Presbyterian Devotions: The Great Lafayette - Proverbs 16:25

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. 

One hundred years ago today, the Empire Theatre, which stood in the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland, accidentally caught fire after a kerosene lamp was tipped over. The scenery was quickly set ablaze and most people escaped the flames.

During that week, the Great Lafayette, a German magician who was also Europe’s highest paid performer at the time, had brought his travelling mystical show to the theater. At first, he escaped the fire but then decided to go back through the flames in order to rescue his horse. Lafayette never made it and when the fire was eventually put out, the authorities found his body in the ruins. He was buried in one of the city’s cemeteries, along with his little dog which also perished in the blaze.

Lafayette tried to rescue his animals, but it was a decision that cost him his life. It was an act of courage, mercy and kindness, but was also one which ended up killing his famous career and taking away of his life. He probably thought that he was doing the right thing at the right time, but turned out to be the most fatal mistake of his life.

This week our denomination will do away with biblical ordination standards and be less circumspect about who become our elders and pastors. Instead of a national standard, we will have different boundaries established by different presbyteries and local sessions. Rather than follow biblical ethics, we will be guided by cultural conditions which ultimately will lead to a libertine church that the Father of Presbyterianism, John Calvin, sought to avoid.

Some people, younger than me, believe that this is the right way for the church to proceed in the 21^st century and the right path to follow. Only time will tell, but if Biblical history is anything to go by (and I believe it does), the Church will decline overall and it will only be a call to revival that will ultimately save it from itself.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, these are troubling times and our churches are experiencing a lot of emotional and spiritual turbulence. Keep us from following paths that lead us into dead ends. Help to find Your Way in the midst of all of our confusion. In Your Holy Name, we fervently pray. Amen.

John Stuart is currently the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment or ask questions of today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is my Easter Window for 2011. It features four drawings that I created for Holy Week. If you would like to see a larger version of the drawing, please visit the following link:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5147/5651268701_f8c5f048aa_b.jpg

Presbyterian Blogs: After 25 Years - Proverbs 9 v 16

Proverbs 9:16             "Let all who are simple come in here!" she says to those who lack judgment.

After almost 25 years in pastoral ministry, I’ve reached several conclusions and one of them is this: sometimes theology and theologians are full of bunk!

I’ve watched more than a few of my peers, both here and in Scotland, get so isolated in their theological ivory towers that they become too heavenly to be of any earthly use. They immerse themselves in theological obscurities and wallow in weird causes. They become armchair pastors, seeking the secluded safety of their studies and end up idolizing their own ideas. They make no difference in the world and add nothing to their parishes. They are deified drones who live off the resources, contributions and hard work of the parishioners.

They want to be respected for their profession, but have no idea how to lead. They want to write theological tomes instead of reading people’s faces. They want their name to be recognized instead of remembering the names of people at church. They would rather be teaching at a seminary instead of a small church group. They are ambitious and dangerous. They lack true judgment and usually end up losing their faith.

The Church suffers because we allow these selfish seekers into our parishes and presbyteries, our structures and our systems. They are like locusts who devour the people and who lead the simple-minded astray. They don’t believe that Jesus is the Only Savior of the World and they deride grass roots parishioners for being narrow-minded. They have a pre-Copernican attitude about their academic understanding: everything revolves around their ideas – even God must circle their theological globes.

As Presbyterians, we pride ourselves into being deep thinkers about our faith. Lately, though, we have allowed priestly parasites to feed upon the faith of our people. We need to be more circumspect about what churches we belong to and what leaders we choose – at any level. We would do well to seek out places of worship by what Calvin referred to as the marks of the True church – a church where the Gospel is truly preached and the sacraments are carefully administered.

Maybe this wasn’t the devotion you needed today, but sometimes we all need to read and hear things we don’t like in order to grow spiritually. Our broken world needs a healthy church, not a broken one. In order to bring healing to this suffering planet, we need to begin to seriously heal ourselves from within. Wishful thinking and good intentions will only lead us to hell; true believing and faithful living will help us to attract more people to Christ and Heaven.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, these are trying times for the Church and it gets harder to distinguish between true leaders and false prophets. It’s easier to keep our heads down in order to maintain  the peace, but evil triumphs when good people do or say nothing. Grant us the courage to stay faithful to Your words and ways. Raise up strong committed Christian leaders who live according to Your truth and abide by Your words. Forgive us of this generation, who have been led astray by our own understanding and who have failed to keep Your commands and faith. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is currently 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. Your feedback means a lot to him.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Spring drawings. It’s called “Tulips and Daffodils.” You can view a larger version of the drawing at http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5293/5572859545_c40a716a9c_b.jpg

Signed limited edition 8x10 prints are available from John. Contact him by email for more information.

Presbyterian Devotions: If God Lied...Titus 1:2

Titus 1:2   …a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time…

It all comes down to one thing: does God lie?

I’ve written for months about the struggle that our church is currently experiencing. Very soon changes are going to occur which will alter who we are and what we believe. If find it very disconcerting and am deeply troubled. I’m far from perfect and nowhere near as sinless as I should be, but there’s one clear truth that I have believed in no matter how much of a faithless failure I have been: God does not lie.

In recent times, we have become so used to compartmentalizing truth from feelings, integrity from interpretation, and honesty from our emotions that we’ve deluded ourselves into thinking that God is okay with what we choose to do. So what if God called something abominable in the past, He needs to loosen up and get with the 21^st century program. Who cares if some sins once affected our salvation, God needs to get over it and get on board society’s band wagon!

In other words, God lied. Or He was mistaken or misguided. Or He wasn’t being serious or meant to be taken literally. God lied; He might not have meant it, so we’ll forgive Him and let Him join us.

This is why I am unsettled and troubled. If God lied in the past, then He is capricious and not worthy of our worship. If we are deluding ourselves, then we are on the road to perdition where only repentance can save us.

If God lied, then Christ was forsaken on the Cross and there is no salvation.

If God lied, then Christ’s body turned to dust and there was no resurrection.

If God lied, then we are the most pitiable of fools and there is no point in having or sharing faith.

If God lied, then Christianity is a curse and there is no life after death.

Maybe now you understand my struggle.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You told us that You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. If that is certain, then we are guilty of leading ourselves astray, away from the Truth, with no hope of Life to come. Break down the walls of our convenient compartmentalized choices and make us see the stupidity of our erroneous ways. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is currently the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment or ask questions of today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is John’s latest drawing called “Happy Place.” It’s a rendering of sunrise at Ormond Beach in Florida. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5186/5561482881_b0270db4e6_b.jpg

An 8x10 inch print is also available which you can view on Ebay at http://tinyurl.com/4h3z468

PCUSA Gay Ordination: Transformation, not Reformation

PCUSA Gay ordination: Transformation, not Reformation

The current on-going issue in the PCUSA concerns the biennial problem of ordaining gay people who are in active sexual relationships. As each year passes, the opposition to this is diminishing which denotes a change in culture as opposed to a change in Biblical standards. And this is where I have a problem with the PCUSA church and its Louisville leaders.

They are calling this a re-formation of the church which is false. Reformation is originally a military term that refers to soldiers in the battlefield. The order for reforming is meant to bring the scattered forces together again in the midst of the battle to a basic standard formation in order to consolidate the strength of the troops. When Luther, Calvin & Knox called for the Church to be reformed, they were asking Christians throughout Europe to get back to the basics of New Testament Christianity. They weren’t seeking to change the church; they were looking to have it return to its most basic biblical principles.

Ordaining gay people is not re-formation, it is transformation because the Church is being asked to radically change from its Biblical and New Testament beliefs. Those who call it reformation are wrong, because in order to reform the church would have to get back to its biblical basics.

Homosexuality has never been a practice that was acceptable in the original Christian church, so what we are being asked to do is to radically change who we are and what we believe is right. If we take this path to accept the ordination of practicing homosexuals then we are separating ourselves from the New Testament Church. We will have transformed into something else and into something other than New Testament Christianity. Our Western culture may demand this of our society, but our churches are meant to be separate from our culture in matters of doctrine, Biblical teaching, and Christ given truth.

In essence we have to ask ourselves this important question: are we Christ’s church in the world, or are we the Western World’s Church?

PCUSA devotions: Nearer to God - 1 Thessalonians 4

1 Thessalonians 4:16             For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 

Understand this: Jesus is coming back at a time that we least expect. Will we be ready?

Probably most of us go through each day from one event, experience, or hour until the next without giving any thought to Christ’s Return. We are so far removed from the time of Paul that we go about thinking something like: ‘well, if Jesus has waited almost 2000 years to return, He probably won’t get here in my lifetime.’ We forget, though, that unlike Paul, we are now 2000 years nearer to that incredible day when Jesus arrives to finally judge the Earth.

This is why changing our present lifestyles is so crucial: honestly ask yourself this: if Jesus arrives today, will I be ready? Will I be taken or forsaken? Will I go to heaven or hell?

Some people turn off when preachers talk like that. They stick their heads in the sand and go into denial about what’s going to happen. They think that if they shut it out from their minds, it won’t ever occur. All they want to listen to is Pollyanna preaching and read happy-go-lucky theology. They don’t want to accept that their time, civilization, culture and society will be no more when Christ returns.

So for those people, let me reiterate: Understand this: Jesus is coming back at a time that we least expect. Will we be ready?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, free us from fooling ourselves and for filling our lives with trivial pursuits. Remind us that we each have everlasting souls and that the destiny of those precious souls depends upon the faith choices that we make on Earth. Keep us from making the colossal mistake of setting aside Biblical truths and replacing them with cultural philosophies. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is presently the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message or ask him a question, please send an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest “Scotland in Winter” prints called “Bonnie Dunkeld.” It depicts the beautiful town of Dunkeld covered in snow. You can view a larger image of this print at the following link:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/5393592425_c5a7d357f7_b.jpg

Presbyterian devotions: Christ's Chosen One - Ephesians 4 v 19

Ephesians 4:19           Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. 

The trouble with Paul is that he knows humanity so well and bluntly speaks the truth. He could have written today’s verse a couple of seconds ago because it’s highly relevant to the issues that the Church and our society are currently facing. We seem to have lost our sensitivity to God and instead we indulge in our sensuality. Instead of being fully devoted to Him, we are desirous of fulfilling our own pleasure.

Let’s be honest with ourselves: we are all contaminated by the brazenness of our culture. We view things we should never see. We act out scenarios we should never do. We tolerate sexual idolatry and excuse it as artistic, sophisticated, and modern. In short, we fall far short of what God expects and end up expecting Him to accept our sinful lifestyles and embrace our selfish whims.

The older I get, the odder the world seems. Traditional values are treated disrespectfully and the Word of God is woefully described as being outdated, hypocritical, and irrelevant. Even so called church people, who hardly ever open or read their Bibles, seem to believe that their own opinions, ideas, and tolerances trump God’s advice, guidance, and truth. Paul is berated as being hostile, homophobic, and hypocritical by Christians who could not walk two paces in his shoes. They honestly and arrogantly believe that they know better than Christ’s Chosen Apostle simply because they live in the here and now as opposed to living in the way back then.

I shudder to think about God’s wrath which will come as a complete shock to this present generation of ungodly people. They will not know what hit them and will never understand why they are so completely wrong. Unless they make time to repent, they will never be released from the cultural weeds that are choking their spiritual sensitivity and replacing it with ungodly sensuality.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, how dare we diminish the writings of Paul; after all, he was Your Chosen Apostle. Forgive our Biblical ignorance and spiritual arrogance. Reclaim our souls and restore our minds to Your ways, Your works, and Your words. In Your Holy Name, we fervently 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 image is one of John’s latest winter drawings. It’s called “Edinburgh Blizzard” and depicts the world-famous castle and Princes Street during the 2010 snowstorm. If you would like to view a larger version, please go to the following link: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5049/5282150038_e7aeb19b56_b.jpg