August 26 devotion - Once and For All

Hebrews 9:14  How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

            Sometimes when we disappoint people, they find it hard to trust us. We may try to make things better or show some remorse about what has occurred, but that cannot guarantee things will ever be the same again. People have feelings, so when they are hurt, injured, or disappointed, they feel vulnerable and unprotected, perhaps even gullible or stupid. We may regret causing some injury, but we cannot make others forgive us or forget what happened. The sad consequences of our actions may ruin relationships or fracture friendships. We cannot change the past, nor can we insist on mending the matter.

            With God, things are different. His Son has died for us in order to heal the breaches we have caused between ourselves and our Creator. When we disappoint God, He could punish us severely; instead, He chooses to forgive us completely. The death of Jesus, as bloody and as brutal as it was, paid the price for our sins, so our contaminated spirits can be cleansed once and for all. This is what it means to be washed in the blood of Jesus – His sacrifice makes us whole once more; His death deletes the disappointments; His crucifixion wipes out every sin we have ever committed.

            So today, let’s all rejoice in the wonderful fact that Jesus is our Savior and we are eternally restored to God’s grace and love.

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, thank You for deleting our sins and eliminating our faults forever. We are grateful that You cleanse us of our past mistakes, so we can joyfully serve God from this moment on. Be with us and bless our spirits this day. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. 

Good Friday devotion - John 18:1 - 19:42

Good Friday

Gospel reading: John 18:1 - 19:42

John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (NIV)

            All things, they say, come to an end, which includes our own lives. At some point in the future, we will personally encounter death for the first and last time. It may occur at home or in a hospital, surrounded by loved ones or on our own. It could strike us unexpectedly, making us momentarily confused. It may come as the result of an accident, severe injury, or serious illness. Whatever the case, the death rate on Earth is still 100% and none of us will escape this final experience.

            What we will escape is the hold that death can lay on us. When Jesus died on the Cross and said “It is finished,” He meant that everything possible had been done to pay the price of sin, as well as the ransom demanded by death. From that sacred moment, which is actually the epicenter of where sin and death, along with time and space collide, Jesus fulfilled all that was necessary to overcome that one fatal human experience. His death redeemed our souls, for all that He finished was the final part of God’s plan to forgive and restore us forever.

            This is why we call today ‘Good Friday,’ for what can be better than being totally forgiven for all of our mistakes in our lives and then, beyond death, to be welcomed and received into God’s everlasting love?

Point to ponder

How did Christ show His love for me on the Cross?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we will always be thankful to You for dying on the Cross. You finished everything that God required and commenced a new hope for all who believe and follow You. We are unworthy of such wonderful love, but we are also truly grateful for such a gracious gift. In Your Holy Name, we sincerely pray. Amen.

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

Today’s image is one of John’s Good Friday drawings called “Epicenter.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click this link: Epicenter.

Christian devotion: Common Core - 1 Peter 3:18

1 Peter 3:18    For Christ died once for all sins of the righteous and unrighteous, to restore you to God. He was physically executed, but made alive again through the Spirit.

            Today’s chosen verse contains the common core of our Christian beliefs. Jesus died for our sins because there was no one else and no other way that this could be accomplished. Without His crucifixion, there would be no sacrifice. Without His death, there would be no forgiveness. And without His resurrection, there would be no hope of everlasting life.

            Some people claim that Christ died accidentally for being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and confronting the wrong authorities. They say that He never meant to die, but would have continued preaching, teaching, and healing well into His old age. They say this because they can’t cope with the fact that God required His Son to die for us. They don’t believe it because their pride won’t allow anyone to die for their sins. It’s almost as if they think that they will be able to advocate for themselves in the after-life without having Christ as an intermediary.

            Sadly, they are both deluded and wrong. None of us can talk to God face-to-face. We don’t have that right because we are not equals. We won’t be given that opportunity, no matter how cosmically unjust we might think that would be. God does not apply Himself or live by our rules. We, on the other hand, live under His authority and sovereignty. The rules belong to Him.

            Thank goodness, then, that Jesus actually died for our sins. In Him, we have the perfect Savior of our souls and the everlasting Advocate before God. Because of what He has done, we can be forgiven. Because of the blood that He shed, we can be restored. Because of His sacrifice, we can be hopeful of Life beyond death, Heaven beyond the universe, and Love beyond all of our imaginings. He died for our sins – to restore us to God totally, finally, and eternally.

Questions for personal reflection

What does Christ’s death mean to my faith in Him? How else could my sins be forgiven?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You are the Source of our Salvation and the Living One who leads us to eternal life. There is no one else in History, on Earth, or under Heaven who could give us this Blessing of all blessings. We thank You for Your sacrifice and we praise You for Your victory over sin and death. In Your Holy Name, we cheerfully and gratefully 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 message, please send him an email to traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is part of a Holy Week series of images that John created for 2014. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7194/13939576594_9f95bfb516_b.jpg

Good Friday Devotion: Annual Reminder - Hebrews 10:3-4

Hebrews 10:3-4          But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Usually, when we break a promise or disappoint someone, we seek their forgiveness and hope to be given an opportunity to redeem our mistake with a gift. Sometimes parents do this with their children, especially if they've been unable to keep a special promise because of work related commitments. At other times spouses, who disappoint their partners, have a lot of giving to do in order to make amends. And even businesses, that unexpectedly fail their customers, usually offer a discount or free gift to make up for the disappointment. In all of these cases, some process of sacrificial giving is necessary in order to restore relationships, confidence, and trustworthiness.

In Old Testament times, when God’s people disappointed Him, they quickly offered a ritual sacrifice of a bull, a goat, a sheep, or some pigeons. Their mistakes and sins damaged their relationship with God. Because the people absolutely depended upon His bounty and blessings to sustain them, their livestock, and their crops, they sacrificed the best of their animals or the first of their produce to placate Him. They feared God’s wrath in ways that we cannot understand or even accept today.

But no matter how many times they sacrificed, the people still sinned. No matter how often they kept special feasts or religious rites to glorify God, they still were contaminated by their past mistakes and personal regrets. Their sacrifices were not sufficient to meet God’s requirements. Their regular religious rites could not effectively redeem and restore them to God.

This is why Christ came from God to enter into history and the world. This is why He sacrificed Himself so that our sins, as well as those of Christ’s own people, may be absolutely forgiven by God. After all, if the sacrifice of God’s Only Son was not enough to satisfy the demands of God’s holiness and justice, then there is nothing in all of existence that can save human beings from sin. We may not like the idea of God’s just demands; we may not ever fully understand why Christ had to die; but this we can know: Jesus died for our sins, so that we can be absolutely forgiven and eternally restored to God. This is also why the other name for Holy Week is “Passion Week’ – a sacred commemoration and faithful focus on Christ’s suffering, His Passion, for us.

Questions for personal reflection

Do I accept that Jesus died for me? Do I realize that His Death has given me Life?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, we cannot fully comprehend why our sins would condemn You to death on a Cross. We don’t fully understand why God’s justice demanded such an awful and shameful thing. However, we are fully thankful that Your personal sacrifice has completely atoned for our sins, as well as restoring us to God forever. In Your Holy Name, we humbly and gratefully 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 traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Holy Week drawings. It’s called ‘Descent.’ If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/13439105075_cac310d7e5_b.jpg

Good Friday devotion: Real Heroes - 1 Samuel 31:12

1 Samuel 31:12          All their valiant men journeyed through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them.

The last chapter of the book of 1 Samuel reveals to us the sad and ignoble end of Israel’s first King. Saul had been chosen by the reluctant prophet Samuel amidst the cheers and jubilation of the people. His reign, however, was cursed and eventually he killed himself after a fierce battle in which all of his sons were killed and his army totally defeated.

Saul’s body was taken by his enemies and cut into pieces, to be shamefully displayed by his victorious foes. It was a terrible dishonor to him and his own family. His enemies gloated over their bloody success as they gazed upon the broken and abused bodies of Saul and his unfortunate sons which were impaled on spears and tied to the city wall.

But then a wonderful and courageous thing happened. The valiant men of Saul’s own tribe went on a dangerous night mission to recover the bodies in order to give the king and his family a decent and honorable ending. This band of brave men went into the heart of their enemy’s territory and brought back the remains. It was a noble act that diminished some of the shame Saul’s people felt at this time. The fact that we have this daring deed recorded in the Bible shows how Saul’s tribe truly loved their king, even with all of his faults.

The whole incident reminds me of Christ’s crucifixion and how shamefully He was treated by His enemies. He was brutalized beyond recognition by the Roman guards. He was jeered at and taunted by the religious clergy. He was totally degraded by his public nakedness, hanging on a bloody cross for all to see. His death was not only one of the most torturous ever devised by the inhumanity of man, it was also meant to be completely shameful, ignoble, and detestable.

And then Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the clergy, valiantly steps forward to claim Christ’s body in order to put an end to His public shame. He didn't want to see Christ shamefully rot on the Cross, and even though it would have made Joseph ritually unclean during the holiest time of the Jewish year, he was still willing to bravely beg Pilate for Jesus’ corpse in order to place it in his own tomb.

There are heroes in the Bible, as well as heroes all around us. We just have to open our eyes and see those who stand against injustice, who speak for the powerless, and who seek to eradicate the shame that our society uses to subdue the weak, poor, and the voiceless in our communities and across the world. They are valiant people and deserve our praise and support.

Questions for personal reflection

Who speaks up for the poor and powerless in my community? How can I support them?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, help us to recognize the true heroes in our community, who give of their time, resources, and lives to speak up for the voiceless and speak out against injustice. Remove the prejudices against them and help us all to pray for and support them. 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 traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s recent drawings for Holy Week. It’s called “Passover Moon.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: Passover Moon.

Progressive Christians; Why Are They Ashamed of the Cross?

Prior to Holy Week and after Easter, I've come across numerous Progressive Christian writers and bloggers who detest the Cross. It's too bloody and gory for them; it's violence goes against their pacifist principles; it's unacceptable that God should kill His Son; and now with the Supreme Court Mojave decision, Progressives opine that the Cross is an insulting symbol to other faiths.


The Cross has always been offensive to the peoples of the world. They hate what it stands for - that we are so sinful we need a sacrificial Savior to bleed and die on it so that we can be saved from God's wrath. The world would rather deludingly believe that God turns a blind eye to our sin and winks at our brazen ways. 


The trouble is this: progressive Christians believe the same in order to accommodate the rest of the world. In other words, Christ's sacrifice is not good enough for today's inter-faith world, so Progressive Christians have got to save the day, the church, and the world with their rejection of the Cross and their idolatrous doctrine of cosmopolitan toleration - a toleration which of course excludes their own traditional faith.


I am proud to be a part of the Christian Resurgent Movement. The progressive appeasers have gone too far. It's about time that true apologetics returned instead of timid apologizers.

In the cross of Christ I glory,

Towering o’er the wrecks of time;

All the light of sacred story

Gathers round its head sublime.

When the woes of life o’ertake me,

Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,

Never shall the cross forsake me,

Lo! it glows with peace and joy.

When the sun of bliss is beaming

Light and love upon my way,

From the cross the radiance streaming

Adds more luster to the day.

Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,

By the cross are sanctified;

Peace is there that knows no measure,

Joys that through all time abide.

In the cross of Christ I glory,

Towering o’er the wrecks of time;

All the light of sacred story

Gathers round its head sublime.

(lyrics by John Bowring)

images by Stushie