Church Devotion: Puzzled by Paul - Ephesians 4:30

Ephesians 4:30            And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 

            Whenever I read today’s chosen verse, I often wonder what it truly means. I find it hard to picture Christians grieving the Holy Spirit, so it perplexes me that Paul wrote this as an important lesson, yet I fail to understand it. In my experience, grieving entails suffering, separation, sadness, and loss. Does this mean that Paul is teaching that we can lose the Holy Spirit in our faithful lives? That would be a terrible calamity for any person. That would mean eternal separation from God.

            So I wrestle and struggle with the text, especially in times when my faith is weak and my commitment to Christ is diminished. It makes me fearful of stepping toward the edge of a spiritual abyss, from which I may not be able to clamber out. The whole context of the verse is the fuller passage where Paul is writing about behavior. His teaching makes me question my own sinful behavior and honestly have to ask myself if I’ve wandered from the path that I’m meant to be on.

            And then, in the middle of my struggle, I am reminded of Christ’s grace by the Holy Spirit. I may feel awkward and ashamed about my behavior. I may have been selfish and sinful in recent days. I may have allowed myself to be distracted by other things which have distanced me from God. I may have done a hundred things which disappoint God, sadden Christ, and offend the Holy Spirit, but I am not forsaken or abandoned, forgotten or cast aside. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit continually redeem me, reclaim me, and restore me to the Kingdom and favor of my Heavenly Father.

            Perhaps you are also struggling with commitment and sin. It may be that you’ve fallen away for a while and taken a wrong turn. It could be that you feel as if you’ve let down God and disappointed Jesus. If so, then please know this: Christ’s grace is sufficient to forgive you, love you, and restore you, too.

Questions for personal reflection

What is currently troubling me in my life? How has it affected my faith? Am I willing to come to God with it in prayer? Am I ready to seek Christ’s forgiveness and grace?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, being human is really difficult at times, especially when we try to be more faithful, attentive, and devoted to You. Forgive our faults and failures. Allow us to restart our lives. Grant us Your mercy and grace, so that we may be restored to God’s love and majesty. 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 Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Pentecost drawings of the Holy Spirit as a dove descending to the Earth. If you would like to view a larger version, please click this link: Dove.

Jesus: The Trouble Shooter

There’s a lot of trouble in the world right now. People are rioting in under-developed countries because they can’t afford to buy food. Prices for staples such as bread and rice have reached astronomical prices that some communities are in danger of starvation. This is not being caused through famine or shortages, but because they cannot earn enough each week to feed their families anymore.

Even here in the United States, the wealthiest nation on earth, working families in Atlanta are having to go to church food banks to help them out. They cannot afford to keep up with gasoline prices, but they need their cars to keep their jobs. So they need to get food for the weekend from charity organizations.

And some seniors in our society are suffering, too. Medical prescriptions and essential supplies are becoming so expensive that people are skipping to take what they need, in order to make their pills and capsules last a little while longer before refills are required.

Who cares about these things? What has happened to our country, and our world that we’re faced with so many shortages? Who is getting rich off the backs of the poor, the hungry, and the economically oppressed? Why is this happening, and what do we need do to change this?

Personally, I think it is all symptomatic of people turning their backs on Christ and idolizing money. It may be too simple a diagnosis for most people, but let’s consider the facts: ever since society started too become more secular, more anti-religious, and more atheistic, the world has become a very scary, more violent, deeply troubled place. As our churches started emptying, so has the goodwill and prosperity of our people. Doesn’t anyone see a pattern here? Am I making this all up to score some “I told you so” points?

John 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”

We need to evangelize as churches and get people reconnected to Christ. His presence saved civilization for 2000 years. Do we really want to turn back the clock and re-enter a time where survival of the fittest and the law of the jungle operates throughout the world? Are we really that ornery, stubborn, stiff-necked, and essert, that we won’t admit to ourselves that this fifty year experimentation with secular instability and militant atheism is ruining the hopes and dreams of a peaceable kingdom? Have we so bought into consumerism and its material world that we are now consuming ourselves and that other people don’t matter anymore?

People, whether we like it or not, whether we can accept it or reject it, the simple truth is this: Jesus is, and always has been, the answer to our woes. When we start believing in Him and applying His commandment of loving one another, then we will work together to overcome this mess that the secularists, materialists, consumerists, and atheists have created. Only Jesus can overcome our troubles. Only He can lead us back to salvation.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive us for rejecting Your counsel and accepting the world’s ways. Pardon us for putting you in a box and keeping You confined. Help us to recognize that the diminishing of our faith means the increase of trouble for the world. Help us to turn the world around by changing our communities with Your Living, Loving presence. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Erin Church Devotional: Making a Bethel (House of God) in our Hearts

Genesis 28:19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.

I’ve always loved the story of Jacob because he is just so human. He tricks his brother and father. He ends up being a fugitive. He outsmarts his father-in-law and ends up becoming one of the most important people in the Bible. I guess if Jacob were alive today, he would either be the most successful broker on Wall Street, or even the front runner in a presidential campaign!

In this part of his life, he is fleeing the wrath of his brother. Jacob doesn’t want to be killed, so he high-tails it out of town and runs away as fast as he can. When he eventually stops to rest, he has nowhere to stay but out in the open. And using a stone as a pillow does not sound as though he was in cozy surroundings.

In the midst of all his anxiety, Jacob receives a glorious vision from God. This assures him that God is with Jacob, and that he shall overcome his troubles. Fear is replaced with faith; helplessness is changed into hope. Jacob is so delighted with God’s presence that he makes the place into a shrine, and promises to give a tithe of all that he has to God. His relief and thankfulness are sincere. His devotion and dedication to God are strengthened.

We all go through troubled times and we each entertain fears and worries. In the midst of our crises, God wants to be our strength, savior and deliverer. When we turn over our concerns to Him, He helps us through the worst of times. When we make a Bethel (house of God) in our hearts, He supports and guides us. And, after the crisis has ended, we should make and take time to thank God in a fitting and appropriate manner.

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for the stories of faith from people like Jacob in the past. Thank You for their ability to depend upon You when they were weak, lost, and fearful. Grant us Your blessing of assurance and presence in the midst of our own troubles and concerns. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.