We Don’t Understand

Posted on by korgrocker

““In a little while you won’t see me anymore. But a little while after that, you will see me again.” Some of the disciples asked each other, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, but then you will see me,’ and ‘I am going to the Father’? And what does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand.””
John 16:16-18 NLT

The disciples were unable to get their minds around what Jesus was saying. They knew that something significant was about to happen, because of what Jesus had already told them, but the details of what that was eluded them. But would we have been any different, had we been standing in their shoes at that time in history? All they could do was to store away what they had been told, in faith that Jesus knew best and in the knowledge that He spoke the truth. Even today there are things about the future that we don’t understand. The disciples were facing into something imminent, but we have in the Bible many Scriptures that point towards Jesus coming again to this earth but we don’t know when. His return may be imminent but it also could be a long way off, beyond our life spans. And the vary nature of the events that precede this momentous occasion elude us. We have some hints and even some facts, but no details.

So how do we pilgrims handle future events in God’s Kingdom? As with those first disciples, it all boils down to faith. We have plenty of Biblical examples of men and women who didn’t fully understand what was coming, but they trusted in God. Think about Noah. We can read about the story in Genesis 6 to 9, but his faith lasted a hundred years as he built something the world of that time had never seen before – a boat. A large boat big enough to contain pairs of all the animals and birds present on earth at that time. Consider the ridicule from the people around him, and probably his own family as well. The engineering challenges in trying to build something that was, in those days, cutting edge technology and with a poor selection of tools. That took extraordinary faith. 

We pilgrims look around us and find that there is much that we don’t understand. And that is not just things in the Bible – it includes so much in our world as well. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 8:17, “then I saw all that God has done. No-one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no-one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it”. We will never be able to fully understand all that goes on; only God, the Creator of this world, knows. Even today, scientists are constantly finding out new things about our world, but to ordinary men and women like ourselves, we have faith in our Creator God. We do not fully know and understand all that the future holds, but we do know the One who holds the future. That’s good enough for me.

Father God. You are the One who has the whole world in Your hands. Society around us fearfully goes about its business, without the assurance that You are in control. But we know differently, for which we thank You. Amen.

Sins Piled High

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then I heard another voice calling from heaven, “Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her. For her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God remembers her evil deeds. Do to her as she has done to others. Double her penalty for all her evil deeds. She brewed a cup of terror for others, so brew twice as much for her.”
Revelation‬ ‭18:4-6‬ ‭NLT

In John’s vision, the frantic outpouring of plagues has been replaced by what is more like an overview. We’ve been through the trees, looking at the detail, but now we’re getting a drone shot, as it were, of the wood, providing a summary of the impact of what has happened. God’s people are warned to keep away from the world system. It is so corrupted by wickedness, that the sins are piled up to the point that they reach Heaven. This is a time of retribution for the disgraceful way God’s people have been treated, with the “voice calling from Heaven” proposing that the punishment should be double that committed by the world and its “evil deeds”. 

Should we pilgrims separate ourselves from the world system around us, as the voice from Heaven implied? Should we all join a monastery or convent? Swapping our everyday clothes for those worn by monks or nuns? Spending our lives without TV, cars, and shops, instead growing our own food and spending our spare time in prayer within the monastery grounds? Although there is some merit in such a life style, I don’t believe it is for everyone, by a huge margin. In His wonderful prayer in John 17, Jesus prayed, “I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do.” (John‬ ‭17:14-16‬). The Apostle James, Jesus’ half-brother, expressed very strongly the dichotomy between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world. He said, “You adulterers! Don’t you realise that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.” (James‬ ‭4:4).

But coming back to our verse today, where the voice from Heaven entreated God’s people not to get caught up in the world system and its sins. Jesus taught that there is a way to live in the world but not be a part of it. We can do so by putting our service to God at the highest priority. We extend God’s love and grace to the sinful world around us, sharing the Gospel through our acts of service, selflessly expending our lives and resources on those most in need. But in the process we make sure that we don’t become corrupted by those we serve. We must objectively discern where the dangers lie and keep well away.

Practically, we avoid anything that would corrupt our Godly way of life. So instead of walking through a red light district, we take the long way round. Instead of channel hopping the TV, we selectively choose the channels that will not offend. Instead of getting caught up in the office gossip we walk away. We stay away from all sorts of temptation. As someone once said, we cannot stop birds from flying over our heads, but we can stop them from nesting in our hair. We discern the dangers of temptation and act accordingly.

James didn’t imply that we should cut ourselves off from the world around us. He exhorted us not to become friends of the world, being sucked into the world systems and cultures, to the extent that we start to become absorbed into everything the world gets involved in, and particularly its sin. By taking a step back and discerning what the world systems are about, we will be able to keep ourselves in the sweet spot of a relationship with God.

The old Apostle John wrote in his first epistle, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” (1 John‬ ‭2:15-17‬). Wise words indeed.

As we are seeing in this chapter in Revelation, the world system will not end well. Let’s diligently ensure that we don’t go down with it.

Dear Father. Please help us to be strong, with a resolve to stand against all the temptations that come our way in the worldly system around us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Yo-Yo

Posted on by korgrocker

“Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens! May Your glory shine over all the earth.
My enemies have set a trap for me. I am weary from distress. They have dug a deep pit in my path, but they themselves have fallen into it.” Psalms‬ ‭57:5-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Psalm 57 is a “Yo-Yo” set of verses. David’s thoughts, captured in this Psalm, seem to bounce between praise to God and despair about his predicament. He’s on the run again, and Saul nearly catches him this time. You can just imagine him and his men holding their breath as Saul’s soldiers pass by. And we read that Saul was even within reach of David as he “relieved himself” in the same cave in which David was hiding.

In today’s Western society it is difficult to relate to the dangers David faced into, almost on a daily basis, as he tried to keep out of Saul’s way. Most of us do not experience threats to our lives. But we do experience difficulties in which God’s help is just as important as it was in David’s circumstances. As I write, the fallout from Brexit and the pandemic are manifesting themselves in all sorts of societal problems. Security of food and road fuel supplies are under threat. Energy prices have rocketed. We are constantly being told that the NHS cannot cope with the demands being made of it. People are anxious and nervous about the future. Their worlds have been shaken and there seems to be no remedy in sight. So what do we do? We do what David did. Share our worries and concerns with our loving Heavenly Father, and concentrate of praising Him. Verse 5, “Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens! May your glory shine over all the earth” is repeated again in verse 11. Why? Because that was David’s heart. No matter what he was facing into, the important bit was putting God in His rightful place.

So are we anxious today? 1 Peter 5:7 reads, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” Jesus said in John 16:33, “…Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” We have a choice – accept God’s loving care as He “overcomes the world” or worry ourselves into an early grave. Stark language I know but David went on to become Israel’s greatest king. What will we achieve as God’s overcomers?