Bowing to Baal

Posted on by korgrocker

“No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realise what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” And do you remember God’s reply? He said, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!””
Romans 11:2-4 NLT

We look around in our churches and see so many empty pews. We wonder too about the increasing ages of the congregants and the sad message that another dear friend has passed on, reducing the numbers even more. And news of churches in our towns and communities closing down seems to add to the feeling that perhaps we are living in what has come to be called “post-Christian” age. Elijah must have felt much the same. We read his story in 1 Kings 19, where he, depressed and weary, traveled to Mount Sinai to meet with God. We read in 1 Kings 19:9-10, “There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too””. The story continues, with God passing by on the mountain. After the wind, earthquake and fire, Elijah heard the “sound of a gentle whisper”. 1 Kings 19:13-14, “When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied again, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”” 

Elijah thought he was the sole remnant of faithfulness, in a nation of unfaithful people. But God knew differently. In 1 Kings 19:18, after some practical instructions, God said to Elijah, “Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!”” We need never underestimate God’s amazing plans and promises. The church, since the first century, has experienced seasons where its very survival seems in doubt. But before we know it, another visitation of the Holy Spirit brings a revival, a new awakening, to the people and excitement grips the church once again. In the doom and gloom of waning churches in the West of Fife, in Scotland where I live, news filters in of a different experience elsewhere in the UK. We hear about churches in London packed with young people and growing. Holy Trinity Brompton (of Alpha fame) planted 21 new churches in 2021, with more following in 2022. A church in Birmingham has grown by 30% since the pre-pandemic days, again powered by an influx of young people. 

A minister of a lively and growing East London church was recently reported as saying the following, “Traditional Judeo-Christian values of compassion, personal responsibility and loving thy neighbour resonate with cause-driven Gen Z-ers. ‘It’s quite cool to do something that’s counter-cultural,’ he says, arguing that Gen Z-ers don’t want ‘big organised religion, flexing its muscles’. They have ‘an allergy to the wrong kind of power’. … ‘The tide has felt for a long time in this country like it’s going out, but what I feel – and I might be wrong, and we’ll know in 100 years’ time – is our feet are starting to get wet again.’”

In the light of such encouraging news, we remember that Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 16:18, “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” Jesus never told lies. He promised a church that would never be destroyed. So, we pilgrims set our faces firmly in the direction of Heaven, assured and confident that God will never reject His people or allow His church to die.

Thank You, Lord, for Your faithfulness. Your Church will never die. Amen.

God’s Open Arms

Posted on by korgrocker

“And later Isaiah spoke boldly for God, saying, “I was found by people who were not looking for me. I showed myself to those who were not asking for me.” But regarding Israel, God said, “All day long I opened my arms to them, but they were disobedient and rebellious.””
Romans 10:20-21 NLT

Two more Scriptures from Paul’s arsenal of Old Testament readings. His memory must have been amazing, but, like many of his fellow Jews, he was steeped in Scripture from an early age. In these closing verses from Romans 10, Paul quotes from Isaiah 65. But two chapters before in Isaiah 63, the prophet starts an impassioned prayer, “Lord, look down from heaven; look from your holy, glorious home, and see us. Where is the passion and the might you used to show on our behalf? Where are your mercy and compassion now?” (Isaiah 63:15). He continues, “Lord, why have you allowed us to turn from your path? Why have you given us stubborn hearts so we no longer fear you? Return and help us, for we are your servants, the tribes that are your special possession” (Isaiah 63:17). And he rather petulantly declares, “Sometimes it seems as though we never belonged to you, as though we had never been known as your people” (Isaiah 63:19). In the next chapter, Isaiah reminds God of His role in the lives of His people – “And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand. Don’t be so angry with us, Lord. Please don’t remember our sins forever. Look at us, we pray, and see that we are all your people” (Isaiah 64:8-9). But God replies through the prophet with the verses quoted by Paul in Romans 10, “The Lord says, “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help. I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ to a nation that did not call on my name. All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people. But they follow their own evil paths and their own crooked schemes” (Isaiah 65:1-2). What a damning indictment of a people who called themselves favoured and chosen by God. God said He would deal with the sinners, ““But I will not destroy them all,” says the Lord. “For just as good grapes are found among a cluster of bad ones (and someone will say, ‘Don’t throw them all away— some of those grapes are good!’), so I will not destroy all Israel. For I still have true servants there. I will preserve a remnant of the people of Israel and of Judah to possess my land. Those I choose will inherit it, and my servants will live there” (Isaiah 65:8-9). There has always been grace available for the sincere seekers after God. 

Society today suffers the same illness that was experienced by the Israelites back when Isaiah walked on this earth. An illness called rebellion, with symptoms including (but not limited to) “crooked schemes” and following “evil paths”. It’s all summed up in a little word, not popular though in today’s society, called “sin”. And just as God said through Isaiah that He was there for them, the same response can be found in today’s society – “but no one asked for help”. In my community there are people struggling with various issues, such as loneliness, illness, poor and debilitating mental health, poverty, and grief, but they will not acknowledge that God exists, let alone be there for them to help them in their troubles. He even has His arms opened up in a welcoming invitation, but they prefer to struggle on in their difficulties regardless. It begs the question – what is the point of a life of struggles in an uncaring society, followed by a day of judgement and more misery, when all the time our Father God is in Heaven, arms opened, with His remedy for sin available, and eternal life with Him one day, all for just a simple choice? Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “ … 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. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light”. 

We pilgrims, sadly, are the favoured few. We have responded to God’s invitation and through Jesus, we have found the remedy for our sins and can now enjoy a wonderful loving relationship with our Heavenly Dad. We may face troubles in this mortal life, but God is there for us, sustaining us in every situation. He knows the end from the beginning, and one day we will be with Him. Forever. But we mustn’t just sit in our pews, praying that we will survive unscathed until the day when we cross the great divide. We have a job to do. The Heavenly grace and love that we have found is there for all to enjoy. And others won’t know about it unless we tell them. 

Dear Father God. we intercede for the sins of those in our communities, praying for Your Spirit to awaken a people who have fallen spiritually asleep. Please have mercy on us, we pray. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The Jews

Posted on by korgrocker

“With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.”
Romans 9:1-3 NLT

After the dizzy heights of Romans 8, Paul turns a page in his writings, and thinks about his fellow Jews. Paul was of course, by his own admission, a Jew. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:5, “I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law”. Not only was Paul a Jew, he was a particularly fanatical adherent to Jewish customs. But his meeting with Jesus on the Damascus Road (Acts 9) turned his life around to the extent that, referring to his Jewish heritage and way of life, he wrote in Philippians 3:7, “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done”. The Bible version quoted for this verse (NLT) uses the word “worthless” but the Greek word for this was rather vulgar and consequently avoided by the translators. Paul had turned his back on his Jewish roots. But that didn’t stop him grieving for the rest of his race, his people, his Jewish brothers and sisters. Paul had discovered salvation through Jesus, and was in a state of “bitter sorrow and unending grief” because most of his countrymen hadn’t. In Acts 13:47, we read, “Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles”. Paul tried to get the Jews he met to accept the “word of God” but he was rejected and turned to the Gentiles instead. But that didn’t stop his feelings of intense regret.

Why was Paul apparently so hung up over the obstinacy and outright rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, by his fellow Jews? Why would he rather be “cut off from Christ”  if the Jews would accept salvation? Because he knew that, regardless of their behaviour, the Jews were, and are, God’s chosen people. This has been, and still is, a problem for many Christians because they believe that because the Jews have rejected Jesus as the Messiah, that have relinquished their right to be God’s chosen people any more. But we perhaps forget that the very Messiah, Jesus Himself, was a Jew. Born of Jewish parents, with, as we find in Matthew 1, lineage that could be traced all the way back to Abraham. Following an extensive list of unpronounceable names, we read in Matthew 1:17, “All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah”. I love the order in the three sets of fourteen – the symmetry and multiples of the use of the God-number, “7”, to me just puts God’s fingerprints all over the plan for the Messiah’s first coming to Planet Earth.

Christians have quoted the verse, Matthew 21:43, to justify their claim to replace the Jews as God’s chosen people. We read, “I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit”. But there are two problems in drawing this conclusion. Firstly, Jesus didn’t say that the Jews will not be God’s chosen people anymore. He implied that at that particular time in history, the Kingdom of God was not available to them because of their choices. Secondly, Jesus was speaking to the religious leaders who happened to be in His presence. We read in Matthew 21:23,45, “When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right? … When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realised he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers”. As we read in Matthew 21:46, the ordinary people, the “crowds”, had a very different opinion of Jesus, “They [the religious leaders] wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet”. 

Paul desperately wanted His people, the Jews, to be saved. His zeal carried him through many challenges and difficulties during his missionary journeys. Everywhere he went he met fellow Jews, the diaspora living throughout the Middle East at that time. On occasion they listened to his message and put their faith in Jesus. But on others they abused Paul badly. He never lost his love for his people. But what about us pilgrims? Do we have the same zeal and longing to see our fellow countrymen saved? Do we share Paul’s “bitter sorrow and unending grief” for our neighbours and friends? I know that they have to be free to make their own choices but we must share the love of God with them. What else can we do?

Dear God. We pray for our families and friends, that a new awakening by Your Spirit would draw them out of their spiritual slumber into the light of Your love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.