Beyond Belief - Acts 15:8-9

Acts 15:8-9 God, who knows the heart, showed that He accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for He purified their hearts by faith. (NIV)

It must have come as a great shock to some religious traditionalists that Paul and Barnabas were preaching Christ’s Gospel to the Gentiles. For generations, the people of God had assumed that their way of doing things was perfect and could only be properly accomplished by keeping their religion pure. They faithfully accepted Christ as their Savior but were not too happy to give Him away to outsiders. They believed that Jesus was their exclusive Messiah and that they were being rewarded for their faithfulness, so why should renegades like Paul and Barnabas carelessly share the Good News of salvation with anyone who was willing to listen and accept Christ for themselves?

They had good intentions about keeping Christianity under the umbrella of tradition, but they had forgotten how radical Christ had been when He ministered on Earth. He never turned away outsiders, but instead, He took opportunities to meet, heal, and tell them about God’s Kingdom. He even asked God to forgive them when the Gentile Romans nailed Him to the Cross. This was a sign of how boundless God’s grace was, but those who sought to control Christian faith after His death had either forgotten His expansive ministry or chose to ignore it.

As Christians in the world, we are meant to be the same type of gracious and boundless people. If we discard or discount others because they are outsiders – religiously, culturally, or racially – then we have forgotten who Christ was and what His ministry still is today. If we are fearful, we will want to keep Jesus for ourselves in a belief box of our own making; however, if we are faithful, we will want to share His mercy, grace, and love with everyone, no matter who they are, where they come from, or whatever they do. Remember, we were all once outside of His fold and enemies of God, so why shouldn’t the same opportunity of Good News and Salvation, kindness and love be shown and given to all?

Point to ponder

Whom do I consider to be outsiders in my life? How can I show and share Christ’s love and God’s compassion with them?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we get so caught up in trying to serve and please You that we forget to spread Your Gospel by sharing Your love with others who are outside of our circle of faith. Forgive us for narrowing Your grace and help us to overcome our fears of those who are different by seeing them with Your eyes and loving them with God’s heart. In your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Please come and join us for worship on Sundays at 11:00 AM. You will be made very welcome 😊

Today’s image is one of John’s original drawings called ‘Eternal Mystery of Trinity.’ If you would like to view a larger version, click this link: Mystery.

Church devotion: Gospel Fruit - Colossians 1:6b

Colossians 1:6b            In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. (NIV)

            Yesterday, we concluded our annual Vacation Bible School for our church kids. It was a great success. The youngsters enjoyed a whole weekend of singing, crafting, playing, and listening. They learned Bible stories, sang new songs, made new friends, and enjoyed being there. It was good to see that all of the preparation, organization, and volunteering was very worthwhile. The whole church is very thankful for everyone who worked together to make the VBS program successful.

            We won’t see the fruits of our VBS work for many years. The seeds of faith that have been planted will take time to grow. However, if all goes according to plan, then some of those youngsters will become faith teachers in the future, passing on the Gospel to their next generation.

            Today, all over the world, people will hear the Gospel for the first time and it will impact their lives forever. Christ’s Church is always growing; in fact, in both the continents of Africa and Asia, it is multiplying at an exceptional rate. Church growth experts even predict that by 2030, China will be the largest Christian nation on Earth! That will be amazing and I hope I get to see it in my lifetime.

            Wherever you go today and whoever you encounter, please plant seeds of the Gospel with your words and deeds. Who knows, whatever you say or accomplish in Christ’s Name today may have a fruitful outcome in the future lives of others.

Questions for reflection

Who once shared the Gospel with me? Who can I share the Gospel with today?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, help us to serve You today by witnessing to Your love in positive, influential, and effective ways. Enable us to see each person that we encounter as a child of God’s grace. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. You can contact him by email at Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s Celtic Cross drawing called ‘Celtic resurrection.’ If you would like to view a larger version, please click on this link: Cross.

Gospel devotion - Gospel Readers - 2 Corinthians 9:13

2 Corinthians 9:13     Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 

            Sharing the Gospel these days is very different from how it was done during the Apostle Paul’s time. Usually, we try to encapsulate the whole Gospel into a couple of positive phrases like “love one another” and “do not judge,” making it easy to remember and simple to apply. However, Christ’s Gospel mainly comes to us in four New Testament books, compromising of eighty-nine separate chapters. Condensing the Good News into a couple of words can unintentionally diminish Christ’s life, ministry, and teaching. It may be convenient for us to carry a couple of verses in our hearts and minds, but we could end up with a very superficial understanding of what the Gospel can actually teach us.

In the first couple of centuries of our faith, people laid their lives on the line for the sake of the Gospel. They wouldn’t have done that for just a couple of moralistic mottoes. Christ’s life, death, and resurrection meant everything to them, even if it cost them their livelihood or existence. Those First Christians understood that the Gospel was greater than anything they encountered or experienced; to them, it was infinitely more important than life or death itself.

            Currently, our church’s Confirmation students are reading and studying the Gospel of Mark. By the time their classes are concluded, they will have read all of it, as well as completing homework assignments about each chapter. The young people also have their own questions, ideas, and opinions about Christ’s life, ministry, and death. They are learning that the Gospel has much more depth to it, as well as how it can radically influence their daily decisions and challenge their personal lives.

Perhaps if more church members were to consistently read and re-read the Gospels, they would also embrace and understand the real message of the New Testament narratives. Having only a couple of biblical verses in our hearts and minds is not enough to sustain our spirits or grow our faith. If we truly want to become committed Christians, then surely we need to know what the entire Gospel is about, so that we can positively apply and generously share Christ’s teachings.

Questions for reflection

What was the last Gospel that I fully read? How can I organize reading the Gospels on a regular basis?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, all that we know about You comes mainly from the Gospels. Without them, we would not know what You said or did. Help us to read and re-read the Gospels on a regular basis, so that we can learn to understand and know what You want us to do with the remainder 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 or ask questions about today’s devotion, please send him an email to Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s Gospel drawings called “A New Earth.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click the following link: Gospel.

Church Growth devotion - A Fearless Faith - Matthew 27:66

Matthew 27:66           So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

            Christianity is a fearless faith. No matter what constraints are placed upon it by government regulations or social pressure, Christianity cannot be contained in a one-size fits all t-shirt. It is as multi-faceted as a diamond and as varied as the different colors of a tapestry. It refuses to conform to the world and constantly challenges humanity. It is a risky business for all who embrace Christian beliefs, because it frequently challenges the believer, as well as those outside the faith.

            When I read the Holy Week stories, I constantly see the futility of humanity trying to put an end to Jesus, as well as the attempted destruction of His message. In today’s passage (Matthew 27:57-66), for instance, the religious and military authorities try to control the situation by sealing the tomb and posting guards. They are attempting to effectively seal off the burial area to stop Christ’s followers from stealing the body, and falsely proclaiming that He rose from the dead. The authorities take every precaution to keep Jesus buried and His followers restrained. But it doesn't work – within a short time, the tomb will burst open and Christ will rise from the dead.

            That’s what Christianity does and is still meant to do. In lands throughout the world, regimes and despots constantly try to eliminate the Church and Christians. In the short term, they have some success, but in the long term, Christianity prevails. Tyrants and dictators come and go, but Christ rises up again and again and again – and will do so until the very end of Time.

            When people write off the church as being irrelevant, unnecessary, and on its deathbed, I remind myself that I've heard it all before – in the sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties, and the new millennium. In every case, the church has reformed, rebounded, and been restored. The naysayers and prophets of doom have come and gone, utterly forgotten, while the name of Christ continues to be lifted up, worshiped, and adored. Society may try to seal up the message and diminish Christ’s claims; governments may attempt to gag the Gospel and silence the followers of Christ, but eventually revival occurs, faith resurrects, and the Kingdom of God through Christ re-enters the mainstream even stronger than before. All it takes is time – and Time, as well as History, belong to the Eternal Christ.

            So today, if you’re feeling down about your church, denomination, or faith then know this: when it comes to Death, we’re in the Resurrection business!

Questions for personal reflection

What makes me worry about my church and faith? How can I change my worries into prayers?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You turned the world upside down by defeating death and establishing Your Church across the world. For centuries, different leaders and civilizations have tried to destroy Your church and diminish Your influence. They have constantly failed and Your Church is now bigger and more widespread across the Earth than it ever has been. Thank You for continuing to enrich the world with Your presence, ministry, and mission. In Your Holy Name, we cheerfully and thankfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to ask questions or make comments about today’s message, please send him an email to Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s attached image is one of John’s latest winter drawings called ‘Winter Tree.’ If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: Tree.

Gospel devotion: Sharing Good News - Romans 15:23-24

Romans 15:23-24       But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.

It was always Paul’s intention to take the Gospel from one end of the Mediterranean to the other, from the shores of Palestine to the Rock of Gibraltar. He had a vision of preaching to almost the whole Roman Empire, which would have been a mammoth task to undertake. However, despite having such a grand scale vision, his efforts to reach Spain would be halted by his arrest in Jerusalem and subsequent fatal trial at Rome. He would never fulfill his ambition, but his work would carry on to all sides of the Mediterranean and beyond through those who heard his message and read his letters.

When I first became a pastor in Scotland, all I wanted to do was serve a parish and help all sorts of people come to Christ. I never dreamed of coming to the States to be part of a different kind of ministry, which has now given me the ability to communicate to Christians around the globe. Folks in the church at Erin, Knoxville, Tennessee, as well as others in Scotland and across the world, get to read these devotional messages. With the use of email, Facebook and even Twitter, I can reach out to others from Christ all over the world at any time. It’s humbling to realize this and when I read the list of countries and cities where people read my devotionals, it really is staggering.

It makes me wonder how much Paul would have used modern technology to reach people for Christ all over the Earth. He endured hardships and suffering, beatings and imprisonment for the spreading of the Gospel. He would have loved this new technology and would have put it to wonderful use in order to share Christ’s message across the nations.

Thank you for reading these devotions and for sometimes sharing them with your family and friends. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read the scriptures, my thoughts, and the devotional prayer. May God bless you on your journey of faith this day and may He continue to grant you visions for bigger and better things for your life, your church, and Christ’s ministry.

Questions for personal reflection

How can I use the technology I own to spread the Gospel? Who can I share Christ’s message with today?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, thank You for the spreading of the Gospel throughout the world and for the many new ways we can share Your words with others today. Grant us opportunities to share our beliefs at the right time, with the right words, and to those who need it most. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest drawings called “Window Lamp.” It features an old kerosene lamp lit in a window at dusk. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3831/9622394834_c41fc6f281_b.jpg

Short devotions: A Pre-Mission World - 1 John 2:8

1 John 2:8        Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in Him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

I’m going to stop using the term ‘post-Christian world’ and replace it with ‘pre-mission world.’ My reason for this is simple. Our Western Society seems to have turned so far away from Christ that we are now living at a time when people are growing up without knowing who Jesus actually is. Gone are the days when everyone was expected to know something about Jesus’ life; but now the time is ripe to raise new faithful leaders whose love of the Lord will attract future generations of seekers, who will be hungering and thirsting for Christ’s love and grace.

It’s almost as if we’ve come full circle and that the world which the First Christians experienced is similar to our own. Those original followers of Christ confronted many popular hedonistic views and eventually attracted people away from worldly immorality to Christian immortality. It’s my strong belief that we are now being called to do the same.

Instead of whining about the woes of today’s world, we need to thank God for this new mission. In the midst of their libertine and hedonistic ways, people still feel spiritually unfulfilled and empty. For those of us who remain faithful to Christ, this is a new opportunity to keep preaching the message of salvation. Empty people still need to be embraced by Christ; dissatisfied libertines still need to be led to the Gospel’s abundant life.

God is doing something new among us. We are living in a pre-mission world. The challenge that we face today is the same that the First Christians encountered long ago. Are we willing to undertake this mission? Are we willing to be sent into the world?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You call us to a new mission. Whilst the world revels in its darkness, we see that Your Light has not been diminished. We pray that You will prepare our hearts and minds for this fresh opportunity of reaching out in faith, hope, and love. Grant us the courage to care for those who don’t care for us. Give us opportunities to witness to the real joy of serving You and Your Kingdom in our churches, communities, and countries throughout the world. In Your Holy Name, we eagerly 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 drawing is one of John’s most popular pieces from the past. It’s called “A New Earth” and depicts Christ standing over the Earth. If you would like to view a larger version, please visit the following link: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3084/2432537217_e82364bff8_b.jpg

John also has signed copies of this drawing available.

4 Minute Devotion - Passing It On - 2 Timothy 1:14

2 Timothy 1:14           Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you--guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

In the midst of the present theological wars, it’s very easy to become weary with Church World. We never seem to have any peace because someone or some group somewhere wants things to be different, relevant, and post-modern instead of keeping things sacred, divine, and eternal. I know that I am struggling with this and so are many in the congregation that I serve. Christianity is a hard faith to truly practice and live by in today’s society.

I also find it intriguing that when Paul is writing to Timothy, he is urging him to guard the faith. This is only about 30 years after Christ was crucified and resurrected. With a faith so freshly born and the gospel so newly written, you would think people would be more secure with what they believed. However, it seems that the New Testament Church was also divided and so, to sustain Christ’s Peace, second generation Christians like Timothy had to maintain guardianship over the essential tenets of the new faith.

I heard a pastor once preach that if no one in the present generation shared the faith or spread the gospel, then within four generations Christianity would die. I don’t know if that’s true because it’s never been truly tested, but it does lay an onus on every Christian to pass on the faith to the next generation. What makes it all the harder is that we have to do this on Christ’s terms, and not our own.

So today the challenge is this: to whom, in the next generation, have we shared our Faith?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, sometimes we forget that the Christian faith is not a private or personal matter. You called upon Your followers everywhere and in every time to go out into the world to share the Gospel. Forgive us if we have failed to live up to that challenge. Help us, in the life time that we have left, to faithfully share Your Good News with the upcoming generations. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

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

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Psalm drawings. It depicts a verse of Psalm 102. If you would like to view a larger version of the drawing, please visit the following link:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5292/5519117740_cf1a7fa46f_b.jpg

Gospel devotions: Simple Church - 2 Thessalonians 1

2 Thessalonians 1:11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of His calling, and that by His power He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.


I had a coffee this morning with an old friend who belongs to another church. We talked about missions and ministries in the post-modern world, and what it means to be disciples in our local communities. My friend talked about deliberately growing smaller churches where members could concentrate on strengthening their faith and sharing the Gospel. He envisioned a simpler church where Christians would only be committed to short term projects instead of long term programs. Congregations would rediscover what the First Christians used to call “The Way,” – a much less complicated faith which brought people closer to Christ.

As he talked enthusiastically about this new “old style” church, I could only nod in agreement. Doing church has replaced being church. Pro-active membership has displaced prayerful commitment. Instead of giving our lives to God through Christ’s work, we want Christ to work at making our lives better. Rather than adding to our knowledge of God, we invent another program to add to our church schedules and bury our spirituality with busy-ness. Our congregations are smothered in satisfying our needs, instead of silently sitting at the feet of Jesus. In short, we have forgotten the Way and wearied our spirits.

It seems to me that God has called us to be congregations and churches to simply glorify Christ and share His Good News. Everything else is just fluff and merely burns out our exhausted souls. I think it’s about time we rediscovered the Way.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to climb out of the morass of church activity that we have painfully created for ourselves. Enable us to focus on a few faithful things that will simplify our commitment and lead to a better understanding of what You want us to fulfill. Keep us from over-extending our time and help us to find our way back to You through prayer, study, and worshipping. 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 or ask a question, please contact him, by email at pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest drawings. It’s called “Jonquils for Julia” and depicts the first bloom of daffodils heralding that Spring is near. If you would like to view a larger version of the image, please click on the following link: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5059/5427279505_5ed72e7ac5_b.jpg

Christian Devotions: Sacred Secrets - Colossians 2

Colossians 2:2 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ.

Paul is exactly right – Christ is the mystery of God. I recently heard someone say that a secret is a truth that is not fully known, but a mystery is a truth that cannot ever be fully known. This means that whoever Jesus truly is, only God will know the complete truth. There is something deeply personal and solemnly sacred between God the Father and God the Son, and even when we dwell with them in eternity, we shall never truly know the infinite depths of their love for one another.

For some people that may sound discouraging because they want to know everything about Christ, but the heart of the matter is this: we will only know of Jesus what God wants to reveal to us about Him. Because we are sinners, we are shown a great grace from God in being allowed to know Jesus from history and from our personal experiences. But that grace, amazing though it is, actually has limits, and there will be things about Christ that will remain eternally mysterious to even the best of His followers.

Does this mean that God is holding back and keeping something of Christ for Himself? The simple answer to that is: Yes. Being a loving parent allows you to treasure things, events, and experiences about your children that you cherish and keep close to your heart. I believe that God is the same: He loves Jesus proudly and personally, faithfully and fiercely, infinitely and mysteriously.

When Paul was writing to the Colossians about the church in Laodicea, he was encouraging them to cherish and remember their commitment to Christ. As young Christians, they wanted to know everything and they were thirsty for the word of God to change their lives. Somehow, they took a wrong turn and ended up following a false gospel spread by elite evangelists who claimed, with fine sounding sermons, that they knew sacred secrets about Christ. They wanted to manipulate the people by claiming to be the chosen mentors of the great mysteries of Christ, (much like some popular novelists exploit their naïve readers by suggesting that the Church has many secrets that only a privileged few know or understand). Paul was warning his own readers not to be captivated by these speakers or secrets; instead he urged them to remember their initial experience with the Spirit of Christ in their hearts when they had truly heard and accepted the Gospel.

So today, let’s reflect upon how we became Christians in the first place. And then let’s look forward to that cherished time in eternity when we will know Christ face to face.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You have entered our hearts and claimed our souls for all of eternity. Your words have affected us deeply and Your teaching has changed our lives forever. We praise You for these blessings and we are truly thankful to Your Glorious Father who sent You into this world. 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 on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one John’s latest Smoky mountain prints called “Spring Falls.” If you would like to see a larger view of this drawing, please visit the following link: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5129/5350070427_01e9f1b652_b.jpg



If you would like a signed and matted copy of the print, contact John by email. Only 25 are available and cost $20 plus shipping if necessary.

Daily Devotions: Comic Book Christian - Acts 20

Acts 20:3b       Because the Jews made a plot against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, Paul decided to go back through Macedonia. 

Have you seen the new movie “Salt” starring Angelina Jolie yet? It’s actually a very good and highly entertaining film. It’s the usual spy thriller about lies, love, and deception. Jolie plays an American spy who ends up being double-crossed and chased by the NYPD, FBI, CIA, and the Secret Service. The KGB are also after her and the whole movie is about how she avoids capture and manages to save the world from a nuclear war. Yes, it’s a bit far-fetched and could never happen in real life, but it’s a movie, so what do you expect?

When I read about the Apostle Paul and all of his escapades in the Book of Acts, I am constantly amazed at how he survives. He’s blinded, beaten up, and imprisoned. He’s almost lynched and has to escape mobs in various cities. He’s hunted down by religious fanatics who take a divine oath to kill him. He survives an earthquake and is shipwrecked. Wow! Any one of those incidents would have wiped me out, but Paul perseveres and continues to preach all across the Mediterranean.

I guess you could call Paul the New Testament’s answer to a comic book hero. Nothing brings this man down. He is so confident about his faith in Christ that he is willing to face danger wherever he goes.

It makes me wonder what Paul would be doing today if he was still on Earth. How many escapades would he have to face in order to preach the Gospel? How many times would he upset the Church by not conforming to the culture? Which lands would he dare to take the Gospel to? Israel? India? Saudi Arabia? The USA?

But Paul is not here and so the responsibility of taking the Gospel to the world is in our hands. It makes me wonder what faith adventures and witnessing opportunities God will bless us with this week. Will we accept the mission that Christ gives us, or will it seem too hard or impossible to carry out? Maybe when we are given the chance to share the Gospel, we should ask ourselves inwardly: “what would Paul do?”

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we thank You for the gift of Paul as a pioneer of the Gospel. He led an incredible life and we are so fortunate to have records of his journeys, as well as the letters that he wrote. We know that we can never be totally like Paul, but we pray that we can fulfill the opportunities that You give us to witness to Your Gospel. 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 John’s drawing of the road leading up to the Plantation on Pawley’s Island. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4891285135_f7ee928fc9_b.jpg

4 Minute Devotions: Christian Candy

I feel so guilty. I ate a whole giant bar of chocolate the other night. I should have left some for my family, but I wanted all of it for myself. I even felt a bit nauseated before I finished it off, but I knew that if I left a couple of chocolate squares in the fridge, they would be gone in the morning. So I gorged down the whole bar.

Podcast version here.

Hello, my name is John Stuart, and I’m a chocoholic.

Greed makes us all do selfish things. Take the people in Christ’s time for instance. He healed their sickness, cured their lame people, and fixed their broken bodies. He was a cure-all for each of their ailments, so when He talked about going to the other villages, they did not want Him to leave. They wanted to keep Jesus for themselves. They didn’t want to share His power with anyone. If other villages wanted a healer, they could get their own. Jesus belonged to them.

But Christ wouldn’t grant them their wishes. He had more to do with His ministry than remain home as an on demand country healer. He had to take God’s message out into the wider world. His mission was not local; it was international.

Sometimes we keep Christ all to ourselves because of the strength, confidence and guidance that He gives us. These are great personal blessings, but we’re not meant to feed on them alone. We belong to a missionary faith, so each of us has a personal calling to share the Good News and tell others about Christ. Christianity has never been a private, personal belief system that caters to our individual needs. We’re meant to share it with others by inviting them to church, praying for those in trouble, and reaching out to those in need.

Hello, my name is John Stuart and I’m a Christian. Let me tell you about Jesus, my Lord and Savior…

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we love You for loving us, guiding us, and strengthening our faith. Help us to share our experiences and beliefs with our families and friends, our neighbors and colleagues. Give us the courage to fulfill the moments of faith-sharing opportunities that You provide for us. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Gift Giving: Out with the Old and in with the New

Podcast version here

Yesterday, I had lunch with two young men who both want to serve the Lord. One of them is a pastor who is in-between churches at the moment. The other is a person who survived a horrific accident three years ago. They both are gifted people and their common desire is to do something that will make a difference in the lives of others. In other words, they want their own lives to have a special meaning and divine purpose.

As I listened to them yesterday, I was touched by their eagerness to serve God. It reminded me of my own journey of faith that started over thirty years ago. I had just managed to overcome alcoholism and was beginning to experience my zeal for the Lord and His work. I wanted to change the world because I was so thankful that the Lord had changed me. I wanted to bring everyone into the Kingdom because I desired that everybody should experience the joy of serving God. It was a beautiful time in my Christian life and I’ve tried to keep that flame of faith burning within me. I see it as a gift from God.

Deuteronomy 16:17 Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you.

1 Peter 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.

When I read these two verses of scripture from Deuteronomy and 1 Peter this morning, I was struck by how different they are. In the Old Testament, the emphasis is placed upon bringing gifts to the altar for God; in the New Testament, gifts are to be taken out into the world in order to share His grace with others. It may be too simplistic for some people, but for me this confirms Christ’s work of salvation. He made the ultimate sacrifice, so there is nothing that we can bring to God that will be worthy of His Son. However, we can use our gifts as a means of sharing the Gospel to the world, so that others may receive the blessings and riches of Christ’s grace.

I know that God has a plan for each of the two young men that I shared lunch with yesterday. He has given them different gifts and experiences that He will shape into future ministries and missions. The gifts have already been given; the blessings are ready to be shared. I am both excited and in awe of what God is doing in their lives. I look forward to the sharing of Christ’s grace that is yet to come.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for being the greatest Gift of God and to the world. Without Your Presence in our lives, we would wander aimlessly through life and end up making no difference. By Your sacrifice, You have given each of us a holy opportunity to share Your grace and to encourage others to come into Your Kingdom. Bless us today with situations and circumstances that we can use to glorify Your Name and to spread Your gifts of faith, hope, and love. Amen.

Biblical Bunkum

We live in an age of biblical bunkum, where many people make up their own ideas about what Jesus said, and then claim that their own opinions supersede His. They don’t want to hear about judgment or sin, they just want to justify themselves and seek their own course through life. They ignore hell entirely and expect heaven completely. They live their lives accountable to no one, and expect God to turn a blind eye. Rather than having their names written in the Book of Life, they want to make their mark in the world, expecting to be rewarded for their renown. In other words, it’s not what Jesus has said that is important, it’s what they believe that He has said is important.

When I first started writing these devotions more than three years ago, I set out to help our church elders and staff find time to read the Bible and reflect upon God’s Word. I realized that we were all busy and under a great deal of pressure in our lives, so setting aside a few moments in the day to be at one with God was a special way of keeping connected to Him and to His people. After three and a half years, more people are using these devotions to share the word of God with their families and friends, their neighbors and co-workers. The Gospel is being preached across the internet and throughout the world in ways that even the apostle Paul could never have dreamed.

It is my fervent hope and prayer that your journey of faith is being enhanced and inspired through these weekday devotions. But I also pray that you share them with your email contacts, so that others around you may one day be greeted by God because they read the Gospel, received a lesson of faith, and applied it to their own lives, just as you do each day.

May God bless you all for being partners in this devotional ministry that stretches all around the world.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank You for the many wonderful ways that You are using the internet to spread Your Word, to touch the hearts and minds of millions of people throughout the world. Bless us as we share this devotional together and help us to use it as a way of outreach to those whom we love, to those whom we care for, and to those whom we worry about. May You bless them and us with the power of Your grace and Gospel. In your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

P.S – could you send a comment to this blog and just write your first name and where you live? I’d love to share that with everyone.

Erin Church devotional : Speak the Faith

Audio version here

2 Corinthians 4:13 It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak. (NIV)

It was Billy Hunter who believed in Christ and spoke words of faith to me. I know that God speaks to our hearts in order to receive Christ, but He also uses people as vessels to convey that faith as something that is alive, relevant, and real. Billy Hunter was the first Sunday School teacher that I can remember, and his faith connected with my heart.

At the time, our family lived in Saracen, Glasgow, Scotland. We didn’t know it then, but it was a deprived area where families from the slum housing in the city were supposed to make a new start. The city fathers thought that by putting people in newer tenements/ apartments, Glasgow would flourish and everyone would take advantage of the new opportunities.

But the traps of poverty – alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence and gang warfare, loan sharks and protection rackets followed the people. We came out of the frying pan and into the fire. Deprivation and disillusionment set in. Within a couple of years, depression – both economic and psychological – overshadowed the new community. Hopes and dreams were shattered, and Glasgow floundered instead of flourishing.

And yet there were still people like Billy Hunter who chose to teach Christianity and speak words of faith to the children in the community. He had the heart of an evangelist, but was as gentle as a shepherd. He made Christ real to me and taught me that there was something more to life. He showed me the light of Christ in the midst of the darkness and squalor of poverty. He put hope in my soul and faith in my heart. I owe all that I know and have today to Jesus, but Billy Hunter was the faithful servant Christ used to get me here.

Christianity is not a personal lifestyle choice or a private religion. It has to be spoken in order to be shared; it has to be heard in order to be received. Every one of us will be given opportunities this day to believe in Christ’s work and to speak faith to others. Let’s prepare our hearts and minds even now as we read and hear this message, to be ready to share Christ’s Gospel today.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we believe in You – Your words, Your ways, Your works. Help us this day to make the most of the opportunities that You give us, to share our beliefs and speak faith to those who need to hear about Your life and love. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Erin Church Devotional - Making an impact for Christ in the Community

Ezekiel 33:30 "As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, 'Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.' (NIV)

I’ve just started to read a new book which is called “The Externally Focused Church,” written by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson. It’s about transforming congregations from being inwardly focused to becoming externally focused on what’s happening in their communities. I’ve just read two chapters and already my mind is buzzing with excitement about how our wee church at Erin can be positively charged and effectively changed. There’s one sentence that has jumped out to me from the book: “Nearly everything that is done inside the church should prepare and equip people not only for personal growth but also for personal impact.” I’m thinking that a new mission statement for our church could be written along those lines like “Erin Church equips members to make an impact for Christ in the local community.”

The book is full of good examples of how churches across America are transforming their communities. Instead of worrying about finances, counting attendance, and perpetuating traditions, local congregations are being revived through intentionally reaching out to the people on their doorstep. Churches are becoming more aware of what their neighborhood’s needs are, and then doing everything in their power to supply them. It’s as if congregations have rediscovered the old ‘parish’ system where a church is assigned a certain geographical area to look after spiritually and benevolently.

About ten years ago, I produced a document for our church to adopt a parish system. As usual, we talked about it for a while and then set it aside in order to deal with internal issues. I’m beginning to feel that now is the right time to review, revise, and represent this to the elders and members of our congregation. If what I’m reading in this book is true, then this is the direction that our church has been looking for.

I know that some of you who read and hear this devotional belong to other congregations. I’ll try to keep you posted on what we decide here at Erin. In the meantime, you should perhaps purchase a copy of this book for yourself and your pastor. It may just give your own congregation the jump start that you need to begin a new journey of faith in your own community.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You impacted Your own community with a compelling message that was backed up with acts of compassion, healing, and support. Re-teach to us this vital lesson, and enable our churches to embrace the communities around us. In Your Holy Name, we earnestly pray. Amen.

Testimony

Audio version here

John 4: 42 They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world." (NIV)

This is one of my favorite Bible verses. It comes at the end of the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well. He has confronted her in a non-judgmental way, exposing her sin, and freeing her from a deceitful life. The woman is so moved by Him that she tells all of her neighbors she has met the Messiah. Her testimony is so sincere that they believe her and go looking for Jesus themselves.

When they find Him, they ask Jesus to stay for a couple of days during which He teaches them many things. Many more of them became believers and, at the end of the story, the Samaritan people tell the woman that they no longer believe just because of her testimony; they have heard Jesus for themselves and they, too, personally know Him to be the Christ, the Savior of the world. It’s a beautiful moment in the scriptures and one that must have deeply gladdened Jesus.

That’s what our faith is for; that’s what the church is all about. We are called to lovingly and sincerely share the Good News of Jesus Christ with other people – our families, our friends, our neighbors – in the hope that one day they will personally experience Jesus for themselves. As a pastor, I’ve been privileged to see that happening with all sorts of different people. Each time it occurs, I feel happy and humble – happy because it positively changes their lives; humble because Christ has personally touched their hearts.

So, wherever we go today and whoever we meet, let’s make and take opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, for who knows how many lives will be changed forever by the power of Jesus and His Gospel.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, there are loved ones in our lives who do not personally know You. Grant us perfect opportunities to express our faith to them in non-judgmental ways. Give us the courage to sincerely share our beliefs, so that seeds of faith may be planted in their hearts and minds that one day will grow. In Your Holy Name, we earnestly pray. Amen.