Devotions: God Will Find You - Ecclesiastes 7:29

Ecclesiastes 7:29         “This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.”

When I was seventeen years old, I can remember deliberately telling God that I was finished with Him. I gruffly told Him thanks for all that He had done, but this was my life and He wasn’t welcome in it any more. I wanted to go my own way, do my own thing, and not be hampered by Bronze Age mythology or ancient morality.

God must have heard me because for the next 3-4 years I was on a path of self-destruction and joylessness. Like the writer of Ecclesiastes once wrote, I tried everything under the sun and found it to be meaningless. I got my fill of untold pleasures but my soul was empty. I ate and drank and made merry practically every night; in the morning, I hated the man in the mirror and just wanted to die, not because I was having a hangover, but because I was wasting my life.

At one time, through various people in my past, God had planted seeds of faith in my arrogant heart. Even as I was in search of many schemes to satisfy my body, mind, heart and soul, God was already making plans. And when He rescued me from my own rotting pit and nasty drunken self, He placed me back on the path that He wanted me to walk. I had dishonorably discarded God in the past, but He did not destroy my future. When I was unfaithful to Him, He remained faithful to His purpose. When I walked away, He kept an eye on me. And when I eventually turned back and surrendered myself to Him, God allowed me to get off my knees and work for His Son Jesus. I had searched many schemes, but Christ’s predestined scheme for my life was not discarded by God.

Perhaps you also have walked away from God. Maybe you have been hurt by the church or wounded by church people. It could be that you don’t want to be burdened by God’s commands or Christ’s demands upon your life. Or perhaps you just feel so far away, that you don’t how to get back into God’s good graces or Christ’s embracing welcome.

Wait for Him to come to you. You don’t have to run away any longer. God knows your weaknesses, your sin, and your secrets. Through Christ, you can be totally forgiven, completely restored and truly loved. Turn and wait. He will find you. He will rescue you. He will redeem you. You are a child of God’s grace and a beloved friend of Christ.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we’ve all gone astray at times and have done foolish things. We carry sinful regrets in our hearts and are burdened with shameful secrets. You have the power to forgive all things and You have the loving grace to grant that mercy to all of us. Thank You for such a wonderful gift! Thank You for such amazing love. In Your Holy Name, we cheerfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment or ask a question about today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s drawing is John’s latest print of the month called “Fall Retreat.” It features a rustic cabin in the heart of the Smoky Mountains during Fall. A limited number (25) of signed prints (8x10 inches) are available. Just email John at the above address for details. You can view a larger version of the drawing at the following location: http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6026/6014988935_76c01bd78d_b.jpg

Finding God in Disasters

Sometimes the Old Testament gives us the impression that we worship a churlish, vindictive God who seeks to smite and destroy His people at the first sign of rebellion. It’s hard for us to comprehend living under such a divine tyrant, especially as we relate to God through the love, mercy, and grace of Jesus. I am so glad to be able to freely worship and adore God through Christ’s eyes; through Moses’ eyes, God must have seemed fierce and terrible.

Podcast version here

Bible Verse
Numbers 14:34 ‘For forty years--one year for each of the forty days you explored the land--you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.'

Our forty days of Lent began on a sad note. We learned that many people lost their homes and more than fifty lost their lives in the thunderous tornadoes that whipped through the South. Looking at the devastation on the news, I can only wonder what the people are feeling. Some are thankful to God for having their lives saved; others are distraught and angry with Him about losing loved ones, their homes, and livelihood. As usual, that same old question, which got the Israelites into so much trouble, will be voiced: Where is God during moments of disaster? Why doesn’t He protect people from such calamities?

Yesterday, I was listening to a report that partially answered those questions. Within hours of the devastations across the South, fire crews, police, and paramedics were quickly working with victims. The Red Cross had already mobilized its first responder teams. And then, tagged at the end of the report, came this news: people in church vans had turned up with food and hot drinks, blankets and supplies. God, through the grace of Jesus Christ, was already at work amongst the people. His love was being given to those who needed to be embraced.

We may never understand why natural disasters hurt, injure, and kill so many people, but at least we still live in a world where Christians compassionately respond to those most in need. And that’s where we both see and experience the caring Kingdom of God in our broken world.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we pray for those whose lives have been devastated by the recent spate of terrifying tornadoes. We pray for all of the families who are affected, and we ask that You surround them with caring, compassionate people. Help us to do what we can by offering support, supplies, and money to bring aid and comfort to the victims. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Bible Reading Mom Booted off Bus

Texas Mother ordered off bus for reading Bible to her children

Source : www.ReligionAndSpirituality.com

A passenger on a bus in Fort Worth, Texas, says she was ordered off the bus because she was reading her Bible aloud. Christine Lutz says she was reading her Bible to her children when the driver asked her to stop or get off the bus.

Read the rest of the story here

Daily Devotions: The Comancheros

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For me, New Year’s Day wouldn’t be perfect without watching a John Wayne movie. Today I’m enjoying “The Comancheros” with John Wayne, Stuart Whitman, and even Lee Marvin. Wayne plays a Texas Ranger who keeps getting outwitted by a Mississippi gambler, who is his prisoner. Eventually, the two of them get together to break up and defeat a community of outlaws who are terrorizing the region. It’s the usual John Wayne epic cowboy movie. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a perfect start to the New Year.

Acts 12:6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.

Today’s passage from Acts 12:6-10 is all about the apostle Peter escaping from jail. I love this story. Just like the Wayne movie, it’s exciting, intriguing, and even comical in some parts. For instance, Peter can’t believe what is happening around him. He’s sure it’s either a vision or a dream. At some point, I think he wants to pinch himself to make sure he’s really awake. God is providing a miraculous escape for Peter, but he cannot believe it.

There have been times in my life when I have experienced something similar. Decades ago, New Year would have meant getting drunk for me and partying non-stop for three or four days. I was on a path to self-destruction, but the Lord took a hold of my life and changed me. Today I feel like pinching myself to see if it’s real. I thank God for turning my life around and giving me a miraculous moment to escape from the addiction that was destined to kill me.

New Year’s Day can be a time of new promises and the start of new dreams. Asking God for guidance and placing our lives in His hands can present new possibilities and opportunities that will enable us to overcome our troubles and realize our goals. It is my hope and prayer that this will be both a Happy and Prosperous New Year for all of you.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for Your presence in our lives and for the many opportunities that You give us to fulfill our dreams and realize our hopes. Grant us the faith and strength to overcome our problems and to accomplish all that we can to glorify and honor You. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Daily Devotions: Christians First

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Acts 12:1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.

Over the holidays, I watched a television program on the History channel called “The First Christians.” It was all about the origins of our faith and how Christ’s devoted followers suffered for their beliefs. It was such an interesting program that I’m in the process of developing a five week series on the subject for our church’s Monday Night Bible Study.

I’m always amazed at how much pain, suffering and injustice that the First Christians experienced and endured. They truly believed in Christ and most were willing to give up their lives for Him. When I think about how much we modern-day Christians take for granted about our faith, it makes me wonder if Christianity would ever have overtaken the Roman Empire if we had been given the opportunity. We tend to get upset over non-issues of faith which does nothing for our witness to the world. The First Christians, however, seemed to understand what was important and they staked their lives on those crucial matters of faith.

As we head into 2008, perhaps instead of making New Year’s resolutions that never last, we should work on those essential parts of our faith that are everlasting. We should make more time to study God’s Word and the history of Christianity. We should put more of our lives into worshipping God and serving Christ. We should prioritize our faith and seek God’s guidance for the life changing decisions that we may make during this coming year. If we set out to put God’s Kingdom first in our hearts, then we will find our lives being transformed and made more meaningful by God’s Spirit within us.

Perhaps then we will have a faith worth living and dying for. Perhaps then we will encounter and experience that incredible joy and strength that the First Christians discovered in devoting their lives to Christ.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we want to be good Christians, with a faith that empowers our lives. Help us to make this New Year a special crossroads in our lives, when we can be reborn and rededicate our hearts to You. In Your Holy Name, we fervently pray. Amen.

Humble Pie

Many people talk and write about putting Christ back into the word “Christmas,” but perhaps we should all put the word “Christ” back into the word “Christian” first.

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There’s a lot of talk these days about freedom and faith, and how these two noble human qualities are supposed to interact. Coming into work this morning, I was listening to a radio talk show. The host was encouraging his audience to talk about the separation issues between Church and State. As usual, each side was berating the other: Christians claimed to be persecuted by local, State and Federal laws; Federalists were claiming that Christians were interfering in school and county policies.

Galatians 5: 13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

No one, however, wanted to talk about the freedom that Christians called to express – the freedom to serve one another. Some Christians believe that their religious freedom gives them the right to do what they want, but that’s not who we are supposed to be. Faith in Christ frees us from serving sin, Satan, and our selfish desires. We are freed from the bondage of boundaries, banality and belligerence, in order to effectively and compassionately help the broken and needy people in our communities.

When we use our faith to freely do what we want, we are showing a side of Christianity that Christ would not recognize. If we use our faith to get our own way and denounce others, then we are forgetting how to love the very same world that Christ died for. Christians can look like spoiled religious brats when they insist upon preserving their rights above all others. The world can’t see Christ because of the amount of self-serving Christians who stand in the way.

Many people talk and write about putting Christ back into the word “Christmas,” but perhaps we should all put the word “Christ” back into the word “Christian” first. A little more humility and a lot less hurt feelings would go a long way in enhancing our faith to the world.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive us for seeking to get our own way in the world. We forget that we represent You and not ourselves. Help us in our struggle with humility and teach us the value of serving You by serving others. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Choosing to Serve

Making coffee and sweeping up leaves can also be used to glorify and serve the Lord.

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We don’t have a custodian on duty at our church on Sunday mornings. This means that I make the coffee because I’m one of the first to arrive at the church. I also get to sweep up the leaves at the front door, which usually collect in between Sunday school and worship. Some church members and I usually have a pleasant laugh together when they catch me sweeping the leaves. Yesterday, they were asking me if I had been promoted! It is all in good fun and it just enhances the friendship and fellowship at the church.

Psalm 84:10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

I love this verse from the psalms because it reminds all of us that the position of humility in God’s service is far more precious than fame or fortune. Whatever we do for the church, we do so because we love God and we want to minister to others, so that they will be attracted into serving God, too.

As we draw near to Christmas, we are all humbled and touched by the simplicity of Christ’s entrance into the world. He didn’t come to earth surrounded by thousands of angels and glorified by rulers from all over the world. He wasn’t born into a family esteemed by riches and made prosperous by power. His first abode was a wooden shack, usually reserved for animals. His life was endangered almost immediately by King Herod, and his family became refugees for a while. Rather than being recognized as the King of kings and Lord of lords, he was just a mere baby, unprotected and vulnerable, with no power or authority.

That’s why serving the Lord at church should never be something that we undertake in order to fulfill our ambitions, or build up our esteem. We serve the Lord because we are His servants. He calls and expects us to do His will. He wants us to fulfill His ministries and missions, as opposed to our own dreams and desires.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we proclaim You as our King. Help us to recognize and accept that we serve You, so that You will be honored and glorified. Give us the heart of a humble servant and encourage us to attract others to serve You faithfully, too. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

The Invisible Man

Claude Rains was one of Hollywood's best actors. His spine chilling role as the original Invisible Man has remained unequalled.
As Christians, we believe in an invisible Christ, so how can we convince the world that Jesus exists?

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1 Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

I love old movies, especially the black and white ones. The storylines have a lot of depth to them and the actors are incredible. What passes for movie entertainment these days is just an excuse for extroverts to do something outrageous. There’s no real acting, just gross stupidity.

Anyway, one of the best Hollywood actors in my opinion was Claude Rains. You’ll maybe remember him as Captain Renault in “Casablanca,” or King Herod in “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” or even Prince John in “The Adventures of Robin Hood.” He usually played the baddie in movies, but the three roles that I liked most are when Claude played Caesar in “Caesar and Cleopatra”, Job Skeffington in Mr. Skeffington, and, my all time favorite, as the Invisible Man.

If you’ve ever seen the original “Invisible Man,” you’ll know that most of the time you hear Claude Rain’s voice. It’s absolutely creepy and can still send shivers down my spine. He plays a scientist who discovers a formula for making himself invisible, but the side effect is that it drives him insane. He wants to rule the world and becomes a monster in the process. It’s like “Phantom of the Opera” and “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” all rolled into one. The ending is marvelous, but I won’t spoil it for you!

When the apostle Peter writes about Christ being invisible, he is writing to a new generation of Christians who have never seen Jesus. He knows that his own time is running out and that he is amongst some of the last survivors who knew Jesus personally. His mission is to help this new wave of Christians understand that although they cannot see Jesus, they can feel His presence joyfully in their hearts. He refers to this as a glorious and inexpressible joy.

Peter’s words are also meant for us today. None of us have ever seen the Lord, but we feel His Presence within our souls. The world may not understand what this is like and refuse to believe us, but we know what we feel, and we place our faith on the certainty of that feeling being real.

We may not be able to convince everyone that Christ exists because some are always going to say that “seeing is believing.” But perhaps more people would accept His invisible presence if they could see His Holy influence over our lives. That is our mission; that is our ministry to a faithless world – to show it that Christ exists because our lives exhibit Christian faith, hope, and love.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for entering into our lives and for touching our hearts with Your Spirit. Help us to be vessels of Your love to our community and grant us the ability to let people truly see You through who we are and what we do in Your Name. Amen.

Erin Church Devotions: Real faith

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A couple of weeks ago, I wrote to you about Pastor Daniel, an evangelist from Indonesia. He, along with 40 other Christian leaders, has been sentenced to five years of imprisonment, just because he prayed for the Muslim community to be open to Christ’s Gospel. I informed you that I was handwriting a letter to him in phonetic Indonesian, so that his family and friends could hold on to their hope in Christ.

Two weeks have passed and Daniel has received over 1400 letters from pastors and people around the world. The authorities are beginning to sit up and take notice. Daniel’s family are heartily encouraged by the amount of international support that he is being given. It truly is a wonderful way of sharing and expressing the Gospel to people in other lands. I hope and pray that Daniel and the others are released soon.

Daniel is a God-fearing Christian, who takes Christ’s message to heart and is unwilling to compromise its integrity. A week on Tuesday, I am going to our local Presbytery meeting and already I am feeling torn by it. Two new pastors will be presented at the meeting for approval. I’ve read their statements of faith online and once again, I am bewildered. I’ll have to ask one of them what is meant by salvation and is Christ the Only Savior of the World. The other one does not mention God as Father, nor of Christ as being His true Son.

It may just be a slip of the pen or keyboard, and to other people this will not seem important, but when I think of Pastor Daniel languishing and suffering in an Indonesian prison for not compromising his faith, I feel really ill at ease with those pastors amongst who all too readily set aside traditional beliefs and replace them with what they’ve learned from seminary professors, instead of holding fast to the words and teachings of Christ and His apostles.

I’ll probably endure some criticism again for asking these questions and voicing my concerns, but it will be nothing compared to what Daniel is experiencing. I hope and pray that my passion will not overload my reason; and that my heart will not overwhelm my head.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Son of God and He is Your Almighty Father. We are adopted as daughters and sons of God through our allegiance to You and by Your sacrificial death. Help us to value our salvation and keep us revering Who You really are. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Verse for the Day:
Titus 1:4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Erin Church Devotions: Farmers - Sturdy Examples of Faith

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2 Timothy 2:6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. (NIV)

For the first nine years of my work in ministry, I pastored a beautiful area in the South West of Scotland. The countryside was stunning and as I traveled throughout the area in my car, I often saw the farmers working in their fields. Their lives fascinated me and I was in awe of their work ethic. They do get up before light of day and work long, arduous hours.

Their families are all involved in working the farm. The children are taught responsibility at an early age and given their own areas of the farm to look after. It was a joy to be amongst them, and I sometimes miss visiting with them at the farmhouse, listening to their talk about livestock, crops, and machinery.

It’s no surprise to me that the Christian faith has much to say about farms and farmers, crops and harvests. Our faith grew out of agricultural religious cycles and many of our celebrations and feasts are long associated with the farming year. In Scotland, we used to celebrate Communion twice a year – in April and October. We did this after the lambing season had finished in March, and once the harvest was brought in during the Fall. It gave the farmers a special time to be with God, commune with His Son and people, and give thanks for the blessing of the lambs and the finishing of the harvest.

In many ways, our churches are also like farms. We plant the seeds of belief in the hearts of our children in the hope that those seeds will become fruits of faith. We are also given ministries and missions to tend, so that Christ’s work amongst us can grow and expand in our community. And we are each expected to bring a faithful harvest to God at the end of our lives, showing Him that we have shared our faith with others, and planted new seeds of belief in the hearts and minds of those we leave behind. We are each meant to be hardworking farmers of faith, so that we might expect the bounty of God’s blessings and receive an eternal share in Christ’s Kingdom.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the work of our farmers and for the food they provide to our people. Bless them at this special time when their harvests are gathered and their work is done. Be with them as they plan ahead for next year’s crops and livestock. May they be respected and appreciated for all that they accomplish amongst us. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Erin Church devotions: Daniel - An imprisoned pastor in Indonesia

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1 Corinthians 9:25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. (NIV)

This morning, I’ve been busy hand writing a card to a pastor in Indonesia. His name is Daniel and he is an evangelist in a country that is predominantly Muslim. Daniel was videotaped earlier this year praying for the local madrassa (Islamic school) and its teachers. His prayer was as follows:

“Father, we pray for the leaders of the madrassa, so their hearts would be open to the Gospel.”

What was the outcome of that prayer? Pastor Daniel and forty other pastors were arrested. Whilst we were all celebrating Easter over here, Daniel was sentenced to five years in prison. I was writing to him this morning to let Daniel and his family know that he is in my heart and prayers. I was writing to tell him that God will bless him for his commitment to Christ and the Gospel.

This is one of the reasons why I have been so hard recently on Progressive Christians in America. They want to dilute the Gospel, and diminish Christ’s message throughout the world. Their desire is harmony and peace between all religions, but at a cost that I am not willing to pay. They denigrate Christ and His ministry by casting aside their loyalty to Him and His Kingdom, worshipping instead their own god. They do this from the comfort of their academic beds and theological ivory towers, whereas pastors like Daniel are languishing in prison for preaching, teaching, and praying the true Gospel.

That’s why it is crucial for Christians in America to firmly hold on to our faith, and not be sidetracked into universalism. We may not be persecuted for our faith in our lifetime, but there are millions of Christians throughout the rest of the world who are enduring unjust punishment and unfair prison sentences just for preaching the Gospel and praying for their persecutors.

(If you would like more information about Daniel, please visit the following website: www.prisoneralert.com)

Prayer: Lord Jesus, protect Daniel and his family and keep them safe each day. Let their faith be strong and enable them to persevere. Release him from this unfair captivity and grant him the courage to continue preaching the Gospel amongst those who guard him, and those who are imprisoned with him. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Erin Church daily devotional: Picking Blackberries in Scotland

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2 Corinthians 12:7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. (NIV)

Years ago, I used to go bramble picking with my brothers, usually during the Fall. I think that you call brambles ‘blackberries’ over here. They look like dark colored raspberries and they grow wild in Scotland. They have a bitter sweet taste to them, but you can make a delicious jelly with them, which our mum used to do when we brought them home.

To get to the biggest and sweetest brambles, you have to be willing to fight your way through some really nasty thorns. In order to pick the brambles off the thorns, you cannot use gloves. Inevitably, my brothers and I would all come home with painful thorns stuck in the palm of our hands. So as well as making jelly, sewing our ripped clothes, mum had to be our nurse by removing the thorns with tweezers. In the end it was worth all of the discomfort, trouble, and pain. The jelly she made was delicious, especially on buttered slices of toast.

Paul writes about a ‘thorn in the flesh’ that he experienced in his life. As a preacher, he could easily have become conceited by the amount of power and esteem he was given by his listeners. But God gave him some sort of impediment, which caused him a great deal of discomfort. He does not mention what this thorn was precisely, but it was enough of a problem for Paul to ask God to remove it. God, however, says “no” to Paul’s prayer and so he has to learn to live with it.

Sometimes as Christians, we think that we’re entitled to live our lives free from worries, stress, or attack. We think that just because we follow Christ then our lives should be free from trouble. The advocates of the heretical prosperity Gospel have caused Christians throughout the world to believe that God is a great genie in the sky that supplies all of our wants and removes all of our burdens. But this is not the case. God gives us the ability to cope with our problems and to adapt our lives accordingly. He never promises to remove them, otherwise saints like Paul would never have had to live with their thorns in the flesh.

If you’re carrying a burden in your heart or mind, and it seems like a thorn in your flesh which is always troubling you, take it to God. He may not remove it from you, but He will give you his strength to enable you to cope.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we all have thorns in our sides and troubles in our lives. Sometimes we just want them to go away, so that we can live our lives peace and prosperity. Remind us that we have faith in You to help us through those times when we struggle. Grant us the courage to face our fears and enable to cope with the pressures we experience. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Erin Church Daily Devotional - Working for the Lord

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. (NIV)

Sometimes I think that I have the best of both worlds. I enjoy my career and at the same time I get to serve the Lord in all that I do. The last time that I worked for myself was about thirty years ago when I was a clerk for a housing association. I earned my pay by doing as much as I could for the company and its customers. These days, I work for the Lord in creative ways that hopefully helps other people to come closer to Jesus.

For most of you who are reading or hearing this message, you may not have that option. Your focus has to be on getting the current job or project completed. You’re probably working with a deadline and are trying to get results. You feel the pressure of having to perform at an expected level. And I know that some of you are trying hard to balance work with your home life. Your time is precious and the stress can be unbearable.

But what if I told you that Jesus has called you to do what you are doing, and that your work is important to Him? Whether you’re at home, in school, at the office, or traveling out of town, God can present you with opportunities to express your faith in terms of your abilities. Reliability and dependability, honesty and integrity are highly valued assets that you can bring to your work. If you can mix your faith into your service and productivity, then you will be serving the Lord, as well as your company.

Christ values you as one of His servants in the kingdom of God. By opening up your career to Him and by being an example to others through your diligence, productivity and creativity, you become an effective witness of Christ’s strength, power, and love. No one’s asking you to be a holy roller in the workplace, but be the best worker that you can be. Your effectiveness and efficiency will say more about your faith than spouting Christian viewpoints and quoting Bible verses. Your support of your fellow workers in times of stress, crisis, and illness will mean much more to them than being sanctimonious or spiritually superior.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we want to serve you each day, so we ask that You enable us to do the best we can in our homes, at our schools, and in our workplaces. Grant us a practical faith that will help us to become reliable, amiable, and capable. In Your Holy Name, we work and pray. Amen.

Saving

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Titus 3:4, 5a But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.

The most enduring moment in the movie, “Saving Private Ryan” comes at the very end. Ryan, now an old man, is visiting the graves of American troops in France. As he stands before the crosses of his rescuers, he bursts into tears and asks his family, “Have I been a good man?” He wants to know if he has lived a life worthy of being rescued; he needs to know that those who died to save him did not die in vain.

I guess the same question could be asked of ourselves, for we also have been rescued and we owe our faithful lives to the death of one man. Jesus died for our sins and we know that none of us are worthy of this grace. We may accomplish great things in our lives, we may do good things and fulfill lofty ambitions, but none of it counts against Christ’s sacrifice. We cannot do anything to make things even with Jesus. We cannot work our way out of needing His salvation. In the end, we will always owe more to Christ than we can ever possibly give. At the final moment of our lives, it will not be our goodness that will rescue us from oblivion; it will be Christ’s mercy and grace that will pull us through death to eternal life.

This is what being saved means. This is why we hope. This is why we have faith in Jesus.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, our lives are made eternal in the precious moment that we give them to You. Our souls are saved forever when we acknowledge You as the Savior of the World and the Lord of our lives. Help us to share this Good News, so that others may not worry about death, but instead they may also glorify Your goodness and experience Your mercy. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Meeting

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1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the worst. (NIV)

I’m meeting with the care team sub-committee of the Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry this morning to have a discussion with them about what happened at the last Presbytery meeting. If you read these devotionals on a daily basis, you may remember that I asked several questions of a candidate for ministry, whose answers revealed that she would not be bound by the scriptures, nor would she confirm that Jesus is the only way to salvation.

Both of those answers perplexed me, for what is the point in being a Christian pastor if you don’t believe fully in Christ, nor do you fully trust the scriptures about Him? I feel as though that seminaries are beginning to universalize faith, and that the current theologians who teach our ministerial candidates are so far off the orthodox mark that we should seriously begin to question who is teaching what to our future pastors.

Now already I can hear some people saying, “That would be a witch hunt. You want to condemn those who have given their lives, intellect, and academic skills to theology and make them conform to your standards, John.”

No, I don’t, because like Paul before me, I am one of the worst sinners in the world. I don’t want people to follow the Gospel according to John Stuart, I want them to follow the Gospel according to Christ, as written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Not one of the Gospel writers believed that Jesus was any less than He declared Himself to be. Not one of them would have glibly cast Christ aside in favor of appeasing other faiths, other deities, other gods. If that was the case, they would never have spread the Gospel and the Jesus stories would just have been circulated locally. Christ would just have been another Palestinian prophet, a religious rabble-rouser who was squashed by the politico-religious system of His day.

Like the present Pope, Benedict XVI, I can say this: I trust the Gospels.* To me, there is no other legitimate source of my faith other than Bible. I may not be able to live up to the demands of the Scriptures (who can?), but my faith is bound up in them. The Christ of the Gospels is the One I worship, proclaim and follow. He is the only source of salvation. He is the only source of truth and meaning.

Whatever the outcome of the meeting this morning, I thank God for the opportunity of witnessing to Christ with my peers. I may not be the best pastor in the world, and I fall short of God’s expectations, but that will not disbar me from declaring that Christ is the most perfect, holy, and sacred Savior that the world has known, knows today, and will ever know. In Christ, I stand. I can do no other.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, give our people hearts that are loyal to You, and faith that witnesses to Your True Power. We admit that we are all sinners, in need of forgiveness, and in need of salvation. Help us to give up our proud and stubborn ways. Grant us the courage to declare Your Uniqueness, Sovereignty, and Authority over all religions, over all creation. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen

* as written in his new book, “Jesus of Nazareth” – Joseph Ratzinger –we’ll be studying this at Erin later this year.

Rejecting Rejection

Audio version here

John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (NIV)

Sometimes when I read verses like this it makes me cringe. There’s a part of me that wishes Jesus never said it, and I truly wonder why He had to express His message in such uncompromising absolutes.

In today’s world, people don’t like to hear this type of life or death message. They want everyone to get along, and belong to one harmonious family of humankind. There’s enough division in the world already without Christ and Christians adding to the turmoil.

But no matter what they or I think, Jesus said it, so it needs to be taken seriously.

So, according to this verse, whoever believes in Jesus has the gift of eternal life. Whoever rejects Him, in other words, whoever willfully casts Christ aside, has no joyful place in eternity. It’s blunt, inflexible, and absolutely unequivocal. Belief in Jesus gets us into heaven; rejection of Christ puts us on the outside.

So, how do we willfully reject Jesus? Well, we can do it in numerous ways. We can do it by refusing to worship or serve Him. We can fiercely argue against Him. We can change His message and turn His words into something more acceptable. We can call Him a great teacher, but not the Son of God. We can say His life was significant, but His death meant nothing. These things might satisfy our academic or lifestyle choices, but what we are doing is transforming Christ into something He wasn’t or molding Him into something that is convenient for us. And whether we like it or not, doing those things cause us to reject who He is and where we will end up in eternity.

So, let’s ask ourselves this blunt question today: do we believe in Him, or do we reject Him?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, to have faith in You is so inconvenient, unsettling, and troublesome to our lives. Your message messes up what we want to do, think and believe. You challenge our choices and interfere with our intelligence. You confront our conceptions and radically re-shape our ways. And You do this all because You love us. All because You want us to get into heaven, to be restored to God’s favor and to enjoy His kingdom forever.

Disturb our ideas about You today and keep us from rejecting You, Your message, and Your Gospel. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

A Good Book

Audio version here

Joshua 1:8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (NIV)

I don’t know where I would be without my Bible, or to be exact, Bibles. I’ve a whole collection of them in my study. Some I’ve had for years; others were given to me; and still others have been recently purchased. Without a Bible, I wouldn’t be me. Without God’s Word in my life, I wouldn’t be a Christian.

Now that’s not to say that I’m a sanctimonious, Bible thumping, self-righteous holy roller. I do have my moments, but the Bible is more of a spiritual guide book to me, rather than a sacred sword with which I smite my enemies. I believe in its contents. I believe it speaks more about truth than any other scripture in existence today. I know that it points out my character flaws, sinful ways, and bad decisions more than anything else in the world. It keeps my feet on solid ground, and not high up on some academic theological pedestal of my own making.

The Bible also comforts me, encourages me, and inspires me. There have been thousands of times in my life when a Bible verse, passage or story has deeply connected with my life. In times of sadness, the Bible has helped me weep. In moments of joy, the Bible has shown me how to rejoice.

When Joshua needed help to lead the Israelite people, God guided him to look to the Law of Moses. Times were changing and Joshua had to take over Moses’ leadership during a difficult period of transition. God counseled Joshua to look to the law. Why? Because in the midst of all the changes and commotion, Joshua and the people needed something that was timeless, changeless, and reassuring. The Law of Moses gave them a foundation of beliefs, ideas, and teachings to keep the people together. Without the Law, the people would have divided. Without the scriptures, the community would have diminished and scattered.

The Bible keeps me connected to God and His people through the best and worst of times. I write and send these daily devotions to build up the church and strengthen an internet faith community that exists across many states, a number of nations, and over several continents. Without the Bible, we could not do this. Without the scriptures, there would be nothing to keep us together.

Prayer: Lord God, in Your infinite wisdom, You bestowed upon us sacred writings that have become a solid base for our beliefs. Whilst we do not worship the Bible, we deeply respect its power to give us strength, encouragement, and counsel in times of need, crisis, and trouble. Let Your Holy Spirit enter into our minds today and touch our hearts with Your sacred words. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

Three Witnesses

Audio version here

Matthew 3:16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. (NIV)

I don’t remember my baptism, but I remember seeing old monochrome photographs of my parents and older sister after the event. The photos were taken with my Dad’s box camera and the prints were 2x2. In one of the photographs, my mom is holding me in her arms whilst my sister is pulling at her skirt and crying. I’m oblivious to all that was happening that day. I’ve got no idea what all the fuss is about.

As well as my family being there with the congregation and minister, there were also three very important witnesses to the whole ritual – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The old pastor who baptized me invoked their presence during the prayers, and even although I was completely unaware of what was occurring, the Holy Spirit must have touched me that Sunday morning.

Baptismal questions were asked and promises were given. And even although my parents were not church-goers, they did see to it that I went to Sunday School – well, at least my mom did anyway. They loosely attempted to keep their part of the covenant, but God made certain that His side of the sacred agreement was fulfilled.

These days, I get asked to baptize babies of folks who have loose connections with the congregation. I wish that some of them would make a greater effort in fulfilling their vows, but in the end I completely trust God to fulfill His part of the covenant. Some of the kids I’ll never see again, but I hope and pray that they will be touched by the Holy Spirit and ushered into God’s Kingdom at some point in their life. Our congregation tries to mentor and guide many of the kids who are part of our faith community, because it also makes a promise to do so. But sometimes getting the parents to come with the kids is an uphill battle, especially if they think, like my own parents did, that church is a leisure option instead of a lifetime commitment.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, many children will be baptized throughout the world this Sunday and sadly, some of them will never cross the threshold of a church door for years. Let Your Holiness prevail in the hearts and souls of these young ones. Let Your covenanted connection to them emerge throughout the passing years of their lives. May all the young ones, who are baptized this Sunday, become faithful servants for Your Kingdom, despite the weak church connections of their families. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Hostages

Audio Version here

Psalm 143:9 Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I hide myself in you. (NIV)

There are early reports coming in this morning that fifteen British sailors have been captured by the Iranian Navy in Iraqi waters. Perhaps by the end of the day, these sailors will be released. I hope so, for the event has the potential to escalate the war in the Gulf. I pray that the sailors will be treated well and quickly returned, otherwise the British Navy may retaliate.

It reminds me of the Iranian hostage crisis which took place during Jimmy Carter’s presidency. He lost the Whitehouse to Ronald Reagan because of it. Britain goes to the polls in about eight weeks time to elect a new Prime Minister. Perhaps I’m being cynical in my old age, but I wonder if the Iranian President has initiated this incident to influence British voters? Ahmadinejad was one of the revolutionary ring-leaders of the hostage situation in the American Embassy in Tehran. It could be that he’s trying to unnerve the Western alliance in the present Iraqi war. Personally, I wouldn’t put it past him.

However, as Christians, we need to keep praying for peace in the region and for the dogs of war to be silenced. No matter how justified each side feels about what is going on, this fact remains: innocent men, women, and children are dying in the streets of Baghdad and across the region. We have to find a lasting solution. We need to honestly look at ourselves and find the ways, words, and works that lead to peace. Otherwise, our children won’t just be facing global warming; they’ll be continually dealing with global warring.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Prince of Peace whereas we are the weavers of war. Help us to end the hostilities between different nations, races, and religions throughout the world. If we are truly Christian, then crucify our self-righteous sins and grandiose schemes of sovereignty. Teach us not to throw away our freedom by surrendering our security. Help us not to lose our faith by empowering our religion. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Why?

Audio Version here.

Psalm 25:17 The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish. (NIV)

I can remember, when I was a teenager, falling on my knees in our family kitchen and crying uncontrollably. My mother had just been taken away by the paramedics to the asylum again, after another terrifying outbreak of her schizophrenic disorder. As usual, she had not been taking her medication which, after four or five days, resulted in a frenzied attack on her family. This latest violent outburst was the last straw for me, and I just fell apart in front of my Dad and siblings. I cried out to God, time and time again, “Why are You doing this to us? Why are You allowing this to happen?” I was inconsolable and hated my life.

Emotional pain is very hard to carry, especially when you are young and inexperienced as far as suffering goes. It took me years to cope with my mum’s mental illness and there are still some moments when I wonder how our all family survived. To me, it involved the grace of God, who heard the troubles of my heart and freed me from my anguish. I still carry the emotional scars inside, but with God’s great patience and unyielding love, I have managed not only to survive, but also to find healing.

It may be the case that as you are reading this devotional, you are also experiencing some turmoil, trouble and tribulation that is wounding your soul or breaking your heart. Like the psalmist of old, cry out to God and tell Him how you really feel. Don’t be afraid to shout, rage, or weep. He’s big enough to take all of the punches we can throw at Him. He’s also merciful enough to give us the grace that we desperately need to overcome these issues.

Prayer: Lord God, sometimes our lives are filled with sorrow and over-powered with pain. Some of our experiences can damage our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls. Be near to us when we are lonely and afflicted, agitated and rebellious. Embrace us with Your love and heal us with Your grace. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.