Church Meeting Devotions: Love and Hate - Philippians 2:8

The podcast for today’s devotional can be found at the following link:

http://traffic.libsyn.com/stushie/Love_and_Hate.mp3

Philippians 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!

I love the snow; I just hate driving in it. Even though I was born in Scotland and drove through many blizzards on the West Coast at night, when I could barely see a thing, I find that driving in the snow covered streets of the South is much more hazardous. There seems to be more black ice and bad drivers here than I ever experienced back in Scotland, so even when an inch of snow hits our roads in and around Knoxville, it’s deathly dangerous.

I guess it’s because people are just not used to the white stuff falling on the streets each winter. The local authorities don’t seem to be wholly prepared either and yet, we all know that winter comes around every year at this time.

I love being a Christian; I just hate the struggles that I have each day in trying to maintain my faith. Even though I grew up in the Church and have spent much of my life as a pastor, it’s still hard to be the perfect saint that everyone expects. I’m only human after all, so I’m going to make mistakes and at the end of each day, I’ve usually got a whole list of sins to ask God for forgiveness. As each day starts, I begin with the best of intentions; as each day closes, I seek pardon for the offenses I’ve caused and the temptations to which I have yielded.

I love Jesus Christ too; I just hate the fact that He died on the Cross for me. Even though I know He did it to obey God and obtain my salvation, I feel guilty about driving the nails through His hands with my personal sins. I know that I’ll never be perfect and that I’ll need His Cross each day to pin my sins upon Him. I hate that, but at the same time I am also deeply grateful that Jesus saved and saves me from my sins by His humility and obedience which led to the Cross.

Perhaps you are feeling guilty about something you once did or said. Maybe you feel distant from God or separated from Him because of sinful acts and shameful secrets. I hate those things too, but this I love: there is nothing that we have ever done or said that can ever separate us from the love God through our Lord Jesus Christ. If we let Him into our lives and open our hearts to Him, if we accept Him and believe that He has the power to pardon us, then He will grant us forgiveness instantly and immediately, totally and completely.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we love You dearly, but we hate the fact that we caused You to die on the Cross for our past mistakes and present sins. We are humbled by Your humility and are in awe of Your obedience to God. Without Your death, we would have no Life; without Your sacrifice, we would have no salvation. In Your Name, we live and 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 a nighttime scene of the Henley Street bridge in Knoxville. The picture is called “Moon over Henley.” If you would like to view a larger version of the drawing, please click here: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5249/5322272559_cdb65afa3d_b.jpg

All of John’s drawings can be found on the Web at his art site at http://www.stushieart.wordpress.com/

Signed, numbered and matted prints are available for only $20 each (plus shipping if necessary). They make unique gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and new homes. Just contact John by email and he’ll be delighted to help you.

Church Meeting Devotions: Peer Pressure

(It's getting harder to preach the Gospel these days - even in the Church, of all places!)

Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by whom we must be saved.”

Podcast version here

I’m having a tough time relating to my peers. It’s always been hard because I didn’t go to an American seminary, so I’ve no class fellowship to identify or connect with. I also was brought up in old-school Presbyterianism, so my Scottish Calvinist background doesn’t help me get close to my progressive Presbyterian associates.

At times, I feel like a fish out of water and I wonder if my family and I would have been better staying in Scotland. And then I remember that I am called by God to be here, so there must be a reason that I am constantly crying in the wilderness and feeling out of place.

I’m a Gospel preacher by trade. I owe everything to Jesus and because of that I’m not willing to give up on His ways, His teaching, or His Lordship. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not perfect by any means, but I believe that Christ is. And I fervently believe that everything which the Old & New Testament reveal about Christ is completely true, unchangeable, and unarguable.

There’s a lot of pressure put on Christian people to give up part of their beliefs by equating Christ with Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, or even Krishna. Religious people are all part of one theological soup that tastes of God. The Gospels are just another batch of sacred documents which tell us tales about a great teacher called Jesus. Other religious documents from all over the world are supposed to be just as insightful, instructive, and important about showing us how to find God.

I’ve even got peers, who are Presbyterian pastors, who don’t believe in the Resurrection, nor do they think the Gospels are trustworthy. They follow their own path and sadly they take other people with them down a dead end.

When Peter the fisherman stands up fearlessly in front of the Sanhedrin and boldly declares that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by whom we must be saved,” I believe him. He’s just a fisherman from Galilee, putting his life on the line, and courageously preaching the Gospel. He’s out of place in Jerusalem. He’s crying out for Christ in a theological wilderness. He’s declaring the divine truth and does not care what his peers, elders, and leaders believe. Peter has given his life, heart, and soul to Christ. He can do nothing else but preach the Gospel.

I choose to be like Peter because I want to serve the Lord. I will always preach the Gospel because I truly love Jesus. And whether my pastoral peers like it or not, I will keep the New Testament Christ in my heart because I know of no other Name through whom humanity can be saved.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we live in troubled times and the Church is causing a lot of trouble for herself by mincing Your words and devaluing Your truth. Help us to get back on the right track. Grant us the courage to remain loyal to You and to the Gospels that reveal Your ways, Your words, and Your holy works. In Your sacred Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment upon today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org. Please feel free to forward this message to your friends.