4 Minute Devotions: Checking Out the Kingdom

Our modern obsession with diets and dieting, never seem to produce results. Are we in danger of doing the same with our faith?

Podcast version here

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

I am constantly amazed each week by the number of magazines at supermarket checkouts that announce to the world a brand new diet that will help us all lose 20 pounds a month. Every week, they publicize a brand new diet and I have calculated that if you were to follow each new diet every week, you could lose about 250 pounds in any given year. For most of us, that would use up our entire body. We could all disappear in a year!

I guess diets sell popular magazines and people feel that if they just read about a diet, then at least they’re making an effort in the right direction. The photographs of the diet dishes always look tantalizing and I am sure that many people start off with a new grocery list of items, but then fall off the diet wagon within a couple of weeks. However, hope is to be found at the next checkout for, lo and behold, there’s a better, easier diet printed on the cover of the latest glossy magazine!

Sometimes we approach the Bible in the same manner. We kickoff each New Year with the vow that we’ll pray more regularly and read the Bible each day. We make an effort to accomplish this, but somehow we get distracted or over-burdened. Before we know it, our resolutions are broken and we are spiritually stuck. Our intentions are correct, but our accomplishments are limited.

I like it when Paul reminds us that the Kingdom of God does not depend upon feasting or fasting, diets or doctrine. The Kingdom of God is best manifested when we do the right thing, seek peace in our relationships, and joyfully worship God. When those qualities are evident in our lives, then God’s presence through Jesus Christ is shown to the world. As Christians, we should try our utmost to bring these gifts to the community that we live in. In doing so, people around us will see and be attracted to the Kingdom of God through Christ’s endearing love.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to be righteous without becoming self-righteous. Enable to seek peace without going to pieces over issues. Empower us to show our Christian joy to a joyless world. In all theses things, help us to be sincere and effective servants of the Kingdom of God. 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

4 Minute Devotions: Christian Candy

I feel so guilty. I ate a whole giant bar of chocolate the other night. I should have left some for my family, but I wanted all of it for myself. I even felt a bit nauseated before I finished it off, but I knew that if I left a couple of chocolate squares in the fridge, they would be gone in the morning. So I gorged down the whole bar.

Podcast version here.

Hello, my name is John Stuart, and I’m a chocoholic.

Greed makes us all do selfish things. Take the people in Christ’s time for instance. He healed their sickness, cured their lame people, and fixed their broken bodies. He was a cure-all for each of their ailments, so when He talked about going to the other villages, they did not want Him to leave. They wanted to keep Jesus for themselves. They didn’t want to share His power with anyone. If other villages wanted a healer, they could get their own. Jesus belonged to them.

But Christ wouldn’t grant them their wishes. He had more to do with His ministry than remain home as an on demand country healer. He had to take God’s message out into the wider world. His mission was not local; it was international.

Sometimes we keep Christ all to ourselves because of the strength, confidence and guidance that He gives us. These are great personal blessings, but we’re not meant to feed on them alone. We belong to a missionary faith, so each of us has a personal calling to share the Good News and tell others about Christ. Christianity has never been a private, personal belief system that caters to our individual needs. We’re meant to share it with others by inviting them to church, praying for those in trouble, and reaching out to those in need.

Hello, my name is John Stuart and I’m a Christian. Let me tell you about Jesus, my Lord and Savior…

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we love You for loving us, guiding us, and strengthening our faith. Help us to share our experiences and beliefs with our families and friends, our neighbors and colleagues. Give us the courage to fulfill the moments of faith-sharing opportunities that You provide for us. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.