Victory

Posted on by korgrocker

“Sing a new song to the Lord, 
     for He has done wonderful deeds. 
His right hand has won a mighty victory; 
   His holy arm has shown his saving power! 
Shout to the Lord, all the earth; 
    break out in praise and sing for joy! 
Let the sea and everything in it shout His praise! 
    Let the earth and all living things join in. 
Let the rivers clap their hands in glee! 
    Let the hills sing out their songs of joy 
    before the Lord, 
for He is coming to judge the earth. 
    He will judge the world with justice, 
    and the nations with fairness.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭98:1, 4, 7-9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Another tremendous Psalm of joy and praise. Reading it, I get the impression that there has been a victory after a battle, and the Psalmist is giving God the credit, mentioning His “mighty deeds”, “mighty victory” and “saving power”. In those earlier days in Israel’s history, there was constant friction between the Jews and their neighbours. I suppose it hasn’t changed much today.

But I also get the impression that the Psalmist, probably reflecting national thought, expected this to be perhaps the first, or another, skirmish in what he hoped would be the process of God judging and passing sentence on the hapless neighbouring countries in that war-torn region on our planet. The Jews had an expectation that God would ultimately deal with the political situation in Palestine and fulfil His promise of driving out the nations that were populating their “promised land”.

We also have skirmishes in our lives. We have a “promised land” in the Kingdom of God, and although, as Christians, we are already populating it, we are still having problems with the  “neighbours”. Our sins encroach on our inheritance. The enemy, the devil, is doing his best to stop us settling into our new life in God. Secular society ostracises those who stray away from the herd, taking the moral high ground, adopting counter-cultural ways, challenging belief systems. But we look to God for salvation, for a new life free from sin and the devil and all things bad. We can thank God for the small victories in our pilgrimage through life. We can praise and worship the Lord Almighty, the God who graciously loves us, who supports us, who picks us up when we fall, and beckons us on to the new Jerusalem, just over the horizon of our consciousness. 

I’m overwhelmed by God’s grace this morning. As Christians we worship a God who is not a remote and distant deity, only interacting with His people on a whim, when He feels like it. We worship a God who so loved us that He actually came to this planet. God’s Son, Jesus, took on human flesh, and lived amongst us. He was part of a family. He worked for a living. He had such compassion on His fellow countrymen that He worked tirelessly amongst them, healing, teaching, loving. He felt the rejection of being counter-cultural, challenging the value systems and beliefs of His day. And He died for us, taking on our sins at Calvary. Through love He paid the ultimate price so that we could one day not only see the new Jerusalem in the distance, but one day live there with Him. What grace! What love! In this season of Advent, let us anew praise and worship the Lord “who has done wonderful deeds”.

God’s Home

Posted on by korgrocker

“How lovely is your dwelling place, 
     O Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 
I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. 
With my whole being, body and soul, 
     I will shout joyfully to the living God. 
Even the sparrow finds a home, 
     and the swallow builds her nest and 
     raises her young at a place near your altar, 
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God! 
     What joy for those who can live in your house, 
     always singing your praises.”
Psalms‬ ‭84:1-4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In a sinful and war-torn world, there is something reassuring about being in God’s presence. The mayhem of the last Psalm, Psalm 83, is displaced by a totally different world, where the presence of God fills all space. Because where God has His home, we will find rest and peace, love and acceptance. And the wonderful thing is that the doors to His house are wide open. Anyone can enter through the blood of Jesus into His presence and find Him there. In His home we will find a place of protection, a place of spiritual wholeness, a place of singing, a place of joy, a place of love, a place where we can relax and just enjoy Him. The birds of the air, without even thinking about it, camp there, going about their lives without fretting over the cares of life. And so must we. I’m writing this piece on a Sunday morning, with thoughts of anticipation about what God is going to do through His people, through His presence, in the lives of His people, as we go to church, as we come into His place. Yes, I know it’s just a building. There may of may not be an altar there. But God is everywhere through His presence, and wherever we are, we can enjoy Him. We might be heading for an ornate building filled with pews and stained glass windows, or just simply kneeling down beside a prison bed. We might be sitting in a chair, unable to move far anymore because of illness or infirmity. We might be walking across the Scottish Highlands, listening to the wind and the occasional bird call. Wherever we are though, we can be transported into God’s home. Finding the door into His heart wide open.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism starts by asking the question about what the chief end of man is. And the answer is to enjoy Him forever. What an invitation – that we in our frail human state, can come into the presence of God and enjoy Him forever. Let’s reach out this morning to each other as we run into His presence, holding hands of love and fellowship, enjoying His presence.

A New Song

Posted on by korgrocker

Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
Praise the Lord with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
Sing to him a new song;
play skilfully, and shout for joy.
Psalm 33:1-3 NIVUK

But I can’t play an instrument or hold a tune, I hear you say. And as for making up a new song, that’s totally beyond me. I can remember taking a course at school in music composition, where we were encouraged to make up a piece of music in four parts. A mental blank ensued.

In these verses the Psalmist, presumed to be David, encouraged the reader to do several things. He or she, assumed to be righteous and upright, were instructed to sing. Not just in any old way, but with a dose of joy. Why? Because the Psalmist thought it appropriate to do such things. He went on to suggest that God be praised on musical instruments, in this case the harp and the 10-string lyre. And then in verse 3 a new song was to be sung, accompanied by an instrument or instruments played skilfully, and the new song to include the occasional shout, underpinned and enhanced by “joy”. To a godless person this must have been the stuff of nonsense. What on earth are they doing, might have been the question.

But all this was not as strange as we might imagine. The Psalmist was instructing a worship band, made up of the Levite contingent of musicians and choristers. They crop up all over the Old Testament and performed many useful functions connecting the Jews to God in the acts of worship. Perhaps their most prominent occurrence was when Jehoshaphat placed the worshippers at the front of his army, as they headed off to do battle (2 Chronicles 20). So when we look at it from that perspective, it all seems to make sense. You see, worshippers, true worshippers, are led “in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). And true worship comes out of a heart-felt relationship with God. From worshippers who have spent time in God’s presence. Who know how great God is. Who have experienced the gentle touch of His Spirit, ruffling their spiritual hair with a closeness that has to be experienced to release the joy welling up inside.

But what about those who aren’t in the worship band. Who can’t play a note or keep a tune? The amazing thing is that God understands our shortcomings, our lack of ability and instead puts within us all the ingredients we need to make a new song, to sing and shout out with joy, and experience His presence in our expression of praise and worship to our loving Heavenly Creator God. And God is so blessed by His children praising Him, He doesn’t care what it sounds like in the natural. He sees our hearts and loves us anyway.

Light and Care

Posted on by korgrocker

“Send me Your light and Your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy mountain, to the place where You dwell. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise You with the lyre, O God, my God.” Psalms‬ ‭43:3-4‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

Have you ever been somewhere where there are no street lamps, even close by? No cities lighting the sky in the distance? Not a glimmer of light anywhere? With a clear sky overnight the visual presentation of celestial bodies is breathtaking – there are just so many of them. But if the stars are obscured by clouds it can be a scary place, because literally you cannot see your hand in front of your face. Spiritual darkness is a bit like that too. With a view of the spiritual Heavens, God is visible and tangible. Blessing us with His presence. Communicating Spirit to spirit. But when obscured by the clouds of our rebellion and sins, God isn’t visible to us anymore, and our prayers bounce off the cloud’s underbelly, falling back to our lips answered.

The Psalmist prayed that God would lead him through His light, dispensing His faithful care in the process, revealing through the spiritual gloom His presence and His home. The Psalmist knew that once there He would find joy, delight and a place of praise. It doesn’t get better than that!

Today, O Lord, I pray that through the light of Your Word, with a thankful heart because of Your faithful care, I would find You dwelling in my heart where I can praise and worship You. Amen.

The House of God

Posted on by korgrocker

“These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.” Psalms‬ ‭42:4‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil 13b-14 NIVUK

One thing that has happened during the pandemic is that many churches have experienced a drop in attendance. Bluntly, people who faithfully went to church every Sunday don’t go anymore. Their commitment has failed to survive the hassles of lockdowns, and a transition to services being live-streamed or held using Zoom. But what about their commitment to God and His people? There will always be things trying to get in the way of our God-worship, and difficulties will often expose what is in people’s hearts.

The Apostle Paul suffered greatly in his missionary journeys – many of his challenges are listed in 2 Corinthians 11 – but nothing ever stopped him from doing what he knew God had asked him to do. So he pressed on to fulfil his mission in life. We may not be high profile missionaries like Paul, or evangelists like Billy Graham, but we too have a mission in life and responsibilities to God and His people. And so in this continuing pandemic season, there is perhaps an opportunity for a reset, for forgetting the difficulties of the past 18 months or so. Those anxieties, griefs, and worries, the lockdowns, that have blighted our lives. Instead we must reach out to God for a fresh infilling of His Spirit and remember that today is the first day of the rest of our lives. We cannot change the past but we can ensure that our future is aligned to God’s will and purposes.

All We Need

Posted on by korgrocker

“How precious is Your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings. You feed them from the abundance of Your own house, letting them drink from Your river of delights. For You are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.” Psalms‬ ‭36:7-9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Psalm 36 is so full of information relevant to life. In these three verses, the Psalmist responds in worship to God by listing His provisions – love, shelter, food and drink, light, and even life itself. The basics of human need. And the removal of any one of these will, at best, stunt, and at worse, destroy, our human life.

In the society in which we live we take so much for granted. This becomes clearer in a time of a national disaster, such as a war, or, more topically, the current pandemic. In times like these people become rather insecure as events outside their, or their country’s, control take hold. And people who don’t know God cast around for answers, for help, not knowing what to do or what the future holds.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made this statement, “that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45). Jesus was talking about something we call “Common Grace”. God loves all mankind, even those people who are against Him, or who deny that He exists, not just His own people. He provides the good gifts listed in Psalm 36 to everyone regardless of whether or not they know, or even want to know, Him.

But as God’s people we know that all that we need for life comes from our wonderful Heavenly Father. And we must never take Him or His gifts for granted. We have a message of hope that we can share with those around us with thankful hearts. And dispense the “peace of God that passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) to a world in crisis.

Joyful Dancing

Posted on by korgrocker

“You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give You thanks forever!” Psalms‬ ‭30:11-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In this Psalm, David writes about the various problems he has encountered. His enemies are giving him bother. He has become seriously ill, almost to the point of death. He has suffered financial challenges. And he ends up pleading with God for mercy. Put in those terms, it seems he suffered in a way that is not unknown in lives today. During this pandemic, people have become sick, to the point of death. Loss of employment has led to money problems. And just as in David’s case, suffering people end up in a place of mourning. A natural response.

But David ends the Psalm with the realisation that God has the answer, the remedy, to his problems. He doesn’t say that God solved all that had gone wrong, bringing healing, and restoring his prosperity. But David does move into a place of joy, realising that in God there is no place for mourning. Easy to say, but there is a key here. As we set aside the problems and instead focus on our wonderful Heavenly Father, offering Him our praise and thanks, then we will move from a place of sadness and mourning into a place of joy and worship. Perhaps even to the extent of joyful dancing. And find there is so much more to thank God for. Amen?

Honour the Lord

Posted on by korgrocker

“Honour the Lord, you heavenly beings; honour the Lord for His glory and strength. Honour the Lord for the glory of His name. Worship the Lord in the splendour of His holiness.” Psalms‬ ‭29:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This Psalm of David starts with the words, “Honour the Lord”. Other versions read “Ascribe to the Lord”. And they build a picture right at the start of how we should come into the presence of our amazing Creator God. With a reverence so deep, so significant, that we cannot do anything else than acknowledge who God is. With a realisation that He is infinitely great and we are infinitely small. That He is so holy and perfect and we are not.

I’m reminded of two things. The Lord’s Prayer right at the beginning states that our Father God lives in Heaven and we should “hallow His name”. The word “hallow” is an old fashioned verb expressing honour and respect. It contains a hint of God’s awesomeness. His lofty elevation above His creation.

Secondly, in those denominations that inhabit those ornate churches and cathedrals that can be found everywhere in our lands, there is a deep respect manifested in people who approach the altar. A respect seen in congregants bowing and prostrating themselves before an ornate and raised table, or platform, richly decorated, presumably because that is what they associate with the presence of God. And I must admit that I often feel “something” approaching this respectful stance in such places, perhaps because that is how I was raised as a child.

The Psalm says who should honour God, for what they should honour Him – His glory, strength and name – and how He should be honoured – with a worship enwrapped in His infinite and splendid holiness. And the Psalm continues as a hymn of praise underpinned by God-wonders, as many as David can think of.

What a wonderful place to be, lost in the presence of God. A place that many can only dimly see in the distance, with a yearning unrequited. But it is there nevertheless. I find it often in His creation. At this time of year there is an explosion of greenery in the woodlands near where I live. A place of blessing because I find God there. Because He made it and His fingerprints are all over it.

Let’s worship our amazing Creator God together today.

Don’t Give Up

Posted on by korgrocker

“I pray to you, O Lord, My rock. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if You are silent, I might as well give up and die. Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to You for help, as I lift my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.” Psalms‬ ‭28:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

To David, his relationship with God was so important, so profound, that if God was to ever withdraw from that relationship, David said he might as well stop living. We don’t know what David was praying about, though we get a few clues later in the Psalm, but at this critical moment in his life, he felt as though the heavens were made of brass and his petitions were falling on deaf ears. But as we read down this Psalm, we find that God did answer him. He writes in verses 6 and 7, “Praise the Lord! For He has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.”

So the question is, how important is my relationship with God? If the heavens were closed to my prayers and petitions, what would I think and do? Would I give up, spiritually speaking? It’s a sobering thought, but, like David, I can praise Him this morning because a theme of God’s love for me runs through the Bible, like letters through a stick of seaside rock. He says that I am His child (1 John 3:1). He says He cares for me (1 Peter 5:7). He reassures me that there is nothing I should be anxious about (Philippians 4:6-7). And so on. There are many such reassuring verses throughout the Bible. So this morning, I can praise and worship my Father, my Saviour God with a grateful heart. Can you?

Psalm 15

Posted on by korgrocker

“Who may worship in Your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter Your presence on Your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts.” Psalms‬ ‭15:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Psalm 15 is a short Psalm, with just five verses. It considers the importance of who can enter the presence of God for worship. And the conclusion is in verse 2, where three qualities are deemed essential – being blameless, righteous and truthful. The Psalmist, David, takes it for granted, rightly in my opinion, that worshiping God is one of the most important things, perhaps the most important, that a person can do. And he continues in verses 3-5 to identify important qualities, both negative and positive, that help in an individual’s approach to God.
David starts by highlighting the importance of right relationships with others. He is saying that you cannot have a right relationship with God if you are not in a right relationship with those round you. So who have you fallen out with lately? Before you come into God’s presence you will have to restore that broken relationship with your neighbour. That argument with a friend.
Next David considers the importance of avoiding contact with what the NLT calls “flagrant sinners”. God’s people will reach out and help those in a hard place, because that is the essence of the Gospel, but in the process, they must be very careful to discern, and subsequently avoid, acts that will draw them into sin. As an example, being employed in a company engaged in sinful activities or practices might be unwise because inevitably you will be drawn into sin. And in the remainder of verse 4 David goes on to highlight the importance of keeping promises and honouring God’s people.
Finally, in verse 5, David concludes by mentioning the importance of being honest in financial dealings. Money is a great servant, but a terrible master, and the wrong attitude to money will stand in the way of entering into God’s presence.

A short Psalm, but so profound. Yet another Biblical nugget of gold to help us in our pilgrimage through life.