4 Minute Daily Devotions: An Inconvenient Gospel

John 16:31 "You believe at last!" Jesus answered.

Years ago, when I ministered to the Scottish fishing village of Dunure, some people stopped coming to church. Eventually, they were asked by a couple of elders of why they had become non-attenders. They replied, “He’s too evangelical for me.”

I was sorry to see them go, but I also took their criticism as a compliment. I am, first and foremost, a preacher of the Gospel and I see that my work is to express the need for everyone to be saved by Christ. In some areas of the world, it’s not popular, but if ever I was to start preaching according to what’s popular, I would have sold my soul to the world.

Even Jesus had difficulty in getting His disciples to understand how crucially and eternally important His Gospel message was. He laid everything on the line, including His life, to offer the world the glorious opportunity of being forgiven and being restored to God’s love. He was, and still is, an all or nothing kind of preacher. The Gospel is not just a collection of stories that we can joyfully meander through at our leisure. The Gospel takes us to a crucial crossroads in each of our lives, where we either commit our ways to the Lord, or we head down our own dead end.

When I heard the criticism that I was ‘far too evangelical’ all those years ago, I wanted to say, “If you think I’m evangelical, you should really listen to Jesus!” When He speaks the truth about God, or talks about commitment, discipleship, or even money, Christ never compromises. One day, after we each die, we’ll learn that for the last time. The dilemma that faces us on Earth is this: will I learn and accept it now, while there is still time, or will I wait until it’s too late?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to overcome our unbelief about You and settle this Gospel question in our hearts for all time. Enable us to get over our discomfort and fears, our mental and spiritual opposition to Your Message. Give us the courage to accept Your Gospel and stop us from creating a convenient truth for ourselves. 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.

Drive By Devotions

Seeking guidance from the Spirit of God can affect the outcome of our plans and goals. Sometimes we have daft notions that go nowhere because we don't put God first.

Podcast version here

Zechariah 4:6 So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.

I love this verse. It reminds me that when I’ve used up all of my own strength, energy, and patience, I need to come to the Lord for renewal. Far too often, I try to do things my way and end up becoming frustrated when I cannot produce the results that I want. Instead of submitting to the Lord and giving myself over to be influenced by the Spirit, I wish that the Lord would do what I desire.

For example, many years ago when I was pastor in Dunure, Scotland, I dreamed up the idea of opening the church at 7.00am on a Monday morning, so that commuters could stop and pray before they went to work. The church was on the main road and scores of drivers passed by at that time in the morning.

I envisioned that many drivers would stop and take time to be in the Lord’s House. I got to the church real early, put the lights on and had a tape playing devotional hymns and choruses quietly in the background. I sat in one of the choir seats, read my Bible and prayed for the church. It was quiet and peaceful, and every now and then, I would hear a car passing by.

I think that I did this for about four months. In all of that time, only two people stopped by. Nobody really wanted to take or make the time to be there. I guess they could say their prayers from the comfort of their own cars as the drove by the church. I wanted it to be successful, but God was teaching me a lesson. No matter how hard I wanted it to happen, without His Spirit, it would never work. Instead of relying upon God’s Spirit, I was trying to make God support my ministry. It made me realize that it wasn’t my ministry at all. It belonged to God – what I had to do was to discover where His Spirit was leading.

I still have some daft notions at times, but I usually petition the Spirit first for direction. This ministry belongs to God – I am merely a servant of His Kingdom. The power and the glory, success and honor all belong to God. My role is to submit to the Spirit and seek God’s will.

Perhaps like me, you’re wrestling with God and want Him to make something successful for You. There’s no harm in asking, but ascertain whether it is something for Your sake or the Spirit’s. Knowing that will make all the difference in the world as to whether or not it will be accomplished. As the old preacher once said, “Sometimes we have to let go, in order to let God.”

Prayer: Holy Spirit, we all want to make a difference in the world and do something special with our lives. Grant us patience and endurance, discernment and understanding of what You want us to do with our lives. Open our heart and minds, souls and spirits to Your holy bidding. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

Castle

Scottish audio version here

Isaiah 32:14 The fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks, (NIV)

I’ve a beautiful painting hanging over the fireplace in my home. It’s a picture of Dunure Castle, an old medieval fort that sits above a cliff on the west coast of Scotland. At one time, it was owned by the mighty Kennedys of Cassillis. They lorded over the region for several centuries and some of them were despicable despots. In the sixteenth century, Gilbert Kennedy roasted a local minister, Alan Stewart, on a spit in the castle dungeon. Gilbert did this to obtain the deeds of church lands to add to his possessions.

The painting was given to me by the people of Dunure when our family left Scotland to immigrate to America. Whenever I feel homesick, I look at the painting and remind myself of the great times and moments that I shared with the villagers over nine years.

During the summer, many of the village children and parents used to gather in the grounds of the castle on Sunday evenings to play rounders. It’s sort of like baseball only you use hula-hoops for bases and hit a tennis ball with a racket. We would play for hours on the green and it was a great way of blending the families in community activities.

Always in the background, the ruins of Dunure castle would watch over us and I sometimes wondered what the mighty Kennedys would have thought if they could have seen the local minister and villagers trespassing on their grounds. No doubt another Stuart would have been roasted!

The Kennedys built a fortress that they thought would endure forever, but as time went by, it fell apart and was ruined. Sometimes in our own lives we build emotional and spiritual fortresses around ourselves to keep us free from corruption and make us impervious to the world’s woes. Eventually time will have its way and even the strongest of us will grow weak and become frail. That’s when we need the mighty fortress of God to enable us to endure. That’s when we rely upon the Name of Jesus to keep us strong.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we depend upon You to get us through the good and bad times of life. You shield us from sin and help us to overcome our problems. We look to You for guidance and assurance, for safety and security. Be our mighty fortress and the guardian of our souls. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Waves of Joy

Audio Version here

1 Chronicles 16:32 Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them! (NIV)

One of my fondest memories of Easter morning took place at the seashore. It happened when I was pastor to the Scottish fishing village of Dunure. At 8.00am each Easter, the villagers gathered outside the Kennedy Hall to praise God for the resurrection of Jesus and the promise of eternal life.

Families and friends sang Easter songs and as the scriptures were read, I can remember hearing and seeing the waves crash against the coastal rocks, as if they were resounding to the rhythm of the hymns that we sang. It was one of the most powerful Easter’s that I have ever experienced. Nature was exploding with praise. As John Calvin once expressed, the mighty attestations of God’s presence were being proclaimed all around us.

Easter is only two weeks away. For some reason, I think that this one will be outstanding. Let’s encourage our friends and families to seek a place of worship this Easter, so that they may also experience the jubilation of redeemed Creation and the joy of the Risen Christ.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, this is Your time of year, when Your power is mightily displayed around the earth. Billions of people from every nation will gather to praise Your glorious Name and to remember God’s mighty promises. Grant us the courage, determination, and desire to invite our families and friends, our colleagues and neighbors to come and experience Your Resurrection. In Your Holy Name, we hope and pray. Amen.