Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during August 2021]

Most of us who have had an online presence for any length of time will have encountered spam of one form or another. For the benefit of those who have thus far avoided this online onslaught, spam is the practice of using unsolicited messages in an attempt to persuade the recipient to divulge personal details that can be used to the sender’s advantage. Typically, a spam message might take the form “Your bank account appears to have been compromised. Give me the log-in details so that I can check it for you.” It is not difficult to guess what happens next.

For those who are unwary, receiving such a message can be a shock and cause them to panic. Imagine, then, the effect of the message received by the Christians in first-century Damascus. “Saul of Tarsus is coming!” Saul was one of the foremost persecutors of Christians in that time. By his own admission:

“I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. … On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.”
[Acts 26 v9-12 NIVUK]

There could be no doubt as to why Saul was coming: this man’s reputation preceded him. Christians were about to have a hard time. Did any of them try to flee? Where could they hide? No doubt many of them prayed for God’s protection. I suspect that very few of them expected that God’s protection would come in the form of Saul’s conversion: their principal antagonist would become their most prominent advocate.

In our own times, Christians in many places have received a similar message: “We know who you are, we know where you live”. Certainly, receiving such a message would be very worrying. Can they flee? Can they hide? We have been asked to pray for God’s protection for them as they face the prospect of oppression and possible martyrdom. It is our responsibility to do so but is that enough? Recall the words of Jesus in his sermon on the mount: “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”^[1] – those oppressors, too, are souls for whom Christ died.

God moves in mysterious ways; there is nothing too hard for him. After Saul’s conversion we read:

“Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.” [Acts 26 v31 NIVUK]

Do we have the courage and audacity to ask God to do the same in our own times?

[1]: Matthew ch5 v44.

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 29/August/2021]

One of the subjects that I most enjoy teaching at Spurgeon’s College is Christian Ethics. It’s always interesting to ask the students about what they think it means to live a ‘good life’. In today’s world we often feel under pressure to live ‘the good life’. Before I became a Christian, I thought that living a good life was just a matter of indulging myself with lots of material comforts and superficial pleasures. My aim was to live ‘a good life’, buying a nice house, a flashy car and possessing all the other ‘good’ things that life has to offer. I thought that if I had all these things, then I would be ‘successful’ and able to live ‘the good life’.

But for the Apostle Paul and the other New Testament writers, goodness has nothing to do with wealth, fame, glamour, power or material well-being. Goodness, from a biblical perspective, is about living according to the righteousness, purity and love of Jesus Christ. Since “only God is truly good” (Mark 10:18), it follows that it is impossible to live a good life without God, regardless of how many material comforts we might have.

As disciples of Christ at HBC our aim should always be to live a good life in the eyes of God. Essentially, what this means is to live according to the goodness and purity of Christ. Rather than indulging the flesh (Rom 13:14), we live according to the Spirit of God, who leads us into truth and righteousness.

In other words, the Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus, who lived not just a ‘good life’, but the ‘perfect life’ (2 Pet 2:2). We know that although “he faced all of the same testings we do” (Heb. 4:15), still he was entirely without sin.

Over the years I’ve realised that I don’t need a grand house or a flashy car in order to live “the good life”. That’s probably just as well for me, since I drive a Nissan Micra and I live in a small terraced house!!! But far more important when it comes to living a good life is following Jesus, dying to self and letting the Holy Spirit do His good work of transformation of my character.

So being a good person and living a ‘good life’ isn’t a matter of owning lots of stuff. Neither is it about conforming to other people’s expectations about how we should behave or what the world thinks we should spend our money on or devote our time to. Rather, living ‘the good life’ means submitting our whole lives to Jesus. When the watching world sees His goodness shining out of our lives, Jesus says that the people will praise our heavenly Father (Matt 5:16).

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Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 15/August/2021]

We have been hearing a lot recently about freedom, especially the freedom from lock-down restrictions, so I thought it would be a good time to look at the freedom we have in Christ.

Jesus said in John 8 v 34, 36 “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin… If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Nearly half a century ago I heard a sermon on this subject, in which the preacher described 3 aspects of freedom from sin:
– Freedom from punishment for sin, which we already have through the work of Jesus on the cross
– Freedom from the power of sin, an ongoing process as the Holy Spirit works in our lives
– Freedom from the presence of sin, which we will enjoy in heaven
(Having 3 points starting with the same letter is certainly an aid to memory!)

Over the past 18 months we have seen Covid 19 destroy lives and drive families apart, just as sin does. The government has tried hard to limit the damage by imposing all kinds of rules and regulations, just as God gave the Jews the law to limit the damage done by sin. However, these rules and regulations had no power to help us fight the disease once it had infected us. Now we have a vaccine working inside us to fight the virus, so the rules can be relaxed. In a similar way, the Holy Spirit works within us to fight the virus of sin and to set us free from both our sinful nature and from burden-some rules and regulations.

Romans 8 v 1-2 says: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

Let us echo the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 9 v 15: “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

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Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during August 2021]

‘I will punish you as your deeds deserve’, declares the Lord. ‘I will kindle a fire in your forests that will consume everything around you’. [Jeremiah 21 v14 NIVUK]

As we see the images of forest fires around the world we can marvel the Bible seems to have a word for every situation. Just a few verses earlier in the same passage Jeremiah warns that people will die of a terrible plague. We might wonder whether the prophet had a particular insight into our own times although it should come as no surprise that the God who defined (and defies) time should be able to inspire those who transcribe his word.

At the time of writing the Dixie fire in northern California has been burning for over a month; it has consumed over 840 square miles (an area larger than Surrey) and has destroyed several small towns including Greenville. It was interesting that among the few surviving structures in that town were two church notice boards – one with a text inviting people to turn to God and the other announcing a Bible study on Sunday afternoons. It remains to be seen whether those messages will be taken more seriously once the town is rebuilt.

Even when taken out of its original context this verse from Jeremiah still carries a message. It states that the fire is a punishment. Can we imply that the residents of Greenville were any worse sinners than other people? Of course not. Apocalyptic as the Dixie fire may seem it is just one of many burning worldwide. Is the whole world full of sinners? The Bible has an answer to that question:

Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins. [Ecclesiastes 7 v20 NIVUK]

The prophet Malachi seems to add to the futility:

‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.
[Malachi 4 v1-2 NIVUK]

This passage is not without hope. Despite mankind’s efforts to save the planet we know that, at the appropriate time, heaven and earth will be replaced. Throughout history, and still today, the journey to a new home can be difficult and discouraging but those who revere the Lord, those who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ as their saviour will not only survive but prosper.

Are you up for the trip of a lifetime?

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Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during August 2021]

A king, a giant, a young man and a stone – the essential ingredients for a reflection based on the story of David and Goliath. In that event, the Israelite king Saul and his army were drawn up in battle lines against a Philistine force. The Philistines had a champion, a giant called Goliath who stood over ten feet tall and who was clad in bronze armour. He issued a challenge to the Israelites; to decide the battle with a one-to-one encounter, but Saul had no one who could respond to that challenge.

We too face challenges to our faith. Are we hesitant, fearful, unable to provide a response? As we know, a young man who trusted in God came on the scene and, after giving God the credit, he picked up a stone with which he turned the battle in the Israelites’ favour. Perhaps we need to be more diligent in our relationship with God so that when the challenges come we, like David, are prepared and have the confidence to face them head on.

This is not the only Biblical account with those four principal ingredients. Some 400 years later we find another king facing another giant. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a giant statue and it was certainly awesome.

The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. [Daniel 2 v32-34 NIVUK]

As Nebuchadnezzar was watching, a large stone fell on the statue and smashed it to tiny pieces, scattering the fragments. He was challenged as to what it all meant. His army of astrologers and magicians could not provide a response and, as with Saul’s army, their immediate prospects looked extremely grim.

“This is what I have firmly decided: if you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble.” [Daniel 2 v 5 NIVUK]

As was the case with David and Goliath, a God-fearing young man played a pivotal role in saving the day. Daniel and his colleagues prayed for an answer and then he was able to explain the dream to the king, giving full credit for the revelation to God alone. The various materials and body parts represented successive empires, starting with the golden days of Nebuchadnezzar’s own time and progressively declining in status until the stone, a kingdom of God’s own making, swept all the others away.

In an example of how the Bible uses the language of its time to describe items and events that had not yet been envisaged the reference to a mixture of iron and clay could suggest reinforced concrete which, ironically, was first developed in the Roman era, the period that, some suggest, is represented by the feet of the statue.

You might not be the golden boy engaged in the high affairs of state or be running the risk of being chopped into pieces; it is more likely that your challenges concern mundane things like iron and clay. Daniel’s prayer partners faced their own challenge and their response “… the God we serve is able to deliver us …” can be our response too.

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Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 15/August/2021]

I wonder what you think of when you hear of the ancient city of Jericho.

You may re-member the walls falling down when the Israelites marched round it for seven days, or of Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore tree just before his dramatic encounter with Jesus, or blind Bartimaeus calling out with persistent faith so that Jesus would give him his sight. Having visited the modern Jericho about 10 years ago in the Palestinian Territories I have some slightly different images. Of the splendid, large store which seemed to sell everything from decorative ware, books, clothes, food, to the rows of lush, colourful locally produced fruit, or the cardboard cut-out of Zacchaeus in the branches of one of the sycamore trees along the road, and surprisingly a cable car going up a mountain overlooking the city.

In this day and age I suppose the cable car is not so surprising as it’s the easiest way to get up the mountain which is known as the Mount of Temptation. It is here in the Judaean Wilderness, that Jesus is believed to have been tempted by the devil after His baptism by John the Baptist. The cable car took us to an Orthodox Monastery built on a precipice high up the mountain. The buildings are long and narrow along the rocky cliff edge, and lead to a cave which is now a chapel. It is here where tradition says Jesus sheltered during His 40 days fasting and faced the temptations we read about in the Gospels.

I am sure that Jesus was tempted by the devil more times than the three examples given in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13 and also throughout His ministry, and especially the night before and during His crucifixion. The devil knew how to get at Jesus, not only by using His needs at the time such as his extreme hunger, but also how to bring about God’s will for His mission in the wrong ways. How easy it would be to miraculously supply unlimited food to the people by changing stones to bread, and back up His claims to being the Son of God with spectacular displays such as jumping off the top of the Temple without harm. In these ways He would soon be accepted as the Messiah of Israel.

The most frightening temptation of the devil was for Jesus to achieve His future ultimate reign over all the nations of the world by taking a shortcut and worshipping the devil. Imagine how terrible that would be. God, in Jesus, bowing down to Satan, and enabling the devil to succeed in his aim to rise up above God. No wonder Jesus dismissed the devil at that time from tempting Him, because if he had succeeded in his evil intentions, then Jesus would never have died on the cross to give us forgiveness for all that we have done wrong and we would not have had the opportunity to have a new life forever with our Heavenly Father.

In Hebrews 4:15 we read that Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.” Adam and Eve, and ultimately each one of us, gave in to the devil’s temptations but Jesus rose up above temptation and didn’t sin so that He could go on to fulfil God’s plan from before time to save us.

Fortunately we don’t have to go all the way to Jericho to believe that truth.

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Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.