Short Devotion: The One Thing - Acts 16:29-31

 

There’s a story in the Bible in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Acts where the great missionaries Paul and Silas end up in prison. During the night, an earthquake occurs and all of the jail doors suddenly open. It’s a great opportunity for all of the prisoners to escape and when jailer sees this, he tries to kill himself because he knows he will be held accountable and his family publicly shamed for allowing prisoners to escape. But Paul and Silas stop him from committing suicide and tell him all is well. In verses 29-31, we read these amazing words of response:

Acts 16:29-31 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” (NIV)

At the heart of Christianity, there is one important issue that we all have to remind ourselves constantly: we need to be saved. We all do things that offend God – there is not one of us exempt from that, no matter how good, faithful, or religious we may be. Those offenses pile up throughout our lives, so unless we find a remedy to forgive us of those sins, we will be separated from God forever. We cannot rescue ourselves from this predicament; we need someone else to save us and there is only one person in history who can do that: Jesus.

At the moment, we’re looking for someone to rescue us from the plight of this pandemic. Or we need someone to boldly lead us through this unparalleled time. But even if someone discovers a cure or a leader emerges in a time of crisis, it still leaves us separated from God. No matter what happens in the world, there is still a gap between us and God. If we ignore it, we doom ourselves. If we currently set it aside and promise to get back to it, we run the risk of doing too little, too late.

In this age of uncertainty, the right time to get right with God is now – as you are reading or viewing this message. And God, who is always gracious, makes it easy for us – all we have to do is to confess to Him in prayer that we’ve messed up, made mistakes, and selfishly sinned. After that, we can ask Jesus to forgive us of our past and place our lives, hearts, and souls into His hands. If we simply do that, then we are showing God that we believe Jesus is our Savior and instantly the gap will be bridged and the breach between us will be closed.

It sounds too good to be true and too simple to be effective and yet here’s the reality: it works.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to close the gap between ourselves and God. Save us from being separated forever and restore us to God’s gracious love. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Thank you for viewing and reading this message. May God bless all of your hopes and dreams. Bye for now 😊

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to read more about the church, please visit the website at www.erinpres.org.

Daily devotions - Jihads and Fatwahs - Acts 16:25-40

Acts 16:37       But Paul said to the officers: "They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out." 

This weekend, our town was deeply saddened and shocked to learn of the tragic news that one of our local pastor’s daughters had been cold-bloodedly murdered and ruthlessly executed by the cowardly Taliban in Afghanistan. Cheryl Beckett was part of a ten person international medical missionary team who were all shot to death by those Islamic killers. Cheryl worked mainly with young nursing mothers and devoted her time and skills to their well-being. She had worked all over Asia for many years.

People and politicians, pastors and civic leaders keep telling me that I’m supposed to be tolerant and respectful of other religions, but this kind of murderous attack leaves me looking for justice and accountability. If Islam wants me to respect its followers, people, and leaders then I expect the Chief Mullah in Mecca or the leading Ayatollah in Iran to declare a fatwah or a jihad against these cowardly killers who call themselves Taliban.

That’s never going to happen – fatwahs are declared against Danish cartoonists, British authors, and even Mickey Mouse, but never against extreme fanatical followers of the Muslim faith. They don’t hold accountable brutal killers, but woe betide anyone who criticizes their faith.

When Paul and Silas were beaten up and put in prison, it was against the imperial law of Caesar. As they were about to be quietly released, Paul wanted to make sure that those who had mistreated them were held accountable for their mistakes. The leaders of the community had to come in person and apologize for their illegal actions. They were not going to be let off the hook. They were made to face their mistakes.

I believe that there are good Islamic people in the world, but I have yet to see their major religious leaders publicly declare against the Taliban. I guess evil triumphs when Islamic clerics say nothing.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we pray for the families of those slaughtered medical missionaries and we ask that You surround them with loving and caring communities. Their grief will be inconsolable at times and their sense of justice will be tragically twisted. We also ask that the hearts and minds of Islamic religious leaders begin to understand the evil that saying or doing nothing engenders. Grant them the courage to speak out against such inhumanity, so that they may earn our respect. 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.

Today’s image is from John’s Psalm series and is based upon Psalm 94. If you would like to see a larger version of this drawing, please visit the following link:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2445/4048039079_47455a8134_b.jpg