Daily Devotions: Spirituality and Salvation

Psalm 11:7      For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.

There’s a saying amongst evangelical Christians which goes something like this: ‘Everybody has some form of spirituality, but not everyone has salvation.’

When God created human beings, He breathed life into the first bodies, according to Genesis 2: v 7

‘the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.’ Many theologians believe that the breath of life mentioned in the text actually refers to the spirit or soul of a human being. Because it contains the breath of God, this is what makes it eternal.

The spirit inside each of us longs to be reunited with God. This is why we are often restless, distracted, and dissatisfied at times throughout our lives. We each are seeking that divine reconnection. We all feel isolated and separated from the rest of creation at times. We all believe that there must be something better, something more meaningful, and something more to life itself. Our spirits yearn to be fulfilled, to find happiness, and to know peace. This is what salvation is: to be completely restored to God, the Giver of Life and the Creator of our spirits.

All people are spiritual then, but not all spirituality leads to salvation. This is why it is so important that Christ’s Church speaks out with certainty to the world. Christ’s Gospel reveals the whole truth about salvation and in Him we can be restored to God. Any other way is a spiritual path that leads people away from being made complete. Any other form of spirituality is bogus and ultimately ends up in oblivion.

Jesus came into the world to show us the path to salvation and the door to the Kingdom of God. We are not left without hope, like hapless creatures scurrying around the world seeking life’s answers. God cared enough for us and loved us so deeply that He sent Christ into the world to provide us with the answer to salvation. Jesus is the Way to return to God. In Him, the truth about salvation will set us free to be with God forever.

This is why Christianity is a missional faith and not a personal one. When we place our spirits into Christ’s hands, He asks us to go out into the world to share this salvation with others. Jesus wants everyone to be restored to God. He wants all spiritual people to find true salvation. It’s up to us to continue His ministry, by helping more people understand His crucial message.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You want everyone to be completely restored to God and to enjoy His presence forever. Our spirits long for that reconnection, sow e pray that Your Holy Spirit will help us to lead others to You, Your Way, and Your Salvation fro humankind. In Your Powerful and sacred 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.

Daily Devotions: More Than Being Saved - Psalm 9

Psalm 9:18      But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.

When I first became a Christian, I thought that my mission was to ensure that the world was saved. Being born again had such an impact upon me that I wanted other people, my family and friends, to experience the same spiritual awakening and dynamic change. To be saved meant more to me than anything because I knew that without Jesus intervening in my life, I would have ended up as an alcoholic on skid row. Jesus changed my life completely, so I expected that everyone else would want the same.

It’s been almost thirty three years since I have had that wonderful experience and although I am truly thankful for being saved, I now know that it’s not what the Kingdom of God is all about. If that was the case, I could rest upon my spiritual laurels and live the rest of my life without any changes. Being saved is extremely important in the eternal scheme of things, but what I do with that salvation is crucially important with regard to being a saved Christian in the world.

Christ didn’t ask us to become His disciples just to look after ourselves. He called us to God’s Kingdom so that we could go out into the world to right the wrongs, heal the brokenness, and support the needy. Faith is a wonderful gift for the believer, but faithful works are precious gifts to the world. If we think about what’s currently happening in Haiti, we know that the people who are suffering over there don’t need a bunch of Christian groups telling them that they must be saved. Instead, they need to be shown the loving kindness, tender care, and compassion of the Kingdom of God.

The Haitians are looking to survive this terrible catastrophe. As Christians, we can build the Kingdom of God over there through acts of support rather than brow-beating them with the Bible just to add numbers to the ranks of people being saved. This is what makes it crucial to the growth of the Kingdom of God on Earth. Faith alone saves an individual person; faith and good works saves the world.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You are the Savior of the World and the Healer of the Nations. You bring the Kingdom of God into our hearts through our salvation, so that we can take that precious gift out into the world through acts of love and compassion. Help us to do what we can to help the needy, support the poor, and care for the perishing, so that God’s Kingdom may be effective and restorative in the world today. 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, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

2010 Daily Devotions: If and Then - Galatians 3 v 22

Galatians 3:22            But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. 

What was promised…might be given.

Decades ago, I can remember purchasing my first computer. It was an Acorn computer with 32 kilobytes of memory. I felt as though I owned one of the most advanced personal computers in the world and I spent ages entering formulas and equations to make it work.

I remember on one occasion that I tried to set up a windows filing system which would help me with my pastoral work. It took me four days to enter the information correctly and when I was finished, I had a black & white screen filled with little boxes where I could put in names and addresses, some short information, and a calendar for visitation dates. I felt as though I was light years ahead of my pastor peers and couldn’t wait to show some of them what I had created.

The equations and the formulas that I had to enter were all built through key sentences of ‘if and then.’ If I pressed a button here, then a file would come up on the screen. If I entered a name here, then more information would be accessed somewhere else in the computer. So long as the ‘ifs and thens’ were entered correctly, then the system worked beautifully.

These days, computer already have these programs entered and filing is so much easier, but way back in the 1980s windows files were very rare.

Today’s verse reminded me of the ‘if and then’ process of salvation. Many people think that salvation is a given, but it’s not. This is why the apostle Paul reminds the young Corinthian church that what was promised through scripture might be given to those who believe. Belief in Christ, then, is a required component of salvation. If there’s no belief, then there is no salvation, no matter what the world would like to think.

That’s why Christianity is first and foremost a missionary faith. We do not minister to ourselves, we take the Gospel message out into the world. We take it to our families and friends, our neighbors and working colleagues. The promises of salvation can only be experienced through our belief in Jesus. There is no other way. There is no other person, there is no other faith.

If the ‘if and then’ of belief and salvation are not entered into our hearts and minds, then the good news of the Gospel remains inoperative. We will have wasted our whole lives by inputting the wrong spiritual formula and erroneously entering the wrong eternal equation.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we want to live forever in God’s Kingdom and to experience everlasting life. You are the only way to achieve this; You are the Only One who has the words of eternal life. Keep us faithfully focused on You and help us to attract and enable others to come to Your Cross. Make us missionaries of Your message. 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, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.