Niel Gow's Cottage, near Dunkeld: Scottish Art Series

Niel Gow was the Father of Scottish Fiddle Music



The arc of the moon represents a fiddler's bow.

Robert Burns print: Poetic Moonlight - Robert Burns Cottage, Alloway

For all the Burns Supper enthusiasts...



8 x10 print, surrounded by 11 x 14 matte - $20, plus $5-10 shipping & handling.

Interested? Contact me at traqair@aol.com for details.

Calvinists Blamed for outdoor Sex and HIV increase in Scotland

John Knox must be rolling in his grave...or in the hay....

Calvinist attitudes in Scottish Highlands account for HIV increases

Sunday Sermon: High School Antics

Lectionary reading: Matthew 22:34-46

35,36 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

When I was a boy, our family lived a hundred yards away from some amazing tennis courts and soccer fields. They belonged to the local elementary school and after 4pm, the iron gates at the entrance to them were locked. A bold sign next to the gate solemnly declared in frightening capital letters: “TRESPASSING PROHIBITED.” Beneath those fierce words, another terrifying phrase was written: “Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted.” The notice was dutifully signed: H. Bain, Director of Education.

To a young boy like me, those words acted as a prohibition and a great temptation at the same time. I didn’t know then what “prosecuted” meant, but I had seen enough war movies to know that it probably involved a wall, a blindfold, and a firing squad. I was terrified of the consequences and yet those pristine soccer fields were so appealing. Every day, after 4pm as I walked alongside the tall iron fence, the soccer fields called me be name. I was itching to do what I shouldn’t do, just like my heroes Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. There had to be some way of getting to play soccer, or as we called it in Scotland, football.

I couldn’t break the law, and if I did, I imagined that I would become a fugitive running away from home, carrying my ball, and shouting in my defense, “It was the Devil that made me do it!” The Law was not to be made fun of either, and for an eight year old soccer loving boy, it was agony. I didn’t know what to do, so day after day, I was despondent.

Salvation came from unexpected quarters. My elementary school teacher was giving my class a history lesson on Mary, Queen of Scots and someone asked her why Mary wasn’t given the title “Queen of Scotland.” Our teacher then told us that the Scottish Kings and Queens were rulers of the people, not the land. Scotland belonged to the people and there was no law of trespass, unlike the English.

The effect that history lesson had on me was as liberating as the American Constitution. At 4pm, the great iron gates to the soccer pitches were locked as usual. Five minutes later, after the gatekeeper had gone, a street-load of historically-educated schoolboys climbed the gates and played soccer until the sun went down. We were not trespassers because no such law existed in Scotland. And the bold sign no longer terrified us – in fact, we used it as a goal post next to the iron gates.

When Jesus was interrogated by the Pharisees, they were trying to get Him to highlight their own attitude towards religion. They were tyrannical purists and self-righteous hypocrites who gleefully enjoyed other people failing. And whenever anyone failed, the Pharisees would be amongst the first to pick up stones to slaughter the offenders. Whether it was for picking up a woman on a Friday night, or picking up sticks on a Saturday morning, the consequences were the same: death by stoning.

Jesus knew this and understood that these unforgiving religious devotees were just waiting for Him to fall. If he said the wrong thing or made the wrong move, they would annihilate Him on the very first chance that he gave them. So when the religious lawyers demanded of Him an answer to their very slick questions, Jesus had to be careful, or at least if it was anyone else other than Jesus, they would need to be.

As usual, Jesus used the moment to drive a home lesson to both the Pharisees and His followers.

Without hesitation -37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

This would have sounded like music to everyone’s ears. Jesus was repeating the Great Shema, which every Jewish person knew since childhood. It comes from Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheynu, Adonai Echad – it’s part of a prayer that is usually spoken first thing in the morning and said last thing at night by every Jew, even to this very day.

Thus by answering the question this way, Jesus was connecting to everyone around Him. It was a satisfying answer for His critics and followers alike. If there was anything that united Jewish factions and itinerant Galilean preachers like Jesus, it was this saying. His audience was very receptive to His words. But were they prepared for what happened next?

You see Jesus was not just a teacher of religious commandments; He called upon His listeners to practice them. It was very easy to focus faithfully upon God and feel smug about it. But how do people practically express their love of God; how do they show the world that they truly love God with all of their heart, soul, and mind?

Is it just a simple question of emotionally loving God from the inside? Does it only involve an inward spiritual connection of the soul to the Great Heavenly Spirit? Is it just an intellectual pursuit of only meditating on the scriptures of the past and memorizing them? To the Pharisees of His day, it meant precisely those things – as long as they were recognized as being divinely separated by God, revered for their long public prayers, and admired for their ability to quote the scriptures, then everything was alright in their legalistic, holier-than-thou, elitist existence. But woe betide the religious Teacher who came along to upset their divine Disneyland of a dream. And that’s precisely what Jesus did with His following remarks.

You know I love being a Presbyterian preacher in the Bible Belt. It’s full of some wonderful Christians and people who are truly in love with God. I have never seen so many people eager to do good works, to feed the poor, to help the homeless, to support the needy, and offer Christ’s love to the lonely and the outcast.

But I have also seen the dark side of our faith here, too. I’ve seen and heard Bible bashing Christians taunt our teenagers and harassing them about hell. I’ve listened to callous, insensitive and heartless people use the scriptures as a weapon to bludgeon other people and condemn them as reprobates. And before I get too smug, too self-righteous, too holy for my own good, I’ve been just as guilty at times.

Jesus never meant us to become 21st century Pharisees; He wanted His own people, as well as us, to become every century servants of God. That’s why He added this extra bit to the question He was asked. That’s why He didn’t stop with only one command about loving God.

Jesus continued:

39 And the second is like the first: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

To Jesus, you cannot love God without loving your neighbor. You cannot be an isolated Jew or an alienated Christian. Christ and community go hand in hand. We cannot just joyfully worship Jesus in here and let the world outside go to hell. If we’re involved with God, we need to be involved in the world. After all, Jesus showed us how much He loved God by dying for the world.

Jesus fully practiced what He preached – He loved God completely by completely giving His life for us. And God loved us so completely that He allowed Jesus to complete the plan of redemption and salvation for us.

There are no high school antics, or religious entrapment, or philosophical disagreements here. Jesus was telling His followers and the Pharisees that to totally love God, we have to love the folks beside us. And if the Church hadn’t screwed up that simple message over two thousand years, there would have been no Crusades, no religious wars, no bigotry, no schisms, no slavery, no segregation, and no self-righteousness that has unfortunately cursed, tainted, and damaged the witness of Christ in and to the world.

Until we learn to love God by loving our neighbors as ourselves, we will always be Pharisees and not followers. Until we practice Christ’s words, instead of just memorizing them, we will be a divided church in the world. And until we use our hearts, souls, and minds in the service of God for our community, like an almighty spiritual Manhattan project, we will fail to convince our neighbors at home and abroad that Christ is the Prince of Peace, the Healer of the Nations, and the Savior of the World.

Sadly, if we fail to love God and our neighbors, all that the Church will accomplish is the setting up of signs that will say to the entire planet: Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted. We will have forgotten that Christ is the King of all the people – as Psalm 24 initially states: the earth belongs to the Lord and all of its people – there is no law of trespass where Christians truly love God and all of their neighbors.

Let us pray:

O Lord, You words challenge our cozy theologies and comfortable beliefs. You confront our rigid religiosity and concrete Christianity. Help us to learn how to truly love God by loving our neighbors. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

4 Minute Devotions: Willie

There are some great people that we get to know whose Christianity is a blessing to everyone they meet. Willie from Maybole, Scotland was a great example of this.

Podcast version here

1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

I have been blessed in the Lord’s ministry to have worked with some wonderful people and deeply contented Christians. They have shown me that happiness in the Lord does not depend upon what we have, but what we give. They have been examples of faithful servants in God’s Kingdom and I feel very privileged for having known them. They remain dear to my heart and are ever on my mind.

For example, Willie was a great mentor to me and a partner in God’s work when I was pastor in Maybole. He was our Session Clerk, as well as being a lay preacher. Willie worked in the local bank and was well known throughout the town. He was a great smiler and always enjoyed being with people. He had a wonderful way of dealing with trouble and crises through his rich sense of humor. Many a time, when I would get all hot and bothered over an issue, Willie was able to disarm the situation by finding something amusing to say. It was a special gift and I became a better pastor because of it.

Willie had his own heartbreaks and troubles, but he never let them get him down or seriously damage his faith. When his beloved grand-daughter died of leukemia, he was heart-broken, but he didn’t let his tragic loss cloud his life. He still served God faithfully and loved serving the church. In my books, he was a great man and a wonderful Christian. I am truly thankful for having known him as a fellow servant for the Lord.

Willie has recently been taken into the hospice to prepare himself for that last journey that we all must take someday. If I know Willie, he’ll be making the nurses laugh and will still have that boyish sparkle in his eyes. It will be a sad loss for all of us who knew and loved him dearly, but it will be a joyous occasion on the other side when Willie is ushered into the Lord’s presence. One day, I’ll get to see him again and we can laugh together doing God’s work in Eternity. O how I love being a Christian! O how I love true Christian folk!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the special Christians in our lives whose love makes it easier for us to come closer to You. Empower and enable us to become true examples of God’s servants, not in a self-righteous way, but in an endearing way. 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 upon today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

4 Minute Devotions: Street Talk

We live one life and then face God's judgment, but doesn’t the Gospel message offer us more?

Podcast version here

Hebrews 9:27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…

Years ago, I can remember hearing a street preacher giving this solemn message about death and judgment. It took place in the center of my hometown of Glasgow, Scotland, on a Saturday night during the football season. I was playing my guitar and singing choruses with a bunch of zealous friends. The preacher was trying hard to convince the hundreds of passers-by to think twice about what they were doing and where they were going. Every now and then, someone would stop and listen, start laughing and then call us all fools. I was really embarrassed and inwardly prayed that no one who knew me would see me.

At one point during the preaching, a street vendor was trying to sell the Saturday Night Sports edition of the local newspaper. A contest soon began between the preacher, the vendor, and the chorus singers. We were singing Blessed Assurance, the preacher was talking about the Final Judgment, and the vendor was shouting out the latest football scores. It could have made a great comic sketch for Saturday Night Live!

I don’t know if we made any difference in anyone’s life that night, but the lesson that I took from it has stayed with me. Whenever Christ’s Gospel is preached and judgment is mentioned, the world doesn’t want to hear it and would rather find comfort and joy in a few favorable football scores. But no matter how distracted the world may become, the truth will not be set aside or diminished: we all have one life to live, and after that is over, we face God’s judgment.

But the message doesn’t end there. If you have a look at the following verse, you can see the hope of the Gospel.

Hebrews 9:28 …so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

Jesus comes to bring salvation to those who wait for Him. Christ cancels out God’s judgment upon us. His sacrifice takes away the eternal consequences of our sins. We don’t have to fear the wrath of God, because Christ restores us to God’s embrace. We don’t need to distract ourselves when we hear the terrible words of judgment; we just have to place our faith in the vanquishing power of Christ’s grace. That’s the kind of winning score that is worth preaching, singing, and even selling newspapers about. That’s the kind of victory I want in my life and in everyone else’s.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we know that we make terrible mistakes in our lives and that all of us carry regrets from the past. We also know that we are not worthy to enter into God’s holy, sacred, and perfect presence. But You provide us with the opportunity to break from our past and look forward to being with God. Thank You, Jesus, for the blessed assurance of Your sacrifice, forgiveness, and grace. 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, send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

4 Minute Devotions: The Bogle

We all should have spiritual mentors and heroes of faith in our Christian lives. One of mine is a Scottish preacher from Bo'ness.

Podcast version here

I have a few minister heroes that have been very influential in my life. One of the dearest to me is the Rev. Albert Bogle, who has been the minister at St. Andrew’s Church in Bo’ness, Scotland for his entire ministry. He is dearly loved by his people and deeply respected by a lot of ministers in Scotland. He is a great preacher, a wonderful musician, and one of the best holy teachers that I have ever come across.

I met Albert when I went to Glasgow University. His wife Martha taught in the same elementary school as my wife Evelyn. The two of them had a great friendship and because their husbands were studying to be in the same profession, we all met socially on a regular basis.

Albert’s enthusiasm for the Lord is deeply contagious. Whenever we came into his company, we always left feeling lifted up. His understanding of the scriptures is remarkable and the way in which he expresses his faith is highly attractive. Sometimes, I go to his church’s website just for a dose of enthusiasm to recharge my soul. Albert’s a great innovator who uses audio and video techniques in his worship services to make everyone feel that their faith is vibrant, relevant, and strong.

2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction.

Years ago, when I was being ordained in Maybole, Albert wrote a special song for me called “Preacher John.” He wisely used today’s verse from 2 Timothy 4:2 in order to remind me that preaching is the one of the most important vehicles for encouraging faith and challenging people. It’s something that I have aspired to do over the last 22 years. Albert has been a great encourager to me, and so I want to pass on that enthusiasm for Christ to other people.

Albert’s church’s website can be found at http://www.standonline.org.uk/ If you click on the audio/video section at the top, you can watch one of his wonderful services.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank You for the heroes of faith in our own lives. They may be preachers or Sunday School teachers. They may be members of our family or friends at church. Whoever they are, we pray that You will continue to bless them for their wonderful faith. 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.

4 Minute Devotions: One Church

I have ministered to churches in Scotland and the United States. What would happen if we all became one congregation?

2 Corinthians 7:4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.

I have been fortunate to serve three great congregations. I know of other pastors who have not enjoyed even serving one church successfully. I sometimes wish that I could merge all three – Maybole West, Fisherton, and Erin into one large congregation – a mixture of Scottish ingenuity and American innovation. It would be a wonderful witness to the world and a great encourager of faith to the Scots-American community.

Both time and tide separate all three of us from doing this, so the faithful individuals in each Presbyterian community – Maybole, Dunure, and Knoxville – have to carry on the work of the Lord alone. Then I start to read some of Paul’s letters to faraway churches that he had served, and I suddenly realize that the bridges of faith remain connected despite the distance and time difference.

Through these devotionals, I get the opportunity to minister with people of many congregations. I take great pride in the faithfulness of those who read these messages and pass them on to relatives, friends, and other church members. Our joy together, through the internet, knows no bounds or geographical limits. Even my youngest daughter in Tabora, Tanzania is part of our cyberspace fellowship!

I guess what I’m trying to say is this: we are all serving the Lord in His Church and that together we fulfill what’s called the communion of saints in the Apostles’ Creed. I have every confidence that the work we are doing for Him – in Scotland, USA, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Tanzania or wherever – both glorifies and pleases Christ. One day, we will all be together in heaven; at the moment, we are scattered because the Lord needs us to faithfully witness to our own communities. It’s His special way of getting His holy work done.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we live in different communities and yet we belong to One Church. We face different situations, but we share One Faith. Toda,y we pray for one another and ask that You will bless the congregations that we each serve. They are full of good and faithful people; they have the potential to fulfill wonderful and great things for You. Bless us all as one Family of Faith, serving One Lord forevermore. In Your Holy Name, we joyfully 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.

Have you ever dreaped a wall? Dreap is an old Irish word which means to climb, and the action required by dreaping is to run as fast as you can towards a wall, leap high into the air, and try to catch the top of the ledge with your fingers. You then hold as hard as you can and pull yourself up over the wall. It takes a great deal of effort and if you miss holding onto the wall, your fingertips end up with friction burns.

Podcast version here

Dreaping walls was a summer sport for Scottish children. Gangs of kids roamed the streets looking for a high brick wall, where the bigger kids delighted in showing off their dreaping skills. Shorter kids like me had to put up with ridicule and scorn, humiliation and sore fingers until we grew taller.

The best dreaping walls were usually situated next to churches and the biggest one where I lived was a high wall attached to St. Monica’s Chapel. It was a beautiful whitewashed wall, which was pebbled from top to bottom. This meant that it was a double agony wall – if you missed the dreap, then as you slid down the wall, the pebbles would cut across your fingers and face. Dreaping the chapel wall was always considered to be a double-double dare. Failing the dreap would be embarrassing; leaping the dreap brought a whole lot of honors.

In all of my boyhood, I only once managed to dreap the chapel wall and I sat upon it triumphantly, gloating at my friends who couldn’t do it. But my success was short lived. The old Irish priest at St. Monica’s spotted me on the wall and he shouted with enough papal authority to knock me off my perch. He might have scared the living daylights out of me, but he could not dent my pride. I had dreaped the chapel wall and no one could ever take that from me.

Psalm 18:29 With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.

I guess that the writer of Psalm 18 was also used to dreaping walls, although in this case I think he’s poetically talking about obstacles in life. His faith is such that he knows God will help him to overcome his problems and get through his worst experiences. It’s that kind of simple faith in God which helps many of us through the crises in our lives. Things may appear to be insurmountable and we wonder how we will get over them, but God is willing to reach down and help us, to carry us over the obstacles that come our way.

Prayer: Lord God, we depend upon Your grace each and every day of our lives. We especially need You in distressing times and those moments when our problems seem to overshadow everything that we try to do. During those worrying times, we ask that You will help us to overcome our troubles and lift us out of despair. In Christ’s Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

4 Minute Devotions: Small Fish in Jelly Jars

When I was a kid, I used to love visiting Springburn Park in Glasgow, Scotland. It had three massive ponds, full of sticklebacks, minnows, and perch. The park was about three miles from my home and, during the long days of summer, my brothers and friends used to walk to the park and spend all day there.

Podcast version here

We each carried cane nets and empty jelly jars. As soon as we got to the ponds, we would walk around the edge trying to catch as many small fish as we could. By the end of the day, our jars were full of black, blue, green, silver and red fish. Just before we left the park, we would tip our jars back into the ponds. By the time we walked home, we would all be tired and head to our beds. Sometimes I would dream of catching more fish the next day.

Psalm 33:7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses.

I’m fascinated with how psalmist describes God’s ability to gather the waters of the sea in jars. I guess he thought that the world was flat and that God filled up the seas from His heavenly storehouses. These days we would laugh at such a notion, but I like the image of God doing this. I can see Him with gigantic jelly jars, peering at all the different forms of aquatic life. I know that it isn’t real, but at times I wonder if God looks at our entire planet and sees a global aquarium and world-wide safari park.

I think what the psalmist was trying to convey was this: God is in control and rules over nature. Now that I can accept, for it is one of the true foundations that solidifies my faith. God is in control, so no matter what I go through or experience, He will have a grasp of the situation and grant me guidance when I need it.

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for the wonders of creation and the mysteries of the universe. You absolutely know everything that goes on in every place, every time, and every person. Thank You for being in control of the entire cosmos. Thank You for watching over our lives with interest, grace, and love. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

4 Minute Devotions: Payback

Sometimes we are too zealous in our outrage at the world that we want to payback evil with evil. Payback belongs to the Lord; we are meant to love our enemies and forgive those who hurt us.

Podcast version here

2 Thessalonians 1:6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you.

Many years ago, I befriended a drug addict in Maybole, Scotland called Davie. We shared a common interest in art and throughout my years there, we drew some great religious pictures together. I still have some of them on my office wall here in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Davie’s conversion involved kicking his drug habit, which was very hard to do and extremely painful to watch as he went through withdrawal. He never fully beat it, but most of the time he managed to stay clean. Outwardly, he changed from an untidy, sour and angry person to becoming a brighter, happier, and smart looking guy. His new faith in Christ transformed him and I felt privileged to know him as a friend.

But sometimes his new faith got him into trouble. One night he decided to pay back one of the drug pushers in Maybole by beating him up. Davie’s zeal got the better of him, which made him choose the wrong moment to try this. The pusher was surrounded by a couple of heavies, who set upon Davie like a pack of wild animals.

In the wee small hours of the morning, the phone rang at the manse. It was Davie. He needed help, so I drove to where he was and was shocked to see him. His face was all bloody and bruised. He was shaking and could hardly stand. I wanted to take him to hospital, but he wouldn’t let me. Instead, I drove him up to the manse and helped to clean him up.

Davie wanted to pay back the drug dealer for all the misery he was causing in Maybole, and to show him what the vengeance of the Lord looked like. But all he got for his one man crusade was a bruised face and bloodied nose. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, to hug him or chide him. He had the right intention but he just went about it in all the wrong way.

Payback is something that we should leave to the Lord. As Christians, we’re meant to forgive those who hurt or harm us. It’s hard to do and sometimes we feel that the wicked go unpunished. However, that’s not the case, for there will come a time when God will take care of the unrepentant wicked. It’s not our responsibility. It’s not our cause.

Prayer: O Lord, forgive us for wanting payback in our lives and for being mad at those who are unjust, wicked, and evil. Teach us the hard lessons of loving our enemies, and of leaving justice to You. Help us to do whatever we can to make this world a better place through the strength of Your love. In Jesus’ Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

4 Minute devotions: Going Paddling

I used to love “going paddling” in the Firth of Clyde before it connects with the Irish Sea. Each summer, Evelyn and I would take our kids down to the beach to build sandcastles, look for shells, and “go paddling” in the water.

Podcast version here

Only adults went paddling – usually adult men. They went down to the shore with their children, took off their shoes and socks, rolled up their trousers to above the knees, and sometimes tied a clean handkerchief like a bandana to their heads. They paddled along the shore line, knee deep in the water, looking after their swim-suited children who were swimming, playing, and laughing in the sea. The purpose of the beach paddler was to keep their children from going too far out.

I loved it and often wish each summer for those halcyon days to return. I enjoyed watching my kids play, and of being their protector from the mighty sea.

Ezekiel 47:4 He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist.

Today’s verse from Ezekiel reminds me of those days, but it’s also a picture of the depths of faith that we each have in God. I remember an old pastor giving a tremendously simple sermon on this passage, in which he challenged the whole congregation to review their relationship with God. “Have you a faith that is ankle deep, knee deep, waist high, or over your heads? Are you willing to trust God completely, or just a little bit at a time?” It was a great sermon and one that I have cherished in my heart for decades.

So, I guess the message for us all this morning is this: are we prepared to be deeply faithful to God and surrender ourselves to Jesus, or are we still inclined to just “go paddling” on the shore line of commitment?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You know what we face this week, what fears we have, and what our faith commitment is to You. Help us to reach out to You completely, so that when we are confronted with hard choices and serious decisions, the depth of our faith will enable us to take the right action. Thank You for Your protection and guidance, Your counsel and presence with us each day. In Your Holy Name, we faithfully pray. Amen.

4 minute devotions: Calling the Unworthy

Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

Podcast version here

There’s a beautiful song of this Bible verse called “Here I am, Lord.” I love singing it in church. The first time that I heard it, took place in Scotland when a choir member at the Maybole church sang it as a solo. Both the words and the tune captivated me and I consider it to be a high spiritual occasion each time I sing or hear this song.

The lyrics of the song are beautiful, but the Bible verse is even more wonderful. It’s all about being chosen by God for a sacred mission. In the midst of his unworthiness, the prophet Isaiah is called by God to go to his people with messages and prophecies from heaven. He is given the responsibility of declaring God’s words and thoughts to his own generation. It is an awesome task and whilst Isaiah does not feel worthy, holy, or clean enough to undertake such a sacred task, God purifies and prepares him for the mission.

There are days when I feel so unworthy and unholy to serve the Lord. I remember my background and past sins, which cause me to shudder at times. I often wonder why the Lord has chosen me to do what I do, but then I remember that without His mercy and grace, I could not do any of what He wants.

Perhaps you are experiencing a call to some ministry or mission, program or project for the Lord, but you feel unprepared, unacceptable, and unclean. Take heart because most of God’s leaders in the Bible had a shady past and things that made them ashamed. God does not choose perfect people because there are none to be found, anywhere. He calls us, not because of who we are, but because of what He can make us become. All we have to do is this: when He calls us to ministry, we each answer, “Here I am.”

Prayer: Lord God, You have a purpose for each of our lives. You call us to be ministers of Your word and missionaries of Your Gospel. Open our hearts and minds to Your calling and enable to accept Your ways. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen.

Hoots Mon! World Tartan Day is here!

Today is World Tartan Day, so wherever you are in Knoxville, wear your plaids and tartans! Practically everyone in Appalachia has a Scots-Irish connection, so celebrate the day by wearing your most colorful plaids.

In Knoxville, Erin Presbyterian Church will be hosting a Kirking of the Tartans worship service. A piper, a drummer, and some kilted representatives of the Scottish Society of Knoxville will be present. They will be proudly bearing their Scottish clan banners and presenting them for a blessing by the minister.

The worship service and parade begin at 11.00AM. Everyone is welcome to come along, proudly wear their tartans, and enjoy the spectacle!

Erin Church is located on Lockett Road, which is just off Kingston Pike on Bearden Hill.

World Tartan Day in Knoxville!!

Sunday April 6th is World Tartan Day, so wherever you are in Knoxville, wear your plaids and tartans! Practically everyone in Appalachia has a Scots-Irish connection, so celebrate the day by wearing your most colorful plaids.

In Knoxville, Erin Presbyterian Church will be hosting a Kirking of the Tartans worship service. A piper, a drummer, and some kilted representatives of the Scottish Society of Knoxville will be present. They will be proudly bearing their Scottish clan banners and presenting them for a blessing by the minister.

Scottish pastor John Stuart, who is a regular Monday guest on The Voice (WQBB 1040AM 10-12noon weekdays), will be conducting the service. One of John’s ancestors, Captain John Stuart, was the first Superintendent of the Cherokee nation, and was stationed at Fort Loudon centuries ago.

During the service, Pastor Stuart will explain the story about the blessing of the Tartans, which informally began in the 17th century when the Scots were prohibited from wearing their plaids. Three centuries later, Scots preacher Peter Marshall, who was Chaplain to the Senate on Capitol Hill, revived the ceremony which is celebrated throughout the United States.

The worship service and parade begin at 11.00AM. Everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy the spectacle!

Erin Church is located on Lockett Road, which is just off Kingston Pike on Bearden Hill.

No One Cares

I was there in the kitchen when Annette’s mom took a massive stroke. One moment, she was laughing and smiling; the next, she had a strange look on her face and her eyes seemed out of control. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time. It was during Annette’s 10th birthday party, when everyone was supposed to be happy and joyful. I remember that within minutes all the kids at the party were ushered upstairs out of the way. We soon heard the sirens of the paramedics, and then about half an hour later, we were all sent home.

Podcast version here

For the next seven days, we all prayed for Annette and her mother. And then came the news that Annette’s mom had died. It was the very first time that death had ever touched our generation.

Annette changed after the funeral. Before, she had been a happy person with beautiful sparkling green eyes that I still remember to this day. She became quiet and withdrawn, and those lovely eyes looked hollow and lifeless. None of us knew what to do or say. We were too young to understand and too helpless to reach out.

Bible verse for today
Psalm 142:4 Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.

Annette drifted for a while and grief struck her very hard. I guess she must have thought that no one cared for her life, or that no one was concerned for her. I cannot imagine what she endured during her teenage years, and I’m sure that she still dreads each year when her birthday comes around. Wherever she is today, I hope and pray that she has found the love that she lost, and that her bonnie emerald eyes sparkle with joy again.

There are times in each of our lives when we feel isolated and alone, insecure and vulnerable. During those painful and petrifying moments, God holds on to us, especially when we begin to lose our grip of Him. No matter what we endure or experience, God is there to love and support us, just waiting to guide and embrace us when we are ready to receive Him again.

Prayer: Lord God, today we pray for lonely hearts and sad eyes. We prayerfully ask that You touch those whose lives are wounded by loss and grief. Surround them with people who care, and concerned friends. Help them in the midst of their fears and foes, their despair and depression. In Your Holy Name, we sincerely pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the Scottish pastor at Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

If you would like to comment on this message, he would love to hear from you. Just email John at pastor@erinpresbyterian.org

Sunday Sermon: Touching God

John 20:19-29 Jesus Confronts Thomas

It was just an ordinary day back in Maybole, Scotland. I had been making house calls in the village of Dunure, which was about 9 miles away from the manse. I was heading home and thinking about what Evelyn might be making for my dinner. The sun was shining and the sea looked beautiful as I coasted my way back home.

When I got to the manse, I expected Lynsey and Lauren to come out to meet me, but they didn’t. I walked through the back door and met Evelyn in the kitchen. I could see in her eyes that something was wrong.

“John, I’ve got some bad news,” she said quietly. “Your Mom is dead.”

I was stunned. I knew that my mom was ill and had been for years, but this was sudden and completely unexpected. I obviously couldn’t take it in, so I think Evelyn told me again. I was quiet and couldn’t think of anything to say. Within thirty minutes, I was ready to head up to Glasgow to be with my family, to be with my Dad.

All this happened about seventeen years ago, but it was so much of a shock to my system that I can’t really remember what happened over the next couple of weeks. I can recall being with my Dad down at the police station to be with him when a detective inspector interviewed him. Because my mother’s death was so sudden and happened when she was alone, my Dad had to be questioned. The whole interview was surrealistic and it suddenly dawned on me that they were interviewing my Dad to rule out murder. It was an awful feeling and it seemed so unfair at the time because my Dad was still shocked by mom’s death.

He had left her on her own to go and select some library books. When he returned twenty minutes later, he found her slumped over in her chair. She was gone and there was absolutely nothing he could do. The coroner who did the autopsy said that she died instantly from a massive heart attack, so even if Dad had been there, he never could have saved her. She was only 57 years old.

As I said before, my memory of the whole event, funeral, and family gathering after it is all fuzzy. I can hardly remember any of it, and even today it all seems so unreal.

Sudden death can do that to people. John House, who is a great psychologist in our congregation, has probably had to deal with this on many occasions. Today, in this passage from John’s Gospel, we see something similar happening to Thomas. He has been emotionally stunned by Christ’s death. He has been totally shocked by how fast things happened during the week in Jerusalem. One day, Christ and His disciples are being welcomed into the Holy City and within less than a week, Jesus is arrested, tortured, put on trial, humiliated, and crucified.

Thomas, who ran away with the rest of the disciples, cannot cope with what has happened. All his hopes and dreams of being a major player in Christ’s triumphant ministry have been shattered and destroyed. He has nothing left spiritually or emotionally. He is empty and insecure, totally depressed and fearful for his life. This has been the greatest shock to his system that Thomas has ever experienced, and he just wants to get away from everyone and everything. He just wants to forget about the last three years he has followed Jesus. He just wants to get his life back in order. He just wants to go home.

But he can’t go home because people will recognize him, and he may get arrested by the authorities. So for a couple of days, Thomas is on the lam. He must have hid outside of Jerusalem and got lost in the Passover crowds who were returning home. He was lonely and frightened, possibly angry and sick within himself. He must have felt abandoned and hunted at the same time.

Eventually, the other disciples find Thomas. He must have been surprised to see them happy and delighted. He thought that they should have been dejected and depressed, panic stricken and anxious. Instead, they are delirious with delight and full of joy.

But when they explain to Thomas that Christ is not dead, that he has risen, it’s all too much for the disciple. He can’t believe what he is hearing, so he thinks that they are all crazy with grief and totally insane. But they keep insisting that Christ is alive until Thomas finally shouts out:

"Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

Today is the 76th anniversary of Amelia Earhart’s solo flight across the Atlantic. She was the first woman to do this, in a time when men were getting all the credit for being heroes of the sky. When she was given the opportunity to do this, the usual Doubting Thomases said that it couldn’t be done. To fly solo across the Atlantic required intellect and skill, focus and determination, energy and strength. A mere woman could not endure such a flight, and anyone who decided to attempt this must be a lunatic.

But Amelia proved her critics wrong. She even flew through a terrifying mid-Atlantic storm, which surrounded her with dark clouds that almost petrified her.

"When daylight came,” she later said, “I could see on my wings traces of the ice which had gathered—droplets of water and very small frozen particles. Probably, if I had been able to see what was happening on the outside during the night, I would have had heart failure then and there; but, as I could not see, I carried on.”

Even in the midst of fearful circumstances, she never doubted her ability to complete the journey. When she was interviewed after her achievement, she stated that "The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward."

When Thomas refused to believe the others, there was nothing on earth that they could do to convince him of the truth. I imagine that all week long, he was in a sultry, sour mood because the rest of the disciples wouldn’t stop talking about Christ’s resurrection. It must have almost driven him crazy, but there was nowhere else he could go. His fears were more than paper tigers; they were causing him sleepless nights and moments of high anxiety. He was in a crazy situation, amongst crazy people, and he couldn’t escape. He was so emotionally paralyzed with shock and fear that he could not decide what to do.

And then Christ came back into Thomas’ life, just as suddenly as he had left him. One moment, all the disciples were in the Upper Room praying together on their own; the very next moment, Christ was in the center of the room.

Now if Thomas had been initially shocked by Christ arrest and crucifixion, this supernatural appearance must have almost caused him heart failure. Jesus was standing before him, just as the others had said. And before Thomas could drop to his knees and ask for mercy, Jesus called to him and said, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

I can picture Thomas with his mouth wide open and his eyes as large as the moon. For the second time in a week, he cannot believe what is happening. Slowly, he reaches out his fingers to touch the nail prints in Christ’s hands and even to touch the wound in His side. All of a sudden, it is too much for Thomas, and he falls to his knees, crying out, “My Lord and my God!”

This is the most important passage from the Gospels about the resurrection for our people today. And I’ll tell you why.

In recent years, there has been interest in the so called Gospel of Thomas, which many people falsely believe has secrets about Jesus that the Church wants to be kept hidden. This Gospel was written by a group of people called the Gnostics, who believed that Jesus wasn’t crucified because God had taken Him up to heaven and that it was a ghostly image or a specter, or what we would call a hologram that seemed to be crucified on the Cross. In other words, Christ’s physical body was never there, so He didn’t suffer any physical torment, excruciating pain, or death itself.

This has led many people to believe that the resurrection of Christ was only a spiritual one. This Gnostic garbage was prevalent in North Africa during the 4th – 7th centuries AD. So when Muhammad started to write down the Koran, he was influenced by the false teachings of Gnosticism, so that to this day the Muslims believe that Christ never actually suffered on the Cross. And, as Mark Twain delighted in saying, “Bunkum! Absolute bunkum!”

And this is further compounded by the fact that even in the PCUSA, we have misguided pastors who do not believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus, but insist that the Gospel of Thomas should be researched, studied, and read in church in order to bring us closer to the real Historical Jesus who, as one of these pastors recently said, died and His body has decomposed and turned to dust in a forgotten cave somewhere in Palestine.

When Thomas touches Christ, he is touching a real body that has been miraculously resurrected by God. This whole passage refutes any belief in a spiritual resurrection of Christ. And I would say to you, and anyone in the world, that if you do not believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, then you are not a Christian. You can be a modern Gnostic, you can be Muslim, or you can be a skeptic, but what you cannot be is a Christian.

And where do I get this conclusion from? It comes none other from Jesus Christ Himself, who finally says to Thomas: "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Those words are meant for us, two thousand years in the future. We have not seen the resurrected Christ and yet we believe in Him. We have not yet touched Him, and yet we believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. It’s what makes us Christians in the first place, and distinguishes us from other religions. Jesus is our Risen Lord and He is also the God of all creation. He is no paper tiger, or spiritual phantom. Christ is no figment of the true Gospel writers or an apparition of a bunch of hysterical disciples. Jesus is the Resurrected Christ, whose wounded, dead body was raised by the power of Almighty God, whom we worship, adore, and serve, both now and forevermore. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

How a Teenager Changed Scotland

How a Scottish teenager touched the hearts of her people with her resolute faith, and enabled them to overcome their persecutors during the Killing Times of the 17th century.
1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

Podcast version here

Margaret Wilson was eighteen years old when she gave her Christian testimony. She and her younger sister Agnes used to visit an old lady, Margaret McLachlan, in the village of Wigtown, Scotland. They enjoyed her stories and shared prayers together, and all three loved the Lord completely. They lived in troubled times, but their friendship and faith that they shared was personal and beautiful.

One day, however, the elder Margaret was arrested by the King’s dragoons and charged with being a dissident. She was ordered to swear her loyalty to the King and his prayer book, but the old lady refused, knowing that it would cost her freedom. Her trial was quick and her sentence was cruel. She was to be chained to a post and drowned by the incoming tide of the Solway Firth on the banks of the town. During the arrest, someone informed the authorities about the two Wilson girls and they were also arrested, judged, and sentenced to death.

Gilbert Wilson, the father of the two teenagers, was frantic. He practically sold everything that he owned and borrowed from friends and family. He rode to Edinburgh to buy his daughters’ pardon. He managed to raise one hundred pounds, which was the equivalent of a lifetime of earnings in his day. Sadly, Gilbert could only buy back one of his daughters, so he chose the youngest, Agnes, who was only thirteen years old.

On the morning of 11 May, 1685, the two Margarets were chained to their posts. As the tide came in, faster than a running horse, Margaret McLachlan quickly succumbed to the mighty force of the waves. Young Margaret Wilson had been chained nearer to the shore, from where her friends and family begged the young maiden to recant of the National Covenant by swearing loyalty to the king. Even her own mother frantically pleaded with Margaret to give up her faith in order to save her young life.

The town officer tried to intervene and held young Margaret’s head above the closing waters. He asked her to pray for the king, to which she answered: “God save him, if he will, for it is his salvation I desire.”
Her relatives clamored for mercy, but the officer asked Margaret once again to renounce the Covenanters.

Summoning all of her energy and faith, this wee lassie of no nobility, prosperity or esteem, calmly replied: “I will not, I am one of Christ's children, let me go.” Soon after, the waves overwhelmed her and she drowned.

God chooses foolish things to shame the wise and weak vessels to shame the strong. Both Margarets are known to the Scottish people as the Solway Martyrs. And even today, when their stories of injustice and cruelty are told, we are in awe of their courage, devotion, and faith. Margaret Wilson may have been a young and carefree teenager, but she will be forever known in history as a remarkable and faithful servant of Christ.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, throughout the centuries You have called upon people to witness to Your words and ways. Sometimes people, young and old, have sacrificed everything in order to be faithful to You. In this day and age, Lord, we have trouble in making the same commitment and we forget the true cost of the faith that we place in You.

Challenge and change our lives today, so that we may effectively witness to Your Power. Keep us from being fearful and insecure. Help us to be faithful and sincere. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Daily Devotions: The Watchmaker

As a boy, I was fascinated with a watchmaker's store in Glasgow, Scotland. When I entered the store for the first time, I saw a faded picture of the watchmaker standing in Red Square, Moscow with the Kremlin behind him.

What was his intriguing secret?

Podcast version here

Jeremiah 51:50 “You who have escaped the sword, leave and do not linger! Remember the LORD in a distant land, and think on Jerusalem."

His watchmaker’s store was right beside my bus stop for going home. Whenever I went traveled into Glasgow’s City Center, I would get off the double decker bus at this store. There were lots of second hand watches in the window and you could see the watchmaker busy working each day. He had microscopic eyeglass to see the working of each watch and he delicately held small instruments in his hand.

On rainy days, when I stood waiting for my bus home, I watched him studiously and was fascinated by his craftsmanship. Sometimes I was so mesmerized by what he was doing that I almost missed my bus. I wanted to own a watch, so that if it ever needed repair, I could come into his shop and have the watchmaker fix it.

Years later, I got that opportunity. I had one of those old digital watches that blinked red lights to indicate the time. I needed to have the battery changed and so I entered the watchmaker’s store for the first time. It was quiet and peaceful. On the wall behind the watchmaker was a faded photograph of him standing in Red Square with the Kremlin in the background. And when he asked me what I wanted, he spoke to me in broken English with a heavy Russian accent. I was amazed.

I showed him my digital watch. He just shook his head, took it from me, and quickly fixed it. I could sense his frustration and, as I handed over the money for the battery, we both realized that the world was changing. Within a couple of years, his store was gone. I guess people didn’t need his services anymore.

I think he must have missed being back in Russia. I didn’t know what brought him to Scotland and sometimes I wonder if he was an ex-spy, on the run from the KGB and protected by British Intelligence. Whatever made him leave his native land, he still remembered it and even though he was in a Western land during the height of the Cold War, he must have kept that photograph proudly displayed in his store for years.

When Jeremiah preaches to his people, they all know that they are going into exile. The Jews of that time believed that God was tied to the land, so when they left the Holy Land, they thought that God wasn’t coming with them. Jeremiah’s prophecy was a clarion call to his people to keep the Lord and Jerusalem in their hearts, no matter what they experienced or wherever they ended. In other words, he was telling them to keep the faith.

In the midst of our own trials and troubles, sometimes remembering God and keeping the faith can be hard. But if the spiritual experiences of many millions of people over the centuries is anything to go by, those two precepts are extremely helpful, supportive, and encouraging.

Prayer: Lord God, You are the One, Holy Constant throughout Time. Across the history of the world, Your Presence has strengthened and uplifted our people. We pray that in our own trying times, we may also depend upon You to deliver and sustain us through our troubles. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Erin devotions: Joyful Dreams

Psalm 126 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. It resonates with what I’ve experienced in my life. When I was a teenager and had no control over the sadness in my home life, I hated myself and my circumstances. This self-hatred took me away from my family and friends because I supplanted them with a love of alcohol. I put myself into danger and exiled my emotions, using beer, whisky, and wine to escape from my frustrations and fears.

Podcast version here

Bible Verse of the Day

Psalm 126:2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.Then it was said among the nations,” The LORD has done great things for them."

And then I found the Lord and rediscovered my joy of Jesus that I had in my heart when I was in elementary school. I still struggled with alcohol for a while, but eventually I was able to let it go because I became addicted to God, Jesus and the Gospel. It was like coming out of a self-imposed nightmare and going into a God given dream.

Throughout my life I’ve seen people struggle with the same demons of drink and emotional attacks. I’ve tried to help them overcome their addiction and show them the joy of the Lord. I’d love to say that I’ve been successful every time, but sadly some people are more self-destructive than others and eventually they ruin their relationships, empty their emotions, and destroy their bodies. When that occurs, I feel heart broken because I know that things could have been so much different if they truly let Christ into their lives.

If you’re struggling with an addiction or an obsession, or you know someone close beside you who is, get help. Don’t leave it until it’s too late or ignore it, hoping that it will all go away. There are lots of good counselors and godly pastors, specialists and experts who could empower and enable you to overcome. With their help and Christ in your heart, you can turn those horrible nightmares into hopeful dreams. Seize the day and let that transforming moment begin in your life now.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You know everything about us, so we can never hide or conceal anything from You. You are completely aware of our weakness and addictions, secrets and obsessions. Help us to find help and seek assistance in overcoming those demons of deception that want to destroy our hearts and happiness, our spirits and souls. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.