Committee devotion: Real Faith - Matthew 9:29-30a

Matthew 9:29-30a   Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; and their sight was restored.

            Faith is a very rare commodity these days. I’m not talking about a religious notion, or a spiritual feeling, or even a mystical experience. I’m talking about real solid faith in Jesus. I've been a pastor for almost thirty years and during that time I've seen many people mistakenly think that what they believe in is faith. What they actually hold on to is wishful thinking, just like in the old Peter Pan stories, where if you think good thoughts and add some pixie dust, you can really fly.

            Faith isn't a feeling, nor is it a daydream. Faith in Jesus actually requires focus, commitment, service, and humility. Because people are so one dimensional in their thinking, they naively believe that just thinking good thoughts about Jesus is all that is required. They delude themselves into the notion that being nice is what counts, and they wrongly equate that with being faithful.

            Faith is much more than a spiritual trivial pursuit; it is the life quest that we are all given from the moment we are born to the day that we die. We have one opportunity to get it right, to be found by God through faith in Jesus. If we set Him aside or falsely think that everything we do is blessed, approved, and condoned by Christ, then we’re tragically and eternally fooling ourselves.

            Faith, real faith, is not just something that we live for, it’s also a divine gift that we die with. If we go to meet our Savior without following, worshipping, or serving Him, then we won’t find Him at all. The Gospels give us all of the material, resources, and clues that we need about what real faith looks like; if we think that we can make it up for ourselves and wing it through life, then we’ll end up on the wrong side of glory. Faith requires commitment, but commitment is so inconvenient at times.

            So, let’s all truly, sincerely, and honestly ask ourselves this today: to whom am I being faithful? To Christ or myself, to His teachings or my own ideas? We cannot hide the truth from ourselves, and we certainly cannot fool Jesus either.

Questions for personal reflection

Am I faithful to Christ or am I just living a lie? Am I committed to His Church or am I just committed to myself?

Prayer:          Lord Jesus, we all want to have real faith in You. We really want to be Your followers and servants, disciples and messengers. Forgive us for playing at religion, or for feigning spirituality. Challenge our choices when they conflict with Your guidance. Change our lives when we contradict Your Word. 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 him an email to Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest artworks. It’s called ‘Chalice,’ and it was made using paper sculpting and crayons. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: Chalice.

Meeting Devotion: Really Good News - Acts 13:38

Acts 13:38       “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.”

We all do things that we later regret. We all make mistakes that can’t be rectified. Each of us lives with guilt on our consciences and shame in our hearts. We are human and fallible, prone to failure and imperfection. It’s a sad and sinful part of who we are; none of us are perfect and not one of us is free from sin.

Left to ourselves, we would have no opportunity of being reconciled to a holy, sacred, sinless, and perfect God. The great fact of history is this: we are not left to ourselves. Through Jesus, we can be forgiven; by Christ, we can be reconciled to God.

Some people talk about the Church as being outdated, old-fashioned, and irrelevant, but so long as people are selfish, sinful, and foolish, the Church will never become irrelevant. Every day, hundreds of thousands of people across the world discover Jesus as their Savior. Every night, billions of people ask for forgiveness and seek His favor. In the eternal scheme of things, the world is already outdated and will become old-fashioned and irrelevant beyond the gates of Heaven.

With Jesus as our gracious Savior, today is the continuing first day in the rest of our eternal lives. That’s what I call really good news – now let’s go out and share it with other people…J

Questions for personal reflection

What has been the gravest mistake of my life? How has Jesus forgiven me?

 Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You are the Savior of the world and the Holy One to whom we belong. Our past mistakes are completely forgiven. Our future hopes rest in Your Kingdom. Help us to share the goodness of Your love and forgiveness to others around us. In Your Holy Name, we thankfully 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 from a new series of church banners that John is currently designing. This drawing is called “Banner 01.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8115/8706417998_4c1a0953e9_b.jpg