Super Bowl devotions: Down to the Wire - Isaiah 46:4

Isaiah 46:4      Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

It was one of the best Super Bowls that I have ever seen in my life. The game could have gone to either team. The New York Giants and the New England Patriots played fiercely against each other until the very last second. It was a nail biting finish and I enjoyed every second of it. If those two teams played every Sunday night for a year, I would continue to watch them because neither side gave in. American football was the grand winner last night and I can’t wait for next season to begin!

The tenacity that both teams displayed last night is a quality that God shows to His people time after time. He will always be there for His chosen people. He will always sustain and carry them. His covenant will never be broken by God. His faithfulness will endure to the end of Time.

As Christians, we have been given that blessing from God through Jesus Christ. He came to save the world by dying on the Cross. He kept faithful with God right down to the last breath of His life. He remained loyal to God’s plan even when God’s people were disloyal to Him.

Perhaps you are feeling vulnerable, weak, isolated or anxious. Maybe you’re going through a tough time, a family crisis, or some problems at work. It could be that you’ve been strong for too long and need to let God be God in your life. He has the strength to sustain you. He has the power to carry you. Just let God do what God does best.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we carry crosses of our own making and bear burdens that we have built. Remind us today of how much God loves us and how strong He can be for us. Enable us to lay down our burdens and allow ourselves to be carried by Your grace. 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.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest winter drawings. It’s called “Northern Lights” and features the beautiful colors of the Aurora Borealis. If you would like to view a larger version of the drawing, please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6773836733_67954361dc_b.jpg

John has also just published his fourth devotional e-book called “Kindle Your Faith.” It contains 40 daily devotions for the upcoming season of Lent, as well as 40 of his art images. You can view and sample a part of the book at the following link: http://tinyurl.com/7ooct66

Christian Halftime devotions: I AM - Isaiah 45:5-6

Today’s Bible readings are Isaiah 45:1-7 and Matthew 23:1-12

Isaiah 45:5-6  I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. 

How clear does God have to be? What more does He have to say that will convince the world that He is God alone? How long will we go on thinking to ourselves that this does not matter?

The scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation, are consistently clear about God’s exclusiveness. If we believe otherwise, then from where did we garner that belief? Certainly not the scriptures.

Maybe we have to seriously think about our world view and personal philosophies again. Maybe we’ve got it wrong and God, as always, has it right.

Prayer:                        Lord God, You are almighty, unique, and exceptional. There are no other gods. Give us the courage to surrender our hearts and minds in faith to You alone, instead of giving in to the ways of the world. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is currently 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 image is John’s latest winter drawing of the beautiful Northern Lights. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6773836733_67954361dc_b.jpg

Halftime devotions: Creating idols - Isaiah 44:

Today’s Bible readings are Isaiah 44:12-17 and Matthew 22:15-22

Isaiah 44:17    From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, "Save me; you are my god."

The absurdity of idolatry is clearly expressed in Isaiah 44. The image is of people working hard in their daily lives and using up all of their skills and energy to produce a metal idol or wooden god. They bow down and worship something that they have created with their own hands. They don’t seem to realize that it is still just a piece of metal or block of wood. The only power that the hand-made idol has is that which is superstitiously conferred upon it by the maker.

Today, we make idols of our gadgets and apps, cell phones and computers. We find it difficult to go through each morning, afternoon, or evening without checking our email, updating our statuses, or texting our friends. We use up more of our energy and time with our digital idols without giving a serious thought as to what this is doing to us emotionally, psychologically, or spiritually. Our hearts and minds are becoming jammed full of trivial messages and our long term memory skills are being hampered. We are all suffering from digital dementia, a forgetting of what’s really important and a diminishing of who we are actually meant to be in God’s eyes.

We laugh at the absurdity of the ancient peoples, who bowed down and worshipped metal and wooden idols, but is the laugh actually upon ourselves? Have we let our progressive gadgets become personal gods and the latest instruments turn into our own lavish idols?

I guess that the challenging questions that we need to ask ourselves are these: how many days in the week can I go without reading or studying God’s Word? How many hours in the day can I go without reading emails or checking my texts?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, some days we live our lives apart from You and end up taking Your grace for granted. We get so obsessed with our communications that we forget about what You are constantly trying to say to us. Forgive us for being distracted; pardon us for making idols out of our cell phones, computers, and stuff. Help us to get back on the path of discipleship that You have planned for each of our lives. 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 (but only after you have fully read, pondered, and studied today’s scriptures) to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is John’s latest winter drawing. It’s called “Snow Barn” and features an iconic red barn covered in a blanket of snow. If you want to view a larger version, then please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6758069389_d5908acd89_b.jpg

Superbowl halftime Devotions: Divine Forgetfulness - Isaiah 43:25

Isaiah 43:25    “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

I honestly could not live with myself if I could not go to Christ each day in prayer and ask for the forgiveness of my mistakes and the absolute pardon of my selfish sins. I may be a pastor, but I am also only human, so I will never be perfect in any shape or form. As the legendary coach of the Packers, Vince Lombardi, once said, “ Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”

We cannot be perfect, but we can strive to be better people each day. We can learn a lot more about God. We can work on our weaknesses and build upon our strengths. We can seek God’s blessing, Christ’s forgiveness, and the Spirit’s guidance every day. We can know that we are growing in faith by trying to live as effective and devoted servants of Christ in our congregations, communities, and countries.

God is able to blot out our past mistakes and to presently bless us with His love. And when God forgives us through Christ Jesus, His Holy Son, He promises not to remember, recall, or be reminded of our sins anymore. When God forgives, He forgets our offenses. When He pardons us, He allows us to move on.

Perhaps you have been carrying a major regret from the past for a long time. Maybe you haven’t managed to forgive yourself for a sinful stupid mistake that still haunts you today. It could be that you’ve not known any real peace of mind or heart over an event or deed that you committed recently or long ago. Know this: help is available now and peace can be experienced. Tell Christ what’s truly on your heart and ask Him for mercy. Your prayers will be answered and your sin will be fully forgiven. Just make the time and take this opportunity to make amends with God and be restored to His love today.

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You know us completely and we know that there are no secrets that we can ever hide from You. Pride and fear sometimes keep us from asking for forgiveness. Denial and delusion sometimes cause us to bear our burdens longer than we need. Today, we come to You as sinners in need of salvation, as failures in need of forgiveness. Hear our prayers given humbly and in the power of Your Holy Name. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. if you would like to comment or ask a question about today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is John’s latest free clip art image for school teachers. It’s called “Teacher’s Welcome.” If you would like to view a larger version of the drawing, please click the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6746680641_4b4da99685_b.jpg

Halftime devotions: Chosen Servant - Isaiah 42:1

Today’s Bible readings are Isaiah 42:1-9 and Matthew 21:1-11

Isaiah 42:1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on Him and He will bring justice to the nations.”

Last night, at our church’s midweek Bible study, we began using some of the material that has been produced by the World Council of Churches for this year’s Christian Unity week. Much of the material has been written by Polish Christians and their theme for this year is ‘Change through Victory.’

Polish Christians have endured a lot of hardship over the last three centuries. Their land has been invaded and taken over many times by their enemies. Through all of the pain and suffering, powerlessness and oppression that the Poles experienced, the Church has still managed to keep faith alive in the hearts and minds of many Polish people.

The initial focus for the study begins with a look at Christ’s role as Servant. Time and time again in the Gospels, Jesus remarks that He came to serve God in the world and not to be served. In fact, today’s prophecy from Isaiah 42 was fulfilled by Christ centuries after it was written. Jesus was, is, and always shall be God’s Chosen Servant, in whom God delights and through whom justice will at last be brought to the nations of the world.

The Polish writers of the study see the role of the Church as being the Chosen Servant of Christ and that all of our programs and ministries, congregations and missions are meant to be the serving vehicles of Christ’s presence in the world. One day, we will gather together in Heaven as one complete body devoid of denominations and divisions, whose only identity will be that of everlasting servants of Christ.

Question for reflection (taken from the study):         In our community, what can Christians of different traditions do better together than in isolation to reveal the Servant Christ?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You served God completely by perfectly living Your Life, and by obediently sacrificing Yourself for our sins. We can never repay the debt that we owe, but we can rejoice in You by serving You both in this world and in the life yet to come. 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.

You can also read this year’s Christian unity material here.

Today’s image is John’s latest drawing called ‘Celtic Spring.’ It’s a stained glass design for a modern Celtic Cross featuring all the colors of a Scottish Spring. Signed limited edition prints are available. You can also view a larger version of the drawing at the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6717914679_f9d8753e34_b.jpg

NFL bans Church groups watching Superbowl

The NFL is pulling the plug on big Super Bowl parties—complete with halftime prayers—that have become a popular tradition at many churches, saying the churches violate copyright law by showing the game to the flock on large-screen TVs.

Current law bans public exhibitions of the game on screens larger than 55 inches.

"Doesn't the NFL have enough money already?" one disgruntled pastor quipped to the Washington Post.

• Though churches charge no admission for their parties—some of which draw hundreds of fans—the NFL argues that gatherings around big screens outside of homes shrinks TV ratings, which hurts advertising revenues.

Only sports bars are exempt from the 55-inch rule. Some churches are changing the name of their parties to evade NFL scrutiny; a civil liberties group is threatening to sue.

Question: If people are watching the Superbowl in churches, how does that shrink the amount of people who are watching the Superbowl adverts???????