Sunday Shorts: The Gift

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

            Every day, I pray for my family, for those living here in the United States and those across the world. I ask God to bless and protect them, to guide and to support them, to love and cherish them. It’s a ritual I go through each morning and whether or not I’ll see or hear from them that day, they’re in my prayers, on my mind, and in my heart. No matter what they’re going through or how they are feeling, I know that God is with them and that comforts me.

            The most important part of my daily prayer takes place at the end. I ask God to give them opportunities to draw closer to Him and accept Jesus as their Lord in Savior in their lives and hearts. I want them to know the love of God and the price that He decided to pay so that all of them could be favored and forgiven, renewed and restored to God’s Kingdom. I pray this, not just because I want them to know that they are not alone, but I believe it’s what God wants for them, too. This is why He sent His Son to the Earth long ago to reach out to humanity and gather us safely from the chaos, confusion, and commotion that we all experience in our lives. You see folks, God didn’t create us to be fearful or lonely; He made us to be thankful and loved.

            I hope that you understand this devotion and these prayers are also for you, your families, and your loved ones. Jesus gave everything so that we can gain everything about God that is everlasting. Our lives on Earth may be finite and the years go by too quickly, but God cherishes us so much that He wants our lives and love to continue beyond our time on this planet. God doesn’t want us to perish at all, but to gain everlasting life.

Point to ponder: Do I know God loves me?

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for creating us to be loved and not to be alone. Help us to reach out to You today and receive the blessings of Your acceptance and eternal love. Enable us to overcome our doubts and fears so that we may cherish the gift of Christ and receive His peace in our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. In His Name, we pray. Amen.

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

Hard Times - Mark 9:24

Mark 9:24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (NIV)

            I call it ‘spiritual paralysis,’ and it usually occurs when people are overwhelmed with unrelenting worries or deep concerns about their family and loved ones. Sometimes it happens because of a serious illness or a long-term addiction; at other times it’s caused through career failures, broken relationships, or financial stress. Whatever the circumstances, the issue or crisis is so devastating that prayers are hard to say, faith is difficult to maintain, and belief in God is almost unsustainable.  People feel forsaken by the Lord and drained of their hope. Their spirits become depressed and the ability to voice their concerns to God is badly damaged. During those moments, the prayers, support, and love of the faith community are crucial.

            When Jesus dealt with the man whose son was gravely ill, He encountered this spiritual paralysis (Mark 9:14-29). The father was so overwhelmed with the boy’s illness that he doubted Christ’s ability to cure his beloved child. It was a painful moment for the man because he wanted so much to believe that his son could be healed, but his fears diminished his faith and crushed his confidence in God. His anxiety overwhelmed him and he agonized over his unbelief.

            Jesus could have walked away and left the boy unhealed. He could have blamed it all on the father and abandoned him at the time of his greatest need. Instead, Christ compassionately confronted the spiritual paralysis, the debilitating illness, and the overwhelming circumstances. Jesus restored the boy to his father, as well as his faith in God.

            Perhaps you are going through a time of spiritual paralysis or unrelenting worry. Maybe your reliance on God is wavering and your faith is weak. Whatever is at the heart of your turmoil, please know this: God still loves you and with Christ’s help, you can be repaired and restored through grace and love. You are not alone nor abandoned; you are totally loved and embraced by Jesus.

Point to ponder

What are my main worries and deepest concerns? Am I able to voice them to God? Am I willing to hand them over to Christ?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we believe; help us overcome our unbelief. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Come along and join us for worship on Sundays at 11:00 AM. You will be made very welcome 😊

Today’s image is of a Blue Christmas candle which is traditionally lit for folks who find this time of year difficult. If you would like to view a larger version, please click this link: Candle.

Short Devotion - Lip Service - Romans 10:9-10

Romans 10:9-10 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (NIV)

            Can it just be as simple as that? We only have to say a few words and we’ll be saved forever? Is God willing to give us everything when we verbally acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and believe that He rose from the dead? If that’s the case, then what’s the problem? It would only take thirty seconds at most for everyone to be granted eternal life, so surely we can encourage our loved ones, friends, and colleagues to take half a minute out of their busy day to say these simple, uncomplicated words and receive God’s everlasting blessing?

            It would be easy if we took the words out of context and applied them at face value. However, we have to remember the time, place, and people that Paul was writing to when he first expressed this thought. The young Roman church was located in the heart of the Empire. Allegiance to Caesar was given through a simple loyalty oath – all a person had to say was “Caesar is Lord,” in order to prove their devotion to the Emperor and come under the authoritative protection of Imperial Rome. For most folks living there, this was easy; for the Christian community, this represented a major problem.

            You see to declare ‘Christ is Lord’ meant giving your life, heart, and devotion to a crucified Jewish criminal rather than the almighty imperial Caesar. It was a life or death choice, especially when persecution broke out against Christians. The context means that what Paul is encouraging his Roman readers to do is to displace Caesar with Christ. Under Roman Law, that was both sedition and treason, both of which were punishable by death.

            Now, do you understand what this means for us today? Think about the most important thing that we are devoted to today – it could be family, patriotism, politics, sports, or ideals. Whatever it may be, our allegiance to Christ has to be more than those things. If anything gets in the way of our service and devotion to Jesus, then we displace Him and idolize the other. This is why declaring Christ is Lord and believing in His resurrection is so hard to do. This is why so many people fail to get beyond themselves and fall before Christ. Calling Christ ‘Lord’ means we submit to Him, His will, and His way – we cannot negotiate this and put something else on the same level with Him. If we honestly want to be with God forevermore, it will take up the rest of our lives in worship, service, and devotion to Jesus. If we think that there’s any other way, we’re deluding ourselves. If we think that God will accept anything less, then we’ve ignored the context of what Paul initially wrote.

            Take time to pray about this. Ponder over Paul’s words. Ask yourself if Christ is really real in your life and He is the Lord of your heart. If there’s something else, it will die with you. If there’s nothing else, you will live with Him.

Point to ponder

Is my faith in Christ real or do I spend more time with something else? Am I willing to truly call Him ‘Lord’?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we often take You for granted and justify our choices to be more involved with other things by excusing ourselves. Help us to truly rethink our commitment to You and stop paying lip service. Grant us the courage to make You the Lord of our lives, no matter what changes this will incur. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to respond to this message, please send John an email to Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Epiphany drawings called ‘Magi.’ If you would like to view a larger version, please click this link: Magi.

4 Minute Devotions: Basic Christianity

Mark 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

Last night, I went down to my favorite fishing hole at Concord Park. I sat on the rocks for about an hour, reading one of my favorite books. It’s called “Basic Christianity” and it was written by John Stott. I read it years ago when I was in Scotland after a friend suggested it to me. John Stott is a great English preacher and he writes with a wonderful clarity.

I was reading a chapter about Jesus and the claims He made about Himself. As John Stott puts it, we can’t know much about Christianity until we learn about Christ. This makes what Christ had to say about Himself as very important to our faith. We cannot pick and choose what we like about Jesus and disregard the rest.

One of the claims that Christ made, which got Him into a lot of bother, was the ability to forgive sins. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus forgives the sins of the paralytic before He sets out to physically heal the sick man. It caused a great deal of consternation amongst the witnesses because they thought that who else but God can forgive sins? Some of them wanted to stone Jesus to death for blasphemy. They didn’t care about the sick man; they only wanted to purge the community of Christ’s sinful mistake.

I guess we would be much the same. If a preacher were to come into our town proclaiming that he had the power to forgive all of our sins, we’d probably tar and feather that person and kick him out of town.

John Stott says that Jesus claimed this divine power for Himself and that we have to deal with this issue. If Christ is truly the Son of God, then He can indeed forgive our sins. But if He does forgive our sins, then don’t we owe Him all of our faith, allegiance, and loyalty? In other words, you can’t go halfway and make a compromise with Christ. It’s either all or nothing.

In these confusing days when we are bombarded with New Age philosophies and other world religions, it’s hard to make a total commitment to Christ. It’s like putting all of our eggs in one basket, whilst so many people in the world want to keep their options open. But as Stott writes throughout the book, either Jesus is both everything He says He is, and His claims are unchangeable, or Christ has made false claims about Himself and Christianity is untenable.

For me, I think both Christ and Stott have it completely right. Jesus is God’s Son and the Savior of the world; so when I need forgiveness, I confidently come and pray to Him.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Son of the Living God, the Savior of the World, and the Lord of our lives. You alone have the power to forgive our sins and restore us to God. We rejoice in Your Sovereignty and Authority. We praise You both now and forevermore. 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.