Church devotions: Godly Guides - Daniel 11:37

Daniel 11:37   He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.

In Britain, the Girl Guides association, which is the equivalent of the Girl Scouts in America, has just changed the standard promise that each girl makes when joining the association. Instead of promising to do their best, by loving God, serving the Queen and country, and helping other people, the new oath of allegiance to the association’s guidelines is contained in the following words:

“I promise that I will do my best:

To be true to myself and develop my beliefs,

To serve the Queen and my community,

To help other people…”

            God is excluded from the whole process and instead a secular sanctification of self is emphasized. This means that a whole new generation of young girls in Britain is being raised to worship and idolize themselves from an early age. This is a pity because churches are the main sponsors and supporters of Brownie packs and Guide troops across the United Kingdom.

            I guess it’s just another nail in the coffin of Western Christianity. By itself, it doesn’t amount to much, but when added together with the whole secularization/humanistic process that’s going on in Britain, churches will diminish drastically once the World War 2 generation passes on into glory. Unless someone takes mission seriously in Britain, and brings the Gospel light to a largely unchurched people, a spiritual darkness will overtake UK society and people will end up believing in and doing anything.

            The main work of the Church in the West is to be counter-cultural. The old sin of self-exaltation, of claiming equality with God, and the idolizing of the individual is rearing its ugly head again. History is replete with societies and civilizations which have built their sophisticated Babels of self-importance, only to have them fall and be dashed to pieces. If the voice of the Church in proclaiming the existence of the One, Triune, and Living God is no longer influential or acceptable, then we will only have ourselves to blame for not recognizing that we are sinful creatures who, without God’s guidance, are prone to self-destructive and inhumane ways.

Questions for personal reflection

Is God actually important to me? Is church a major current influence over my life?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You told us that we were meant to love God with all of our heart and mind, soul and strength. These days we appear to be more into loving ourselves and displacing service to God for the fulfillment of own desires. Forgive us for diminishing our faith and prevent us from depleting Your influence over our choices and our ways. In Your Holy Name, we humbly confess and seriously 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 drawing is one of John’s latest Mackintosh creations. It’s called “Liberty Roses.” If you would like to view a larger version. Please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7299/9072696976_ef5cfd378a_b.jpg

Daily Devotions: Calloused Hearts

Christian hypocrisy is alive and well in the Bible Belt.

Matthew 13:15 ‘For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'

Not exactly ‘Gentle Jesus, meek and mild’ stuff, is it? I wager that if Jesus was to step into a mainstream church pulpit today and preach what was on His heart, the congregation would be squirming in the pews and vow never to return again. To call religious and spiritual people callous is a bit disconcerting and yet that is precisely the kind of Christians we are raising in the Western Church today.

Okay, so you were looking for a word of encouragement or an affirmation of God’s blessing in this devotional, but the pastor is now meddling with the spiritual comfort zone most people have created for themselves. I’ve heard people talk the talk for years and they live deluded Christian lives. I’ve seen countless people busy themselves with other things, but as far as Sunday worship, Bible study, or prayer are concerned, you would think you were asking them to move a mountain!

Oh they are full of good intentions, but we all know that the pathway to Hell is paved with good intentions. I just wish that Jesus was around in the flesh and that those who constantly make excuses could meet Him face to face. Then I wouldn’t get shot down as being the messenger of His words. Jesus could take the flak for Himself.

So the challenge for us all is this: what are we going to do about our calloused hearts and self-centered excuses in the Western Church? When are we going to start living as Christians instead of wannabe followers of the Faith?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are not always meek and mild; in fact in the Gospels You are very confrontational and fiercely straight-forward. Somehow we have mixed up our ideal image of You and have begun idolizing ourselves in the process. Revive our faith! Reclaim our souls! Restore us to God! Get rid of our good intentions and replace them with real commitment. In Your Holy Name, we fervently 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 devotional, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.