Today's Devotion: Speaking Plainly - Mark 8:32

Mark 8:32       He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

Some people never grow up. In my many years of ministry, I’ve come across sad people who live as if they’re still adolescents and take no responsibility for their actions. When things get tough, they ignore the crisis and avoid the issues. Some of them retreat into a petulant corner; others become addicted to alcohol, drugs, or porn. Instead of seeking God’s help or good counsel, they carry on their reckless ways. It usually ends in tragic circumstances or bitterness. That’s what makes it all so sad.

I think Peter the disciple had a similar problem. When things were going well, he was probably the life and soul of the party. However, when Christ spoke about arrest and execution, defeat and death, Peter desperately sought to avoid the impending reality. He didn’t want to listen to negative words. He didn’t want to accept Christ’s fearful prophecies. He wanted the sacred circus and miraculous merry-go-round to continue. He couldn’t face the obvious truth that Christ was expressing.

Within all of us, there’s a similar pattern. We want life to be jolly, our hearts to be happy, and our days filled with gladness. We have made the pursuit of happiness our reason for living, instead of enjoying God and praising Him forever. We don’t want to change our ways or be challenged by Christ’s words. We want our faith to be warm and fuzzy, instead of confrontational and life-altering. In other words, we really don’t want us to be focused on Christ; we want Him to be focused on us.

Question for personal reflection

Do I shape Jesus into what I want Him to be, or do I allow Him to re-shape me?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, speak plainly to our hearts and minds. Grant us a better understanding of what You want to do in our lives. Keep us from deluding ourselves and help us to devote our lives to You. 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 or ask questions about today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Psalm drawings. It’s based on Psalm 121 and features the word “I to the hills will lift my eyes.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5276/7091105163_df5d277257_b.jpg

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.