Freedom not punishment

Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. Acts 13: 38 – 39

There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears in not made perfect in love. I John 4: 18

When Jesus died on the cross, he took all of our sin past, present and future and the guilt and the shame upon himself as the perfect sacrifice.  He took all the punishment that was due to us for our sin.  Our sin incurred the death penalty. As it says in Romans 6:23 ‘for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life.’ Jesus took the death penalty for our sin and in a divine exchange, gave us the free gift of eternal life.  It was a complete, finished work.

However, as Christians, when we do wrong our mind set can still be that God is angry with us and wants to punish us. We need to get hold of this divine truth that God does not want to punish us for anything.  Jesus took ALL the punishment due to us for every sin when he died on the cross.  God does not want to punish us when we do wrong but to set us free from sin and its consequences.

If we look at God’s Word in the light of God’s desire to free us from sin, it takes us from a vengeful God ready to pounce on every wrongdoing to a God that longs for his people to be liberated from the burden of their mistakes. 

This amazing thought can free us from fear; fear of failure, fear of sinning, fear of punishment, fear of judgment, fear of disappointing God.  We cannot disappoint God because he knows what we will do before we do it. Disappointment comes when things do not work out as expected.  If God knows what is going to happen, he cannot be disappointed. 

When we sin or when God shows us our shortcomings, our proud thoughts and bad attitudes, we must resist every temptation to think that God is angry or disappointed in us. We must take hold of the truth that God is liberating us from these shortcomings.

God hates sin because it separates us from his unconditional love.  God has dealt with sin in sinful man through Jesus’ death on the cross (Romans 8: 3 – 4).  Let us live in the joy of being forgiven children of God who need have no fear of their loving heavenly Father and let us walk in that wonderful freedom. 

Choose life

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. Deuteronomy 32:19

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. II Corinthians 10:5

There can be times in our lives, when we seem to keep stumbling over the same issue. This may be a past hurt, disappointment, deep regret, an issue of forgiveness or something similar that seems to haunt us. Recently I kept stumbling over some similar circumstances and instead of jumping over them, they caused me to stumble every time.  A good friend of mine gave me this advice:

Choose life.

What she meant was that whenever one of these things came up, instead of dwelling on the past hurt, disappointment, regret or unforgiveness all of which can lead us in a fruitless circle that brings no release - choose life. Choose to take that thought captive which keeps making you stumble and refuse to dwell on it. Instead fill your mind with thoughts of life. These may be thoughts of thankfulness, forgiveness, salvation, healing, God’s goodness, faithfulness, grace, mercy and so on. We should declare God’s truth instead of thinking about those things that have gone wrong.

Soon after my friend said this to me, a thought about something painful came to my mind. I was just about to share it when I realised where this would lead. Instead I took the thought captive and replaced it with thoughts of life and thankfulness.

Choosing life is not the same as sweeping things under the carpet and pretending something has never happened. It means recognising something was hard, difficult, disappointing and that maybe someone, including yourself, may need forgiving. However having done that, instead of focusing on these things, you choose instead to look at the positive Godly aspects of life.

Martin Luther said, ‘You may let a bird fly over your head but you do not have to let it land in your hair and make a nest.’ By which he meant that thoughts may come flying past but we do not have to let them land and make a home in our minds.

Today if you keep stumbling over an issue, can I encourage you to stop letting it dominate your life and instead take the thoughts captive and ‘choose life’ which will bring freedom and joy to you. 

Journey versus destination

Whenever we are on a journey, whether between two places or on the journey of life, I think it is very important that we not only keep the destination in mind but also make the most of the adventure. Too much focus on either of these to the detriment of the other can cause us to live an unbalanced life.

If all we have in mind is the destination then we get so little joy from our travels and we may not make the most of the adventure.  If our focus is on the journey and we forget our destination, it is very easy to get lost.

We were once travelling between two places in Britain and instead of using the easy but unexciting motorway, we went cross country. It was a wonderful journey, full of interest and beautiful scenery but we had to keep our destination in mind.  If we had forgotten where we were going, we would have had a wonderful journey until we realised we were hopelessly lost.

The same can happen on the journey of life.  So many Christians are enjoying the journey, concentrating on the ups and downs of life, growing in their knowledge of God but with so little focus on where they are going.  Heaven is our destination. This is what gives meaning to the journey. Knowing that we are going to spend eternity in a perfect world with a God who loves us more than we will ever know, should change our whole perspective of life.

 I am always surprised by Christians’ reaction to death. Many do not want to talk about it but death is the doorway to a wonderful eternal life. Of course we grieve when a loved one dies but Paul says we ‘do not grieve like the rest of mankind without hope’ (I Thessalonians 4:13). Our loved ones (if they are Christians) are with Jesus rejoicing with him; no more tears or pain.  That is good news which should change the way we grieve.

Every person has a final destination and many non Christians do not want to think about this. They are fearful of death and what will happen.  They have no hope but one of our highest callings after loving the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind is to share the good news that no one need fear death if they have given their lives to him. 

On the other hand, only focusing on heaven means we may rush through life missing so many wonderful opportunities and life experiences; some of which are hard but always worth it.  God did not call us to an easy life, he called us to walk with him, growing more and more like him each day. The journey will always be of great value because Jesus is with us.

So as Christians I believe we should be keeping in balance the value of the journey whilst always keeping our wonderful destination in mind. One without the other leads us to an unbalanced life.

Lord I want to ask you to help me make the most of my life’s journey, enjoying the experiences and valuing and benefitting from every circumstance both good and bad. However Lord help me also never to lose the focus on my wonderful destination – spending eternity with you in heaven. May the joy of that destination flood my life so that I live my journey with hope and expectation. In Jesus Name Amen. 

Trusting God in the bad times

One of the hardest things I think we are called to do as Christians is to accept the place that God has put us in with grace and trust especially when it is the last thing we would ever want. It may be a place of great trial and difficulty and we do not feel we have done anything to ‘deserve’ it but this is where we find ourselves.

There is an incredible clip on YouTube of a young mother dying from cancer explaining how she is managing to cope in this heart breaking situation.  Four months later she died leaving two small children.

This is some of what she said: People ask me why is God taking me away when a murderer gets to live a long life? There is an implicit assumption in this that I am a good person – I deserve better.  I am not a good person.  I do not deserve better.  As it says in Romans 3: 23 we have all done wrong things.

I have railed against not being able to do what I want.  It is frustrating and I get angry but the root of this is unbelief. What I am saying is I do not believe this is right for me.  God you do not know what you are doing. If you do know then you are not good or you are not in control. I don’t want this.  God you are not being fair because you are not giving me what I want. This is what our hearts say when faced with circumstances we do not like but God is good. He is in control. He is fair.

When I try and make him into a God who serves me – I sin. Our natural bent is to sin and that is our greatest problem.

I am so challenged by this.  I am not in the circumstances of this young mother but I have been in circumstances I do not like. I may rail against God and what is happening. I too get angry and frustrated but this will not help me or those around me.

Too often our default position as Christians is that God is good and therefore only good things should happen to us as his children. When bad things happen, it must be because we have sinned or because the devil is attacking us. This may be true or we may be in this place just because that s where God has us at this time.

Trusting God in these times is the answer; believing that God is good, he does know best and he has a bigger picture and purpose that he is working out in our lives. He has not forgotten or abandoned us but is holding us securely in his hand despite all our emotions that tell us otherwise.  We can and must trust him.

Father and child

Too often in the midst of life’s difficulties, it is very easy to lose sight of who we are. Our view of God can become that He is the answer to our prayers and of course that he is what he is.  I need work, finance, healing, breakthrough, help with exams, healing of relationships, a spouse, security, protection, all sorts of things and God graciously answers our requests.

However I believe that instead of seeing God merely as our heavenly provider, what is so much more important is to see that God is our loving heavenly Father and we are his precious, chosen children.

Small children look at their parents and see them as the source of all they need, which they are.  They provide food, clothes, money, warmth, comfort, protection and so on but as they grow older children begin to value the relationship with their parents. Unfortunately the relationship may break down at some point due to the weakness and failure of one or both parties and too often we do not really come to appreciate our parents either till we and they are old or worse still when they've gone.

If we imagine the best possible dad, we don’t want to spend all our time asking him for things.  It would be embarrassing to have a relationship based on our wants and his provision. What we really want is to spend time with Him especially when things are tough.   Only he can provide the comfort and affirmation we need.

It is so much more wonderful is to have a relationship based not on provision but on love and confirmation of our identity as God’s chosen child. We can face a lot when we know who we are and who is always with us.

At this moment I am in the midst of a storm.  I have no idea why or how I got here.  All I know is that life is very bumpy at the moment.  I could spend all my time begging God to get me out or even to tell me how I got here or I can relax and remember who I am and who is in the boat with me.

The ride may be bumpy but I am being held by the strongest pair of arms in the universe. I may feel fearful and alone but I am not.  I am God’s child and he is not going to let me go or let me drown. I am safe with him.

I do not need provision, I need fathering. I need the reassurance that I am his child and he loves me more than I can ever know. 

Shout to the Lord

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.  Psalm 98: 4

One of my all time favourite worship songs is Shout to the Lord by Darlene Zschech. I watched a clip of her on YouTube explaining when and how she had written that song. She and her family were in a hard place, struggling at many levels especially financially. One morning a tax bill came which they just could not pay.   Darlene says that she told God, ‘I just can’t do this God.’

She didn't give up. Instead she went into the secret place and worshipped God and Shout to the Lord was written.  If you listen to the words of the song in the light of these circumstances, they are extraordinary but she was following in the footsteps of many other believers who have found that worship in the midst of difficult, difficult circumstances brings forth something beautiful.

King David and many others who wrote the Psalms knew about worshipping God, not just in the happy, good times but especially in the midst of great trial. The Psalms, which is where Darlene got her inspiration for Shout to the Lord, is where we too can find help in our times of trouble. The saints who have gone before have left us a rich heritage of encouragement to help us in our times of grief, despair, disappointment, hurt and pain.

As Darlene says she was between a rock and a hard place. Have you been there?  No place to turn except upwards into the arms of our Saviour. There we find all we need. There in that place of confinement true worship is born and beautiful things come forth.

We may not be song or even poetry writers but worship given as a true sacrifice is beautiful in God’s eyes and does something extraordinary in us. It liberates us from our place of difficulty into a place of freedom  even though our circumstances have not changed. As we focus on the one who can change everything, everything changes in us.

Trust is born, faith arises, hope stirs in our souls. Worship given during the good times is amazing. Worship out of the hard times is life changing. 

God is our rear guard

Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing!
Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the articles of the Lord’s house.
But you will not leave in haste or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,  the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Isaiah 52: 11 – 12

In these verses Isaiah is speaking to the Israelites encouraging them that they will return from exile one day and when they do so, they will bring back the articles from the temple that were taken by the Babylonians.  All this of course is yet to happen; the Israelites have not even gone into exile and yet God is encouraging them that though they will be carried off for their sin and faithlessness, they will not stay in exile forever; they will return.

The phrase I like though is that when it happens, God will be their rear guard. They need not fear being chased and overtaken and forcefully returned to exile.  God will go both before them and behind them.  This thought goes back to the flight from Egypt when Moses led the Israelites out from captivity.  On that occasion, when they got to the Red Sea, the angel of the Lord and the pillar of fire, which had been leading them, moved from in front of the Israelites to behind them. It brought darkness to the Egyptians all night long and light to the Israelites to cross over the Red Sea. (Exodus 14: 19 – 20).

You can imagine how fearful the Israelites must have been. The Egyptians had been their slave masters for hundreds of years. They had a powerful army and the Israelites would only have been lightly armed; nothing that could deal with chariots and horses. There was also the mental bondage; slavery is not just a physical condition but a bondage in the mind. They would have been terrified that they were trapped and that they would either be returned to slavery or worse still slaughtered on the shores of the Red Sea. Yet God protected them and it says in Exodus 14: 30 – 31 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Today God is still our rearguard.  We do not need to fear our past. It will not come and take us back into the bondage of sin, addiction, abuse, guilt or shame. Jesus has set us free and whilst he is going before us into our new destiny, he will also be our rear guard, protecting us from the past.  We can put our trust in him and we will not be disappointed. 

The joy of the cross

.. fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

I am sure we are all familiar with this well known verse and when I read it my focus has always been on persevering and running a good race like Jesus. I have never really thought before about the joy that Jesus experienced or focused on as he endured the cross. It seems impossible for Jesus to experience or anticipate joy when facing the cross.

I believe that is because we only focus on our side of the cross; sinful man saved by a perfect Saviour. Wonderful though it undoubtedly is, the perspective of the cross from God’s viewpoint is quite different.

I do not know if you have ever enjoyed a relationship or friendship that was just wonderful but then it went wrong. For some reason, the relationship was broken and you no longer enjoyed the fellowship that you once had. This can cause grief and an enormous heaviness of heart especially if the one you no longer have fellowship or relationship with is a son, daughter or other family member.

God created man and woman to be with him, to walk with him, to love and be loved by him and the relationship went wrong, it was broken.  God yearns to enjoy that level of fellowship, friendship, relationship again with Man.  God loves us; the pain of separation caused by sin must be intense. I would hate to lose relationship with any of my children or grandchildren and I would do anything to try and restore that relationship.

In some infinitesimal measure that must be how God feels.  Jesus was prepared to do anything to restore relationship with sinful man – anything – including giving up his glory, confining himself to being a man and then dying the sinful, shameful death of a criminal in order to deal with sin and its consequences once and for all. He didn't do it because he had to do; he did it for the joy of seeing fellowship restored with his precious people. 

The joy God feels in restoring relationship is intense. He knows we will be together for eternity. He can love us face to face and he knows the joy we will feel in being able to see and love him face to face forever. The joy of having us as his children overwhelms God’s heart.

Not convinced?  Look at Song of Songs 4:9, Zechariah 3:17, Psalm 17:8 (apple of his eye), Exodus 19:5 (treasured possession) to name but a few. Just imagine Jesus taking you in his arms and dancing around with you, full of joy that you are his. ‘It’s finished!’ he cries, ‘nothing can ever separate us again.’

It was the joy of restored relationship that took Jesus to the cross. I believe that with thankful hearts, God wants us to revel in that joy and  rejoice in God’s love. 

A sense of belonging

There is a Hillsong song that says, ‘Jesus I believe in you, Jesus I belong to you. You’re the reason that I live, the reason that I sing with all I am.  A sense of belonging is essential to each one of us for our identity, security and general well being. We get this sense of belonging from the people and places around us. 

As Christians our sense of belonging should come from our identity as children of God. This is strengthened by our Christian family of friends and church. The family is God’s plan for people, both naturally and spiritually. It is in our natural family where we initially forge our greatest sense of belonging. The same is true in God’s family but it is when the family breaks down, either in the natural one or in the church that some big problems can occur.

It is when we feel let down, hurt and rejected by parents, brothers and sisters or in the church by our Christian friends or leaders that our sense of belonging to these invaluable institutions begins to unravel..  We may then exchange our family or Christian sense of belonging by finding  people and communities who have not hurt us. This situation is always made worse in churches by the feeling that Christians shouldn't behave like this; that they should know better.

I am sure we can all think of people who have left the church or even backslidden because of what a Christian or a church has said or done.  It is heart breaking when this happens. These people have found greater love and acceptance from the world than from Christians and the church.

However, when the church loves, honours and works together in unity and always tries to deal with difficulties it becomes a very powerful family and individuals have a strong sense of belonging and identity. When churches then try and work together across denominations or even nations, the sense of belonging it engenders can help people feel they are working together for something much bigger than themselves or even the locality.  As Psalm 133 says, ‘How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! … For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life for evermore.’ God blesses unity.

The church is at it most effective in outreach when we show love to the world based on love within the local church and even more love across churches. Jesus said, ^‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’(John 13: 35). 

When the world looks at a church full of saints who have such a strong sense of belonging both to God and one another that instead of complaining and criticising one another they love and honour others, then that becomes extremely attractive to unbelievers.

A sense of belonging is so important to each one of us. If you don’t feel you belong either to God or the local church, ask him today to help you understand why, to forgive any who have hurt you and to forge the strong bonds of love and unity with others that will help you feel the love and acceptance that a child of God should have. 

21st century Gideon: an allegory Part 4

They then called on all Christians across the land to rise up and defeat the powers of darkness that ruled in their localities. The Christians called out to God for deliverance and proclaimed his goodness and mercy in all their major places of government, power and influence.  There was no hiding place for the powers of darkness.  Everywhere they tried to go, there were bands of Christians proclaiming the wisdom, majesty and glory of God and they were consigned to the Abyss. 

One group from a large and influential Pentecostal church was upset that they had not been asked to help sooner.  They had gone out as asked and defeated the major forces of evil in their area which were also badly afflicting the nation.

 

‘Why didn't you call us out earlier so we could have helped you?’ they asked.

 ‘What have we accomplished compared to you? You have overthrown two great forces of evil in the land.  What are our accomplishments compared to this?’ the pastor replied.

The large Pentecostal church was mollified at this and promised to pray for the pastor and his little band as they pursued the remaining evil forces.

They pursued these powers of darkness like freemasonry and witchcraft to their home towns and cities.  They asked the Christians and church goers in these towns and cities to help them in the overthrow of these forces. 

‘We have been pursuing these demons for ages and are tired, hungry and thirsty.  Will you join with us in the fight and give us something to eat and drink?’

 But the Christians and church goers said, ‘Who are you that we should help you?  Who says the powers of freemasonry or witchcraft live here?  When we can see you have overthrown them as you declare, then we will help you and give you sustenance.’

So the pastor and his band went and surrounded one of the religious centres in the city where the forces of evil had gone home to roost. They proclaimed again the goodness of God, his might and majesty and the powers of darkness sank into the abyss. Some of the symbols of their activities and ownership of the buildings fell to the ground as they were defeated. The Christians took them as spoil to show those who had opposed them.

They went on to another city where again they were given no help.  This time they went to the high places surrounding the city and again proclaimed the might and majesty of God.  The powers of darkness fled terrified into the abyss at the sound of the proclamation as they realised judgement was upon them and all the wicked, evil things that they had caused to have done in the land.

The pastor and his band returned to the city that had refused to help them. The people there looked amazed at the symbols that had fallen from the walls and furniture of the buildings.  The Christians and church goers of the city admitted they had been wrong and asked God and the pastor to forgive them. They turned to the Lord with fresh enthusiasm, many were saved and many more healed of their infirmities.

Then Christians across the land, realising that the powers of evil were overthrown and weak, went out and about declaring the goodness of God to all who would listen.  Many repented of their sins and were baptised. The sick were healed, the blind received sight, the lame walked, the deaf got their hearing back and wham bam, the dead were raised.

The land enjoyed peace again and the Christian heritage that had been lost was restored to them.  Christians were sent to the nations to bring the Gospel, healing and peace.  Many turned to the Lord and great was the revival in the nation.

21st century Gideon: an allegory. Part 3

Now the Houses of Parliament were not far from where the 300 Christians had gathered.  During the evening the Lord told the pastor to go to the Houses of Parliament and he would hear something to encourage him and help him overcome his fear.

Now the people in Parliament had become strong in opposing God and his ways, aided by the forces of evil which had congregated there in great numbers. They continued to pass laws that were opposed to the will of God and which were very bad for the land.  The pastor arrived in the Central Lobby just as a man was telling his friend his dream. The pastor overheard their conversation.

‘I had a dream that a huge fireball hit the middle of the chamber of the lower House of Parliament scattering us all and setting fire to the building.’

His friend who was a wise man responded, ‘That sounds like God is going to bring judgement on this house for all the wicked laws we have passed and all the evil things that have happened here.  We have not listened to Him. The Christians are going to get victory in this place.  The hand of the Lord is with them.’ 

When the pastor heard this, he went away rejoicing and praising God.  He returned to the 300 and said, ‘Get up.  God is giving the powers of darkness that rule over this land into our hands.’

So they got up and went to the Houses of Parliament. The pastor divided his 300 people into four groups, each with a candle in a jam jar, a piece of cloth soaked in paraffin and the word of God in their hands.  He gave each group some proclamations to declare. 

The groups went and surrounded the Houses of Parliament.  One group went up onto Westminster Bridge and surrounded the Clock Tower called Big Ben.  One group went along side the railings by Westminster Hall and another went and surrounded the far end of the building.  Finally one group was given permission to go into Old Palace Yard because they said they were Christians come to pray for the government. The police did not think they would cause much trouble as it was evening time and although there was an important debate going on, they reckoned they were only Christians and what trouble could they cause?

At a prearranged time, the pastor sent a simultaneous message to all 300 mobile phones. There was a ringing and bleeping and musical tones which was very unnerving for the police and any unfortunate person in the vicinity.  This was nothing compared to the noise that erupted at that moment.  Everyone of the 300 shouted at the top of their voices ‘For the Lord Jesus Christ and Britain.’  They put their paraffin soaked cloths into the jam jars and smashed the jam jars on the ground and caused hundreds of small fires.  They then, with one loud voice, proclaimed the goodness of God and his justice and righteousness in the land.   

Everyone in the debating chambers was terrified, believing the House of Parliament to be under attack. They shouted for the security guards to come to protect them.  They rushed into the chamber and assured the house that it was only Christians causing a commotion and those in Old Palace Yard were ejected by the police.

Then the Member of Parliament who had had the dream asked to tell it to the House. He told them about the fireball hitting the chamber and how he felt it was the judgement of God for all the evil laws they had passed.  The members of Parliament were frightened and their eyes opened to the possibility that they had offended God with their wicked ways and passing of godless laws.  They fell on their knees in repentance and asked the chaplain to pray for them all.

Meanwhile the powers of evil that ruled over Parliament were terrified at the Christian commotion. They turned on one another believing an even bigger demonic hoard was attacking them.  They put each other to the sword and those that were left fled to go to their home place or to find somewhere quieter to inhabit and possess.

The Christians meanwhile turned their proclamations into intercession for God to be merciful to their government and to the people of the land.  

21st century Gideon: an allegory Part 2

Then the angel of the Lord came to a small church and said to the pastor, ‘The Lord is with you mighty warrior.’

And the pastor said, ‘If the Lord is with us why are such wicked things happening in our land.  Did we not have mighty outpourings and revivals in the past but now God has forgotten us and gone to Africa, Asia and Argentina.’   

And the angel of the Lord turned to the pastor and said, ‘Go in the strength of the Lord and take back Britain from the enemies’ hands.’

‘But Lord,’ the pastor of the small church said, ‘how can we save Britain?  We are too small and weak.  No one listens to us anymore.’

The Lord answered, ‘I will be with you and you will overturn all the works of the evil one.’ 

The pastor said, ‘If I have found favour in your eyes, give me a sign that it really is you.  Please raise someone from the dead as a sign of new life in your church and this land?’

So they went and found the body of one of the congregation who had recently died and brought it to the Lord. 

The Lord said, ‘Worship me and do not look upon the dead woman.’ 

So they looked at the Lord and praised and worshipped Him.  Whilst their eyes were focussed on the Lord, he stretched forth his staff, touched the dead woman and life returned to her body.  The people praised and worshipped the Lord with renewed faith and energy, confident that the Lord could do anything, even deliver Britain from the hand of the enemy and bring new life to the church and land.

That night the Lord said to the pastor, ‘Go into the centre of the city, to the main square and there make a bonfire of all the things the people worship.  So the pastor led  his church into the city centre. There they made a bonfire of televisions, DVD’s, CD’s, computer games, magazines, books, posters, football scarves and programmes, even computers, laptops and tablets. 

Then in the morning, the people said, ‘Who made this awful mess and has burned this pile of stuff?’ 

They investigated and found it was the pastor and his small church.  So they went and beat on the doors of the church and said, ‘Bring out your pastor.  We want to sort him out for burning all the things we hold dear and are important to us.’

The elders came out and said to the crowd, ‘What are you getting so worked up about?  If all these things are so important and marvellous, surely they will survive?  Let them contend for themselves and then we will see who is the greatest, these feeble things or God Almighty?’

The pastor sent around to all the churches in the city and surrounding area to gather in the local football stadium.  Then he said to the Lord, ‘If you will save Britain by my hand, please cause all the seats in the stadium to be wet but the grass dry.’  And that is what happened.  Every seat was soaking wet but the ground dry.    

Then the pastor said to the Lord, ‘Do not be angry with me.  Let me ask you one more thing.  Let the grass in the stadium be wet but all the seats dry.’  That night God did so. All the seats were dry but the grass wet.’

Early in the morning with all the people from all the churches gathered in the football stadium. The Lord said to the pastor, ‘You have too many people for me to deliver this nation from the powers of darkness into your hands. I don’t want you boasting that it was your prayers and your ideas that delivered Britain but the hand of the Lord. Tell the people that anyone who feels frightened and intimidated by the mission, or who really doesn’t think this is their thing may go home.’

So two thirds of the people went home.  But the Lord said to the pastor, ‘There are still too many.  I will separate them.  Let all those who have brought their Bibles stay but all who did not bring the Word of the Lord go home.’

So the pastor went amongst the people separating those that honoured the Word of the Lord from the rest.  Three hundred had a Bible and the Lord told the pastor he would use these people to save Britain.

21st century Gideon: an allegory. Part 1

Again and again Britain did evil in the eyes of the Lord and for many years he gave the people over to their sinful desires.  But their desires became oppressive to them and reaped harvest after harvest of evil. Soon they contrived ever more devious plans to circumvent the wickedness they were producing. They listened to more and more Godless men and women but they did not seek the Lord.

Society did as it saw fit and the government passed ever more ungodly laws.  The behaviour of the  people became increasingly selfish and self seeking. The church said nothing. Whenever anyone came up with a way to help society, everyone would belittle them and people quickly found alternative ways to hurt their fellow men. Cynicism and scepticism became the norm in Britain.  Few saw anything good in anyone. Everyone did what was best for themselves in any way they liked and with no regard for the ways of God.

No matter how evil the ways of men became only a few sought the face of God on behalf of the many.  The Church compromised on the truth of the Gospel and tried to make it more appealing to the people by diluting the message of salvation.  Religious practices and 'relevant' services became more important than the word of God.  People did as they saw fit and no one turned them from their wicked ways.  Churches emptied and Christians were regarded as irrelevant, even foolish.  They were portrayed in the media as odd, deviant and repressed.  The life of God no longer flowed through the church. Occasionally a man of God would tell society where they were going wrong but nobody wanted to acknowledge God or ask him for help.

Indeed the Almighty was belittled most of all and became a laughing stock.  His name was used as a swear word and no one seemed to notice or mind.  Even the remnant of God’s people was too cowed to try and do anything to defend the name of the Lord. They kept themselves to themselves. Nobody minded what Christians did as long as it didn't bother them. 

In fact other religions found a louder voice and demanded their rights.  They did great evil in the eyes of all and yet no one opposed them, not even the church.  No one spoke out against these false religions for fear of offending people and the country forgot their Christian roots and heritage.  Everyone just wanted a tolerant and accepting society, exchanging the grace of God for a licence to sin.

Then the church realising it was being oppressed and marginalised cried out to God. He started to raise up men and women to encourage the church to repent and return to the Lord.   The word of God found its place again in the church and people turned and sought the face of the Lord.  They took great comfort from verses that said, ‘if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.’

Then the angel of the Lord came to a small church and said to the pastor, ‘The Lord is with you mighty warrior.’

And the pastor said, ‘If the Lord is with us why are such wicked things happening in our land.  Did we not have mighty outpourings and revivals in the past but now God has forgotten us and gone to Africa, Asia and Argentina.’   

And the angel of the Lord turned to the pastor and said, ‘Go in the strength of the Lord and take back Britain from the enemies’ hands.’