Good Friday devotion: Missing the Point - Mark 15:31

Bible Passage: Mark 15:25-32

Key verse:      Mark 15:31     In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can't save himself !”

I cannot begin to imagine both the humiliation and hurt that Jesus must have felt as His own people hurled insults and mocked Him. Their words and curses must have felt like rocks and stones violently impacting His heart and soul. The physical pain of crucifixion must have been awful, but the mental torment and spiritual agony that He also endured must have been absolutely sickening.

Jesus had spent three years helping and healing His people. He taught them about God’s love and mercy. He preached to them about changing their ways and receiving abundant life. His message was challenging and radical, but His mission was about redemption and restoration. Unfortunately, His people missed the point, so instead of embracing Him, they executed their Christ.

Sadly, this is still going on in Christ’s churches today. Some of His own people will miss the point by making up their own ideas about who He was, and of what Jesus does in the world today. Even with so much information about Christ, His life, people, and community freely available to us today, there will still be those who will mock Him with their misconceptions and insult Jesus with their ideas. Holy Week will come and go, but they will not be one step closer to Christ because they will have missed the point of His Passion entirely.

Questions for personal reflection

How has Christ’s death affected my life? What has He done to challenge and change me?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, the point of Your Passion is at the heart of why we are Christians. You died for our sins, so we must come humbly to You to ask for mercy and forgiveness. Sometimes our pride gets in the way, or we take Your grace for granted. Help us to make this week holy in our lives by taking time to serve, honor, and glorify You for all that You accomplished on the Cross. In Your 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.

Today’s image is John’s latest Holy week drawing called “Christ Nouveau.” It’s a depiction of Christ Crucified in the style of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the great Scottish artist who inspired Frank Lloyd Wright. If you would like to view a larger version of the image, please click here:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5072/6897826374_c074c38fbc_b.jpg

Daily devotions: Unbelievable! - Matthew 4:3

Matthew 4:3   The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

I didn’t sleep very well last night, so what’s new? As usual, I had taken too much caffeine and my mind was swirling with thoughts and ideas, issues and problems. The main one concerned an internet posting that a PCUSA pastor had written, boldly stating that Jesus did not die for the sins of humanity.

Yes, you are reading truly; he wrote that Jesus DID NOT die for our sins. In fact, he called it a theological fantasy, perpetrated by the Church to control the hearts and minds of people. I honestly could not believe what I was actually reading. How could a Christian Presbyterian pastor write this? It goes against Christian theology and the essential tenets of the Reformation itself. How can a pastor do this to himself, his congregation, denomination and faith?

An even greater question is this: how can a church, a presbytery, and a denomination allow this to stand? This is the equivalent of the devil questioning Christ’s authority in the wilderness. If Jesus did not die upon the Cross to save us from our sins, then how can we be saved? If His death, as the pastor writes, was merely a political expedient execution, then how can we be justified by our faith in Christ?

I have watched mainstream denominations radically change over the past 25 years in order to accommodate the culture, but this goes beyond anything that I have ever known. This is heresy and what really troubles me is that the PCUSA might allow this kind of false theology and heretical thinking to stand unopposed.

I am deeply shocked and feel as though we’ve all allowed this to happen because we’ve not paid attention to the slippery slope that we’ve been on. This is the outcome of the church giving culture an inch; it ends up taking a mile and the loss of faith altogether. The pastor may have his doubts and denials, his lack of faith in Christ’s sacrifice and Redemption, but that does not give him the right to trample on the Reformed beliefs of the Church, which are essential to our faith, and for him to be held unaccountable.

An important line has been crossed which will affect the faith of future generations. Either this kind of heresy is stopped in its tracks now, or our denomination will die from this theological deceit. We cannot have our cake and eat it. Or to put it another way, we cannot have Christ’s Cross and then destroy it.

Prayer:                       Lord Jesus, You are the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. You sacrificed Your life on the Cross, so that we might be washed clean of our sins and restored to God’s everlasting love. Keep us from diminishing Your atoning work with our arrogant thinking and foolish ideas. Help us to cling to Calvary and know that we are justified through our faith in You alone as the Son of God and Savior of our souls. Amen.

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

Daily Devotions: Face to Face - Hebrews 12 v2

Hebrews 12:2              Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Years ago, I visited a famous Roman Catholic Basilica in Spain. It sat on a high hill and there were many steps leading up to the church. It was a beautiful medieval building and I was impressed by the architecture on the outside. As I approached the vast wooden entrance doors, I wondered what it would look like on the inside.

When I stepped into the massive sanctuary, I was shocked. Instead of a high cathedral like structure, I suddenly realized that I was in a very dark ante-room, where I was confronted by a spot-lit statue of a bloody Christ on the Cross. I was almost face-to-face with the statue and because it was so totally unexpected, I was absolutely breathless. The image of Jesus was staring at me directly and I was stunned. I felt two things at the same time: an overwhelming pity for Christ’s suffering and complete shame for my sins which crucified Him. It was both an awe-full and wonderful spiritual moment. I will never forget it as long as I live.

When the writer of Hebrews encourages us to fix our eyes upon Jesus, he is trying to get us to focus on Christ as our Savior. The world has many distractions and when we lose our attention on Jesus, we empty our spirits and weaken our souls. The strength of our faith in Christ depends upon how much time we actually pray to Him and ponder on His ways. If we are too busy to do this as Christians, then we are just too busy. We need to shed some of the dross that distracts us from fixing our eyes upon Jesus and begin living our lives according to His Love.

So the challenge for us today is this: when am I going to make time to focus on Jesus?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we complicate our lives with trivial matters and miss many opportunities to increase our awareness of Your Spirit in the world. Help us to appreciate the time You grant us as a daily gift, and use it to draw closer to You, Your words, and Your ways. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

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

Today’s image is one of my 2011 Easter drawings. It’s called “Passover.” You can view a larger version of the drawing at the following link: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/5394517049_ef741c1bdf_b.jpg