Liberty and Mercy - James 2:12-13

James 2:12-13 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. (NRSV)

Liberty is a big thing in the United States. Many of our folks would defend it at the cost of our lives and when we feel it is being suppressed or encroached upon, we speak out against those who are hindering or harming our right to be free. Our fierce independence is entwined with our liberty, so, therefore, it is not something to be trampled on or carelessly neglected.

However, James the brother of Jesus had a different notion about liberty because he associated it with acts of mercy. His belief as a Christian was that liberty is not the right to do what we want (that’s actually anarchy), it is a God-given, unalienable right which we should freely use to show mercy to others. In other words, because God graciously and mercifully grants us freedom, we should aspire to justly and liberally do the same.

Justice and mercy are the fruits of a free and faithful people. Liberty is not a selfish right we fiercely possess; it is a gracious gift that we as Christians should want to share. When we fail or deliberately choose not to show mercy, we place ourselves under God’s judgment, so we should be very careful about how we express our freedom. If we use it as a weapon to deny others grace, justice, and love, then we are in danger of giving God no other choice but to judge us by our own standards. So, let’s all try to live our lives as Christ once put it: ‘Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy.’ (Matthew 5:7)

Application: Do I use my freedom to apply mercy to others, or am I guilty of preserving my liberty solely for myself?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You purchased God’s mercy for us by dying on the Cross even though we did not deserve such a gracious blessing. You freed us from the slavery of sin and selfishness. Challenge our ideas and opinions, as well as our hearts and minds, to not only receive Your mercy but to show the same to all. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

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

Today’s image is one of John’s latest drawings based on the beautiful Micah 6v8 Bible verse. If you would like to view a larger version, please click this link: Mercy.

Free to Be? - 2 Corinthians 3:17

2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (NIV)

In today’s society, when we speak about freedom, we normally mean being able to do what we want. We think about it as our personal right to be fiercely independent and woe betide anyone or any institution, authority, or government that gets in our way. Some folks are really aggressive when it comes to defending their rights to maintain their freedom, but what they are really doing is not allowing anything or anyone to interfere with their individual preferences. They might even use today’s scripture or similar verses to back up their claims, especially if they consider themselves to be strong Christians.

However, what the Apostle Paul meant by freedom and what we may mean today are very different. We tend to revise what was once written in order to suit our ‘freedom’ to interpret scripture as we please. But the times and society that Paul was living in were completely dissimilar to what we know today, so in order to correctly understand and apply this Biblical concept of freedom, we need to seriously look at its context.

For a start, Paul was writing to a small Greek congregation that existed in a society full of slaves and conquered people. Most of the churches that Paul wrote to were made up of a diverse population of all classes and ethnic origins. Each believer existed under the totalitarian rule of the Roman emperor; some of the first Christians were wealthy merchants whereas others were the lowliest slaves. This means that when Paul was writing about freedom, he wasn’t expressing it in terms of individual, economic, political, or personal rights; the apostle was writing about a spiritual liberty where believers would be free from the eternal consequences of sin and restored to God’s everlasting favor, so that all of them could serve God faithfully, cheerfully, and above all, freely. Paul was not writing about establishing individual rights or personal preferences; he was encouraging the Corinthian Christians to freely give their lives over to God in order to advance Christ’s mission.

So, this Biblical idea was not a case of doing what Christians individually wanted; it was the spiritual freedom to do what God fully intended for their lives.

Points to Ponder

When I think about freedom is it all about me or God? Do I honestly serve Him freely or just when it’s personally convenient?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, teach us about what freedom is. Forgive us for aggressively maintaining our personal preferences and individual rights, instead of faithfully serving You freely. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Come and freely worship God with us on Sunday mornings at 11:00 AM. You will be made very welcome 😊

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

A Real Citizen - Acts 22:28

Acts 22:28 Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. (NIV)

(Reading about Paul’s ancient rights as a Roman citizen in today’s passage stimulated these thoughts which I think need to be expressed, read, and pondered.)

Twenty-five years ago, our family came to Knoxville for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. We had always wanted to see America, so when we were given the opportunity of swapping pulpits for six weeks with a pastor in South Knoxville, we jumped at the chance. Little did we know that God was moving in mysterious ways and turning our vacation into a lifelong vocation.

In 2002, Evelyn and I became naturalized citizens, and our daughters were granted this honor two years later. It was our way of saying, “thank you,” to the many people who had welcomed, befriended, and supported us at Erin church. It also gave us the wonderful privilege of being able to vote in national elections for the very first time, as well as living freely under the liberties granted to us by the Constitution. Even though we were not born here, our citizenship gave us the same rights as all who were.

Recently, though, those blessings seem to have changed and we wonder if we are now second-class citizens. Immigrant-citizens like us are now cautious about speaking out about injustice or criticizing government policies. We are inwardly fearful of expressing our right of free speech in case it interferes with our citizenship status; we are silent because our accents are a dead give away that we come from somewhere else other than the United States. This saddens me deeply because our family happily became citizens almost two decades ago. People like us are now afraid of being told to ‘go back to our own country’ simply because we may disagree with what’s happening in America today.

Last week, Evelyn and I were in Washington D.C. for a short trip. We visited all the wonderful places in and around that remarkable city – the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol Building, Arlington Cemetery, Mount Vernon, and even stood outside the Whitehouse. We also went to the National Archive Museum to look at the actual Declaration of Independence, as well as Lincoln’s handwritten Emancipation Act. Those are sacred documents which every American citizen – born or naturalized – should see at least once in their lives. We both came away from seeing those manuscripts with a sense of awe, but also with a brand-new determinism to be patriotic Americans and speak out against injustice, corruption, and intolerance wherever and whenever we come across them. We are, after all, citizens of the United States and have equal rights to do this as real Americans, which is how God truly blesses America.

Point to ponder

What rights of citizenship are most sacred to me? What rights from God are given to everyone?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are just pilgrims passing through this world until we reach Your Heavenly Realm. Remind us that we all belong to You, so we should treat one another with the same love and grace You personally grant to us. In Your Holy Name, we freely and faithfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the Scottish pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Come and join us for worship on Sundays at 11:00 AM. You will be made very welcome, no matter who you are or where you’re from. 😊

Today’s image is one of John’s patriotic drawings called “Liberty Lights.” If you would like to see a larger version, please click this link: Liberty.

Freedom and Faith - 2 Corinthians 3:17

2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (NRSV)

            Freedom is something that every American I know of, cherishes deeply. Ever since this beautiful nation began, the fight for Liberty and our individual rights has been maintained and strongly defended. For almost 250 years, the citizens of this vast land have fought against foreign nations and internal foes to sustain what George Washington once described as this great experiment in Liberty.

This freedom, however, was not given to everyone when the United States was established, so both a Civil War and a Civil Rights Movement had to take place in order to expand this right of Liberty to more people. As each generation comes and goes, the struggle to maintain unalienable rights and broaden our freedoms continues. It is a work in progress and is being advanced all of the time. What one age group believes is freedom may be contested by a younger generation. What once was hallowed as a precious right may be changed by a better-informed and enlightened people. The idols of the past conflict with the ideals in the present; the outcome of such a struggle will determine who we are as a people and shape who we want to become.

As a Christian, freedom is very dear to my heart, especially the freedom from fear and anxiety which can liberate people from the tyrannies of terror, oppression, and self-preservation.  Upholding traditional rights can actually smother the faith of a future generation. When Christ brought the message of the Gospel to His people, it was radical and appeared irrational at times – after all, what right-minded, fiercely individual, and religiously zealous Judean would succumb to a coarse Galilean’s teaching about loving their enemies? Why would they give up protecting themselves by embracing their foes?

Why? Because Jesus knew that in order to be truly free they had to give up past idols and sacred cows in order to enjoy the liberating presence of God’s Kingdom among them. Fear had no place in a community of faith. Self-preservation and indignation had no claim with a Teacher who constantly proclaimed self-sacrifice and love. In other words, if we truly seek to be free, then we need to understand that true liberty can only be found where the Spirit of Christ abides.

Point to ponder

How much do I cherish my freedom? How does it conflict with or augment my faith?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Lord of Liberty and the Founder of Freedom. You have liberated us from the shackles of sin; You can set us free from our fears and self-righteous ways. Grant us the courage to embrace what is truly right in Your eyes, even if it means letting go of some personal rights in our lives. In Your Holy Name, we earnestly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to give some feedback on today’s message, send him an email to Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest drawings for Lent. If you would like to view a larger version, please click this link: Lent2018.

Church devotion - The Road to Freedom - Psalm 119:45

Psalm 119:45           I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.

            The Confederate Flag will be taken down in Charleston, South Carolina today, which will be a good thing. As much as I love the South and living among Southern people, racism is still a blight which tarnishes the brightness of this beautiful region.

            For some people, the flag is a symbol of heritage and history. For others, it is an emblem of segregation and injustice. Whatever it was, there is no doubt in my mind as to what it has become: an icon of white privilege and racial oppression.

            Freedom is a fragile gift, given to us by God. It is a blessing that we are meant to share. Liberty, equality, and justice are the three fundamental bedrocks of true freedom, just as hope, faith, and love are at the heart of real and authentic Christianity. Hatred and bigotry, as well as racism and prejudice, threaten our freedom; they are the cruel channels of fear and tyranny, as well as being the devil’s instruments of social and moral terrorism.

            Taking down the Confederate Flag in Charleston signifies the beginning of a long and laborious process of actively ensuring that all people, who are created equal, are treated, respected, and accepted as equals all across this beautiful land. It will take years of courage and commitment, as well as tears of fortitude and faith, to make our nation what we claim and sing it to be: a home of the brave, and a land of the free!

Questions for personal reflection

Am I willing to accept the challenge to truly walk in freedom? Am I ready to make changes in my life that will help to actively create a nation and world that is free?

Prayer:          Lord Jesus, we live in challenging and changing times. Be the Rock of our salvation, as well as the Foundation of our freedom. Challenge our ways and change us, too. In Your Holy Name, we freely 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 image is one of John’s latest drawings called “Candle for America.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click the following link: Candle.