John
8:31-32 To those who had previously believed Him, Jesus said, “If you hold
to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the
truth, and the truth will set you free.” (NIV)
Jesus
faced a lot of opposition throughout His ministry, especially from some of His
earliest followers who eventually decided to walk away from Him. In doing so,
they rejected His teaching which was based on truth and love, and then they fiercely
confronted Him with their doubts about His character, as well as their own retrenched
beliefs.
Christ’s
truth challenged His people, just as it still does for all who call themselves
Christians today. He never said that believing in Him or following His way was
going to be easy, but He did insist that what He was preaching and teaching was
the God-given truth. People back then relied on many of their traditions and
sacred texts to formulate their own ideas about what was important and true.
When Jesus brought a new understanding of what those traditions and texts really
meant, His ideas were initially treated as being novel and inventive, but
eventually they were seen as being too radical and dangerous for regular
religious people.
We are
still faced with the same challenges, especially in our truth-forsaken society
which relies more on what we feel rather than what is factual. A culture which
insists that what people feel to be true as more important than
what is actually true, can be easily manipulated by charlatans and liars,
conmen and fanatics. Such a society enslaves itself to the whims and wiles of
totalitarian leaders, as well as their henchmen and women, whose only purpose
is to increase their power by spreading lies, causing chaos, creating division,
and fomenting fear. This is why Jesus taught both His supporters and opponents
that knowing the truth was essential to their freedom – lies took away their
liberty whereas the truth kept them free.
Point
to ponder: How does Christ’s truth constantly challenge me?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life which we all should seek
and emulate. Forgive us for being duped by leaders who lie. Help us to follow
and practice Your teaching which counters fear with faith and lies with love.
In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.
John
Stuart is a Scottish Presbyterian pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Psalm
67:4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples
with equity and guide the nations of the earth.
There is a
lot of fabricated controversy surrounding the term DEI which stands for
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Some folks get really incensed when they see
those letters or feel that their white privileged position is threatened simply
because others who are different are getting more opportunities to better their
lives. Rather than allow others the chance to raise themselves up from poverty,
depravity, and ignorance, those who are angry about DEI are trying to eradicate
it entirely to secure their own entitled position.
‘Equity’
is a Biblical word and reveals to us that our Creator – who loves the diversity
of people and included the whole world in the plan of salvation – treats us not
just equally, but with equity which means that when it comes to judging human
beings, God takes their backgrounds and circumstances into account. If God was
to purely treat us on an equal basis, then those with privilege, power, and
prestige would have an advantage. Equity is why Christ sees the poor widow’s
two pennies as being infinitely of more worth in the Temple offering than the pre-calculated,
restricted, and designated portions which the rich and powerful gave.
So, for
those of you who are furious about DEI and seek to destroy it, let me seriously
caution you: God created and still sustains a diverse world which
the Lord rules with equity and includes everyone in everlasting love. Are you
going to foolishly try to take that away from God as well? By the way, if you
need an easy reminder, the old Latin phrase for ‘the image of God’ which we all
have been graciously given, is ‘Imago DEI.’
Point
to ponder: Why did God make such a diverse world? How inclusive is God’s love?
Prayer:
Lord God, You created a wonderful world full of diverse beings, made in Your
image and sustained by Your love. Help us to let go of greed and resentment,
jealousy and bigotry which have no place under Your domain, Your sovereignty,
Your rule. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen
John
Stuart is a retired Scottish pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Midweek
Message – Winging It
Psalm
57:1 Have mercy on me, O God, have
mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow
of your wings until the disaster has passed.
I can
remember my old pastor preaching part of this psalm to me when I was about
twelve years old. It left me confused, not because of what he said, which was
all about security and refuge in God, but because of the mistaken image that I had
concocted from what the psalmist wrote. You see I tried to picture God having
wings, but I couldn’t decide whether they were the soft, white wings like a
dove, or the mighty, golden wings of an eagle.
My problem
arose because I was trying to interpret the Bible verse literally. I got so
hung up on picturing g the image that I missed what was really important in the
psalm – that of knowing God as my refuge in times of trouble.
I also
fell for the same mistake when I was at seminary. This time it wasn’t the wings
that caused my confusion, it was the shadow of the wings. I reasoned that in
order for a shadow to be produced, light has to be behind and above the object
in order to cast it on the ground. “How could anything be above and behind
God?” I argued. Again, I was taking the text too literally and just using it
for the sake of debating with my professors and peers.
The Bible
helps us to understand about who God is and how He intervenes in our lives. However,
if we take the scriptures too literally, as in the case of this image, then we will
miss the point altogether. The Bible guides us towards God and reveals to us
His plan of salvation through Christ. It is sacred and gives us a better
understanding of the holiness, power, and grace of God, but the Bible is not
meant to be fanatically idolized or worshiped like God.
Point
to ponder: What biblical images of God mean something special to me?
Prayer: Lord God, when we take refuge in the shadow of
Your wings, we know that it means we can find a haven and sanctuary in You. As
we rely upon You for everything in our lives, encourage us to read more from
the Bible, so that we can learn more about You in order to faithfully and
thankfully worship You. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
John
Stuart is a Scottish Presbyterian pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.
For
Such a Time as This
2
Samuel 22:31 This God—his way is perfect; the word of the
LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. (ESV)
In
such a time as this, it’s difficult to keep believing that things will get
better. Our current leaders are obsessed with breaking everything within a few
months that took decades to fight for and achieve. Our Civil Rights have not
just been challenged, they have been intentionally diminished with the sole
purpose of destroying them forever. This political subjugation and
marginalization of minorities is being ruthlessly pursued by those who hate diversity,
equity, and inclusion. They now brazenly oppress people who are different because
of their race, gender, orientation, or origin rather than share power,
prosperity, or prestige. They seek to protect their privileges rather than
diminish their elitism.
They
also use the old reactionary mechanism of ‘divide and conquer’ by pitting one
less powerful group against another. We see this all over Appalachia in
impoverished and isolated places that are full of people who keep voting in
representatives and leaders who do nothing to improve their communities, but as
long as they are sticking it to the other side, then Appalachians will just put
up with the hardship they endure. It’s sad to see so many rural communities who
fall into this Machiavellian manipulation. Their elected officials couldn’t
care less about diminishing USAID or FEMA, even though it’s their constituents –
farmers, miners, and rural workers whose lives are shortened, whose children’s
education is diminished, and whose economies will hardly improve. Their elected
leaders can send their kids to private schools, receive gifts and bribes from
lobbyists, and end up rich, famous, and financially secure. In private, these
appointed representatives are both laughing at their poor misguided and
misinformed voters, as well as all the way to the bank.
Just
like generations before us, the only way to improve our rights is to fight for
them, to speak out for the voiceless, and stand up for the marginalized. Things
will never get better if we acquiesce to the arrogance, bigotry, and hatred of
those in power. It will take courage and determination to oppose those who seek
to divide, diminish, and conquer. It will also require us to confront the vast
amount of falsehood and lies that our leaders, representatives, and spokespeople
constantly spew. If we align ourselves to the truth, then we are allying
ourselves to God and the goodness He seeks for people on earth, as well as our
nation. It will not be easy, but then again, fighting for freedom and living
for liberty has always been difficult.
May
God bless us all as we stand for the truth in the Lord’s love, which is
abundantly diverse, sacredly equitable, and graciously inclusive.
Pastor
John
Psalm 51:10 Create
in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (NIV)
Have you ever seen the old
French film called ‘The Red Balloon’? It was made in Paris a year before I was
born and tells the tale of a young boy who is befriended by a red balloon. The
balloon and the boy become inseparable, and it follows him all over the streets
of Paris. The film only lasts about 35 minutes, and it has been my favorite
movie ever since I first saw it as a young lad.
The film depicts both
happiness and sadness in simple ways and even when a tragedy occurs, there is a
wonderful sequence of hope being renewed at the end of the movie. As I write
this devotion, I can still see the beautiful conclusion in my mind’s eye. I
won’t give it away – you’ll have to watch the movie yourself and be pleasantly
captivated by it.
Sometimes I think that our
individual lives are movies that only God can see. He knows all of the things
that we have done, the moments that have impacted us deeply, the joys we have
experienced and the sadnesses that we still carry. There is nothing hidden from
God, so He could be justified in separating Himself from us after death, but
instead He wants to give us a beautiful conclusion where we become reunited and
restored to Him forever. That’s why King David, in today’s highlighted verse,
prayed to God to clean his heart and renew his spirit: he wanted that beautiful
conclusion which only God’s grace and forgiveness could bring.
Perhaps you feel as though
you’ve done something which will separate you from God. Maybe you have a deep
regret about a deed that has caused some distance between you and God. If so,
then please know this – God can and will forgive you, just by asking Him to do
so, even now as you read this. As the apostle Paul once wrote long ago: ‘For
I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither
the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of
God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ – Romans 8:38-39.
Point to ponder: Am I
willing to hand over my regrets to the Lord and be cleansed with God’s Love?
Prayer: Lord God, create
clean hearts within us and renew our spirits this day. In Jesus’ Name, we pray.
Amen.
PS: If you’ve never
seen it, you can freely view the movie online at this link: The Red Balloon.
John Stuart is a Scottish
Presbyterian pastor, now living in Knoxville, TN.
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