September 10 devotion - Being a Christian

Luke 12:57  (Jesus said)        “Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?”

There’s a lot of talk these days about Christians being too judgmental. We’re criticized for trying to live according to Christ’s words and sometimes those accusations sting us personally. Consequentially, some people of our faith are afraid of appearing to be judgmental in the eyes of others, so they’ve stopped making judgments altogether. Instead of being the leaven in society in order to change the world for the better in God’s eyes, we’ve become stale. We would rather be respected by others in society, instead of respecting Christ’s own words. We want to be considered broad-minded and open rather than following Christ’s sacred and singular way. And even when our church pastors or Christian teachers mention this, we close off our ears, hearts, and minds to any questioning of our choices or to those suggestions that we are walking on the wrong path.

Jesus also had to deal with this in His own day. He was frustrated by the lack of judgment His people were making with regard to their faith and everyday choices. They could work out what kind of day it was going to be by looking at the color of the sky in the morning, but they couldn’t discern that Christ was among them, challenging their ways, and confronting their choices. Even though the signs of the Messiah were all there before them, they didn’t accept Jesus as the Anointed One. They wanted Him to be shaped according to their plans, their needs, and their beliefs.

“Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?” Jesus frustratingly exclaims. In other words, you know what is right, so what is stopping you from choosing it?

Being a 21^st century Christian and living a cosmopolitan world is difficult, but whoever said it was going to be easy? When faithful people judge what is right, the world is always going to complain that we are narrow-minded and spiritually closed: yet isn’t that why Christ was crucified? He was totally misunderstood, became unpopular, and was finally executed for daring to judge what was right – perhaps this is why we find it so hard to do the same.

Questions for personal reflection

What makes me a Christian? How different is my lifestyle from my non-Christian peers?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You have called me to be a Christian and to judge what is right. Help me not to be fearful of my peers when they attack my faith or ridicule my religion. In Your Holy Name, I pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is a Good Friday crayon drawing of John’s called “Passover.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5259/5394517049_ef741c1bdf_b.jpg

Church Devotion: Facebook Fights - 2 Corinthians 10:5

Today’s readings can be found at these links:

Judges 9:50-57 and 2 Corinthians 10:1-6

2 Corinthians 10:5     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.

I love Facebook, but there are some days that I wished it just didn't exist. I read somewhere that if you want a fight, just go on Facebook and write something. Within minutes, someone will take umbrage, oppose what you say, and begin an argument. Hey, I’ve done that before myself, and no doubt I’ll do it again sometime in the near future.

Perhaps the powers that be should redefine Facebook as a contact sport, where people compete against each other philosophically, religiously, and socially. I’m just glad that every now and then, someone posts a picture of a cat or a baby or a beautiful landscape. In the midst of all online squabbling humanity, it’s great to find that peace and humor, happiness and thoughtfulness abound as well.

It kind of makes me glad that Paul wasn't born in the 20^th century. His Facebook posts would have people reeling in their computer chairs and foaming at their mobile devices. He was'’t one to pull his punches or leave things alone. Whenever the bold Apostle thought that Christ’s authority, ministry, and mission were being challenged, he hit some theological home runs which diminished the opposition. If he were around today, he might spend a lot of his time in front of a computer screen, steeling himself for the next attack on the scriptures, and delving into arguments where even angels would fear to tread.

Anyway, the point of this devotional is two-fold: firstly, we all have our own viewpoints and will defend them to the hilt when provoked (even on Facebook); and secondly, isn't it great that 21 centuries later we're still talking about Christ on the web and around the world?

Questions for personal reflection

What are the strongest beliefs that I have as a Christian? How do I express those beliefs to other people? Am I too bold or too benign?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, Your Spirit lives among us and we are grateful to be called by You as followers and disciples, servants and siblings. Make us more aware of who we should be in Your eyes and how we should positively relate that calling to the world. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of my early abstracts called “Last Time.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3553/3359197112_0e947b29bb_b.jpg