Things Can Only Get Better?
In the 1997 Labour campaign, they made use of the song and slogan, ‘Things can only get better.‘ It is a Biblical truth, however, that things tend to get much worse before they get better, because true deliverance comes from God and not from better politics, better human ideas or ingenuity. Things may well get worse before they get better so that we see God’s deliverance rather than having any claim to being the solution ourselves.
Moses, known as Israel’s greatest leader, was called by God to lead Israel from the slavery of Egypt to freedom. (Ex 3-4) He was by no means enthusiastic about this calling, feeling (rightly) wholly inadequate to this task. This is partly the point. We are all wholly inadequate, but God chooses to use failed, flawed people precisely because He wants there to be no shadow of a doubt that when He rescues and delivers people, this is entirely His doing, down to His miraculous power.
Moses was called to go to Pharaoh and ask him to let Israel go to worship God in the wilderness. (Ex 5:1) Even before this happened, God told Moses that Pharaoh would not cooperate. (Ex 4:21) If you are asked to do something impossible, you’re in good company.
Pharaoh’s response was to make life even harder for the Israelites, demanding the same quota of bricks to be made as before, only this time without straw. (Ex 5:7-9) Things definitely weren’t getting better.
Moses felt this keenly. (Ex 5:22-23) But this was all part of God’s plan. It would be because of God’s mighty hand that deliverance would come. (Ex 6:1) God was the one who would free them, redeem them, shape them into His people. (Ex 6:6-8) We know that He did indeed do this ultimately, but there was still a long way to go before they saw the deliverance their hearts longed for and they had been promised. They were, at this point, utterly discouraged. (Ex 6:9)
We, too, may be discouraged, broken by the difficulties of life, unable to see a way forward. Impatience, anguish of spirit and cruel bondage may leech hope, faith and love from our souls. But the Biblical pattern is clear. As Nicky Gumbel says, ‘First comes God’s call and vision; then follows all the challenges and difficulties before you see the promise fulfilled.”
God works in His timing and His way so that only He gets the glory. If you are in the period where things seem only to be getting only worse, not better, hold on. The day is coming when you will stand firm and will see the deliverance the Lord will bring, when He will fight for you and you only need to be still. (Ex 14:13-14) The story isn’t over yet.
Spiritual Choices
Today in our Bible discussion we looked at Romans 8:1-17 as we focussed on the new life in the Spirit available to believers. In the NET version it talks about our outlook, which is shaped by what we focus on. If we have a Christ-centred outlook, we will see the possibilities available to us through His death and resurrection, but if our outlook is centred on what we can physically see, we will miss a whole invisible realm!
We will live in a spiritual way if we are focussing on spiritual things. Paul talks about the responsibility we now have to live in the spiritual realm, not being captivated by the world, but being won over by Christ. The easy way to live is very rarely the right way to live; we need a focus that will be single-mindedly fixed on Jesus.
Spiritual choices are necessary if we are to grow in spiritual maturity; these require work, effort or commitment. God supplies the power we need, but our part does require effort and if we are to grow spiritually, we must learn to make spiritual choices and have a spiritual focus.
What’s On In February
As February half-term approaches, here’s a list of what’s on this month in addition to our usual services on Sunday (3 p.m.) and Thursday (7.30 p.m.)
Mindful Moments, our monthly evening of creativity for adults, will be on Monday 16 February between 6 and 8 p.m. at GPCC. Come along to paint vases, make flowers and do bead art.
The ‘Churches Together’ family fun day is on Wednesday 18 February between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at GPCC. Come along to be a wise owl and enjoy a variety of free family crafts and activities as we look at the subject of wisdom. Free lunch and refreshments provided.
We will be singing at Parkside Care Home in Wombwell on Tuesday 24 February at 2 p.m. All welcome.
Living as Kingdom Subjects
At our Bible study this week we looked at the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:17-48, seeing how the kingdom of God requires radical obedience to the spirit of God’s law and not just the letter. The Pharisees and religious leaders had added many things to the law, but Jesus taught with authority (‘You have heard… but I tell you...’), reminding us that He came to fulfil the law in all God’s intentions.
In this section, Jesus taught on murder, adultery, divorce, taking oaths, taking revenge and loving people, taking us beyond our rules and regulations to the heart (where all actions originate.) He challenged the conditional love we so often show to people and commanded the same unconditional, selfless love that He Himself shows. The Biblical command to love your neighbour (Lev 19:18) did not have the concomitant ‘hate your enemy’ in it, but again, that was the ‘logical’ thing to do. Jesus takes us beyond reason and logic to relationship. While we were still enemies of God, He died for us. (Rom 5:8) We, therefore, following in our Father’s footsteps, must learn to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us, because this reflects our identity as God’s children. Loving only those who love us is simply worldly. We can all do that; it’s easy. But we need God’s love in our lives, a love that is all-encompassing and whole, if we are be true followers of God. Sinless perfection may not be possible in this life, but we are to strive to be mature and complete so that we can reflect God as He is to the world.
Songs, birthdays, meals…
A church service has many different parts. We enjoy learning Scripture through song: ‘the name of the Lord is a strong tower’ (Prov 18:10)
We enjoy celebrating birthdays.
On the first Sunday of the month after our service we enjoy eating together. Today it was curries!
We are free
Today we looked at Galatians 5:1, 13-14 which tells us more about our identity in Christ: that we are free. The Bible makes it clear that physical slavery (which sadly still exists in the world and which charities like One By One fight on a regular basis, offering an alternative to girls drawn into slavery and sex trafficking) is not the only form of slavery that exists; without Christ, we are slaves to sin. (Rom 6:16) Now, however, we are set free from this slavery and can live a new life which leads to righteousness and holiness. (Rom 6:22)
There is a huge difference between being slaves to sin and slaves to God. The devil is a liar who deceives and seeks our destruction (see John 8:44), whereas God is good and always has our good in mind. He wants us to live free from condemnation, shame and guilt, which is possible through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for us.
The Galatian church had begun well by faith, but now had come to believe that circumcision was necessary for salvation. ‘Jesus and…’ will always lead to legalism and problems. We are called to live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7) and to rely on God for our salvation. Paul said, ‘through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.’ (Gal 5:5) Our calling is now to serve others in love, fulfilling the commandment to love our neighbour as ourselves. The freedom God brings is not restrictive but opens the door to service and a life lived for others. We can be set free from sin, shame, addiction, fear and anxiety, but we are also set free to love and to serve, even as Jesus Himself demonstrated. (Phil 2:3-11)
