Sabbath Psalms - Burdens and Cares

Psalm 55:22 Cast your cares on the Lord and God will sustain you;

The Lord will never let the righteous be shaken. (NIV)

Everybody I know has a care, worry, anxiety, or burden that they carry each day. Being human, we experience a lot of stress trying to endure these critical times. Sometimes our cares are about family or friends who are ill, injured, or having issues. Other times, our burdens are for the world we live in, because of wars, famines, and natural disasters.

Today’s highlighted Bible verse reminds people of faith that God helps us to endure each day, each crisis, and each critical time. We are not left on our own or abandoned to the whims of capricious leaders or unexpected events. God’s purpose for the world cannot be thwarted; God’s justice in the world will prevail. As the old saying goes, “Kingdoms may rise and leaders may fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

Whatever you are currently experiencing or going through, please know that God is mindful of what’s happening and can still be relied upon in the midst of your troubles, worries, and problems. As the wise psalmist wrote long ago, “Cast your cares on God and the Lord will sustain you.”

Point to ponder: What burdens am I carrying right now? Am I willing to share them and fully hand them over to God?

Prayer: Lord God, You know everything about us – our weaknesses and worries, our concerns and circumstances, our anxieties and issues. Help us to place them, as well as ourselves, into Your loving hands. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen.

Midweek Message: Know the Truth

John 8:31-32 To those who had previously believed Him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (NIV)

Jesus faced a lot of opposition throughout His ministry, especially from some of His earliest followers who eventually decided to walk away from Him. In doing so, they rejected His teaching which was based on truth and love, and then they fiercely confronted Him with their doubts about His character, as well as their own retrenched beliefs.

Christ’s truth challenged His people, just as it still does for all who call themselves Christians today. He never said that believing in Him or following His way was going to be easy, but He did insist that what He was preaching and teaching was the God-given truth. People back then relied on many of their traditions and sacred texts to formulate their own ideas about what was important and true. When Jesus brought a new understanding of what those traditions and texts really meant, His ideas were initially treated as being novel and inventive, but eventually they were seen as being too radical and dangerous for regular religious people.

We are still faced with the same challenges, especially in our truth-forsaken society which relies more on what we feel rather than what is factual. A culture which insists that what people feel to be true as more important than what is actually true, can be easily manipulated by charlatans and liars, conmen and fanatics. Such a society enslaves itself to the whims and wiles of totalitarian leaders, as well as their henchmen and women, whose only purpose is to increase their power by spreading lies, causing chaos, creating division, and fomenting fear. This is why Jesus taught both His supporters and opponents that knowing the truth was essential to their freedom – lies took away their liberty whereas the truth kept them free.

Point to ponder: How does Christ’s truth constantly challenge me?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life which we all should seek and emulate. Forgive us for being duped by leaders who lie. Help us to follow and practice Your teaching which counters fear with faith and lies with love. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is a Scottish Presbyterian pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Sabbath Psalms: Image of God

Psalm 67:4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth.

There is a lot of fabricated controversy surrounding the term DEI which stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Some folks get really incensed when they see those letters or feel that their white privileged position is threatened simply because others who are different are getting more opportunities to better their lives. Rather than allow others the chance to raise themselves up from poverty, depravity, and ignorance, those who are angry about DEI are trying to eradicate it entirely to secure their own entitled position.

‘Equity’ is a Biblical word and reveals to us that our Creator – who loves the diversity of people and included the whole world in the plan of salvation – treats us not just equally, but with equity which means that when it comes to judging human beings, God takes their backgrounds and circumstances into account. If God was to purely treat us on an equal basis, then those with privilege, power, and prestige would have an advantage. Equity is why Christ sees the poor widow’s two pennies as being infinitely of more worth in the Temple offering than the pre-calculated, restricted, and designated portions which the rich and powerful gave.

So, for those of you who are furious about DEI and seek to destroy it, let me seriously caution you: God created and still sustains a diverse world which the Lord rules with equity and includes everyone in everlasting love. Are you going to foolishly try to take that away from God as well? By the way, if you need an easy reminder, the old Latin phrase for ‘the image of God’ which we all have been graciously given, is ‘Imago DEI.’

Point to ponder: Why did God make such a diverse world? How inclusive is God’s love?

Prayer: Lord God, You created a wonderful world full of diverse beings, made in Your image and sustained by Your love. Help us to let go of greed and resentment, jealousy and bigotry which have no place under Your domain, Your sovereignty, Your rule. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen 

John Stuart is a retired Scottish pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.