4 Minute Devotions: Answers

Isaiah 58:9a Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

Yesterday, I wrote about my bewildered reflections about what was occurring at the PFR (Presbyterians for Renewal) conference. I was dismayed by the anxiety and perplexity that other pastors were facing in the midst of the current denominational crisis. Today, I feel as though God has answered some of my questions and I feel more in tune with what Christ is doing here.

The PC(USA) is largely a Progressive church and for Biblically Conservative pastors like myself, it has placed us in a minority position. It gets harder each year to try to maintain the traditional standards and biblical values in a denomination that feels its calling is to reflect the culture rather than Christ. As we drift away from New Testament teachings and Reformed doctrine, our identity changes. In my opinion, we become more of what the world wants, and less of what God wills.

This dilemma is nothing new and the Church has had to deal with this in every denomination, as well as every generation. Unfortunately, the Gospel of Christ is being watered down and His message is being treated as just one more ancient holy teaching in the midst of all other religions. In other words, the Good News is no longer godly, and Jesus is just another jolly guru.

So the PFR has been set up to help BC pastors come together as a means of support, strategy, and celebration. It gives us an opportunity to voice our faith, as well as our fears. It allows us to embrace and encourage one another, so that we can return to our churches renewed, re-strengthened, and reinvigorated in the Lord.

For me, I’ve found a whole group of people across the East, who love the Lord and seek to bring others to Christ. For our churches, we have been given a new hope, path, and vision for the future. We may be in the minority in the denomination, but instead of feeling like voices crying in the wilderness, the challenge is to become the yeast in the bread, or the mustard seed of faith that our denomination needs to do the will of God, instead of what the world wants.

As Isaiah stated so long ago, when we cry to the Lord for help, He will answer us and He will show us where He is in the midst of our churches, communities, and denominations.

Prayer: Lord God, the world seems to be trying to shape Christ’s Bride, the Church, into what it wants. Enable us to recognize that the Church belongs to Him and that He will keep it beautiful, faithful, and unblemished to glorify His ministry and to honor Your Everlasting Name. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor at Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

4 Minute Devotions: Faithfulness

It's only through God's faithfulness to His Word, that we can ever be restored to His favor and love.

Podcast version here

1 Corinthians 1:9 God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

My faith is built upon the faithfulness of God. If God was ever unfaithful to His Word, my faith would instantly diminish and be destroyed. I depend upon His words being true, which is why I hold fast to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This gets me into bother sometimes, especially with other Christians whose affinity to the faith does not depend upon how truthful God’s Word is, but on how much they believe that God’s Word is trumped by God’s Love. Acceptance and tolerance are the keys to their faith and sometimes I envy them. It would be so easy to give up on God’s Word and interpret things the way that I wanted. Life would be less cumbersome without divine rules, regulations, and readings. I could do as I please, instead of trying to do what would please God.

Now don’t get the impression that I am a sanctimonious, saintly, separationist who delights in being perfect and loves it when other people fail. I am a sinful person, whose mistakes often disappoint God, other people, and even me. Because I hold fast to the faithfulness of God’s Word, it hurts me to hurt Him. My failure to remain faithful, however, does not diminish the truth about God’s Word. He remains faithful, so that when I seek forgiveness, He pardons me through the precious blood of Christ.

That’s why my faith is built upon God’s faithfulness. Left to myself, I cannot always keep His words. At some point, during each day of my life, I am going to sin. My thoughts, my words, or my deeds are going to betray God. Whether it’s intentional or not, the result is still the same: through my selfishness, I have separated myself from God. It’s only through His faithfulness that I can ever be restored to God’s favor and love.

Perhaps you’ve separated yourself from God through something that you’ve done or said. Maybe like me, you find yourself spiritually alone because of selfish and sinful ways. It seems as though there’s no hope, no solution, and no one to turn to, but that is completely wrong. God is faithful and He will find us, no matter how lost, sinful, or unfaithful we have been.

Prayer: Lord God, we all make mistakes and allow our sinful ways to separate us from Your love. We feel alienated and isolated, spiritually crushed and totally abandoned at times. Despite what we do to what we do to ourselves, You remain faithful and offer us forgiveness through the holy sacrifice of Your Son Jesus Christ. Help us at this time, to turn to Him and receive Your mercy and grace. In Christ’s 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, send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Tertullian Revisited: Chapter 5 - Every Generation in the Church needs to be aware of Heresy

Chapter 5 - Every Generation in the Church needs to be aware of Heresy.

Apart from confronting heresy, the Church also needs to use it as a means of fortifying the faith. The Gospel message has to be purely preached in every generation, otherwise the values of the past, which belong to Christ, will degenerate and faith will diminish. Popular slogans such as “getting back to the basics” or “what would Jesus do?” have lost their appeal because they have been used too often and treated glibly by Christians. What the Church requires is a long term plan for each generation to be nurtured and grown in the faith from birth to death. Biblical ignorance feeds heresy; Christian education destroys it.

Heresy seeks out the young and the lost. It looks for immaturity of faith and disappointment in the Church. It preys upon dissension and division, uncertainty and unholiness. It is cultic and tantalizing, hypnotic and intriguing. Souls are lost to heresy in people that seek flattery, importance and esteem, instead of humility, service, and devotion to God.

The degrees of heresy manifest themselves in arrogance, petulance, belligerence, and indifference. Instead of supporting the life, work, and mission of the Church, heretics have their own agenda to which all else must submit. They thrive on the silent and impassive nature of the sheepish majority. Where churches seek to keep the peace amongst the faithful, heresies abound because courtesy builds a hedge around confrontation. Where churches seek to make peace with God, heresy is confronted and exposed.

The real damage that heresies make in the Church is the amount of divisions that can occur in any one group. Fragmentation of the faithful community and severing traditional ways are given a high priority by heretics. They don’t want to be chained to the past, because this would make them mere servants of God. They want to emerge as a dominant force amongst the faithful, instead of merging with past generations. In short, they seek to glorify themselves and be exalted above all past generations. They see their movement as essential to the Church of tomorrow, forgetting that Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Past leaders of the Christ’s Church have tackled heresy by pointing out its failures to submit to the will of God and be subservient to Jesus. The tragedy of today’s Church is that it wants to be all inclusive at the expense of being faithful to God’s Kingdom. The Gospel values of the past are jettisoned, whilst the ever-present culture is engaged. Instead of being wed to Christ, the Church wants to be wooed by the world. Heresy, therefore, is a departure from all that has been revered in the past. It seeks to be falsely revered for its own sake, instead of being willing to be scorned for Christ’s sake.

Playing Favorites

Audio version here

(This is my 300th posting - whoopee!)

James 2:1 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. (NIV)

I used to play field hockey for my High School. Because I could run fast and score goals, my coach appointed me as the team captain. Field hockey is an aggressive game, played over two forty minute halves, which means that strength, stamina, and temerity are ideal qualities for any player to possess.

One Saturday, our school team was due to play our local rivals. This meant that it was a grudge match and each side wanted to fiercely beat the opposition. Our coach was absent that day, so I had been delegated the responsibility of selecting our team. I chose all my favorite players and put them in positions that required their strengths. There was only one other player left, called Gordon, and I benched him during the first half. I reassured Gordon that he would play throughout the second half.

Well, the match got underway and it was absolutely hostile. I even ended up in a stick fight with the opposing goalkeeper who almost knocked me unconscious with a vicious blow to the head. When the first half ended, the game was tied 2-2.

I wanted to win the game, so I stuck with my original choices. Gordon was a small, skinny kid whose only strength was his loyalty to the team. I didn’t want his weaknesses to be exploited by our rivals, so I benched him again. He was terribly disappointed and, during the second half, he walked away from the game. He never returned to the team. We also lost the game 5-3.

Even although this happened over thirty years ago, I still feel guilty about choosing my favorites over Gordon’s loyalty. I made the wrong decision that day, for selfish reasons. I allowed pride and passion to ignore service and support.

James reminds us in his letter that our churches are not meant to be places where favoritism is practiced. Every individual believer has her or his part to play in the life, work, and ministries of Christ’s congregations. We are all equal in His eyes and every one of us has an important purpose in God’s Kingdom. There are no star players on the Lord’s team. Favoritism does not trump faithfulness.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to apply today’s message in Your congregations. Give us the capacity, as well as the desire, to accept one another as Your servants and to support each other equally. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.