Pentecost devotion: Thrown Down - Mark 13:2

Mark 13:2       "Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; each one will be thrown down."

It was a shocking thing to say, but Jesus said it any way. When He declared that all the great Jerusalem buildings, including the Temple, would be thrown down, He was prophesying about an event that would occur almost forty years later. It was shocking because Jerusalem had just been through an architectural renaissance of its city. The great buildings and the new Temple were proudly admired by the Jews. Some of their national prestige had been restored by these new worship centers and edifices. Jesus was spoiling the celebrations and puncturing Jewish pride.

At His trial, Christ’s words would be used against Him and bring about His execution by both the religious and political authorities. His words would be treated as both blasphemy and treason, causing Him to be arrested, tortured, and painfully executed.

Sometimes I wonder if Jesus would say the same about our own structures, edifices, and policies. Maybe we have taken great pride in building up a Church that doesn’t have long to exist. Perhaps we are pinning our pride to a system that is ready to crumble, or a theology that will take us down a dead end. This is why it is important to focus on the Holy Spirit at this time of Pentecost. What is He saying to us? What is He working towards? What is He asking us to do?

After Jerusalem and its great buildings were torn down in AD70 by the Romans, Judaism was reformed by the rabbis at Javneh in AD93 and Christianity emerged as a new faith. Perhaps then, we should be asking ourselves this question: if our church buildings and structures were to collapse within a generation, how would our faith reform and what new ways to Christ would emerge?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You are the Foundation and Corner Stone of our faith. Build our people into churches of compassion, truth, and mission. Give us the understanding to see the Way ahead and help us to embrace the Holy Spirit as He reshapes, reforms, and renews Your Church on Earth. 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 Pentecost drawing called “Spirit on Fire.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7077/7251220410_933cbb13fa_b.jpg

Daily Devotions: The Problem with Paul - Acts 21

Acts 21:4b       Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 

I honestly don’t know what to think or do with this verse. On the surface, it appears as though Paul, in deciding to continue his journey to Jerusalem, was blatantly ignoring the Holy Spirit’s counsel. At a deeper level, it seems as if the local church members and the itinerant church missionaries were given two separate agendas from the Holy Spirit. I can’t reconcile either of those scenarios in my mind because the outcomes would be hard to accept (a) that Paul sometimes ignored the Spirit in favor of his own opinion or (b) that the Spirit tests the mettle of the Church by giving opposing views.

Maybe I think too deeply; but I honestly believe that each verse of scripture is the inspired Word of God, so what kind of lesson was the Spirit inspiring when Luke wrote this account?

After pondering it for a while, I believe this to be the case: Paul was fallible and headstrong at times. He wasn’t perfect and sometimes his zeal for the Lord clouded his decision making. Even although he was a devoted follower of Christ, Paul still had his moments. He was a major influence in shaping our faith, but he wasn’t perfect. Pride and ambition, zeal and fanaticism caused him to make mistakes. He was a sinner, not the Savior.

For me, this does two things. Firstly, it shows me how authentic Luke’s account actually is – he writes about Paul, warts and all. If this was all make-believe, then Paul would come across as a theological Superman, who could leap tall temples and stop all opposition to his views. Secondly, it points me towards my own failings of being self-righteous, headstrong, and too zealous at times. Just because I’m a pastor doesn’t mean to say that I’m the only one in the congregation who is granted a vision by the Holy Spirit. I also need to listen to what the Spirit expresses through the local congregation.

As usual, the Spirit teaches all of us great lessons through seemingly insignificant verses.

Prayer:                        Holy Spirit, help us to become more attentive to Your voice and leadership in our lives. Grant us the gift of truly discerning Your guidance over every aspect of our lives and enable us to faithfully follow and sincerely serve Christ our Lord. In His 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.

Today’s image is one of John’s Winter 2010 drawings. He calls it “Choir Practice.” You can view a larger version of this print at the following link:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/4935124072_ebb48302b6_z.jpg

Daily Devotions: Testing the Spirit - Acts 13

Acts 13:2         While they were worshiping the LORD and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

I love this verse in the Bible because it records one of the few occasions that the Holy Spirit actually speaks. Normally when the Holy Spirit communicates with the apostles, the process is more of an inward spiritual experience. Here, we have direct contact and the communication is given through the spoken word.

I’ve never heard the Holy Spirit speak directly to me, but I have experienced a few occasions where I truly believe the Spirit’s presence was absolutely real and totally influential. Because those events have been few and far between, I tend to question people who constantly say that the Holy Spirit is always with them at meetings, in their churches, and throughout their lives. Maybe I’m wrong, but I personally get the feeling from the Book of Acts that the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the apostles was a holy, sacred, and unmistakable occurrence.

For example, years ago I was at a house group prayer meeting in Scotland and the hosts were praying for a relative who was sick in hospital. The prayers grew more fervent and intense until the host dramatically declared that the Holy Spirit had told her that her father was going to be completely cured and sent home without any surgery. Some people in the group started weeping and began embracing one another, praising the Holy Spirit for mercy.

The very next day, the surgeons at the hospital amputated her father’s two legs. He spent months in hospital and eventually died. Was the Holy Spirit at the prayer meeting? Did the Holy Spirit plant a false hope in the heart of the hostess? I really doubt it. Instead of epiklesis (the sacred presence of the Holy Spirit), I believe that the prayer group experienced euphoria and deluded themselves.

I think I would like to truly hear the Holy Spirit speak to the church that I serve. That’s why I feel strongly moved to lead the congregation through a two year journey of the Book of Acts on Sunday mornings. To hear the Holy Spirit, the church needs to know what the Holy Spirit actually does. There is no greater book in the Bible than the Acts of the Apostles which can do this for the congregation. I personally call Acts “The Gospel of the Holy Spirit.”

Prayer:                        Holy Spirit, please speak to us and grant us the gift of Your guidance. Enable and empower us to be effective followers of Christ through Your bidding. Allow us the delight of being set apart by You to complete God’s work in our congregations and communities. In Christ’s 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 drawing is one of John’s latest Savannah series creations. It depicts the Forsyth Fountain at night. A larger version of the drawing can be viewed at the following link: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4082/4806659093_c3956ec558_b.jpg

Daily Devotions: Watching Balloons - Acts 1 v 10

Acts 1: 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

Have you ever released a helium filled balloon and watched it float up into the sky? I have done this several times in my life and have been captivated by the balloon’s flight. As it climbs skyward up into the clouds, the balloon gets smaller and smaller. Eventually it is just a mere dot and then it disappears entirely. You end up with sore eyes because you try to see the balloon as long as you can without blinking. One final blink and the balloon is gone forever.

I think that’s how the disciples experienced Christ’s Ascension. They kept looking intently up into the sky because they didn’t want Him to go. So long as they could see Jesus, they knew that they weren’t alone. As He disappeared into the clouds, they must have felt anxious and isolated, fearful and alone.

Suddenly, two angels appeared beside them and gave them words of comfort. “Jesus will comeback in the same way.” In other words, Christ would return to them one day. That restored hope to the disciples. And as if that wasn’t enough, they were also given the promise of the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They didn’t know what this would involve, but Jesus had spoken of this before, so the disciples must have felt that this repeated promise confirmed the truth about what the two angels were telling them: Jesus would come back.

Almost two thousand years later, we are still waiting for that promise to be fulfilled. The Holy Spirit has come and established the Church on Earth, but we still await that glorious day when Jesus will arrive from the sky and be among us again – this time forever.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we await Your Arrival on Earth and yearn for that Day when You will restore all things to God and Time will be no more. We pray that we will be ready to receive You and be willing to do Your Holy Bidding as Your everlasting servants in God’s Kingdom. 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 one of John’s digital glass drawings called “Balloon Fest.” You can view a larger version of this online at the following link: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1161/1454659083_7548f6c333_b.jpg

Daily Devotions: Blessings of Baptism

Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

I love the rite of baptism. Whether it’s the sprinkling of water on the head of a bonnie wee baby in my arms or the sacred pouring of water on an adult’s head, I get totally encapsulated by the moment and inwardly rejoice in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

It’s a time of joy and sometimes my heart is fit to burst during the sacred ceremony. On each occasion, the Holy Spirit mysteriously moves within the baptismal candidate and universally declares that he or she is a child of God. We only see the pouring of water and hear the speaking of the traditional Trinitarian formula – I baptize you in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Heaven, however, sees and experiences the whole picture where the baptized person is divinely ‘tagged’ as a servant in Christ’s Kingdom and an heir of God’s blessings.

Perhaps today can become a special occasion when we rejoice in our baptism, whether we received it as a helpless babe or an older person. Or maybe it will be a time when we look forward to baptism, either of ourselves or someone we know. Whatever the case, let’s give thanks to God for allowing us this special process in which we are spiritually bonded to Christ forever, and seek to show the world the joy of being baptized.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You were once baptized in the river Jordan and received the special blessing of God’s pleasure through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Thank You for allowing us the sacred opportunity of receiving the same blessing through our own baptism. Remind us each day of that special moment of joy and help us to go forth into the world as bearers of this blessing. 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 or share a baptismal story, he would be delighted to receive your email at pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is an original illustration called “Spirit Spectrum” by John Stuart. Signed, numbered, and matted limited print editions can be purchased from his art site at http://stushie.etsy.com

Daily Devotions: Spiritual Downpour

How the outpouring of the Spirit in a church in Knoxville is helping a village in Guatemala get clean water.

Isaiah 32:15 …till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest.

Podcast version here:

In a couple of weeks, a small team from our church will be visiting a village in Guatemala. The group is on a mission to begin the process of providing a clean water well for the town. It will be based in a school that our church has been supporting for several years. The team members have been specially trained for the project and hopefully within a short time, the villagers will soon be able to drink and wash with clean water.

Clean water will help the children and their families live longer and better lives. It will enable the school to gain extra funds, for the locals will pay, just like ourselves, for clean water. It should have a remarkable social, medical, and economic impact on the whole community. Not only will the well save lives, it will positively change them.

At the same time as the Guatemalan villagers receive and enjoy their well, our own congregation will be looking for a similar spiritual experience. Our building and campus needs to be renovated, so our people will be called upon in this generation to sacrificially give in order to build a well of God’s Word that will influence, attract, and encourage new Christians in our community for years to come.

We await the coming of the Spirit amongst us with the same excitement and enthusiasm as the men, women, and children of that little Guatemalan village. As they receive the blessings of water, we hope to simultaneously receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to make our church a fertile field of faith for the future.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You are the Water of Life and we thank You for allowing us the resources with which we can help a far away village receive the blessing of clean water. At the same time, we praise You for our own challenges and ask that You help us to focus on the spiritual future of our community. 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.

4 Minute Daily Devotions: Effective Preaching

Hebrews 10:35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

I’ve been preaching for more than thirty years and throughout that time, some people have asked me how can I stand up before other people and preach the Word. They often tell me that they are terrified of speaking in public, so they wonder how I do it week after week.

The secret is twofold: firstly, preaching is not public speaking. Making a speech before your business associates or presenting a project to a group of peers is entirely different. That’s part of a marketing transaction or a management structure. You present what you know and hope that everyone buys into the product. The success of the presentation is based upon how effectively you manage to persuade potential customers or team members. It’s a sales pitch and although some Christian writers would have us believe that preaching is the same, it isn’t.

And that brings me to secret number two: effective preaching depends upon the presence of the Holy Spirit, not the oratory of the preacher, nor the content of the sermon. I’ve heard some life changing sermons given by the meekest of preachers. They have not been dynamic or extroverted, but their words have been endowed by the Holy Spirit. True preachers do not believe in themselves; instead they have confidence in God and present their sermon through the power of Christ living in them.

So this Sunday, when your pastor steps into the pulpit, or stands behind a lectern, or walks across the sanctuary floor to present his or her sermon, open your hearts and minds to this important question: what is the Holy Spirit communicating to me through this sermon? I guarantee that if you have confidence in seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance at that time, you will be richly rewarded through what the preacher offers with the sermon.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we thank You for the power of preaching through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Open our hearts and minds this coming Sunday to what You want us to hear. Help our preachers to seek Your favorable and guiding presence as they set out to preach God’s Word to God’s people. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor at 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.