Presbyterian Devotions: Arguing Against God - Job 23 v 4

Job 23:4          I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments.

I feel sorry for the whole Christian Church right now. We seem to be stumbling over our own feet and are constantly struggling with issues of homosexuality, poverty, and abortion. There doesn’t seem to be any clear consensus about what we should believe, and no matter what biblical verses or principles are used to prop up one side of a theological debate, the other side trumps it with a different interpretation. We are so tainted with this urge to state and enforce our views upon the Church that we have lost the capacity to convince the world that what we believe in is the truth. In our desperate need to make everyone feel accepted and for us to be liked, we’ve thrown out Christ with the waters of baptism and allowed the waters of chaos to overwhelm us.

I personally feel as though I’ve taken the wrong path and allowed myself to justify my beliefs. I’ve confused and fused my culture with my Christianity. I’ve stuck my head in the sand instead of drawing a line in the sand. Instead of letting the scriptures be my guide, I’ve relied upon my conscience. Instead of following the words of Christ, I’ve followed the maddening crowd. I’ve permitted modernism to mangle my relationship with Christ and have let post-modernists diminish my preaching. I feel like a prodigal pastor and a theological prostitute. I need to repent, refocus, and return to the Kingly Christ of the Scriptures and not the jolly Jesus that society has created.

In the Old Testament, Job fiercely expressed his right to contend with God and be acquitted through the power of his arguments. In the New Testament, Christ freely sacrificed Himself because we cannot contend with God and be acquitted. We may be able to defend our thoughts and justify our beliefs to other people, but we cannot do the same with God. Only Christ can advocate on our behalf. And only He can do this for us if we repent of our pride, our arrogant mistakes, and false misconceptions.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we foolishly believe that our society has it all right and that Your words are outdated, outmoded, and outflanked. You clearly laid out the godly ways to live our lives, but we sinfully pick and choose whatever is convenient for us. Pardon our arrogance and stupidity for believing that our generation is right and that all previous Christian generations were totally wrong. Redirect our paths and reclaim our churches as Your own. In Your Heavenly Name, we 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.

Presbyterian Devotions: Just Jude

Jude 1:3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.

Podcast version here: http://media.libsyn.com/media/stushie/Just_Jude.mp3

Sometimes we think that the original New Testament church was full of people who were completely united and totally happy in their work together for the Lord. Nothing could be further from the truth. Those First Christians struggled to keep the Church alive, not just they were persecuted by the authorities, but because of the tribulations within the Church itself.

Different people had different ideas about what was important to Christianity. Some felt that God’s grace through Christ was unlimited so that they had complete freedom to do anything they liked. If they were immoral or made mistakes, Jesus would constantly forgive them.

But other Christians like Jude, believed that faith in Christ placed obligations and responsibilities on His followers. They were entrusted with Christ’s ministry and mission, which made them personally accountable for their lives, their actions, and their beliefs. Being a Christian was never meant to be easy or cozy. It required persistence in the face of persecution, and resistance when confronting temptation.

Eventually, Christians like Jude won the day and the Church survived. But every generation since then has had to struggle with the same issues. Our faith is not a given. Each generation can squander it by allowing the world to shape the Church’s culture, principles, and beliefs.

The struggle that we fight today is inconsistency and a laissez-faire attitude to what is important for Christians to believe, practice, and accomplish. Jude’s words sound critical and judgmental to us today, but does that make them unimportant or wrong? Are we more interested in a Church that suits our beliefs and is tailored to fit our lifestyle choices, or are we up to the challenge of having Christ mold us?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, these are challenging days and turbulent times for the Church. In every generation, people are called to serve and honor You with their lives. This involves sacrifice and dedication, persistence and determination. Help us each day to keep focused on what You would have us do and accomplish with our lives for Your Kingdom. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor at 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.

Presbyterian Devotions: Wisdom and Understanding

Jeremiah 51:15 He made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

These days, when we talk about a person of power, we usually mean someone who has strong leadership skills, popularity, and has amassed a fortune. They are usually hard working, focused people who have amassed wealth and credibility. Political leaders, company executives, and even very successful movie stars are usually thought be powerful people. The press, media, as well as society in general, listen to what they have to say and value their opinions. Because of their success, we are drawn to what they say and do.

Power in the Bible takes on some different characteristics. Instead of wealth and success, power emerges out of wisdom and understanding. Elderly people were accredited more standing and respect in Biblical communities because of the years of experiences that they had accrued. Their understanding of the times, the seasons, and the forces of nature were crucial to the well-being and sustenance of their people.

Sadly, we’ve lost some of that in our world today. Old people are set aside as being old-fashioned and out of touch. We’re more into what’s happening now and who’s doing what amongst our peers, instead of listening to the garnered wisdom and collective understanding of our seniors.

Even the church has foolishly disregarded what our senior folks have to say about faith. We’re more into ‘emergent’ and trendy ways of doing worship and being church. In our frantic effort to be relevant, we’ve unwisely ditched the best of our faith for the worst of our wants.

If we honestly seek to be powerful and make an impact in our communities, then we have to take time to give credence to the collective wisdom and understanding of those who have been faithful for decades, instead of constantly deferring to those whose faith is just beginning. Change for changes sake leads to chaos and division, and we end up being influenced by the world. Choices made through wisdom and understanding, give us the power to be influential and make a real impact for Christ.

Prayer: Lord God, we thank You for the seniors in our faith communities whose wisdom and understanding have helped to sustain our faith. Help us to be more open to their ways that have kept them loyal to You for decades. Teach us through what they have learned about the world and the church. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.