God's Garden - Isaiah 61:11

Isaiah 61:11     For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

            Early one morning, I was visiting with one of our church members, who was showing me her amazing vegetable garden. Her husband had built an amazing irrigation system which collected all of the rainwater from their house gutters into barrels and then dispersed it throughout the whole yard using a computerized timing mechanism. He invented the whole system and I was amazed at so much ingenuity and productivity which could be used all over the world to grow food. The garden was absolutely filled with vegetables and fruit, all blessed by God through the ingenious distribution of rainwater.

            The day before my visit, a tragic event in Nice, France had occurred, where over 80 children and adults were deliberately mowed down by a terrorist driving a large truck. It was unbelievable and still is incomprehensible to me how anyone, in the name of their god, could inflict such inhumane and wicked carnage upon innocent people. In the past couple of years, we’ve seen these attacks around the world increase. Most people are horrified by these abhorrent events; most of us of different faiths and none at all, just want to live in peace, respect, and love.

            My prayer that day was the same one that Isaiah expressed in his ancient prophecy. I prayed that the Sovereign Lord would make righteousness and praise spring up before all the nations. Indeed, God has given us the seeds of hope, faith, and love that we need to grow such goodness around the world, but it’s up to us to keep growing those precious plants in our hearts, homes, churches and communities across the entire planet. If we become bitter, then our humanity will become harsh. If we preach revenge, then we will relinquish hope. The only way to defeat fear is to focus on love. The only real antidote to terror is to embrace one another and share God's peace.

Questions for personal reflection

With whom can I share Christ’s love today? What can I do to advance His peace?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, we are often deeply saddened and affected by man’s cruel and vicious inhumanity to man. Sometimes we just feel downhearted and lost, depressed and confused. Help us to find Your way of peace, hope, and love in our lives first, so that we may then share those gifts with other people. In Your Holy Name, we earnestly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you have any questions or comments about today’s devotional, please feel free to send him a message by email to Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s drawings of a Poppy Field in France. If you would like to view a larger version, please click this link: Poppy.

Christian devotion: Rescuing Refugees - Exodus 22:21

“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” – Exodus 22:21

            The recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Beirut, and Baghdad have resulted in a lot of paranoia and prejudice being expressed by politicians in public, people on the street, and even pastors from pulpits. Instead of being faithful, numerous Christians are being fearful and allowing heartless cowards to disrupt their lives. The whole point of being a terrorist is to foment terror and provoke insecurity; when we allow ourselves to be driven by our fears instead of relying upon our freedoms, we lose our liberty and become captive to tyranny.

            I am dismayed and deeply disappointed in political leaders who, through their xenophobia, seek to close our borders, reject refugees, and castigate an entire religion as being hostile, volatile, and violent. When we allow that kind of intolerance and prejudice to go unchecked, we start to go down a totalitarian path, the likes of which we have not seen or known in almost eighty years.

            The men, women, and children who are fleeing the Middle East are not seeking to fleece our resources, overturn our society, or destroy our civilization. They are running away from rabid religious extremists who want to eradicate them. If we were in the same tragic and fearful plight, we would want to get our families and friends to safety wherever we could find it.

            As Christians, we are known as People of the Book to the Islamic world. This means that they regard us as being shaped and influenced by God’s Word in our Bibles. We also, in the Bible Belt, take great pride in applying the scriptures in our daily lives. Since this is the case, then our attitudes and choices, our opinions and compassion for Syrian refugees, and others like them, should be based upon these words, which come directly from God:

“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” – Exodus 22:21

            The tragic situation in the Middle East may take decades to heal; the helpless situation of the Syrian refugees can be dealt with now. We need to open our hearts and arms, our communities and borders to receive them. We need to be faithful Christians and not fearful citizens. We need to show compassion instead of rejection. We need to do what Christ, who was once a refugee, would do: we need to welcome them.

Questions for reflection

Am I going to live in fear or by faith? Am I willing to welcome or reject refugees?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Your family once fled from the violence and tyranny of Herod, who wanted to kill You as a child. You know the anxiety of being a refugee; You understand the need to be welcomed and made safe. Help us to overcome our fears and apply our faith, according to God’s Word. 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 or ask questions about today’s message, please send him an email to Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s drawings called Stellar Icon, featuring Mary and Jesus as refugees. If you would like to see a larger version, please click on this link: Mary.