Church Meeting devotion: Return to God

 

Isaiah 44:22 “I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.” (NIV)

When I was a teenager and had strayed away from God, I found it very difficult to go back to church. I felt as though I had let God down and that the church people I once knew had become strangers to me. It was far easier to ignore God, as well as church, and just get on with my life. I thought that I could make it on my own and that God would understand because every now and then I offered Him quick snippets of prayers which I believed get God happy.

However, because I was depending on my own strength, my spirit began to drain until it was almost empty. I didn’t realize at the time that for my faith to grow, I needed fellowship with other Christians. In order to compensate for this emptiness, I used alcohol and my drinking buddies to fill this gap. It almost killed me and if Christ hadn’t led me back to church, I don’t think I would be here today writing this message.

What really helped me was listening to a preacher who didn’t condemn me for wandering away, but who actually welcomed me back into God’s Kingdom. Those redeeming words from Isaiah touched my soul and I knew that God had forgiven all of my past offenses through His Son Jesus. It was an amazing moment of grace and peace. I was able to return to God and His people by Christ’s wonderful redeeming love.

Perhaps over the last couple of years, you’ve let yourself be disconnected to God and the church. Maybe like I once did, you’ve used up all of your strength and just want to get back home among God’s people, but don’t know how. It could be that you feel awkward or guilty, embarrassed or unworthy to return to church. I understand because I felt that way, too, but please know this: God will always welcome you back into Christ’s fold; you are forgiven and redeemed, blessed and loved by Jesus.

Q: How do I feel about returning to church? Am I willing to let God lead me back to where I belong?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for redeeming our lives and reclaiming our spirits. We have been wandering in a spiritual wilderness for several years. Call us back to Your fold and embrace us with Your unending love. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. You can check out the church website here: www.erinpres.org.

 

August 9 devotion - God Will Find You

Ecclesiastes 7:29         “This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.”

When I was seventeen years old, I can remember deliberately telling God that I was finished with Him. I gruffly told Him thanks for all that He had done, but this was my life and He wasn’t welcome in it anymore. I wanted to go my own way, do my own thing, and not be hampered by Bronze Age mythology or ancient morality.

God must have heard me because for the next 3-4 years I was on a path of self-destruction and joylessness. Like the writer of Ecclesiastes once wrote, I tried everything under the sun and found it to be meaningless. I got my fill of untold pleasures but my soul was empty. I ate and drank and made merry practically every night; in the morning, I hated the man in the mirror and just wanted to die, not because I was having a hangover, but because I was wasting my life.

At one time, through various people in my past, God had planted seeds of faith in my arrogant heart. Even as I was in search of many schemes to satisfy my body, mind, heart, and soul, God was already making plans. And when He rescued me from my own rotting pit and nasty drunken self, He placed me back on the path that He wanted me to walk. I had dishonorably discarded God in the past, but He did not destroy my future. When I was unfaithful to Him, He remained faithful to His purpose. When I walked away, He kept an eye on me. And when I eventually turned back and surrendered myself to Him, God allowed me to get off my knees and work for His Son Jesus. I had searched many schemes, but Christ’s predestined scheme for my life was not discarded by God.

Perhaps you also have walked away from God. Maybe you have been hurt by the church or wounded by church people. It could be that you don’t want to be burdened by God’s commands or Christ’s demands upon your life. Or perhaps you just feel so far away, that you don’t how to get back into God’s good graces or Christ’s embracing welcome.

Wait for Him to come to you. You don’t have to run away any longer. God knows your weaknesses, your sin, and your secrets. Through Christ, you can be totally forgiven, completely restored and truly loved. Turn and wait. He will find you. He will rescue you. He will redeem you. You are a child of God’s grace and a beloved friend of Christ.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we’ve all gone astray at times and have done foolish things. We carry sinful regrets in our hearts and are burdened with shameful secrets. You have the power to forgive all things and You have the loving grace to grant that mercy to all of us. Thank You for such a wonderful gift! Thank You for such amazing love. In Your Holy Name, we cheerfully pray. 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 drawing is John’s latest print of the month called “Fall Retreat.” You can view a larger version of the drawing at the following location: http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6026/6014988935_76c01bd78d_b.jpg

Daily Devotions: Return to Love

Hosea 14:4      I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.

The prophet Hosea lived a tragic life. He fell in love and married a woman called Gomer. She was a prostitute and throughout his married life, Hosea had to buy back Gomer from her life on the streets and in the slave market. She broke his heart again and again, but because Hosea was a faithful servant of God, he forgave her time after time, lover after lover, and sin after sin.

Hosea must have questioned his own loyalty to Gomer and to God. He must have been deeply saddened and shamed by her actions. His soul would have been in anguish and his mind must have been constantly unsettled, but he still plodded on faithfully, serving God by looking after his uncontrollable wife. Hosea had the grounds for a religious divorce, but he didn’t want to leave Gomer destitute and cast aside.

The prophet knew that the day would come when Gomer’s reckless living would destroy her beauty, her strength, and her attractiveness. One by one, her lovers abandoned her and she was left lonely and bitter, isolated and vulnerable. When all seemed lost and hopeless to the wretched woman, Hosea found Gomer and brought her back into his home. He forgave all of the hurts, insults, wounds, and shame that she had caused him. He looked after her for the rest of her life. Hosea remained faithful because he knew that God did the same for His people.

Over the years, I have seen some marriages wrecked because of the selfishness of a wayward partner. His or her self-centered ways have permanently ruined what was once a loving relationship. But I have also seen the forgiveness of faithful partners save a marriage and even strengthen the covenant between them. It reminds me that hopelessness can be overcome by faithfulness and that even the most serious covenantal breach can be healed.

This is how God’s works amongst us. He remains faithful to the last and will not leave us without an opportunity to be reconciled to Him through Jesus. We may wander and drift far away from God, but Christ’s Cross can lead us back again to God’s grace and love. We only have to turn, reach out, and take His nail pierced hand.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, sometimes we let ourselves grow distant from You. We serve our own needs and fulfill our own desires. We wander from the truth and even wonder if You are real. Help us today to turn back to You and let us re-experience Your love and 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.