Short devotions: In the End Zone - Matthew 24:35

Matthew 24:35            Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

There’s a new television series just started on either the Discovery or History channel called “Doomsday Preppers.” I haven’t watched any episode yet, but the trailers show a whole host of different people across America who are preparing for the end of the world. I guess with this year’s obsessions and superstitions about the Mayan Calendar, a number of folks are going to get anxious over the World’s End. Similar things happened way back in 2000 when we were all told that the Y2K computer glitch would disable machines across the world and our technology would grind to a halt. There were even some folks who sold everything, gave up their jobs, and went to live in cellars, caves, or houseboats in order to survive the coming disaster.

Well Y2K came and went, just as the Mayan calendar will wimp out at the end of this year. People will always believe the worst and anxious folks will always exist.

As a Christian, I take great comfort in Christ’s Words. Even when Earth and heaven come to an end and pass away completely, Jesus tells us that His words will remain. This means that no matter what we or the world goes through, Jesus’ presence and power will still exist. We may not be able to rely upon a Mayan calendar anymore, but we can assuredly depend upon Christ’s Words remaining true for all Time and into Eternity.

So I guess the best kind of Doomsday Preparation that we could all make is getting our lives lined up with Christ and our hearts given over to Him.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You are the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and End of all things. We trust in You and place our faith in Your Words. During these anxious times, keep us close to You. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to ask any questions or make any comments about this message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest impressionistic drawings. It’s called “A Sea of Brollies” and features a large collection of colorful umbrellas being used in the rain. John also humorously called this “A Scottish Summer’s Day.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6821115917_000290f6b6_b.jpg

Daily devotions: Nearer to God - 1 Thessalonians 4:9-18

1 Thessalonians 4:16             For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 

Understand this: Jesus is coming back at a time that we least expect. Will we be ready?

Probably most of us go through each day from one event, experience, or hour until the next without giving any thought to Christ’s Return. We are so far removed from the time of Paul that we go about thinking something like: ‘well, if Jesus has waited almost 2000 years to return, He probably won’t get here in my lifetime.’ We forget, though, that unlike Paul, we are now 2000 years nearer to that incredible day when Jesus arrives to finally judge the Earth.

This is why changing our present lifestyles is so crucial: honestly ask yourself this: if Jesus arrives today, will I be ready? Will I be taken or forsaken? Will I go to heaven or hell?

Some people turn off when preachers talk like that. They stick their heads in the sand and go into denial about what’s going to happen. They think that if they shut it out from their minds, it won’t ever occur. All they want to listen to is Pollyanna preaching and read happy-go-lucky theology. They don’t want to accept that their time, civilization, culture and society will be no more when Christ returns.

So for those people, let me reiterate: Understand this: Jesus is coming back at a time that we least expect. Will we be ready?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, free us from fooling ourselves and for filling our lives with trivial pursuits. Remind us that we each have everlasting souls and that the destiny of those precious souls depends upon the faith choices that we make on Earth. Keep us from making the colossal mistake of setting aside Biblical truths and replacing them with cultural philosophies. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

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

Today’s image is one of John’s latest “Scotland in Winter” prints called “Bonnie Dunkeld.” It depicts the beautiful town of Dunkeld covered in snow. You can view a larger image of this print at the following link:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/5393592425_c5a7d357f7_b.jpg

Daily Devotions: Bad Wolf - Acts 25

Acts 25:19       Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. 

I’m having a bad wolf of a day. For those of you who watch Doctor Who, you know that that means I’m having a feeling of impending doom. I don’t mean on a personal basis or at a congregational level. I just feel that our Western Church has become so progressive that it is heading for disaster. We’ve strayed too far from our traditional roots and scriptural foundations and my biggest fear is that the Holy Spirit will abandon us to our own theological deceptions and idolatrous ideologies.

“Way to go, preacher!” I can hear some of you groaning. You were looking for an upbeat spiritual nicety that would tide you over the weekend. Instead, you get the bleating heart of a pastor who feels like he’s in the wilderness and has outlived his usefulness.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not feeling sorry for myself. I’m feeling sorry for the Church and the next generation. From what I’ve read in the Book of Revelation, an apostate generation is one of the crucial signs that we’re heading into the End of Days. I can’t seem to shake this off and I feel perplexed because nobody wants to hear, read, or accept another doom and gloom message. Life is meant to be fun and church is meant to be happy. The world doesn’t need a clerical killjoy or pathetic prophet.

And yet the world needs to hear the Truth before it’s all too late. The world needs to know the Way before it loses itself. The world needs to find the Life before it starts to finally die.

Almost two thousand years ago, the Apostle Paul faced his accusers who rejected his message and the fact that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead. Sad to say, Paul would face the same kind of people in today’s world, but this time they would be part of the Christian church that he helped to establish.

Perhaps you can excuse these thoughts as the morbid ramblings of a person who is dealing with his own issues about his own mortality. You’re free to think that way and reject the message. But before you do that, honestly ask yourself this question: is the Church progressing or declining?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we claim to be Your Church and yet we refuse to be claimed by Your Word. We say that we are Christians, but do we truly let You in our lives? We follow our own ideas and create our own paths, expecting You to catch up with us and condone our ways. Will we leave it too late? Will we be ready for Your Return? 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 on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s abstract drawings called “Crossing Over.” It depicts the passing of a soul from this world into the next. If you would like to view a larger version of the image, please click on the following link: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/75/208654420_3eab83b2de_o.jpg