Presbyterian devotions: I AM - Isaiah 45:5-6

Today’s Bible readings are Isaiah 45:1-7 and Matthew 23:1-12

Isaiah 45:5-6  I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. 

How clear does God have to be? What more does He have to say that will convince the world that He is God alone? How long will we go on thinking to ourselves that this does not matter?

The scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation, are consistently clear about God’s exclusiveness. If we believe otherwise, then from where did we garner that belief? Certainly not the scriptures.

Maybe we have to seriously think about our world view and personal philosophies again. Maybe we’ve got it wrong and God, as always, has it right.

Prayer:                        Lord God, You are almighty, unique, and exceptional. There are no other gods. Give us the courage to surrender our hearts and minds in faith to You alone, instead of giving in to the ways of the world. In Jesus’ 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.

Today’s image is John’s latest winter drawing of the beautiful Northern Lights. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6773836733_67954361dc_b.jpg

Presbyterian Blogs: Blind Teachers - Matthew 15:14

Matthew 15:14            “Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

I take my role as teaching elder very seriously. We’re living in an age where people make up their own ideas, live their own ways, and expect Jesus to rubber stamp their principles, opinions, and choices. As soon as anyone questions that, they turn off listening and turn away. Their reaction is nothing new and Jesus had to deal with it all of the time. No matter who or what opposed Him, He just obediently stayed the course and fulfilled all that God wanted of Him.

Yesterday, I was reading a pile of tripe that someone had made up in order to justify his lifestyle. Jesus was misquoted a number of times and the ideas that were expressed couldn’t be found in the Bible anywhere. In the comments section, screeds of folk were applauding the writer and, at the same time, heavily criticizing those who held traditional Christian beliefs. This morning, when I read today’s Gospel passage (Matthew 15:12-20) I couldn’t help thinking that people are being led astray by blind, populist teachers. How many will end up in the ditch of damnation who knows, but perhaps some will truly return to what Christ actually said, taught, and lived instead of what people re-imagine Him to have said.

It’s not popular, but I intend to stay the true course. I’ll be criticized as being narrow-minded, self-righteously stubborn, and theologically obstinate. Some will even accuse me of saying that I’m always right and everyone else is so completely wrong, but that’s not what I’m writing even here.

Christ is always right and His teaching is absolutely true. I take my role as teaching elder seriously. If I don’t teach what He truly said, then I’m being deliberately, rebelliously, and sinfully wrong.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, open our eyes to Your Truth and keep us from being blinded by the world. Remind us that our faith has never been popular and that Your ways are constantly being discredited by blind teachers, wrong interpretations, and anti-Christian beliefs. This Christmas, allow us the time to truly reflect upon our own ideas and opinions. Sift out the ones that are wrong and strengthen those that glorify You. 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 image is John’s latest drawing. It’s called “Trotting Along.” If you would like to view a larger version, then please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6551826543_f243250798_b.jpg

All of John’s drawings can be found on his art website at www.stushieart.com.

Presbyterian Devotions: Yeaster Day - Matthew 13:33

Matthew 13:33            Jesus told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."

One of my earliest memories from childhood is of the terrible smell of whisky yeast that came from the distilleries next to my neighborhood. It was absolutely awful and some days it made me feel sick. The stench was so strong that I can still remember the smell fifty years later. These days, distilleries would not be allowed to pollute the surrounding environment, but way back in the early 1960s there were no government controls. Generations of Glaswegians learned to live around the pollution and put up with what we called ‘the pong.’ We didn’t know any better or that life could be better lived. Thankfully, the environment has been cleaned up and future generations of my city folk will not have to endure such a bane in their everyday life.

Yeast is pervasive, whether it is used for making bread or a whisky mash. It expands throughout the substance it enters until all the flour for bread or barley for whisky is affected. It’s an amazing biological process which causes bread to rise and whisky to mature. Without the yeast, proper bread or real whisky could not be produced. It is the main catalyst which is required to produce the final desired result.

Jesus said that the Kingdom of God was meant to be like yeast; it is essential to the spiritual growth of humanity and the expansion of the Church. Without the kingdom of God at the heart of our spirits, we could never aspire towards Heaven. Without Christ’s Kingdom at the center of our faith, Christianity could never have hoped to be globally influential across the centuries. Christ’s Kingdom is the catalyst that is required to produce God’s final desired results – that of sinners saved by grace and billions of people restored to His everlasting favor.

So today, let us give thanks that Christ is at the heart of our faith and also our spirits. His Kingdom begins within each of us and expands out into the world through the faith that we share, the deeds that we do, and the lives that we live.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, be the spiritual yeast within us that we yearn for in the world. Expand Your Ministry and Mission through each one of us. Help us to grow in faith and to increase the good deeds that we can complete, in order to bring honor and glory to God. In Your Holy 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 image is John’s latest Psalm drawing. It’s a simple child-like depiction of a verse from Psalm 111. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7011/6464037881_34db33968d_b.jpg

Presbyterian Devotions: Prison Wall

Isaiah 61:1b He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…

Podcast version here:

I didn’t know it at the time, but my name and telephone number were etched on to a wall inside a cell of the local police station. At some point, I must have helped someone in the Scottish town I was serving, and he or she had marked it on the wall. Perhaps they had been drunk and disorderly, or had been caught stealing lead from the church roof or shoplifting. Whatever the circumstances were, I may never know, but years later, when I returned to Maybole, someone told me that my name was still etched on the prison wall.

I can remember a time when I received several calls from a few shady characters in the town. I helped them as best as I could, but I didn’t realize that the manse telephone was being circulated throughout Maybole’s underworld. It was just a small town of 6000 people, but we did have a few frightening families and unsavory personalities. I guess they latched on to me because of my own alcoholic background.

I love the fact that Christ can be our Deliverer when we are prisoners to sin, addiction, and darkness. He has the capacity and power to set us free from the shackles of our problems and the chains of fear that we all experience from time to time. Isaiah’s prophecy reveals to us a Savior, who is very much in control of the world and in whose justice, mercy, and grace we can all rely.

We don’t need a number etched on our self-imposed prison walls to liberate us. All we require is Christ in our hearts and He will see to the freeing of our souls.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we all commit crimes against God which we call sins. Sometimes those past mistakes depressingly imprison us, shackle our souls, and shatter our dreams. Come to us, Lord, and free us from our fears, release us from our anxieties, and cleanse us of our sins. In Your Holy and Liberating 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.