Romans 3:23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard”. 

The dictionary defines “corrupt” with references to dishonest dealings with money, but it is more than that. Any object can be corrupted by a malign action. Imagine a perfect mirror corrupted by a scratch. Or a sculpture or other work of art desecrated, corrupted by a deliberate act of vandalism. But here’s the thing, imagine a perfect human being, created in the image of God, but then corrupted by sin, the consequence of a devious thought introduced by the devil in a conversation that has had lasting connotations. What a tragedy! 

Corruption started in the Garden with the introduction of sickness and death, moral contamination and spiritual decay. The sin that blighted humanity caused spiritual death – Ephesians 2:1, “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins“. In Genesis 6:11-12 we read what Noah’s generation was like, “Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt” and God decided that he would start again with Noah and his family, eliminating the corrupt from the earth. 

And so it would have continued, with every person deemed “corrupt” before spending eternity in hell, because there can be no corruption in Heaven. The Jews were given the Law to help them escape the consequences of corruption, but God’s intention to save His people was rejected by many of them. So God finally provided the ultimate solution to sin’s corruption by sending His Son, Jesus, to save the world. 2 Peter 1:3-4 summed up God’s amazing grace, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvellous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires“. Jesus was and still is the “great and precious promise” allowing all who believe in Him to live a Godly life.

But before we pilgrims start to feel a bit smug because we think we have escaped the consequences of corruption, be aware that such thoughts are sinful and are in danger of relegating us back into the company of the corrupt. We need to keep short accounts with our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus. They paid the ultimate price for our freedom, remember that!

Dear Lord Jesus. Thank You for coming to this world to save us from the corruption of sin. Amen.

Lips That Defend

Posted on by korgrocker

“those who say, ‘By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us – who is Lord over us?’ ‘Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,’ says the Lord. ‘I will protect them from those who malign them.’”
Psalm 12:4-5 NIVUK

Human beings are blessed with the ability to reason and communicate. Even from an early age, children can weigh up the pros and cons of a situation and make a decision. To supplement our mental powers, we have instincts such as “fight or flight” when faced with danger. So all in all, a human being is an impressive example of God’s creative powers, far above all other created beings on our planet. But why should we be surprised? We read in Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground’”. Then in Hebrews 2:7-8a we read, “You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honour and put everything under their feet …”. But due to sin, corruption of God’s creation followed, and David correctly recorded man’s propensity to lie, deceitfully adding an evil element into his reasoning powers. 

Those people who follow the way of evil, lying and cheating their way through life, justify their position by claiming that they are outside the rule of the Lord, not as a conscious thought, or in so many words, and instead they rely on their intellects to defend themselves in life’s situations. But they will of course get away with it, at least for a while. There are some very clever people in positions of authority in countries all over the world, there because of very quick and shrewd minds, able to talk their ways into places where they want to be. And with their mental and communicative skills they become arrogant and claim, “Who is Lord over us?”  With the passage of time they hone their skills and really believe that their “own lips will defend [them]”. 

But waiting in the wings is the Lord of all. He sees all that is going on and will arise to correct the situation. David visualised the time when God will protect the poor and needy  “from those who malign them”. The significant words in these verses are “I will”. We worship the God who will. The only thing that we are unsure of is when. But in God’s plan for this world “when” will happen one day.

There are people groups everywhere who come into the needy and poor categories. This is not always a financial scenario, and many live their lives deprived of the means to realise their full potentials. In some parts of the world, women and girls are deprived of education. In others, a person’s family and ancestry determine their status in life. Many are enslaved against their wills, forced to work long hours doing menial tasks for little of no money. But in all these cases their plights do not escape the Lord’s notice. Because the scales of justice will one day be balanced, God’s “I will” will indeed prevail. He will protect the helpless and defend the needy.

We pilgrims are aware of a different Kingdom, one where the Lord is King. One where there will, one day, be no more sickness or crying. But a Kingdom of which we are citizens now, and one that we encourage others to join. There is salvation for all available through Jesus, and the Apostle James wrote, “Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?” (James 2:3). We don’t know whose names will be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, but as Martin Luther wrote, “First, there will be people in heaven I did not expect to be there. Second, there will be people not present in heaven I was certain would be there. Third is the greatest surprise of all—that I will be there myself!” 

There will come a day when the intellect, and defensive lips of mankind, will be of no further use to Godless people. It may be because their lives will be cut short when God intervenes to protect the poor and needy. But eventually for those who escape judgement in their natural lives will one stand before Him. But for us pilgrims it is far better today to use our God-given ability to reason and communicate about the things of our wonderful Heavenly Father. Daily we offer Him the praises of our lips not the lies and deceit of sinners. And the worship of our hearts will ultimately prevail on that glorious day when we see Him face to face.

Dear Heavenly Father. We praise and worship You today, the Maker of Heaven and earth. Amen.

Lips and Hearts

Posted on by korgrocker

“Neighbours lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts. May the Lord cut off their flattering lips and silence their boastful tongues. They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content. Our lips are our own—who can stop us?””
Psalm 12:2-4 NLT

‭‭Strong stuff here – “flattering lips” and “deceitful hearts”, “boastful tongues” and “lies”. According to David, it was a problem in his day, but, as we know, it is still a problem thousands of years later. David associated such behaviour with his neighbours. The politically disillusioned today will perhaps immediately think about the behaviour of one or more of our politicians. Some will know that our 21st Century lawyers spend a lot of time untangling lies from truth. Human nature hasn’t changed much at all, it seems. David was quite dramatic in requesting action from God to cut off the “flattering lips” and the “boastful tongues”, but did he really expect God to do such a thing? Imagine the scene if God had in fact performed the surgery that David had asked for – all the people wandering around, unable to communicate, lips and tongues no longer present, because, after all, who has never told a lie? 

David continued, expressing the attitude of heart that is a symptom of the people indulging in lying behaviour. And of course what people think will be expressed verbally – David referred to this as people having “deceitful hearts”. Today we know that in our hearts, our thoughts and imaginations, we brew all sorts of scenarios and outcomes. We process what we see, we consider an uncomfortable situation, we receive negative and accusing comments, and we even imagine situations that might happen to us but haven’t just yet. And in consequence our minds produce a response that more often than not has considered lying as an option. Our sinful nature sometimes considers a lack of truth as the best outcome, because, so we think, the truth instead might dig us into an even deeper hole. And so today, all the problems with hearts, tongues and lips prevail, just as David observed with his neighbours. 

The Apostle James wrote much about tongue problems. James 3:2, “Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way”. He continues, “And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself” (James 3:6). And James really hit home with this thought about tongues, “Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!” (James 3:9-10). I don’t think anyone would disagree with James because he expressed a sobering reality that impacts everyone, even us pilgrims. 

If we left things there, we would all be depressed. We would end up in the same place as the Apostle Paul, who wrote, “I love God’s law with all my heart. 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. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” (Romans 7:22-24). But the next verse explodes with hope and a solution to our sinful lips. “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin” (Romans 7:25). We turn the page and start reading Romans 8, and the warm glow of hearts now thankful and free from condemnation overflow us. Lips redeemed and free from deceit and lies. Praise be to God! Heavenly surgery takes place, not with a scalpel, but with the blood of Jesus redeeming us from our sins. Of course, we endeavour to clean up our lives, and pursue righteousness even if it causes us short term problems. But as we do, God’s peace and love will follow us all the days of our lives.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your patience, Your grace and mercy. Instead of dispensing the punishment we all deserve, You sent Jesus, to free us from our sins. We are so grateful. Amen.

In God’s Image

Posted on by korgrocker

“what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honour. You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority— the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents.
Psalm 8:4-8 NLT

David wrote that human beings are entrusted with the care of all that God has made. If we read Genesis 1 we find just that mission in verse 26. “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground’”. We also find from this verse that God created mankind in His image. But when we look around us and see the unlimited and infinite extent of God’s creation, and all made from nothing by the way, we wonder what being made in God’s image really means. In so many ways, mankind is no different from the other created animals around us. We are of a family of mammals, that produce living young. We are bounded by constraints imposed by our physical abilities. Although we have a much enhanced mental capacity, when compared with other animals, there are still limits. God has no boundaries, either with who He is, or what He can do.

According to Genesis, human beings are supposed to be caring for the rest of God’s creation, but looking around us we see a world abused and even destroyed in places by man’s selfish ambitions. Sin has corrupted the very essence of God’s plans and left us a long way from what should have been. And then God is Spirit, exposing another difference. But we do have to accept that we are in part a reflection of God in our moral and mental capacities. For example, God loves us, and we can love others. God is righteous and we can make righteous choices. God is caring and compassionate and we can look at our families and neighbours, our hospitals and charities, and be caring and compassionate people. 

We read Genesis 1:26, and see a very significant word – “our”. Mankind was made by our plural God, and in Genesis 2:18 we read, “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””. With the advent of Eve, and the concept of marriage we continue to be socially reflecting God in His image. 

Sin, introduced in Genesis 3, marred what God intended for those created “in His image” and corrupted both mankind and God’s creation, which, as we read in Romans 8:22 is struggling under the weight of sin. “For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time”‭‭. But God had a plan of redemption for human beings through Jesus and we read about this in Ephesians 4:24, “Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy”. By choice, and thanks to Jesus, we are able to return to what God originally intended. What a gracious God we serve! In spite of our rebellion and sin, He still reaches out to us with love and grace, with mercy and compassion, and we can still function “in His image” if we so choose. 

Dear Father God. Please help us to make right choices in our lives and put us on the path to return to the state You originally intended for us, in Your image. Please forgive us for our sins we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Pregnant With Lies

Posted on by korgrocker

“The wicked conceive evil; they are pregnant with trouble and give birth to lies. They dig a deep pit to trap others, then fall into it themselves. The trouble they make for others backfires on them. The violence they plan falls on their own heads.”
Psalm 7:14-16 NLT

David continues his Psalm with another rant about wicked people, written in a language rich with analogy and graphic in detail. He compares the thoughtful ways of an evil person with pregnancy. The moment of conception is when a wicked idea emerges in a person’s mind. Then the gestation commences, as the idea gains weight and form, and finally a bundle of lies is born. Anyone with an imagination can immediately grasp what David was getting at, and the analogy is one that we pilgrims can relate to. We can imagine someone who is thinking of stealing a lot of money. The idea is conceived, perhaps to rob a bank. This is followed by the growth of the idea, as plans are made to circumvent the bank’s security systems, a process that might take quite a time, needing careful planning by the evil mind. Perhaps a tunnel into the vault is required, or the help of a corrupt insider engaged. And then finally the evil deed is carried out, giving birth to the robbery. But most evil as considered by David, is not as dramatic and instead concerns everyday life, lived the devil’s way. It may start as a bit of a joke. Or an innocent thought might become corrupted by a mind unrestrained by a guilty conscience. But whatever the situation, mankind’s propensity for evil needs little encouragement.

David continues to describe what happens to the evil that has appeared as a new birth. He paints a picture of the evil people digging a “deep pit” to try and capture someone who they hope will fall into it. Perhaps the pit he describes could today be a situation much like the scene in the Garden, when the devil, masquerading as a snake, cleverly but evilly, twists words to trap a person into doing something they shouldn’t. We see such attempts in news interviews where the journalist formulates trick questions that try and trap someone into saying things they don’t want to, or putting them into a position where they are trapped by their own words. In a court of law, a clever prosecutor will try and “dig a deep pit” for the accused or a witness with questions designed to discredit their defence or testimony. But whatever the “deep pit” is, David envisages the evil person falling into their own trap, with the trouble they birth causing them the grief they try and impose on others. 

In the context of Psalm 7, David was writing about evil in the presence of God. Verse 11, “God is an honest judge. He is angry with the wicked every day”. Ultimately, evil people will discover the consequences of their evil, either in a human court, or, if they escape that, when they stand before God on that terrible day we read about in Revelation 20.

But we pilgrims are not those who think about evil deeds. Paul wrote about evil people in his Ephesian letter, “Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity” (Ephesians 4:18-19). These are people whose minds dwell on evil, giving birth to “every kind of impurity”. But Paul goes on, “But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:20-24).‭‭ We pilgrims have to do something. We have to be proactive in our thinking to avoid falling into evil ways, and let the Holy “Spirit renew [our] thoughts and attitudes”. Our hearts and minds will not, by some miracle, become instantly pure and holy when we became a Christian, because the sin within us will constantly battle for the upper hand. If we drop our guards, even for a moment, then David’s picture emerges, as evil is conceived. The enemy is constantly looking for an opportunity to plant an evil seed in our minds, so we pray for protection from the evil one (“deliver us from evil”), and we read God’s Word, allowing it to refresh our minds day by day. 

Dear Father God. We pray Jesus’ prayer this morning, for deliverance from evil and temptation. In Your precious name we pray. Amen.

End the Evil

Posted on by korgrocker

“End the evil of those who are wicked, and defend the righteous. For you look deep within the mind and heart, O righteous God.”
Psalm 7:9 NLT

Wouldn’t it be nice if evil could be banished from this world. We look around at global events, and see the wars and strife that decimate nations. As I write, the war in Ukraine continues. The Middle East appears constantly in the news, as one nation, faction or religious group battles against another. Evil people doing evil things to other evil people. There seems no let up in the wickedness present in this world. We yearn for the day prophesised by Isaiah, when he wrote, “The Lord will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore”(Isaiah 2:4). 

But then we look closer to home and see the evil present in our societies. Communities blighted by drugs. People dying at the hands of drunk drivers. Children abused. Fights at football matches. The list seems endless. Wouldn’t it be nice if evil could be banished from this world.

But then we perhaps stop to think about ourselves, and the evil thoughts that emerge from time to time in our minds, redeemed even as they are. Perhaps we echo what Paul wrote in Romans 7:23-24, “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. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” We find ourselves in a place where we would dearly love to see the end of evil but accept that we are as much the problem as any other person. Thankfully, through Jesus, we have the remedy for our sin as we read on in Romans. “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 8:1-2). 

Jesus told a parable of the Wheat and the Tares, which we can find in Matthew 13, and which pictures a farmer planting good seed but the enemy comes along later and plants weeds. The wheat and the weeds grow together, and when the workers observed the weeds, they wanted to leap in and pull them all up. But the farmer asked them to wait until the harvest time, when the weeds could be separated from the wheat crop, and burnt. Applying that to today, God created human beings to be like Him (in His image) but the enemy, the devil, corrupted His creation (the Fall in the Garden). Through Jesus, believing and repentant people become the crop of the good seed but all those who prefer evil will be separated at the End of the Age.

There is another thought. If God removed all evil from the earth today, would there be anyone left? As Paul wrote, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23). There is coming a time when evil will be dealt with, at the End of the Age. We don’t know when that will be, but happen it will. God sees what is going on in people’s hearts. He sees the righteous people saved and forgiven of their sins. But he also sees the hearts and minds of evil people, and takes note. God is righteous as well as loving. He wants all people to respond to His love and be saved from the judgement to come. But equally, He allows all those who prefer evil to continue in their ways. He created mankind with the ability to choose their destinies. 

Dear Father God. Sobering thoughts this morning. We come once again to the Cross, looking once again at our Saviour and asking for forgiveness. Not for us, Your children, the ways of evil. And we pray for both for domestic and world events, that You will hold back the tides of evil and protect Your people. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have Compassion

Posted on by korgrocker

“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?”
Psalm 6:1-3 NLT

David must have been in a hard place when he wrote this Psalm. Had he done something he shouldn’t and his conscience was working overtime? Had he done something that had made God angry with him? Or had he contracted some illness and thought his condition was a punishment from God? But whatever it was, David was unhappy, and he asked God for healing. Pain in our bones is not a common condition, and is usually accompanied by an injury or, in modern times, some forms of cancer, so perhaps David had indeed been damaged during an accident or battle. But whatever the reason, David  was weak and depressed through his pain and sickness. 

But where did David turn to in his distress? His Lord, of course, and the conversation was robust and demanding on David’s part. He looked to God for a solution to his woes, and, by the way, please hurry up with the remedy Lord! 

As we read these verses, what do we think? If we experience pain, what do we do? Probably we reach for the pain killers, or, if necessary, get in touch with a doctor. If depressed, we find a councillor. We research our condition on the internet. But, sadly, it is often only when all other remedial avenues have been explored before we turn to God. He has been waiting in the wings all along trying to get our attention, but to no avail. David prayed for God to have compassion on him, for healing and for restoration. His relationship with God was such that, based on his faith and previous experiences, he knew God would come through for him. 

Today, we are blessed with health remedies unheard of in David’s day. Medical technology is advancing all the time and many conditions are now treatable. But often the medics are dealing with the symptoms and not the causes. David looked to God for a reason for his conditions and concluded that his behaviour had perhaps been the instigator. In his days, the thought was that sin was judged and dealt with through something like sickness, or an unfavourable event. In Deuteronomy 11:26-28 we read, “Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from him and worship gods you have not known before“. 

These verses are still in the Bible today, and it may be that sometimes sickness and ill health have their roots established in wrong choices that we have made. Wrong relationships, carelessness with finances, reliance on drugs and alcohol, crime, and more. We only have to look at society today to see the effects wrong choices have made on people’s lives. But there is a way back to a right relationship with God. He is indeed compassionate and merciful. He will help us put right the wrongs of the past. As we implement God’s commands in our own lives, we find ourselves aligned to God’s ways, just as He intended when He created us. Of course, we live in a fallen sinful world, and we will still get sick, but God is still there for His children, when they cry out to Him in prayer. 

Dear Father God. Please help us to live our lives Your way, every day. Amen.