HAS GOD FORGOTTEN US?

We were reading through Psalm 77 this week. The Psalmist is concerned that God seems to be rejecting him and not showing him the favour he had known in the past. He asks these questions: “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favour again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion? “(v7-9)

This may seem to be the case with us too today as we look at the international, national and church situation. Just since the turn of the millennium we have seen the September 11th attacks, the Boxing Day Tsunami, the financial crisis with the subsequent years of austerity and then the Brexit referendum followed by years of divisive talk in the U.K. Followed then of course, by the Global pandemic which we are still struggling with. In the church we have seen pressures and restrictions from various angles and seen people especially amongst the youth falling away. Like the Psalmist this could all concern and depress us. Yet we can still say as the Psalmist does: “Your ways, God are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles, you display your power among the peoples, with your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.” (v13-15)

We are seeing a return of cooperation amongst nations to deal with threats posed by hostile nations to deal with the Global pandemic and climate change. And at Grace church we have posted a series of testimonies on our website of God’s goodness and intervention and seen healings amongst us. We should continue to watch and pray and trust God, walking by faith and above all seeking God to see “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

David and Carolyn Steed 30th June 2021

BE STILL

Today is Good Friday.Psalm 46 v 10 says:“Be still, and know that I am God!I will be honoured / exalted in every nation.I will be honoured / exalted throughout the world.”Maybe this is a strange verse to mention on Good Friday but look at the first two words – Be still.       I don’t know whether you have seen reports this week but scientists / seismologists have found that the lockdown in many nations, including our own, has resulted in a lot less movement, called seismic noise, recorded in the geology of the earth. Scientists in Brusselshave said that there is between 30-50% less seismic noise –It’s as if the earth has fallen still!And air pollution has also fallen dramatically because there are so few flights and so much less travelling taking place.Oh, and the Ozone layer is healing too, apparently!I am sure that there are many people who are really struggling with being confined to their homes, and doing nothing at the moment. It’s as if God has said – Be still! - to people and the planet.In the Hebrew language, in which this psalm would have been written originally, the word for be still is ‘raphah,’ and it means to relax; to let go; to be quiet; to cease.And this is what most of us understand by the words in this verse, and that’s fine.But the word ‘raphah’ shares the same root as another word ‘rapha’ (without an ‘h’ at the end)‘Rapha’ means to heal, or to be healed; to repair; to mend; to make thoroughly whole.It is the same word used in Exodus 15v26 – “I am the LORD who heals you,” or ‘Jehovah/Yahweh Rafa.’ It’s the same word used in Isaiah 53v5. Speaking prophetically, and pointing towards Jesus on the cross, we read:“He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”The same word is used again in Isaiah 57v18 - ”I have seen their ways, but I will heal them.”But here, God is not speaking about physical healing, but the healing of the heart of the wayward.The same word is used in 2 Chronicles 7v14 -“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 I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”I can only speak for Britain, but our nation needs fundamental healing, in so many ways – people’s relationship with the Lord need to be healed & restored. Relationships between people need to be healed. Families need healing.There are too many Christians in church (or not, any more, maybe) who need healing, from deep within.Speaking of this fundamental healing, I believe, the LORD says in Jeremiah 30v17- “I will give you back your health (meaning restoration) and heal your wounds.”On this day of all days, this thorough, fundamental healing for people and for our whole nation in this nation. Our concern is the spread of a virus, but there is something even deeper than that which needs to be touched by Jesus.Don’t misunderstand me, I am not making light of COVID-19, and we must keep praying for the people who are suffering from this right now, as well as for those very brave front line care workers in the NHS & elsewhere who face danger in order to help others.But whilst we want to see an end to this crisis, I am sure that there is something deeper going on, and we need to ask for thorough healing & cleansing to take place.I believe that our Prime Minister, and other leaders need to find a place where they can be still, discover Jesus and be thoroughly healed. It’s almost as if the Lord had to put Boris Johnson on his back this week!And we will keep praying for him.Take this personally. Whilst we are confined to our homes, maybe with time on our hands. Make sure you really are still, and ask the Lord to heal you, from inside out! This is our time to stop, take time to recover, rest and repair.One last thing. ‘Raphah’ – is also, and some say specifically, addressed to our enemies. There is a moment when the Lord addresses those who oppose His people, and His work in the earth, and He says to him or them – be still!Or, as Jesus declared from the cross, It is finished.

David Ward, Pastor
Riverside Christian fellowship, 
Gorseignon,South Wales 11th April 2020

 PRAYING FOR OUR NATION.

On the eve of the Battle of Naseby in the English Civil war Oliver Cromwell spent the whole night in prayer.

As he prayed, he focused on the words of Psalm 115

 "Not to us O Lord not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness

Why do the nations say Where is their God?

Our God is in heaven; he does what pleases him. But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.

They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see; they have ears but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them."

The people of Israel whom the Psalmist addressed had followed idols consistently through their recent history - unholy foreign alliances, not caring for the poor and marginalised and following man-made gods.

When Amos confronts the pagan nations, he informs them that the God of Israel is Lord of the whole earth and they therefore owe Him their allegiance. He warns them that the Lord oversaw the rise of their nation and that He will oversee its destruction. 

Amos does not address these pagan nations as if they have received the same amount of revelation as Israel. Never once does he accuse them of breaking the Law of Moses or of disobeying the words of Scripture. He recognises that they are unbelievers and that God will therefore not judge them as if they were believers. He focuses instead on the limited amount of revelation that they have received.

He accuses them of contravening  their own sense of right and wrong- of being inhumane (Aram), of enslaving their neighbours (Philistia), of breaking peace treaties (Tyre), of killing their kinsmen (Edom), of killing unborn babies (Ammon) and of inflicting cruel and unusual punishment on their foes (Moab).

The New Testament will not judge people for breaking commands of which they were unaware, but for having done what even their sinful consciences shouted out to them was wrong.

So, don’t take Old Testament words of prophecy to the nation of Israel and apply them unthinkingly to our own nation. We do not live in a theocracy where church and state are the same thing.

Joel encourages the people of Judah that the Lord will listen to them if they repent wholeheartedly. He will send the Assyrian army back north with its tail between its legs, decimating its ranks along the way. He will restore the nation of Judah back to the blessings of his plan A, causing the barns and vats to overflow with grain and wine and oil. He will grant them all the blessings that are listed in Deuteronomy 28 and none of the curses. He will turn their disaster into salvation.

So, we should pray prayers of repentance for our sin, for the sins of our church and for the sins of the Church right across your nation. Ask God to forgive his people and restore them to His Plan A; fulfilling the great commission by preaching the Gospel and ushering in his return.

David Steed 31st March 2020