Sabbath Psalms - The World We Live In

Psalm 124:8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

            Some days I worry about climate change and what kind of impact it will have on my grandchildren. Each year, our little planet is getting warmer, glaciers are retreating, and sea levels are rising. The weather is erratic, and I’ve never seen so many floods and torrential downpours in my thirty years of living in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee. Some people say it’s just cyclical and eventually the climate will right itself. I don’t know about that; it seems like wishful thinking instead of finding a solution which will help my grandchildren. 

            Today’s highlighted verse reminds me that God is the Maker of this beautiful planet, so perhaps I should address God, asking for guidance and answers. If human beings are messing up what God created, then why doesn’t God intervene and set things right? As an artist, I take great pride in what I draw or paint, so I would hate it if someone vandalized or broke the work of my hands. This makes me wonder if God steps back from Creation to allow human beings to see how destructive we can be, in the hope that we would recognize our mistakes and start to apply our knowledge, wisdom, and skills to repair what we have broken and to cherish what God has made.

            The psalmist wrote that our help is in the name of the Lord which tells me that we need to cry to God in order to rely on God to remedy the climate crisis we are in. I think this is why more churches are focusing on environmental health as well as spiritual growth; it’s almost as if the Maker of heaven is encouraging us to be caretakers of the world we live in. I hope so, for the sake of my grandchildren and their grandchildren.

Point to ponder: What do I do in my life to care for the environment?

Prayer: Lord God, You created this unique planetary jewel that spins around the Sun as it moves through space. There’s nowhere else like it in our Solar System, so please help us recognize how fragile this world is by giving us the courage to repair the damage we have selfishly and sinfully caused. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is a retired Scottish pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Short devotion: An Invitation - Psalm 100v3

 

Psalm 100:3 Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. (NIV)

This prolonged pandemic has impacted all of us spiritually. In our imposed isolation, we’ve developed a sense of religious independence and some folks now don’t see the need of being part of a congregation or denomination anymore. We’ve managed to survive this long without the church programs or projects influencing our lives and using up our precious time. God understands that we’ve become self-reliant on our own ideas, opinions, and choices. We’re still loosely attached to Him, but only when we really need God to help us. We’re making our own way and asking God to follow along.

We have forgotten that we are creatures and not the creator of ourselves. The purpose of our lives always has been and will be to worship God and enjoy His creation. Somehow, we’ve convinced ourselves that being in church is not necessary so long as we are being church. That’s never been true – after all, Jesus was always in the synagogue every week on the Sabbath and His apostles always gathered together for Sunday worship after the first Easter.

There’s also a dangerous side to this religious individualism and church independence. Prophetic churches with cult-like leaders are on the increase. People with no sound Biblical teaching are more gullible of accepting conspiracy theories and being manipulated by unscrupulous ‘prophets’ who make outrageous claims and that God is only interested in one particular nation. Those false teachers are leading many astray, which is precisely what Christ and His Apostles constantly warned His followers about.

So, today, I make this invitation: get back to church, be with God’s people, and seek sound teaching. As the psalmist wrote long ago: Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Q: When was the last time I attended worship at a local church?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You know us better than ourselves and clearly see how vain we are. Help us to reconnect with Your Church, so that we can grow spiritually through worship and sound teaching. In Your Holy Name, we earnestly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to see what’s going on at the church, please visit the church website at www.erinpres.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s old psalm drawings based on a verse from Psalm 85. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on this link: Psalm 85.