Lessons from Psalms #1: Zion

I've been really digging into the Psalms as one Bible book I want to get to know a lot better this year. So often I dip into Psalms here and there, but I hadn't really systematically gone through the whole book before. I've always been fascinated at how rich and deep these poems are, and I particularly wanted to look more at how Christ features in the Psalms, as a Messiah and a King.

But the first thing I really want to write about is the theme of Zion - partly because I remember being asked by a friend at school what the word 'Zion' meant. I had no idea. And to be honest, I don't think I really understand this word properly now. I've had a look in the New Bible Dictionary and a few other places, and I've been gleaning from the Psalms more about what Zion is and what it means for us as Christians.

Zion as a place where God dwells
When David captured the city of Jerusalem and made it Israel's capital, the ark of the covenant was installed in a tent shrine on Mount Zion. So, in a strict sense, Zion means that place in Jerusalem where the ark was, and so where God's presence dwelt in a special way.
But it comes to symbolise God's earthly dwelling amongst His people in a broader way - especially when Jerusalem is plundered and God's people are taken off to exile in Babylon. Zion becomes this centrepoint of longing for the faithful remnant of God's people who are waiting to see God return to His people and lift the curse upon them for the nation's disobedience.

'By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.'

Ps 137:1

Zion as a place God loves
Prophets like Isaiah spoke of a day of future salvation, when the people would be restored to God as their true husband. Zion would be rebuilt and God's blessing on it would extend to bless the nations of the world. God's relationship to Zion is compared to marriage. His love is unchangeably set upon the people of Zion, and His righteousness guarantees her liberation.

'as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you... You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.'

Isa 62:5-7

The challenge of Zion to us
So here's the challenge for us as Christians:

- Do we long for God?

'How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.'

Ps 84:1-2

- Do we see our home as the heavenly city we wait for?

'There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.'

Ps 46.4

We can thank God that we no longer need Jerusalem, Mount Zion in an earthly sense. We don't need a special temple to go to meet with Him, because Jesus has torn down the curtain and made the way for us. By His Spirit He dwells in us! (2 Tim 1:14, 1 Jn 3:24)

We feel the weakness of our flesh every day, the struggle we have to connect with God because of all the sin and distraction that threatens our intimacy with Him. Let's not forget that the day is coming with all those barriers will be gone forever. (Rev 21)

I was thinking of how, when my husband goes away, I am so excited for his return. That's how I should feel about Jesus' second coming! Let's live in eager expectation for that day!

Worship #3

How would you respond to people who said they had stopped going to church because they did not 'get anything much out of it anymore'?

The New Testament makes it very clear that the Christian life is all about a new, corporate identity as the people of God. People are not just saved on an individual basis, but to belong to God's heavenly assembly of the saints (see Revelation 5). The local church is a manifestation of this heavenly assembly. However imperfect local churches can be, if ultimately they are led by people who love Jesus, then they are part of this great global network.

The church is not a building, it is the people of God- therefore every believer IS the church and is part of it. And it thus follows that it is right for every believer to become involved with a local church- it is the natural conclusion to reach. When you get married, you live with your spouse. When you become a Christian, you become part of the church, so you make every effort to find a local church to belong to.

The New Testament speaks of the gathering of the people of God in many contexts (Acts 14:27, 1 Cor 5:4), and the church in assembly not only approaches God, but provides encouragement to its members (Carson). Eph 5:19 tells us to speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Col 3:16 says 'Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.' It seems that an essential part of living as a Christian is to live as part of the wider Christian community. Faith is not a solo pursuit, but involves mutual encouragement and teaching and growing.

Whilst Christian worship happens throughout the week in a Christian's life (we are told in Romans 1:1 to offer our bodies as 'living sacrifices' to God and in Col 3:17 to do everything 'in the name of the Lord Jesus'), corporate worship is still important. It is in corporate worship that we pray together (1 Cor 14:16), Scripture is read and expounded in preaching (1 Tim 4:13). We sing together to praise God and encourage one another (Eph 5:19). We give money towards work of the gospel (2 Cor 9:11-15). We confess faith publically (1 Tim 6:12). The sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper are explicitly provided for. (Clowney)

Carson writes: 'Corporate meetings of the church, however much God is worshiped in them, have the collateral responsibility of educating, informing, and transforming the minds of those who attend, of training the people of God in righteousness, or expanding their horizons not only so that they better know God (and therefore better worship Him) but so that they better grasp the dimensions of the church that He has redeemed by the death of His Son (and therefore better worship Him)'.

Ashton helpfully summarises: 'The church service provides a special foretaste of the experience of heaven. In Heb 12:18-29, the way Christians experience the presence of God is contrasted with what the Israelites experienced at Mount Sinai. Significantly, it is a corporate experience. So when we come together, we can know God and relate to God and worship God in ways that we cannot do when we are alone.'

And finally Kent Hughes writes that 'Corporate worship is intended by God to inform and elevate a life of worship' and it 'regularly functions to intensify our consecration to service'.

It is very difficult to follow the teaching of the New Testament to continue as a Christian, to keep walking in God's ways, reaching out to non-believers around us and stand firm until the end if we are not part of a local church.

And how can the church fulfil its mission to make disciples of all nations (Mt 28) if Christians are not part of it?

Belonging to a church is so much more than just going for what you can get out of it. God has given each Christian particular gifts with which they can serve the church and get the gospel out to the local community.

So, to summarise:

You need the church, and the church needs you.

Is Christianity about being good? Part 1

This question brings us to the heart of the gospel message. How can people be set right with God? How can people get into heaven? Is it through the things they do? Is a Christian simply a synonym for a 'good' person? Is that what Christianity is all about: loving your neighbour as you love yourself?

Well, to start with, Christianity is really all about how none of us are intrinsically 'good' as people. In fact, we're all naturally born into darkness, a spiritual ignorance and defiance of God. We want to make the rules ourselves (this is what Adam and Eve did when they took the forbidden fruit in Genesis 3). And this dislocates us from God, and puts us under His righteous judgement. You can't commit a crime and get away with it in God's universe. And the ultimate crime in God's universe is this: rejecting God as the King of that universe.

As humans our standards of goodness are very different to God's. We may define a 'good' person as someone who gives to charity, who loves their family and friends, who seeks to care for those around them. They may even devote their entire life to philanthropic work in developing countries. But, as the Bible reveals, the litmus test of true goodness is how a person responds to God. Loving the people around you but still ignoring God is like trying to live in a household where you love your siblings but ignore your parents. It's ludicrous! God wants us to love Him with our whole heart, soul and mind (Deut 6:5), and if we're honest, none of us have done that perfectly for every moment of our lives. If we're really honest, the only person we have ever loved that perfectly is ourselves.

I don't want to seem scathing of charity work and helping others -far from it!- but what I want to convey is how paltry these things are compared with God's absolute purity and holiness. Can you imagine if someone asked Obama 'Why should you be president of the US?', and he replied, 'Well, I can count to 10 and I know my ABC.' How ridiculous would that be? But that's what our 'good works' are like to God- utter childish simplicity compared with Him.

The truth is that the whole world is chained up and locked into a vicious cycle of sin and rebellion against God. Jesus said 'everyone who sins is a slave to sin' (Jn 8:34) and if you don't believe this, try going for one whole day without sinning at all. It's impossible! Even if you never rob a bank or kill someone, you probably still lie, and think corrupt thoughts, and in your heart want to rule your own life instead of worshipping God and letting Him call the shots.

The good news is that God did not just sit in heaven passively watching human history unfold. He had an action plan to bring about restoration and reconciliation between Himself and mankind. That's what the Bible is all about: Genesis shows God creating a perfect world, man rejecting God and falling into sin, and then the rest of Scripture shows what God did to 'undo' the cycle of degeneration.

God sent Jesus into the world, as His own Son, to be God-in-flesh (John 1:14). Perfectly human, perfectly divine, Jesus lived life as we never could: free from sin. He died as a pure sacrifice, taking on Himself the punishment that should have been ours, so that if we believe and trust in Him, we can be forgiven (John 3:16).

Therefore, Christianity is not primarily about being good; it's about accepting that you're NOT good in God's eyes, and that you need Jesus.

The Truth About Hell

Okay, so isn't hell just a scare tactic that Christians use to pressurize vulnerable people into joining their church? Isn't it a myth amplified by fire-and-brimstone preachers in rural parishes who love the sound of their own voice a bit too much? Who has the right to say someone is going to hell anyway? Surely you can't possibly know what happens to someone after they die...

There are dozens of objections to the concept of hell, framing themselves in various moral, philosophical or logical guises. But the heart of the matter is really this: how can we know if there is a hell?

Well, Christians believe in an all-knowing, all-seeing God. A God who is timeless and eternal, who created the cosmos and watches over it. This God at one point in human history became a man and took on human flesh: Jesus Christ. And, as the Son of God, Jesus is able to tell us unique things about heaven and hell, because He had a divine perspective on them that no mere human could ever achieve.

And it follows that most of what Christians know about hell comes directly from Jesus Christ. He spoke about hell like no one else ever had done (namely because they couldn't), and He spoke about hell in the loving authority which characterised His ministry as recorded in the four gospel accounts.

Jesus said:
1. Hell is real, and hell is terrible.
In several parables, including the parable of the Great Banquet, Jesus shows those who rejected God to be thrown outside 'into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' (Matthew 8:12) These three things (darkness, weeping, gnashing of teeth) are used repeatedly by Jesus to depict what hell is like. It is basically the place outside God's kingdom, where God's presence does not dwell, and so all of the good things we enjoy on earth (happiness, joy, friendship, love etc) are absent too. No one can enjoy anything in hell. It is a place of sadness and torture.

2. Hell is the place where people go to eternal punishment, having been judged by God and condemned.
'Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.' Matthew 10:28
'The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.' Matthew 13:41
Everyone who sins -that is, everyone who ever fails to love God with their whole heart, all of the time- is destined for hell because we all fall short of God's pure standards (see also Romans 3).

3. Hell is easy to get to- it's the default position of men to go against God.
'Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.' Matthew 7:13

4. Hell is to be avoided at all costs.
'If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.' Matthew 5:29-30
This is extreme language! Jesus warns us that it's worth undergoing great pain and struggle to avoid hell.

5. Hell can only be avoided through faith in Him.
After the parable of the weeds, which so vividly depicts the destruction of evildoers, Jesus tells the parable of the great treasure and the pearl. He says that heaven is worth giving up everything for, and seeking more than anything else in this life. How do we seek and find the kingdom? Well, the key is in the King of the kingdom: Jesus.

'Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.' Matthew 10:32-33

Getting into heaven and thus avoiding hell is not about doing good deeds and racking up a tally chart before God. It's about knowing Jesus. Acknowledging Jesus means to see Him for who He truly is: the Son of God; to believe in Him and trust in Him for salvation. Who has the right to decide who goes to hell? Jesus does. That's what He means in the verses quoted above. If Jesus disowns you, you're heading to an eternity without Him.

Now the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25) teaches us that, if we truly know Jesus, we will show this in the way that we act- helping the poor and needy around us and working for justice. But ultimately we've been given our life here on earth to get to know Jesus, and if you spend your life ignoring Him then you're wasting your life!

Christians don't relish the idea of hell. It's an awful thought. But, just as you would want to warn people of an oncoming tsunami to save them, Christians want to share the truth of Jesus with people so they can avoid the danger too.

Deborah Drapper- no ordinary 13 yr old!

Have you seen Deborah 13:Servant of God on BBC Iplayer yet? It's raised some really interesting questions. Deborah Drapper is a 13 yr old girl who whole-heartedly follows Jesus Christ. She lives with her family in Dorset (a very large family!) and has been home-schooled. The programme begins by showing how little Deborah knows about celebrities (she doesn't recognise a picture of Victoria Beckham or Britney Spears), and she doesn't show any interest in fashion and the usual concerns of a 13 yr old girl. But she is astounding in her conviction and confidence.

I have only met a few home-schooled teenagers, and those I have met have come across as very immature for their age. Not so with Deborah. She is mature, perceptive and has passion about what she believes. She believes that everyone has turned away from God in their life, and is therefore under God's judgement and headed for hell, but that God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross, so that anyone who believes in Him can be saved and go to heaven. The logical response to whole-heartedly believing this is to get out there and share this awesome news with everyone you meet... and that's exactly what the documentary portrays.

I personally felt very humbled when I watched this. I remember having the same fervour and sense of urgency to share the good news about Jesus when I became a Christian at a young age. But somehow as time goes on, I've been desensitised to the fantastic power of the gospel. All too often I stay quiet and withhold the words of truth and life from my dearest friends, colleagues and family.

Thank you Deborah, for reminding me how serious the situation is. It is a matter of eternal life and eternal death. If you're a Christian reading this, be encouraged to get out there and share your faith with others. If you're not a Christian, be encouraged to start thinking about God.

The interviewer at one point asks Deborah, "What will you do if you die and that's all there is?"

Deborah thought carefully then responded, "Well I guess then I'll be dead and that's it. But if you die and I'm right, you'll be in a place far worse than death."

More on heaven and hell to come. Here's a link to Deborah's blog:
http://deborahdrapper.com/

A message for Jade Goody

It is a certain sort of privilege that the nation is able to follow Jade's struggle with cancer and watch as she gets married, builds up a trust fund for her sons, not taking for granted any of her days on this earth.

Jade said, after her wedding, that she was ready to go to heaven now.

I hope she is placing her trust in Jesus, because the Bible says that is the only way we can be sure of going to heaven. He is the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to God except through Him (John 14:6).

Jade, I pray for you that you will know God's peace and forgiveness, and hand your life over to Him.

Your story teaches us all not to take a moment of our life for granted.

The End of the World

Matthew 25

I remember vividly reading a book at the age of 10 which contained a Notre Dame prediction that the world would end in July of that year. I lived rather fretfully, not really understanding what the end of the world meant, but it sounded bad and I didn't want to be around to see it! But July came and went, and the prophecy came to nothing.

The Bible does teach that the world will end, but we are never told WHEN exactly this will happen. Instead, we are told WHAT will happen and how we should prepare.

Matthew 25 is made up of three parables which Jesus taught, concerning the end of the world. The first is of the ten virgins, which depicts Jesus as a bridegroom who returns to find five virgins ready and waiting, but five virgins who were ill-prepared. They end up being shut out of the wedding feast. This is a picture of Christ returning at the end of the world to collect His people (the Church is often presented as a bride in Scripture- see Ephesians 5). Those who are not ready are excluded.

The second parable is of the talents. It teaches us to use our time on earth wisely- to take our resources (material, educational etc), and use them for our Master's glory. Those of us privileged with a high level of education, wealth, freedom, and good Bible teaching will be expected to use all these things well, and will be judged on how we have used these gifts. So Christians are not meant to hide away in a bomb shelter waiting for Armageddon, but we are expected to use our precious life for the glory of God, spreading the gospel.

The third parable concerns the sheep and the goats. This depicts the final separation of God's people from God's enemies. It is an awesome picture of the end of the world: Christ in glory with the angels, a throne of judgement, all nations before Him. And for God's people, it is a wonderful day- we receive our inheritance, the kingdom prepared for us since the creation of the world (34).

But the real question is, how can you tell a sheep from a goat? At the final judgement, how are God's people discerned? The answer Jesus gives may sound like it's the 'good people' who get to heaven, and the 'bad people' who go to hell. But this does not take into account the rest of Jesus' teaching. Simply put, God's people are discerned because their faith impacts the way they live their lives. Love for Jesus gives us love for the poor and needy. Jesus heavily criticised the Pharisees and other religious leaders for having lots of 'knowledge' about God, but this never impacted the way they dealt with the poor around them. But those who simply 'do good deeds' with no acknowledgement of God cannot be commended either, for they have failed to recognise the heavenly Bridegroom and have not prepared for His coming.

For those outside God's kingdom, the sheep and the goats parable is a terrifying picture of judgement and exclusion. As Christians, then, we should endeavour to make them aware of their situation, and urge them to accept Jesus. It is also a solemn warning to us that our faith HAS to show itself practically!

100 things to do before you die... the search for fulfilment

Dave Freeman, the 47 year old author of '100 Things to do before you Die', died this week from hitting his head at his home in California. John Harlow & Roger Waite wrote an article in 'The Sunday Times' entitled 'Life as a List', discussing why the concept of 100 Things became so popular. Freeman opens his book saying:

'Life is a short journey. How can you make sure you fill it with the most fun and that you visit all the coolest places on Earth before you pack your bags for the very last time?'

That is very much an attitude treasured in modern culture. We want to live life to the full while we can.

Well the Bible talks about living life to the full too- but in a different way. The Bible tells us that life is not just the 80 or so years you have on earth. Every human being has an eternal soul, and the life you have after death is actually a lot more important than the life on earth, because it is eternal.

Jesus said,
'I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.' John 10:10-11

In dying on the cross, Jesus was laying down His life in order that human beings could enjoy life to the full. You see, all of us are born with an invisible ball and chain around our feet. We go through life pretty unaware of it, but when we die, it's because the ball and chain finally caught up with us.

The ball and chain is sin. We are weighed down by our guilt for turning our backs on God, and the only way to live life to the full is to have the ball and chain removed.

On the cross, Jesus took the punishment for our guilty rebellion. He has the key to unlock your chain... but you have to ask Him. You have to acknowledge that the ball and chain exist. You need to realise how much you need Jesus.

Once you come to Jesus and ask for forgiveness, you experience true freedom. The ball and chain are taken off and flung away, and you are free to live life to the full now, and in eternity. The Bible talks about heaven, not as a fluffy white-clouded place, but about a real home for God's people where we can be with God forever with no suffering or pain (see Revelation 21). It puts our earthly life into perspective.

You see, the paradox of Freeman's 100 Things philosophy is that you can't ever get real fulfilment from doing really amazing things here on earth. Simon Reeve is quoted in this article as saying:

'because we all have such limited free time we rely on planes to whisk us to a place where we've been told we can have an extraordinary experience. Usually that just involves standing alongside a thousand other tourists.'

My family recently went to Lake Garda in Italy and this is certainly what they said! (Although of course it is very beautiful there.)

Even Freeman himself admitted that spending all your time hunting for Eden can ruin paradise for you.

The message of the Bible is that you can't find fulfilment anywhere else except in God. He offers us everything we need- Jesus explained this once by using a metaphor of water:

'whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.' John 4:13

We were created to have a relationship with God. Only when that relationship is restored through our forgiveness in Jesus, can we truly be made whole. That is where true fulfilment lies.