Christian devotions: Heavenly Rejoicing - Luke 15:10

Luke 15:10 Jesus concluded: “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Every day, I do something wrong. I say the wrong thing or forget to do the right thing. I break a promise that I made or neglect an obligation I meant to fulfill. I break one of God’s commandments or I deliberately go against Christ’s Word. In short, I am a habitual sinner who needs to repent every single day.

When I’m made aware of my mistakes, I get defensive at first. I don’t want to claim the sin as my own or take the blame for what is wrong. I’m just like a quarterback that I watched recently on television who threw a terrible ball which his receiver could not catch. As he ran off the field, he looked to his coach and I lip-read his words: “It wasn’t me,” he said. He didn’t want to take ownership of his mistake and, unfortunately, his attitude permeated across the entire team. Needless to say, they lost the game.

After initially being defensive, I later realize that I’ve made a mistake and seek forgiveness for what I’ve done wrong. This process is called repentance in the Bible and it involves letting go of my pride by humbly asking for God’s pardon. So long as I recognize that my sinful behavior, misdeed, or mistake is wrong, I can repent. If ever I believe that my sinful behavior is acceptable, then even God cannot help me and His grace can never be applied to my life.

That’s why there is a lot of rejoicing in Heaven when a sinner truly repents and returns to God. The free will choice to do as we please can either be a blessing or a curse. When we choose to repent, we are restored to God and Heaven rejoices; that’s also when the beauty of God’s grace can positively change our lives forever.

Questions for personal reflection

When have I ever truly repented before God? Is there something that I am still reluctant to confess to Him?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, we were created to worship God and enjoy Him forever. Sometimes we worship our lifestyles and idolize our choices. Keep us from harming our souls and prevent us from following spiritual paths that lead to dead ends. Help us to see the need to repent and release us from our unconfessed sins. 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 Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is John’s latest Fall drawing called “Autumn Delight” and features the Glade Creek Mill in the Babcock National Park of West Virginia. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8182/7993843085_4173874080_b.jpg

Online devotions: Long Term Goals - Luke 12:20

Luke 12:20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself ?’” 

I think it was C S Lewis who said it best: ‘There is no one in Hell who did not choose to be there.’

People don’t like to think, speculate, or talk about the existence of hell. It’s not a very positive subject to discuss and creates anxiety for some people. Everybody wants, like the crop owner in the parable (Luke 12:13-21), to build bigger stuff, take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’ The mantra for a perfect life that most people seek to accomplish is this: ‘Don’t worry; be happy.’

The reality, however, is much more than just the refrain from a cheerful song. The reality is that we have one life to live with two ultimate destinations. One path leads to Heaven; all other roads end up in hell.

Already, you may be pushing back against the heart of this message. You may be thinking that I’m being narrow minded, old fashioned, and out of touch. That is your choice, but remember this: our choices determine our eternal destination.

I can’t make you believe in heaven or hell. I can only write and relate what this passage of scripture means to me. I will however express this: this parable (Luke 12:13-21) comes directly from the lips of Jesus, so its message and warning must have been important to Him.

Ultimately, the parable is about our long term dreams and plans. The challenge that we have to confront today is this: if today was my last on Earth, where would my soul end up?

Questions for personal reflection

Did Jesus actually believe in the existence of hell? Do I believe what He believed?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we don’t like to think or talk about hell. We don’t understand why a loving God would allow such a dreadful place to exist. However, when we read the Gospels, You frequently talk about such a terrible place. Help us to believe what You believed. Enable us to make the right choice in our lives that will ultimately lead us to Heaven. 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 an abstract that John drew called “Soul Fool.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1149/980618919_6831560146_b.jpg

Gospel devotions: One Life, One Choice - 2 Corinthians 4 v 4

2 Corinthians 4:4       The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

I worry about people these days because they seem so sure that what they individually believe is what God approves. We’re living in an age where everyone has their own separate and personal creeds of faith. The old ways are being rejected because they are based upon absolute truths. New emerging philosophies are being heralded as the greatest thing and biblical values are being cast aside. We are becoming biblically and theologically ignorant, or as Paul so eloquently wrote: ‘the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers.’

Some of you reading this are probably thinking that John is on his high horse again and that you don’t need to be soulfully challenged or spiritually harassed. I even find that on Sunday mornings church members don’t want to hear the Gospel being preached because it upsets their world view of “I’m OK, and you’re OK.” They are blinded by their own Christian concerns and nurture a naïve narcissism. They don’t want the spiritual world that they have created around them to be taken apart. Instead of allowing Christ to be at the center of their lives, they want themselves to be at the center of Christ.

The Gospel is the most disturbing divine message ever to affect humankind. If that wasn’t the case, then Jesus would never have been crucified and most of His followers would not have been martyred. We sugar coat the Gospel until it becomes a sugary spirituality which is easy to swallow. We see it as a way to get the best out of our life on Earth, as opposed to being a choice to save us from God’s wrath.

Perhaps you didn’t like that last line and maybe think that preachers should focus more on Christ’s love than God’s wrath. However, if you honestly read the Gospel and take time to study it, you’ll soon find out that it’s not a huggy-feely-cozy commitment that is expected and experienced; the Gospel is a straightforward, in your face, confrontational choice: heaven or hell, salvation or damnation, everlasting life with God or the eternal agony of being separated from Him.

That’s why I worry about people in church and in the world: they just don’t see it or get it.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, today I pray for the people who are reading this message. Open their hearts and minds to the Gospel and alert them to the fact that this isn’t a spiritual game or religious leisure pursuit. Remind us that we all have one life to live and one choice to make. In Your Holy Name, I 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.

Today’s image is called “Scarecrow Moon.” You can view a larger version at http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/5073081839_98890e7374_z.jpg