Daily Devotion: Patiently Building - Mark 15 v 29-30

Mark 15:29-30            Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!"  

A massive digger has just been parked outside of my church study window. The contractors are getting the equipment in place in order to begin digging up the back yard of the church, so that we can lay the foundations of a new extension. A lot of the brush and some of the smaller trees at the back will, unfortunately, have to be dug up and destroyed in the process. This time next year, I’m going to have a completely different view from my office window.

I’m not very good with changes like this and the subsequent upheaval is going to command a lot of my patience. I know that the end results will be worthwhile; it’s just the current painstaking process that causes me problems. In order to build, something has to change. In order to grow, something has to be lost.

When the passers-by hurled their insults at Christ, they had no idea that God was beginning a new creation and that a new faith was being born. The people scorned Christ because it appeared as though He had let them down. They thought He was the Messiah who had come to rid them of the Romans and its Empire. In fact, Christ did do that but it took about 400 years to achieve. The passers-by wanted Christ to do it immediately. They weren’t prepared to wait and obviously thought that when Jesus died on the Cross, His mission and ministry were over.

But in the midst of the painstaking process of death by crucifixion, Jesus was saving the world and establishing His Church. God works in mysterious ways and there’s nothing more mysterious than creating new life in the midst of death. The old ways were being destroyed forever. The rites of sacrifice were over. Jesus laid down His life to the destruction of death in order to bring about pardon and forgiveness, resurrection and restoration to all who were willing to accept His sacrificial death and believe in His power to save them from their sins. He was patiently building salvation.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You destroyed the old ways of religion and gave birth to a new faith on the Cross. We are heirs to that blessing and we praise You for completing the painful process of salvation, so that we may be given the glorious opportunity of being restored to God forever. In Your Holy Name, we thankfully 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.

Today’s drawing is John’s latest lighthouse print of the Nubble Lighthouse in Maine, USA. You can view a larger version of the drawing here: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1006/4597010807_503a3fe91d_b.jpg

Progressive Christians; Why Are They Ashamed of the Cross?

Prior to Holy Week and after Easter, I've come across numerous Progressive Christian writers and bloggers who detest the Cross. It's too bloody and gory for them; it's violence goes against their pacifist principles; it's unacceptable that God should kill His Son; and now with the Supreme Court Mojave decision, Progressives opine that the Cross is an insulting symbol to other faiths.


The Cross has always been offensive to the peoples of the world. They hate what it stands for - that we are so sinful we need a sacrificial Savior to bleed and die on it so that we can be saved from God's wrath. The world would rather deludingly believe that God turns a blind eye to our sin and winks at our brazen ways. 


The trouble is this: progressive Christians believe the same in order to accommodate the rest of the world. In other words, Christ's sacrifice is not good enough for today's inter-faith world, so Progressive Christians have got to save the day, the church, and the world with their rejection of the Cross and their idolatrous doctrine of cosmopolitan toleration - a toleration which of course excludes their own traditional faith.


I am proud to be a part of the Christian Resurgent Movement. The progressive appeasers have gone too far. It's about time that true apologetics returned instead of timid apologizers.

In the cross of Christ I glory,

Towering o’er the wrecks of time;

All the light of sacred story

Gathers round its head sublime.

When the woes of life o’ertake me,

Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,

Never shall the cross forsake me,

Lo! it glows with peace and joy.

When the sun of bliss is beaming

Light and love upon my way,

From the cross the radiance streaming

Adds more luster to the day.

Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,

By the cross are sanctified;

Peace is there that knows no measure,

Joys that through all time abide.

In the cross of Christ I glory,

Towering o’er the wrecks of time;

All the light of sacred story

Gathers round its head sublime.

(lyrics by John Bowring)

images by Stushie

4 Minute Daily Devotions: Blessed Boasting

Galatians 6:14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Podcast version here: http://media.libsyn.com/media/stushie/Blessed_Boasting.mp3

Each year, I have the privilege of taking a part in a lunchtime ecumenical service at the local Roman Catholic church on Good Friday. Seven pastors, ministers, and priests give short 4-5 minute homilies on the Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross. I’ve taken part in this service for about 11 years and it never ceases to amaze me how much the Holy Spirit inspires each speaker.

I love the fact that we all gather together in one sacred place, as one holy church. The Crucified figure of Christ looms above each speaker and adds a pictorial poignancy to what we express. The whole worship service is a solemn reminder of what Jesus endured to save us from our sins. It’s a miraculous moment of mystery when the speakers and worshippers alike sit in awe. The whole place and service makes me feel guilty and sorrowful, absolved and thankful all at the same time.

I love the Cross of Calvary, but I hate what happened to Jesus. I love the freedom He brings me, but I despise my sins which nailed Him to the Cross. Good Friday has a spiritual ambivalence and a bittersweet attachment to my soul. But it fully prepares me for the glorious goodness that I experience on Easter, when I am fully restored to God on Resurrection Sunday. The curse of the Cross is broken by the very first rays of the rising sun, given to us gladly by the grace of the Risen Son of God.

Prayer:
In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.
When the woes of life o’ertake me,
Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me,
Lo! it glows with peace and joy. Amen. (John Bowring)

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.

4 Minute Daily Devotions: Crossless Christians

Luke 14:27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

We live in a cross-less society, where people are not willing to carry their own burdens or endure any trouble. Even some Christians want their faith to be light, worry-free, and non-challenging to their life-style choices. It’s as if we’re saying to Christ and His first disciples, “that cross carrying stuff is old-fashioned. We want to emerge as new Christians, who are free to reject what we don’t like of the old ways and re-invent our faith. We want it all to be light and fluffy, likeable and popular. We don’t want to carry nasty crosses anymore.”

The trouble is this: when we do that, we’ve become a New Age religion and no longer cross-carrying Christians. We want our faith to be convenient instead of persistent. We want it to be experienced on our terms instead of Christ’s. Rather than place Christ at the center of all things, we want Him to be focused on us. We want Jesus to like us and love us, laugh with us and live with us, instead of confronting and challenging us, or converting and changing us.

Sometimes I wish that Jesus had never said things like ‘anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.’ I wish that He had uttered something like ‘disregard your crosses, have fun with Me, and you can be My friends.’ But He didn’t. Christ knew that life was hard and that in every generation Christians will be faced with two choices: to throw off their crosses and go their own way, or to wearily pick up their heavy burden and plod on, following Jesus all through life.

Having faith in Jesus is never going to be easy, but one day we will get to lay our crosses at His feet and enjoy His peace forever. But if we want it all now, we will never experience that everlasting joy and peace.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes we want to give up being Christians and just fall into line with the rest of the world. It would be a whole lot easier just to ignore Your words and to go our own way. Instead of feeling guilty, we would be unburdened and could live our lives free from any commitment, challenge, or change. But You have called us to carry our crosses, to endure the world’s dislike, and to experience the cost of faith. It isn’t an easy path to follow, but we pray that You will enable and empower us to keep on going, so that we may emerge as real Christians and not phony disciples. 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 comment on today’s’ message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.