FREEDOM!

No matter who wins today, I am so proud of how many Americans are turning out to vote. Democracy and freedom are big winners today. It truly is a time when we can say , "God bless America."

And just for your enjoyement, here's the Freedom speech from Braveheart

Patriotic Art: Voting - It's a Freedom Thing!

Get out and vote, if you love freedom!

God's Fireworks Display

To a Scotsman, finding a thistle blooming in my backyard on July 4 is just as lucky as an Irishman finding a four leaved clover on St. Pat's.

Enjoy the fireworks tonight! Happy Independence Day!

Independence Day Devotional

Of all the special days on the American calendar, I love Independence Day the most. I guess that as a free born Scotsman, whose leaders like William Wallace and Robert the Bruce fought and died for liberty, I appreciate the Great American Struggle to win independence for themselves. It was not an easy choice to make, nor was it an easy cause to fulfill. Without commitment and dedication, patience and perseverance, unity and determination, liberty would never have been won.

Psalm 18:49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD;I will sing praises to your name.

We forget that they took on the strongest army in the world. We don’t appreciate the magnitude of the struggle. It was like David versus Goliath on an international scale and the rocks inside the slingshot, which fortified the Revolution, were called Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

I sometimes wonder if the revolutionaries really understood what they were accomplishing. Most of them fought for their families and colonies. It was a question of survival against the mightiest power on earth. When the War was over and their new Nation was recognized, I wonder if they really knew what the consequences would be. Their gutsy decisions, haphazard victories, and loyalty to the cause engendered a new beginning for the whole world. They showed every nation on earth that the God given right to be free is the greatest force and noblest quality that humanity can ever experience.

The writer of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, once wrote “The God who gave us life…also gave us liberty.” In my opinion, that is one of the most truthful statements ever written in the annals of human history.

So today, I will celebrate this precious day by thanking God for the United States, its people, and its freedoms. I will remind myself of the costs and causes of the past, as well as the responsibilities that our liberties lay upon us today as free citizens. All of these blessings are God given rights which we need to cherish and continue to spread throughout the world. After all, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness should be blessings that every child, woman, and man should know and experience all over this planet.

Prayer: Lord God, we thank You for the courage and wisdom of those who established this nation. We are humbled by their achievements and blessed by their accomplishments. Help us to cherish this day with our families and friends, our neighbors and people. Let freedom ring throughout this nation and across the entire world. 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.

Memorial Day Sonnet

Memorial Day Sonnet

If Liberty means anything to me,
I will remember what my freedom cost,
By those who gave their all to keep me free,
Whose lives were sacrificed, but never lost.
I will remind myself of what they did,
And keep them dearly cherished in my heart;
Their honor never from me shall be hid
And I will know they always did their part
To save our nation and its people here,
To pledge their lives in defense of our ways,
To show that freedom always outlives fear,
And sacrifice is hallowed all our days.
If Liberty means anything to me,
I will remember those who kept me free.

Audio for Sonnet here

© John Stuart 2008
Pastor at Erin Presbyterian Church,
Knoxville, Tennessee

A Scottish Spiderman

How a wee spider saved one of Scotland's greatest heroes.

Next to William Wallace of ‘Braveheart’ fame, Robert the Bruce is one of Scotland’s greatest heroes. He led the Scottish forces to victory over the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. It was a victory that ensured Scottish independence and enabled the Scots people to enjoy their freedom for several centuries.

Podcast version here

Like Wallace before him, Robert the Bruce had many setbacks and almost gave in to despair. At one point, he was a fugitive and spent the night in a cold, damp cave in order to hide from his enemies. He had reached the lowest point of his life and felt his struggle to win independence for Scotland was not worth the trials and tribulations he endured.

The story is told that he watched a spider trying to spin a web at the mouth of the cave. It kept trying to hook itself to a ridge, but kept failing and falling. Bruce was fascinated with the attempts that the spider made to latch itself on to the cave, but felt that it was futile. However, the wee spider persevered and eventually managed to accomplish its task. Soon the mouth of the cave was covered with a web.

This inspired Bruce to rethink his own unsuccessful campaign. If he and his Scottish army persevered, then perhaps they could win their freedom. After all, thought Bruce, ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again.’ For the first time in what seemed like ages, Bruce slept soundly in the cave.

What he didn’t know was that his enemies were nearby, scouring the land and searching for him. When they came to the cave, they almost entered it and would have found the sleeping Bruce defenseless. But they passed it by. Why? Because of the spider’s web. His enemies wrongly thought that because the web was unbroken, no one had entered the cave. The wee spider had not only inspired Bruce, it had actually saved his life.

Bible Verse of the Day

Jeremiah 32:39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them.

When Jeremiah speaks of “singleness of heart and action”, he is talking about perseverance and endurance. His people have wavered in their religious beliefs, causing them to be disunited and divided, which in turn made them easily conquered by their enemies. Jeremiah’s prophecy is about a time when God will put all things right and His people will not be diverted or distracted from fully worshiping and believing in God.

As Christians, we are the heirs of that prophecy. God has given us His Son Jesus to worship and glorify. When we focus upon Him and place our lives into His Hands, we are inspired to lead better lives because He sets us free from our sinful past and leads us towards a more promising future. In Him, we are given meaning for our lives; through Him, we are restored to God’s love and favor forevermore.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank You for succeeding over sin and winning the battle with evil and death. Your singleness of heart and action led You to the Cross at Calvary, which in turn granted us the hope of forgiveness and the opportunity of everlasting life. We owe everything to You, so we place our lives into Your hands for Your service, mission and Kingdom. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

The True Cost of Freedom

As I drove home late last night, I listened to a news report on the car radio. It was all about some legal aliens in California who were complaining that the process to become naturalized citizens was too slow. About a million of them had applied last year and they fully expected to get their citizenship in time for this year’s Presidential elections. Because of the sudden increase in the number of applicants, the bureaucracy was swamped. In order to cope with this, about three thousand new jobs with the INS has had to be created. And the price for the process has now been increased from $475 per person to $650.

Podcast version here

Applicants were told that it would take about a year before they would be contacted, so now they are protesting about the time involved, as well as the costs to become a citizen. They also feel as though they are being victimized because they will not get to vote in November. They are demanding that things be changed in their favor.

When our family decided to become American citizens, it was our way of saying “thank you” to the people and nation that had embraced us as legal immigrants. We knew that it would cost us a lot of money and we understood that it would take a great deal of time. We were just so happy to be given the privilege and special opportunity of doing this. We never took it for granted. We never demanded it as a right. And we certainly didn’t grumble about the amount of time it took.

Two years later, we stood in the local courthouse and proudly took our citizenship oaths. Friends from church were there to witness the event, and we felt very privileged to have received such an honor in our lives. It was a wonderful occasion and a remarkable threshold in our lives. It was not a decision that we have ever regretted, nor have we ever taken our liberties for granted since then.

Bible Verses of the Day
Numbers 11:4 - 6 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost--also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!"

Those protesting applicants in California must be very selfish people. They remind me of the grumbling Israelites in the wilderness. Everything was provided for them by God – their food, their survival, their deliverance – and yet the Hebrews still complained about their treatment, about how long they were traveling, and about how they longed for the good old days. God gave them everything they needed and yet they still wanted more.

The path to citizenship is worth every dollar spent and every day of waiting. It should never be an easy process and applicants should show more respect to the wonderful nation that is bestowing citizenship upon these legal aliens. Sometimes the best things in life are not free; sometimes we have to be patient before we receive them.

For us Christians, becoming a servant in the Kingdom of God is the same thing. The high cost of Christ’s sacrifice bought us an everlasting opportunity to be restored to God’s love. To get there, we need to surrender ourselves to Jesus and submit our lives to His Authority. We cannot take it for granted and we must not demand it as a right. It only comes to us when we yield our hearts, minds, and souls to Jesus, by accepting Him as our Savior, Lord, Judge, and King.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to give our lives to You in ways that will honor Your mission and glorify Your Father in Heaven. Prevent us from taking You for granted and keep us from misinterpreting Your sacred words. Help us to place our hearts into Your Hands, and our souls into Your Spirit. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Founding Faith

Most Americans can quote Patrick Henry's famous statement, "Give me liberty or give me death," but I wonder how many of them would identify Henry as the originator of this statement: "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here."

People these days are very quick to point out Jefferson's wall of separation' letter to a Danbury Baptist Church meant that Christianity had no place in the heart of the writer of the Declaration , but are they aware of what is written in Jefferson's personal Bible: "I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our creator." To say that Christianity had no influence over his writing is to diminish Jefferson's personal faith.

Verse of the Day
Numbers 14:40b "We will go up to the place the LORD promised."

And do people also realize that more than half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, who founded the United States, received divinity school training from Christian denominations? We may want to rewrite history and revise the Founding Fathers' intentions to suit our modernistic, non-absolutist, secular morality, but the facts about their lives speak otherwise. Most of the political giants who founded America were Christians, and their faith shaped their principles of fierce independence and rugged radicalism. In fact, in 1774 Thomas Jefferson wrote, "The God who gave us Life, also gave us Liberty."

Indeed, the First Continental Congress during the War of Independence sent for an order from Holland for 20,000 Bibles to ensure that the people and troops could maintain their Christian faith. And during times of trouble and indecision in their meetings, the same Congress resorted to prayer, which the ‘non-believer' Benjamin Franklin also led.

Even George Washington, the Father of our Nation, wrote this in his personal journal in 1752: "Make me to know what is acceptable in Thy sight, and therein to delight, open the eyes of my understanding, and help me thoroughly to examine myself concerning my knowledge, faith, and repentance, increase my faith, and direct me to the true object, Jesus Christ the Way, the Truth, and the Life." And when he addressed the Delaware Indian Chiefs in 1779, he said, "What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ."

These are but a few examples of the Christian beliefs that were held by our Founding Fathers. Those who seek to deny their faith and, subsequently, the founding of the United States of America as a Christian nation, are only imprinting upon the past their own present secular opinions and unhistorical misconceptions.

Finally, let us remember that the Constitution guarantees a freedom of religion, not from religion. It wasn't political secularism that established this clause: it was based on Christian tolerance of loving one another, and doing to others as you would have them do for you.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank You for being the major influence over our Founding Fathers’ lives. Without Your words and ways, we would not be here today. Help us to be grateful for the land that we live in and the liberties that we cherish, both of which have been granted to us from You. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Blogging Can Get You Arrested

So Much for Freedom: Saudi Arabian blogger arrested

From BBC World News

Saudi officials revealed on Tuesday that they had detained leading blogger Fouad al-Farhan. BBC Middle East analyst Roger Hardy looks at the influence and aims of the country's more than 500 bloggers.

Read the rest of the story here

Free Faith in the Land of Liberty

Podcast version here

I know that by the end of the year we will be fed up and saturated with electioneering, but let’s remain thankful that we live in a time where democracy and freedom still rule this great land. All over the world, there are places where people live under cruel dictators and absolute tyrants. Their lives are made miserable by the fear and terror that these despots use to control their lands. Thank God that in the United States we have democratic elections, primaries and caucuses that allow the people to make their leadership choices every four years. We may not always get the perfect President, Senator or Governor that we would like, but at least we all have the opportunity to vote them out of office and bring in someone new on a regular basis.

Acts 12: 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.

Herod was an absolute tyrant, just like his father before him. He persecuted Christians because it suited his reign. The Christians had become the scapegoats Herod needed to divert the Jewish people’s attention away from him. So long as he persecuted their enemies, his rule would not be challenged.

It amazes me how resolute and tough the first Christians were. They experienced and endured all sorts of injustice and intolerance. They won the public relations battle because they were not aggressive or vengeful. They won over the hearts and minds of many because they advocated a path of faith and hope mixed with peace and love.

As always, we can learn from their example. If we as Christians want to re-win the world and make a positive impact on our society, then we have to lose our belligerent, aloof, and grandiose ways. The world owes us nothing and we are not entitled to its respect if we keep demanding our rights above all others. All that the world will see is a bunch of religious fanatics who want to suppress society, instead of a community of faithful people who want to support the world.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You dealt with tyrants by expressing the truth about Your Kingdom without resorting to aggression, anger, or violence. You want us to do the same, so please help us to depart from claiming to be victimized; instead enable us to proclaim Your victory in the world by showing faith, hope, peace, and love, especially during those moments and times when we feel aggrieved and oppressed. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Bhutto's Legacy

The suicidal satanic atheist who assassinated Benazir Bhutto yesterday cursed his nation’s journey towards freedom and democracy. The evil beasts that he represents, for I would not call those callous cowards who kill women ‘men,’ are probably gloating in their secret hideouts of shame, indecency, and inhumanity. I call them satanic atheists because they worship wickedness and hate God. They slaughter leaders like Benazir because they are afraid of letting hope captivate the hearts of the people, and want to retain control through fear, insecurity, and murderous mayhem.

Despicable despots like Bin Laden and his satanic associates seek to enslave the free world with their warped ideals and heretical beliefs. Their allegiance is to an Allah that does not exist, and offends the very goodness of God amongst the Islamic people. They are atheistic scum, schooled in the ways of terror and torture, fanaticism and faithlessness. Life is neither sacred nor holy to them; freedom and democracy are devilishly denied by their cowardly acts of cruelty, violence, and assassination.

The world knows better than to give in to their filth and lack of faith. In Pakistan, there are many moderate Muslims who will serve their Allah truly and triumphantly. And throughout the world, there are billions of people who are disgusted, enraged, and mobilized to stand together for justice, freedom, faith, and democracy, which will one day encircle the earth and pave its way all over this planet.

The creed of satanic atheism which states that “when wickedness persists and no one resists, evil triumphs” is a hollow threat to noble humanity. Bullets and bombs may have killed Benazir Bhutto, but her spirit lives and will not die in the hearts of her people. Freedom will be resurrected amongst the ashes of these cowardly assassins. Liberty will not be lost to those who truly value life. The pages of history will proclaim the noble name of Bhutto in the highest halls of glory and honor. Her killers will become dust beneath the feet of her people as they march towards the freedom that will be their honorable choice and glorious destiny.

Prayer: Almighty God, who gave us both life and liberty, we bring before You the nation of Pakistan. We pray for Your mercy and grace to be extended over its people and we solemnly ask that You will protect them from the evil that seeks to destabilize the nation. Raise up just and courageous leaders who will guide the Pakistani people to the light of liberty. In Your Holy name, we pray. Amen.

Unholy Ban: Why I am Boycotting the 2008 Olympic Games

Audio Version here

Next year, the Olympic Games take place in Beijing, China. Thousands of athletes from around the world will gather together to compete for the highest awards in their individual sports. Billions of viewers will tune in to see their favorite sportsmen and sportswomen, hoping that they will win medals for their country. Throughout the three week event, the world will seem to be at one.

But will it? A couple of days ago, the Chinese authorities declared that no religious icons or items will be allowed in the Olympic Campus. Crosses and sacred medallions, Bibles and Korans will be excluded from the Olympic area. The atheistic Communist government is banning religion from the Games, which goes against the Olympic spirit of tolerance. The Chinese leaders want to impose their will on the rest of the world. Now that they have secured the Olympics in their nation, there seems to be nothing that can be done.

Eight years ago, if the Chinese had announced that they were going to impose a religious ban on all the athletes attending the Games, Beijing would never have been chosen to host the 2008 Olympics. I think that this is outrageous and the rest of the world should protest against this. If China wants all the nations of the world to converge in their capital for these international games, then China should accept all the religious baggage that comes with it. To deny athletes the right to bring along articles of faith that may have inspired them is wrong. The mighty dragon may wish to keep their people mainly atheistic, but they cannot impose their will on the rest of the world. Christians and Jews, Muslims and Buddhists, Shintoists and even pagans all have the unalienable human right of practicing their own religion wherever they are located.

I think our leaders should pressure the Chinese Government into backing down from this denial of human rights. If not, then religious people everywhere should seriously consider boycotting the Games entirely. I, for one, will not be watching the Games or show any interest in them until this religious ban is lifted.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, there are forces in the world that seek to deny religious freedom and any expression of faith. Help us to stand up against those authorities that would seek to deny basic human rights and actively oppress religious people. Give us the courage to profess the truth and not accept these shameful ways. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Daily Devotional: Defying Dictators - Why Lee Bollinger was right

Audio version here

Daniel 2:18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. (NIV)

A lot has been made of yesterday’s visit by the President of Iran to Columbia University in New York. I watched the live debate yesterday because it was an historical moment. Right from the beginning, Ahmadinejad was put on the hot seat by the university’s President Lee Bollinger. Instead of courteously introducing the Iranian president to the audience, Bollinger interrogated the guest speaker and castigated him for the many human rights abuses that are taking place in Iran. In my humble opinion, it was a courageous and probably career-busting move to make.

The media, however, have condemned Bollinger for his discourtesy and undiplomatic confrontation of Ahmadinejad. A leader of any nation should be accorded respect because he or she represents their nation. Any insult against the president is taken to be an insult against the Iranian people. And sadly, into today’s divided world, any insult to an Islamic leader is considered an insult against the Moslem faith.

However, no matter what the diplomatic repercussions are, I believe that Lee Bollinger was right to do what he did. Ahmadinejad is a tyrant whose political regime terrorizes his people. A recent article in Time magazine, written by a female Iranian journalist, expresses some of the major concerns that free-thinking intellectual Iranians face in their country. People are imprisoned for expressing political views; women are killed for being raped; and young teenage boys are hung for being homosexuals. Much of what goes on in Iran is reported by Amnesty International. Ahmadinejad is a callous despot who only cares about power, not people.

When Daniel and his companions faced the possibility of execution, they turned to God for deliverance. They lived under a tyrannical king, whose anger at his advisers caused him to send forth an order to kill all of the wise men, clever teachers, and mathematical scholars in his nation. And that’s usually how tyranny manifests itself – by killing the educated people, in order to rule by fear and ignorance. In modern times, the names of Hitler, Stalin, and Phol Pot have been synonymous with such vicious cruelty. Perhaps Ahmadinejad name will also be entered into that Hall of Shame one day.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You alone know the hearts and minds of all people, so You know all of the atrocities that the president of Iran may have committed. If he is such a monster, then allow free people to castigate him for what he really is. Remind us that we have all promised never to let the Holocausts of the past happen again. Keep us from being bystanders and help us to confront evil wherever it exists. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Weekend Screensaver - Jazz 4 July

Life, liberty and the pursuit of jazz!



An original Stushie stained glass window design for Independence Day.

A Stained Glass Design for Flag Day

For June 14 - Flag Day...



I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Memorial Day

For the Veterans

We will remember them,
Even though the years of peace
Have swiftly gone and lately passed
And men of war can't rest at last;
We, who are free,
Will not forget how once they chose
To fight and die on distant shores
For love of us and liberty.

We will remember Him,
Even though the years of grace
Have distanced each succeeding race
And men of God seem out of place;
We, with our faith,
Will not forget how once He chose
To go and die upon a cross
For love of us and liberty.

He will remember us,
Even though the years of life
Fly swiftly past before our eyes
And man is dust beneath the skies;
He, with His power,
Will not forget all those who choose
To follow Him and never lose
Their love of God or Liberty.