Opening devotion: Everyone Will Be Saved - Acts 2:21

Acts 2:21 ‘And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

I want everyone to be saved. That’s why I preach the Gospel on Sundays and write these messages which are read all over the world. I want people to know the joy of Jesus that I have experienced in my life. I want them to embrace His ways and live by His words. I want them to overcome their fears through their faith in Him. I want them to know that we’re not alone on this planet, but that God has created all of us for a divine purpose on Earth and an eternal life in Heaven. I want everyone to be saved – no matter who they are, where they have come from, or what they have done.

Jesus means everything to me. He saved my life when I was self-destructive. He cured me of my alcoholism. He gave me a purpose when I was intent on wasting why life. He turned me around from my faithless ways and saved me from myself. I owe Him everything and it’s a wonderful feeling to be completely indebted to the Lord. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without Jesus. He saved me and I want everyone to know of that salvation.

No one is past redemption. No one has done anything so bad that Christ cannot forgive them. No one who seeks Him is ever turned away. Everyone who calls on His Name will be saved. If I was dying today and had one last wish, it would be this: that everyone that I have ever met, known, or loved would be completely saved by Jesus Christ. This is why I preach, just like Peter; this is why I write, just like Paul.

Questions for personal reflection

What does being saved by Christ feel like to me? How can I share this with the others in my life?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, thank You for being our Savior. Thank You for coming into this sinful broken world to save it from itself. Thank You for dying on the Cross, so that we may claim salvation through Your blood. Thank You for the Gospel which continually brings the Good News of salvation to all people throughout the world. In Your Holy Name, we cheerfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to make a comment or ask a question about today’s message, please send John an email to traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest drawings for Holy Week. It’s called “Sin Bearer” and features a bloodied and bruised Christ carry His Cross to Calvary. If you would like to see a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8510/8598112375_a26a7810f0_h.jpg

Church Staff Devotions: Scoffers - 2 Peter 3:3

2 Peter 3:3           First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.

Being a Christian is never easy, but these days it seems to be a lot harder than it ever used to be. The words “born again” and “evangelical” have been reviled for almost 50 years in our society. I can even recount times in my life when those terms have been sneerfully expressed by church people, as if those who called themselves ‘born again’ or ‘evangelical’ were intellectually limited and spiritually weird. The world never liked those terms, but lately the very word “Christian” is being used pejoratively which doesn’t bode well for the future acceptance of the Church in society.

Peter calls such critics “scoffers” and refers to their prominence in the world as being a sign of the last days. Perhaps this is how Christ finally divides the sheep and the goats. Those who serve Him are saved; those who scoff at Him are cast aside.

I read a great quote this morning from J C Ryle, one of my favorite Bible commentators and teachers. He was writing about the two thieves who were crucified beside Jesus. One asked for Christ’s mercy and the other scoffed at Him. Ryle’s comment on the event is as follows: ‘One thief was converted in his last hour that none might despair. But only one was converted that none might presume.’

I don’t know if these are the Last Days that Peter writes about, but this I do know – Christ is the only Way to salvation and that without being a Christian, there is no other earthly way to get into heaven. Today’s world may revile the term ‘Christian’ as it has done for centuries, but those who honestly claim to follow and serve Jesus Christ will be with Him forever, long after this planet and all its people are merely space dust.

Prayer:                 Lord Jesus, You are the Christ and we are united in Your Spirit. Sometimes we are mocked because of our beliefs and throughout the world many Christians are still experiencing persecution. Keep us faithful to Your words and sustain our spirits as we follow Your Way. 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 pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s drawing is one of John’s digital glass images of the Seven Last Words of Christ. It depicts Jesus and the good thief. This series of drawings was used by a symphony orchestra in Vancouver, Canada on Good Friday as a backdrop to their playing of Haydn’s “Seven Last Words of Christ.” If you would like to see a larger version of the drawing, please click on the following link: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3360/3413043726_56183fb191_b.jpg