Daily Devotions: Full of Hypocrites

Mark 2:17       On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Church people are not perfect and I have often heard the remark: “I don’t go to church because it’s full of hypocrites.” I agree wholeheartedly because all of the churches that I have ever joined or served have been full of sinful people like me. The church was created and established by Christ for sinners, not saints. There is no such thing as a perfect church or a perfect Christian, so part of the burden that we have to bear is that world will always point out our mistakes and gleefully call us hypocrites.

Even Jesus said it Himself, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” There’s none of us too good that we don’t need Jesus; there’s also none of us so bad that He won’t welcome us into His fold. He is the Perfect One who calls imperfect people to His Kingdom. Christ is the Sinless One who invites sinners to God’s grace. Jesus is the One True Savior of all the world and history who seeks hypocrites to become disciples. That’s what makes grace so amazing; that’s what makes His love so wonderful.

On Sunday mornings, when people gather together to worship God, they look for forgiveness and healing, guidance and direction. They honestly know that they do not deserve God’s grace, but they also realize that Christ has the authority to absolve them from their sins. They come through the doors as proud and hypocritical sinners; they leave the church as humble and sanctified people.

So perhaps next time you or I hear someone say: “I don’t go to church, it’s full of hypocrites,” we should answer: “I know. I’m one of them. I need God’s grace and forgiveness each week. Don’t you?”

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, thank You for allowing hypocrites into Your Church. Thank You for calling sinners like us to God’s Kingdom. Forgive us when we fail and restore us to God’s favor. 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 pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Free Daily Devotions: Mercy Me - Psalm 6

Psalm 6:9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.

I don’t know how I would get through each day if I didn’t know about the mercy of God. I still make many mistakes, even although at my age you would think I would know better. Every night I need to ask God to forgive my selfishness and stupidity. Each morning, I ask for guidance to make good decisions and for avoidance of conflict, but by the time the sun goes down, I’m looking for mercy and forgiveness yet again.

I guess it’s all a part of the human condition: we make mistakes and need mercy. Thankfully, God has an amazing amount of patience which gives me hope for the future. Perhaps one day I’ll persevere and praise God for a day without any mistakes.

I love the way that King David of old wears his emotions on his sleeve. He doesn’t seem to mind who hears his confessions and failings. When he sings, he really prays to God for help. Writing psalms must have been good therapy for David. It makes me wonder if he would be writing about his pain and suffering, turmoil and troubles on Facebook or MySpace if he were alive today.

Perhaps you’re feeling guilty today about something that caused offence or maybe a harsh word that came from your lips. You might be feeling bad about something you’ve forgotten or concerning someone you’ve let down. Maybe you’re carrying baggage from the past or unresolved mistakes. My advice to you would be the same that I give to myself each day: come to God in prayer and ask for mercy. Seek His forgiveness now and find that acceptance you really need. Whenever we are unable, God is most able. 

Prayer:                        Lord of Mercy and Hope, forgive us for past mistakes and unholy choices. Pardon us for hurting our loved ones and for neglecting to help those in need. Give us the courage to learn from the past and the wisdom to seek Your guidance in all that we seek to say or do. In Christ’s Sacred 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 pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Secrets

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Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. (NIV)

I have a good friend of mine, who is a counselor, and he has a great saying, “our secrets make us sick.” We all carry secrets in our hearts of moments when we made mistakes that we later regret. The burden of such guilt can cause us to be depressed about the past and anxious concerning the future. I’ve been a pastor for over 21 years and no matter which side of the Atlantic I’ve been ministering to, people are the same all over. Guilt can grind away at our souls and diminish our happiness. Shame can sever us from God and our church.

I’m glad that I’m a Presbyterian and a part of the Reformed tradition. It means that whenever I get plagued by regret at doing something wrong, or angry at myself for disappointing others, I can freely and directly come to Christ with my inward issues and release them to God. By spiritually transferring them to Him, I feel released of the burden and totally appreciative of the grace that I experience. It makes me want to learn from the situation and try to do better next time. These secret things belong to God and my spirit is no longer oppressed by them.

For some of us, a good confessor or a wise counselor can bring them to this reality, too. The gifts of discernment that have been given to some professionals enable them to gently bring secrets to the surface, deal with the issues, and discover solutions. Hope and healing can bring about a new lease of life and a better understanding of the reasons about why we make mistakes and what we can do to avoid them. In the whole process, secrets are released and given to God. Absolution and resolution are given back in return.

Whatever you’re carrying in your heart at this time, know that God can embrace your burden and liberate your weary spirit. Confession is good for the soul and whether it is done quietly and personally to God, or professionally and diligently with a trained counselor, the results can be the same – freedom from the past and faith in the future.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You died for our sins so You know every mistake that we have made. You bore the burden of our guilt, so that we could be restored to God’s love. Encourage us to seek help and healing through confession and counseling for the things that weary our souls, burden our hearts, and unsettle our minds. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Forgive and Heal

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Matthew 9:5 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? (NIV)

Forgiveness is an easy thing to talk about, but a hard thing to do. I’ve known people, including myself, to be shackled to the chains of unforgiveness, which can paralyze emotions, diminish relationships, and destroy love. The bane of bitterness is fed by our inability to say or hear the word “sorry.” A sad fact about life is this: forgiveness can be the key as to whether or not we lead healthy, productive, and faithful lives. What we do with forgiveness sometimes molds who we are and what we will become.

Recently, I’ve known someone to be forgiven something very serious and shown a great deal of mercy. I thought that this would bring them back into church, praising and thanking God for the clemency this person was given. Several Sundays have passed and they haven’t come to worship God. This person has taken forgiveness for granted and that saddens me. I think if I was forgiven as much, I would be first in line to get into the sanctuary on Sunday morning. Heck, I wouldn’t even wait till Sunday – on the day I was forgiven I’d be back in church!

When Jesus deals with the paralytic man, He not only cures him of being a cripple, He also heals the paralytic’s broken soul. Sometimes the lack of forgiveness and the burden of guilt can seriously affect the body. Was this man’s paralysis brought on by a relentless guilty conscience? I guess we’ll never know, but from the scripture, it seems very important to Jesus that forgiveness be given first and restoration be experienced later.

Perhaps you’re experiencing something similar. Perhaps you need forgiveness for something you intensely regret, or maybe you’ve been waiting on forgiveness for such a long, long time. Whatever the case, know that Jesus has both the power to forgive and to heal. If you sincerely come to Him with what bothers you today, He will be merciful; He will show compassion to you.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You know everything about our lives. You know the hurts we carry in our hearts and the mistakes that still burn in our minds. Forgive us and heal us. Be merciful and compassionate. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

Shrove Tuesday

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Today is Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras as the French call it. It’s also known as Pancake Day in Britain, or more precisely “Shrove Tuesday.” It’s supposed to be the day that we all go to confession and have our sins ‘shriven’ or absolved by the priest, so that we can be better Christians throughout the six weeks of Lent.

Pancakes are part of the celebrations because Lent was traditionally a time of fasting, so fatty foods like meat and sausage were all used up during the Fat Tuesday feasting. The easiest way to prepare and eat was through the making of pancakes. This part of the celebrations probably pre-dates Christianity because communities all over the world would hold an end of winter feast to use up the last of their winter meat before it spoiled.

Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday weren’t originally celebrated in Reformed Presbyterian churches because of the strong connections to the Roman Catholic Church. These days, however, people are more interested and intrigued with mixing traditions rather than maintaining doctrinal standards. We’re more into what I term “Pancake Piety,” where we mix the best of the different strands of Christianity in order to be more inclusive in our community. There’s nothing wrong with doing that, because some of the oldest traditions on our Christian calendar were once a mixture of Biblical celebrations and pagan feasts.

So, today we gather to feast and have fun, to sing and party, to revel and relax. And whether or not we go to confession and have our sins shriven, we all understand that Jesus, and not the priest, is the Holy and Only One who absolves us from our past mistakes and justifies us before God. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but with Christ as our Savior, we can be forgiven and restored to God’s Kingdom.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, from what we read in the Gospels, You loved to feast and have fun with other people. We know that at the heart of our celebrations, You are in the midst of us. As we gather together to celebrate this day, we seek Your forgiveness and long for Your absolution from all of our sins. In Your Holy Name, we ask and pray. Amen.