Church devotion: Sexless Marriages - 1 Corinthians 7:5

1 Corinthians 7:5       Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

I’ll say this for Paul: he’s not afraid to discuss really intimate questions when it comes to Christians and sex. He’s no Dr. Ruth, but he does take time to address marital issues that still affect couples today. In this passage, 1 Corinthians 7:1-7, he’s describing the spiritual benefits to a celibate partnership, or what’s commonly known as a ‘sexless marriage’ today. About 20% of married couples live like this, especially as they grow older together. Intimacy evolves into a unique companionship, where love is expressed in terms of friendship and care. Sex is no longer important and is gradually replaced with faithful support. To be cherished and respected, cared for and understood are what most long term partners seek from one another.

This is not easy to achieve, but with time and patience it can be accomplished. Most marriages go through rough patches and rocky times, but if two people are willing to trust one another, to forgive their failures, and even let go of past mistakes, the blessings of a long term relationship can be realized. And even though Paul may have had his own personal philosophy about Christian people remaining unmarried in order to fully serve the Lord, he also must have encountered Christian couples whose years of forgiveness and devotion to one another were a great gift from God and a blessing to the faith community.

Questions for personal reflection

What is Christian marriage? What can churches do to support married people?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You call all of us to be Your servants, whether we are single, married, divorced, or widowed. Bless our relationships with other people and if we become partnered to another person, let Your love be known in our faithfulness and forgiveness to one another. 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 Psalm Project drawings. It features a verse from Psalm 45 which is also known as the Wedding Psalm. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3585/3337212336_69281c9a8d_b.jpg

Church devotions: Church and Sex - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

1 Corinthians 6:18     Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

This is a tough passage. What the apostle Paul would call sexual immorality and what we interpret it as being today are miles apart. In his day, sexual immorality could involve anything outside of marital sexuality. These days, mutual consensual sexuality, even among non-married folks, is not widely considered to be immoral.

This dilemma is not only affecting the church, it’s also shaping our society. Less people are getting married and there are more single mothers in our communities. What this shows me is that the men get to play the field, whereas the women are stuck with the consequences. In places like Africa, this also has fatal penalties where children are born with HIV. Sexual liberty may be what a free society wants, but in the end innocents suffer from boundless degeneracy.

Perhaps the Church has to refocus its attention on the values of long-term commitment that couples can share with one another. It’s not an easy path to take, but it does have a lot of benefits and blessings for the whole of society. Maybe we should emphasize Paul’s statements about our bodies belonging to God, not as a means of puritanically maintaining sexual morality, but as a positive way of maintaining long term partnerships. Everyone deserves to be loved, and if that love is sustained over a lifetime, it will become more meaningful and more effective in our communities and across society.

Questions for personal reflection

How would I define sexual immorality? How different is my definition from Paul’s?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, we pray for the blessings of long term relationships in our communities. We ask that You bless those who have maintained their love across many years. Help them to encourage and inspire our younger generations to seek those same blessings in their own partnerships and 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 message, please send him an email to traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is a photograph of the latest edition of the Ministry and Liturgy magazine which is published by the Roman Catholic Church across America. The front cover has one of John’s Christmas drawings. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5334/9898277415_7a0441075b_b.jpg

Church devotion: Problems with Paul - 1 Corinthians 5:3

1 Corinthians 5:3       Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.

            The apostle Paul didn't pull any of his punches, nor did he mince his words. He spoke directly and firmly, as well as candidly and clearly, which must have made him an awesome preacher in his day. Even now, when we all read his uncompromising words in 1 Corinthians 5, we flinch at his tone. In a sexually liberated society, we all have trouble dealing with his unyielding judgment.

            Does this mean that Paul was wrong to write about sexual immorality? Are his words meant for an ancient time and therefore have no place in our present cultured Christianity? Do we find him offensive because his words reek of archaic authoritarianism and joyless judgmentalism, or are we pushing back because there’s a strong element of truth to his point?

            Traditional Christians are constantly being ridiculed and attacked for trying to maintain nineteenth century standards in a twenty-first century world. They are being pressured to capitulate, so that the whole Church can present itself to the current culture as being worthy of popular ideals. During the last part of the twentieth century, the Church went to war with itself over sexuality and marriage issues. The first two decades of this new century seem doomed to be wrecked with the same conflicts.

            In my darkest moments, I cannot see an end to this cultural civil war and as the Church rips itself apart, the world begins to fall apart. Our ministries become stagnant and our missions are harder to maintain. People become devoted to personal causes instead of the person of Christ. Jesus becomes just another religious teacher instead of the Redeemer Savior of the world.

            And then I remind myself that the Church is the Bride of Christ, so He will not let it be diminished or blemished, anguished or finished. He continues His ministry and mission both in the Church and across the world. His promises are still being fulfilled and His words still bring people to God. His work never ends and His Kingdom will last forever. All we have to do is to continue to follow Him faithfully, even though we are all sinners and imperfect. His Way, His Truth, and His Life will always endure…and in the end, that is all that is important.

Questions for personal reflection

What is Christ doing in my community today? Is the Church there with Him?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, we are all struggling as Christians in a world that is constantly changing. We continually clash with one another and go to war over words, works, and ways. Forgive us and help us to be restored to one another so that we can effectively help to heal this broken world. In Your Holy Name, we humbly 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 John an email to traqair@aol.com. He may not answer all emails quickly, but he does read every one of them.

Today’s image is my latest Bible card drawing. It’s taken from Psalm 113v3.

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9/11 devotion - Always Remember - Psalm 30:2

Psalm 30:2                  O LORD, my God, I cried to You for help, and You have healed me.

I always find 9/11 difficult. I grieve the world that we once knew, and tragically lost on that day of infamy. All of our lives have changed and nothing is as it was before. 9/11 altered everything and no matter how many times people or politicians say that we need to carry on just as we once did, we cannot ever go back to a pre-9/11 existence.

I usually start this day quietly and think about the past. At some point I go to visit the graveyard next to my daughters’ High School. Some wonderful church friends are buried there, including one who died on 9/11.

It was nice and quiet this morning as I walked on the dew covered grass next to the gravestones. I thanked God for the people I had known whose names are carved on the headstones. It was both a very realistic and surrealistic moment in time, where reality and eternity meshed together. I came away smiling because of the fond memories that I inwardly recollected. And I reminded myself, yet again, to bring some flowers next year.

They say that time heals, but really what they mean is that eventually some experiences from the past grow distant like waves retreating from the shore. Despite this, I know that I shall see those dear friends again in His Garden. My soul is at peace with that wonderful thought.

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, on this fateful day, draw to near to us who remember the world as it once was. Walk with us as we go down hallowed and fearful paths. Heal our memories and grant peace to our weary souls. In Your Holy Name, we humbly and quietly 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 John an email to traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is John’s 9-11 drawing for this year. It’s called “Always Remember.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3733/9725769218_18af60e748_b.jpg

Church 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