Christmas devotion: Two Great Gifts - Galatians 1:3

Today’s readings are Judges 2:7-15 and Galatians 1:1-10

Galatians 1:3  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

If I could give two precious gifts to the world this Christmas, they would be grace and peace.

Grace would be given, so that folks could forgive one another and allow their past mistakes to remain in the past. Husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters could set aside their differences and begin again. Fractured feelings, persistent pride, and baneful bitterness could be gone forever, replaced by love, kindness, and compassion. What a gift to give our broken world!

Peace would be given so that different groups could learn to dialogue with one another; nations could recommit themselves to the betterment of humanity; religions could turn their theological barbs and spears into plowshares for effectively working against poverty, oppression, and injustice. Races across the globe could respect the wonderful variety of God’s image in all people and work together to eliminate bigotry and prejudice, humiliation and rivalry.

The bad news is that I don’t have the ability or power to give those gifts to the world; but the good news is this: Christ has already given those two great blessings through His sacrifice on Calvary and obedience to God. The gifts of grace and peace are already ours; we only have to find and apply them in each of our lives to begin the worldwide celebration of God’s love to the world.

Questions for personal reflection

Where have I experienced God’s grace and peace in my life? To whom can I share these great gifts during Advent?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You are both the greatest gift and the greatest gift-bringer in the history of the world. You came among us to grant all people everywhere the opportunity of being restored to God’s favor and love, as well as His grace and peace. Help us to share these blessings with the other people in 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 on today’s message or ask a question, please send John an email to traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Christmas drawings called “Tree Window.” It’s a stained glass design of a Christmas tree. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7389/11164226093_863c950b18_b.jpg

4 Minute Devotions: Georgia on My Mind

The Russian invasion of Georgia has deeply affected me. Why is God once more allowing nations to go to war?

Podcast version here

Proverbs 22:3 A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.

The people of Georgia are on my mind today. I don’t mean the Southern State; I’m talking about the sovereign nation in Eurasia, where Russian tanks invaded last Friday.

I can remember reading somewhere that history repeats itself when we don’t learn from our mistakes. This Russian invasion reminds me of when Hitler entered the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia and when the Soviets invaded Hungary. The world did little about those situations – one caused a world war and the other started the Cold War.

I don’t want to go back to those days of fearing a nuclear holocaust, and I don’t want my children to feel the same. Georgia is on my mind today, so I pray that the world will come to its senses to put an end to this invasion and fighting. If not, then we seem doomed to go through another Cold War of distrust, suspicion, and insecurity.

I sometimes ask God why humans are so intent on killing one another. Throughout the world, hundreds of thousands of people are killed each year by other people. What other creature on earth does this? Why does God elevate us to divine heights and allow us to bring ourselves down into inhumane hell? Why doesn’t God stop this, punish the wicked, and recreate a new world where peace, harmony, and love dwell? Is God sleeping or is He crazy, expecting things to be different, by allowing us to do the same things over and over again?

I don’t understand it and I want God to intervene, but that would mean giving up free will and bringing history to an end. Things look bleak for the Georgians and perhaps there will be no easy solution to this crisis. All that I can do is wait and pray, hope and ask God to deliver the Georgian people from the Russian invaders. But why do I feel as if I’ve been here before? Why does this seem to be divine déjà vu?

Prayer: Lord God, history is a great mystery and sometimes the living of these days is hard to endure. We pray for the people of Georgia and we ask that You protect them. We do not know where these events are taking us, but we claim safety and refuge in You alone. Help the world heal. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

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

Munich

Romans 8:6, 7 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. (NIV)

I was in High School when it happened and it deeply shocked me. I couldn’t believe that Arab terrorists had managed to penetrate the Olympic campus in Munich, Germany, and subsequently murdered 11 Israeli athletes. The Olympic Games were meant to be above all of that hatred. Nations were supposed to set aside their differences and compete for medals, instead of being at war. It was a sacred time for all of humanity to showcase the best, fastest, and strongest in the world. But thirty five years ago, on September 5, 1972, all of these noble ideals were destroyed forever.

Ever since then, we’ve all lived under the shadow of terrorism and had to deal with fear. At times, there seems to be no security and that religious madmen threaten our civilization. Bomb plots and terrorist conspiracies still abound. Even today, three people have been arrested in Frankfurt, Germany, for conspiring to blow up a US Airbase. Those sinful minds idolize and worship a savage deity, and as the scripture says today: they are hostile to God.

I don’t know what motivates people into thinking that killing others is a glorious way of honoring God. I don’t understand what goes on in their lives that make them want to terrorize the world in order to appease their tyrannical deity. The god that they worship is not the God that I know. The destructive deity that they zealously proclaim is no part of the Trinity that I love, adore, and acclaim.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Prince of Peace and we pray that Your mighty peace can be experienced by everyone on earth. In times like these, we regret man’s inhumanity to man. Help us, as Your disciples, to counter terrorism with faith, hope, and love. Grant us the courage to express and share our Christian faith, so that others may be touched by Your Holy Spirit and changed for all of eternity. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.