4 Minute Devotions: Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day around the world and this year's theme is Poverty. Bloggers from many nations are highlighting this serious issue and offering solutions.

Podcast version here

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

Today is Blog Action Day around the world. Thousands of bloggers are posting articles about poverty and making suggestions about how we can rid this scourge in the world. It’s an amazing network that has been established and any profits from the whole venture will go to KIVA, the international organization that helps small businesses in developing countries by giving loans through contributions that people in richer countries have given.

It’s a wonderful system and to date, I have helped seven different small businesses in Tanzania, Samoa, Peru, and Cambodia through the contributions I have made. It doesn’t involve government or political leaders. It’s about ordinary people helping other ordinary people across the world. Red tape and bureaucracy is kept to a minimum and most of the loans are paid back within a year to the lenders, who can then lend their money to someone else.

It’s the gift that keeps on giving and if you would like to participate in this great opportunity to directly help the lives of others, then visit the website at kiva.org. Registration is easy and contributions can be made via the secure Paypal system.

Poverty is a man-made disease, but if we pool our resources together, even in simple ways like Kiva offers, then it can be overcome. Some one once said that if you give a man a fish, he can eat for a day; but if you teach him how to fish, he can eat for life. There’s one more part I would add to that: he can eat for life if you give him access to the fish pond.

Kiva is doing that by giving people access to the business loans that they need to work in their community. And I firmly believe that the Lord takes great delight in what they are achieving amongst the poor. For once, it’s all about everyone’s need, instead of inhumane greed.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You once said that “You will always have the poor with you; do for them whatever you can.” Thank You for the great work of KIVA, its philosophy and practical ideas that are positively changing lives all around the world. Help each of us to seriously consider giving from we have, to those who can use those resources effectively. In Your Holy Name, we pray for an end to poverty. 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.

4 Minute Devotions: Scattering Gifts

We all want to change the world and make a difference in the lives of others. Last year, I came across a charitable website that enables donors to do this. A short devotion on Psalm 112 v 9.

Podcast version here

Psalm 112:9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.

Last year, I came across a wonderful business site on the internet. It’s called Kiva and its whole purpose is to get people to invest in small businesses across the world. Investors are encouraged to make a $25 donation through the website, acting as sponsors of people in developing countries. The hope is that these small investments will enable the entrepreneurs from other lands to successfully establish and market their own skills. Thousands of people are joining Kiva to do this. They are fulfilling today’s verse from Psalm 112 by scattering abroad their gifts to the poor.

To date, I’ve managed to help sponsor five businesses. The entrepreneurs come from Samoa, Tanzania, Peru, and Cambodia. Because I feel that they have a harder time growing businesses in developing countries, all of my chosen beneficiaries are women. They are working hard for their families, as well as their own self-esteem. Each month, they pay back some of their loans and when they have completed it, the initial $25 can be re-invested into another business, in another part of the world. It’s a gift that just keeps on giving and one that makes me feel that I am helping someone else make a positive difference in their community.

You can find Kiva on the internet at http://www.kiva.org/. For those of you who subscribe to the email devotionals, look for a Kiva invitational email to come your way soon. It’s a wonderful organization to support, and I think it’s a great way of advancing God’s Kingdom throughout the earth.

So, if you ever wanted to make a difference in the world, but didn’t know how to go about it, perhaps Kiva is the vehicle to help you do that. If you have any questions about it, just send me an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, there are many people around the world who need help in a dignified way. They want to build up their lives and communities by establishing their own businesses and using their unique skills. Help us to help those who seek to help themselves in honest, hard-working, and effective ways. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor at Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee

Daily Devotions: Helping Others

There’s a family in Knoxville that our church has been helping for years. They always seem to get hit with a crises, illness, or injury that makes it difficult for them to keep up with house payments, utility bills, and paying for groceries. Every time they move one step ahead, something happens to put them two steps back, which in turn makes them dependent upon charity.

Bible Verse of the Day

Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Podcast version here

I’ve tried to get them to understand how important it is to be a part of a church. They live on the other side of the city and need to get involved in the fellowship of a local church. Each time I try to convey this to them, they put up barriers of being too busy, or they can’t manage transport, or they don’t know where to go. I’ve visited them at their house several times, delivering special food baskets and other needed items. I pass several churches that are very close to their home. I just wish that they would see how much their lives could positively change if they had a real connection to a neighborhood church.

This week, the church paid $100 towards their utility bill, but it will probably be the last time that we do this. There are many other families in our own area of Knoxville who are in need, so we have to concentrate on them. I also think that through the gifts and hundreds of dollars that we have given to this one family, we have actually made them co-dependent. Instead of helping their situation, we’ve actually enabled them to depend upon our support. It’s sad to see this, and it’s hard to let go of people in such circumstances, but unless they seek their own local church fellowship, I cannot see how our church can sustain them much longer.

Doing good for others makes us all feel good, but knowing when to stop helping others is very hard to do. Paul encourages us to help others, especially those who belong to the family of believers. Sometimes, because we help those who are outside of the church and who live far away, we don’t see those in need from our own congregation and neighborhood. It’s far easier to give with no strings attached and walk away feeling good; it’s much harder to deal with those whom we know because we will have to get involved in their lives, and invest time, resources, and energy to help them.

I guess the challenge for us today is this: who is it in our families, among our friends, or at our church currently needs our help? And what is God calling us to do for them?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You never said that having faith and doing good works would ever be easy. In fact, You called it “carrying our crosses.” You know how much it will cost us to really help others in our midst, especially those at our church. Grant us patience and perseverance; give us a loving faith to truly convey Christian compassion and fellowship to those, whom we know, that have great needs at this time. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Erin Daily Devotions: Ambitions

Sometimes our ambitions to succeed can become idolatrous monsters to feed.

I have never really been comfortable around ambitious pastors. I’m of the old school that believes if you want a bigger church to lead, then grow the one that you’re leading right now. I’ve been in ministry for 22 years and in that time I’ve only led two charges. The average time that a pastor spends with one church is about four to five years, so by this time I should be leading my fifth or sixth congregation…if I was truly ambitious.

Podcast version here

It’s not that I don’t have ambitions and dreams for the congregation that I lead, or that I have jettisoned all my hopes and goals for the future. I just think that stability and dependability in pastoral leadership are more important than paper credentials and scholarly works. Those pastors who want to reach the top of the ladder are driven by a worldly view of success. For me, success is listening to God and trying to do what He wants for His Church and its people.

Matthew 20:22 "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?"
"We can," they answered.

When the mother of James and John approaches Jesus about having her two sons sit beside Him in His glorious Kingdom, she is being ambitious on their behalf. Like any mother, she wants the best for her children, so she asks Jesus to grant her sons this ambitious request. James and John don’t ask this of Him directly, probably because they understand that Jesus isn’t big on power struggles within His chosen band of disciples. Sheepishly, they get their mother to petition Christ on their behalf. If they were truly ambitious, they would have personally asked Jesus to grant the request.

I like how Jesus answers them. He lets them all understand that He is also working under a Higher Power and that such a request is not His to give. He makes them aware that in order to be worthy of such a high honor, they would have to be willing to sacrifice themselves for the Kingdom. They answer this positively, in the hope that Christ will give them these positions of power. Jesus accepts their willingness, which has more to do with ambition and greed rather than service and loyalty. They will be required to sacrifice themselves for the cause, but it’s still up to God to allot the appointed thrones on the right and left of Christ.

Sometimes we allow ourselves to be overcome by our ambitions and in our zeal to fulfill our dreams, we lose a precious part of ourselves. James would be martyred for the cause and John would be exiled for many years. They both would pay a heavy price for their ambitions. If we also become obsessed with greatness and glory, then we can lose our humility and honesty, our faith and fidelity. There’s nothing wrong with wanting things to be better in our lives, but when we sacrifice our families and friends, our church and our charity, then we have taken the wrong path and have turned our ambition into an idolatrous monster that feeds upon our greed.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, keep us from grandiose schemes and ambitious dreams that would ruin the precious things in our lives. Help us to maintain a sense of balance, so that our desire to succeed does not become an idol of our greed. Allow us to seek to please You with our faith by placing our goals and dreams into Your hands. May we also use our successes to resource the eternally glorious work of Your Kingdom. In Your Holy Name, we earnestly pray. Amen.

Amazing Agents

Scottish audio version here

Ephesians 4: 12 ‘…to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…’

I’m always amazed at the amount of good that church people do in the world. Congregations are full of individuals who like to give of themselves to causes and charities over and above what they commit to their own church. For example, I’ve seen a group of Senior citizens contribute monthly to the needs of a young boy in the Philippines, who has grown up well educated because of their support. I’ve known a group of college students to give up their breaks to clean up hurricane-ravaged areas of the Gulf Coast, and who also have worked with poor school children in Guatemala.

I’ve watched a busy young mother set up a weekly support group for other mothers on Monday mornings, giving them and their children a good start to another week of pressure. I’ve seen a young family with a deaf child start a monthly group for other families with deaf children, in order to help them find the right resources, peer support, and a place to express their feelings.

I’ve also watched a retired scientist give up his Tuesdays and Thursdays to work on Habitat building projects. And I’ve encountered a 90 year old man who constantly visits people in hospital and nursing homes, bringing to the patients and residents good cheer, friendship, and faith to help them get better.

These are just a few of the good things that church people are doing to help others. With each act of kindness, friendship, and love, the sharing of faith and the building up of Christ’s church continues. These are good people, working for God’s Kingdom and serving Him in ways that positively impact those around them.

That’s what Paul was expressing to the Christians at Ephesus. That’s also what Christ did for us when He descended into this world. Now that He has ascended into heaven, it’s our turn to do His work, in His ways. For in so doing, we not only make the world a better place, we also build up Christ’s Church.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, every day You grant us opportunities to do good, to help others, and to give support to those in need. Help us to fulfill those precious moments, so that we may make a positive difference in the world and be agents of Your compassion, hope, and love. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.