The Pastor’s Pen

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9).


All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us… (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14).

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct… (1 Peter 1:13-15).

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony (Colossians 3:12-14).

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20).

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest (Luke 10:2).

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints… (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Jeremiah was not compelled by promises of positive results, he simply did as God instructed. The 12 tribes of Israel were torn apart due to idolatry, yet Jeremiah remained a faithful prophet. The 10 northern tribes had been taken captive by the Assyrians, and shortly Jeremiah would witness the captivity of Judah by Babylon.


Jeremiah would remain unmarried (Jer 16:2), and he was often overwhelmed by tears at the suffering of rebellious Israel (Jer 9:1). Jeremiah was a young man when he began prophesying to Judah during the reign of King Josiah in 627 B.C. until after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. The Lord told him, before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations (Jeremiah 1:5). This was God’s mission, Jeremiah was God’s mouthpiece, and the nation was called to obedience or further judgement would come.

It was the 4^th year of King Jehoiakim, and partnered by his secretary Baruch, Jeremiah said; I am banned from going to the house of the LORD, so you are to go. You shall read the words of the LORD from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah… (Jeremiah 36:5-6). Consequently, the officials had the scroll read to them also, then they instructed Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are” (Jer 36:19). The officials proceeded to read the scroll to the King. As three or four columns were read, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire… ²⁴ Yet neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid… (Jeremiah 36:23-24). Unrepentance and arrogance had hardened their hearts to God’s Word so that they did not fear what they should have feared. 

Tenacity for God marked Jeremiah’s life. Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe… who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them (Jeremiah 36:32). Fear of King Jehoiakim paled in comparison to Jeremiah and Baruch’s fear of God. Judgement was coming!

While Jeremiah was seeking safety, the officials were enraged, and they beat him and imprisoned him… (Jer 37:15). Later, they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah… they let Jeremiah down by ropes. There was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud (Jer 38:6).

And so it happened, Jeremiah chapter 39 records Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army capturing Jerusalem. The belligerent officials were killed. King Zedekiah’s sons were also killed in front of him. Nebuchadnezzar then put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon (Jer 39:7). The King’s house was burned, the city walls were broken down, and Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city (Jer 39:9). What an avoidable tragedy!

Jeremiah 39:11-12 tells us that Nebuchadnezzar gave command concerning Jeremiah saying…  “Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you.” God is faithful to His Word and to His servants. Jeremiah lived on to prophesy of hope and of a restored nation. He leaves us with an amazing example to follow.

While the world may be content with immature adults living foolishly, this is never God’s desire for His children. Immaturity is not some type of art form, but it can easily become a lifestyle that celebrates selfish shallowness, foolishness, and an unwillingness to learn and improve. Despite what some may think, the Lord never intends for Christian maturity to translate into a boring, dull, or unexciting life. On the contrary, as believers grow towards maturity in Christ it opens up a life of understanding, of exploration, and even adventure.

The apostle Paul makes an important contrast in 1 Corinthians 14:20; do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. This double-sided instruction shows that childlike thinking is not to be a permanent condition for God’s children. Spiritual growth is God’s design, and this growth is accelerated as desires and thoughts for evil behaviour are increasingly rejected. Christian growth begins with a right attitude towards Christlike thoughts and character development. This requires a dramatic reorganising of our priorities which moves us from living to please self to pleasing God (1Th 2:4).

Patience, consistency, and perseverance are essential for this growth to take place. Determine to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love (2 Peter 1:5-7). These are the expressions of faith which grow maturity in Christ. Peter rightly instructs us to put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. ² Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up… (1 Peter 2:1-2).

In 2 Timothy 3:6-7, Paul warned Timothy of people who sometimes creep into church life with sinful intentions. Their motives are dishonourable, and their purpose for others are selfish and destructive. Paul says that such people are burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Such people choose to prevent themselves from surrendering to biblical truth which would transform their minds and their entire lives in Christ (Rom 12:1-2). Contend to remain biblically and practically naïve, they are happy with spiritual uncertainty, content to have unanswered questions and unresolved beliefs over difficult subjects. Consequently, their minds remain childlike in their understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and salvation always seems just outside of their reach. For such people, this justifies their self-centredness and their sinful behaviour which keeps them from repentance of sin and loving obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ (Jn 14:21; Mk 1:15; Rom 10:9-10).

Therefore, a deliberate redirection of our desires is necessary for this maturity to happen. Hebrews 6:1 explains to the would-be Jewish people considering faith in Christ; leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity. If all we do is focus on the most basic truths, we rob ourselves of fulfilling the purpose for those foundational truths, which is to set us on a path of growing faith and personal development for maturity into Christlikeness.

Paul explained in Colossians 4:12, that Epaphras understood this and specifically prayed for the believers in Colossae in this regard. Epaphras… is always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. Epaphras knew that spiritual maturity produces assurance of the sovereign working of God’s will in our lives. May we rejoice in these truths and assist our fellow believers to grow towards maturity in Christ.

Following confrontation by Nathan, King David faces up to the ugly realities of his life. Therefore, Psalm 51 unfolds for us an honest confession of a broken sinner and his expectations of a merciful God. David became guilty of far more than he ever thought possible. It began with coveting another man’s wife which soon led to adultery, then the extermination of Uriah, who was the innocent husband and loyal to both wife and king. Such is the seductive nature of sin, it’s never content with the status quo, it must have more. You can read the sad account in 2 Samuel chapters 11-12.

David’s guilt had gripped him, and finally he confessed; I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. His offense was first and foremost against Holy God, all other offenses were secondly. This confession included acknowledging the correctness of God in calling a sinner to account and the impending judgement should he not repent. David accepted that God was justified in His words and blameless in His judgment of his sin (Psalm 51:3-4). David knew that he was exposed and condemned before an all knowing and holy God.

David could not undo his wrongs. He certainly could never restore innocence or Uriah’s life which he had extinguished. Realising his impending judgment, and the impossibility of making things right again, he cries out “have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love” (Psalm 51:1). Hope ONLY existed in the merciful heart of a loving God. David’s hope and request were simple enough; “wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” (Psalm 51:2). He could not cleanse himself of these sins, others did not even want to forgive him, but God was both able and willing to cleanse David of his shocking crimes.

But cleansing of specific sins was not sufficient to prevent David repeating history. So, he asked the ONLY one who could do the impossible, he asked God; “create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). ONLY God has the desire and ability to regenerate an instinctively selfish and sinful heart to be clean and right before Him. What’s more, David knew that ONLY God could replace guilt and pain with joy. “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit” (Psalm 51:12). Self-correction and self-determination could not maintain a righteous walk, but God can recreate a person’s heart so thoroughly that joy in God’s salvation becomes the new default. ONLY God can redesign the inner workings of a person so that volitional faithfulness becomes the joyful norm. And repentant David knew this.

However, personal reconciliation with God is never to be without its impact on others. David realised that this spiritual recreation within had to cause him to reach outside of self-interest. Consequently, David acknowledges that he “will teach transgressors God’s ways, and sinners will return to you” (Psalm 51:13). His renewed life, and his recreated right relationship with the Lord had to flow to others so that God could be glorified in their lives as in his own.

Finally, David desired to “sing aloud of God’s righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise” (Psalm 51:14-15). Even in worship, David realised his dependency upon the Lord to enable him to verbally praise God appropriately. Silent gratitude was not to be the pattern of David’s life. The world had to know what God had done in rescuing sinful David. May this be true in each of us?

Most people experience the stresses of life that drive anxiety to challenging levels. Relationships, health, family, business, employment, finance, the list goes on and on. What is more, the world provides an ever-increasing list of ideologies, systems, policies, and circumstances which serve as fertile ground for anxiety.

Proverbs 12:25 speaks of both reality and relief in this matter; anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. Anxiety and gladness do not go together, which is precisely Solomon’s point. Anxiety can seriously impact our lives if allowed, with physical health, emotional health, and spiritual heath, all getting damaged and scarred. So, we agree with Solomon, anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, even to the point of feeling crushed breathless. Anxiety is not necessarily sin related, and it’s not necessarily connected to worry, but it can be.

Solomon knew the power of words, and here he speaks of the remedial qualities of good words. I suggest these are righteous words, possibly corrective words, both supportive and affirming. The believer’s arsenal of good words is vast, welling up from God’s Word with realistic help for those hammered by anxiety. Good words are not a magic formulae for instant success but go a long way in God’s recovery program. The heavy heart can be glad with a gladness which does not deny the realities causing anxiety. This gladness fixes its attention on someone higher and more powerful than the anxiety.

You see, good words communicate much more than niceties, although they may be included. Good words carry a host of truths which enable the anxious person, should they choose, to align their hearts with God’s truth, placing anxiety in submission to the supremacy of God. Good words are simply the vehicle a believer uses to deliver the necessary truth which can bring gladness.

Sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind (1 Peter 3:8) are critical attitudes necessary for those attempting to speak healing words into a troubled heart. Patient grace is another one of Christ’s qualities which communicates love and opens the heart to receive much needed help (2Co 8:7; Col 4:6). As many know, anxiety does not need verbal fluff with no substance, hollow Christian rhetoric is of no help.

Similarly, if anxiety is caused by sin, then you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness… (Galatians 6:1). Coming alongside a believer distracted by the sweet poison of sinful living is a much-needed grace in calling them to repentance. The good words an anxious believer caught in sin needs to hear is that forgiveness is available. A clear conscience and restoration await. In Psalm 51, David reveals the restoration from his own backsliding. Psalm 51:7-8 explains …wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. ⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

Good words remind us that God is sovereign, controlling all that we cannot control. God is unchanging and therefore He is dependable. God is holy; therefore, He is pure and consistent in all He says and does. God is compassionate and understanding as He listens and responds to His hurting children. God’s Son really does …sympathize with our weaknesses… and, in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16).

These are just some of the good words anxious people need to hear for the restoration of gladness. May we be speakers of good words.