Daily Devotions: One Morning

Isaiah 40: 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”?

What would happen if you were to wake up one morning and discovered that you had no belief in God? Would it change your life? Would it alter your relationships? Would it matter at all?

What if you had been asking God to change things in your life and that this non-belief was the answer? What if you had been so disappointed with God and hurt by life that you had no expectations of Him whatsoever? How would that change your attitude, opinions, and beliefs?

As the Western Church dips below its horizon of influence and power, more and more people are feeling this way. They wake up one morning and there’s no need to believe anymore. They stop going to church. They stop reading the Bible. They stop praying to God. After all, if the Church can’t get its act together and firmly state what it believes, then why should people believe anything?

Life becomes a process and each day is just another step towards oblivion. Existence is a temporal experience and faith is just a fantasy for fools who cannot face up to the fact that there is no purpose, no meaning, and no God. Secularism suffocates the soul and apathy advances throughout the mind, spirit, and body.

Such is the condition of post-modern human beings. They be. They live merely to be. God has no place in their lives, their hearts, or their choices. They are on their own in a vast universe that has no idea that human beings even exist and when they are gone, life goes on and nothing changes across the cosmos.

What a sad way to live! How much better to know that, as Paul once wrote, “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for giving us life and for allowing us to know of Your presence, Your interest in us, and Your love given to us through Jesus. In His 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: Songs of Joy

Why are atheists so afraid of Christmas and nativity scenes in public places?

Psalm 65:8 Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy.

Watching the news the other day, I saw the unveiling of an atheist declaration of unbelief that was placed next to a menorah and a nativity scene. I can’t remember in which city this occurred, but I couldn’t help feeling sorry for the people who demanded that their own non-religious beliefs be put next to symbols and images of Hannukah and Christmas. It was like seeing Ebenezer Scrooge come to life.

I guess it made them feel happy and that their own dignity was preserved. However, their statements about myths and no gods were ignored by the people who came to see the baby Jesus in the manger. They only had eyes for a good old fashioned nativity scene and for the feelings that it invoked. If anything, the atheistic declaration only heightened the spiritual awareness that God exists, and that our Redeemer came into the world 2000 years ago.

It makes me wonder what atheists fear about Christmas. Do they revel in their own misery rather than rejoicing in the mystery of God? Are they expecting folks to go and be fearful, instead of encouraging others to come and be faithful? No matter what they think they have achieved in that city mall, the sounds of hope and laughter, mixed with carols and songs of joy, will continually be heard across the world till the end of Time.

So, no matter what the atheists in our society believe or don’t believe, Christ is still the King of Christmas, and always will be throughout eternity.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank You for the laughter and joy we experience each Christmas. We praise You for the warmth of Your Spirit and the wonder of Your birth. We welcome You into our hearts and homes, our towns and cities, our meeting places and shopping malls. Gloria in Excelsis! Amen.