Celtic devotions: Love and Hate - Philippians 2:8

The podcast for today’s devotional can be found at the following link:

http://traffic.libsyn.com/stushie/Love_and_Hate.mp3

Philippians 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!

I love the snow; I just hate driving in it. Even though I was born in Scotland and drove through many blizzards on the West Coast at night, when I could barely see a thing, I find that driving in the snow covered streets of the South is much more hazardous. There seems to be more black ice and bad drivers here than I ever experienced back in Scotland, so even when an inch of snow hits our roads in and around Knoxville, it’s deathly dangerous.

I guess it’s because people are just not used to the white stuff falling on the streets each winter. The local authorities don’t seem to be wholly prepared either and yet, we all know that winter comes around every year at this time.

I love being a Christian; I just hate the struggles that I have each day in trying to maintain my faith. Even though I grew up in the Church and have spent much of my life as a pastor, it’s still hard to be the perfect saint that everyone expects. I’m only human after all, so I’m going to make mistakes and at the end of each day, I’ve usually got a whole list of sins to ask God for forgiveness. As each day starts, I begin with the best of intentions; as each day closes, I seek pardon for the offenses I’ve caused and the temptations to which I have yielded.

I love Jesus Christ too; I just hate the fact that He died on the Cross for me. Even though I know He did it to obey God and obtain my salvation, I feel guilty about driving the nails through His hands with my personal sins. I know that I’ll never be perfect and that I’ll need His Cross each day to pin my sins upon Him. I hate that, but at the same time I am also deeply grateful that Jesus saved and saves me from my sins by His humility and obedience which led to the Cross.

Perhaps you are feeling guilty about something you once did or said. Maybe you feel distant from God or separated from Him because of sinful acts and shameful secrets. I hate those things too, but this I love: there is nothing that we have ever done or said that can ever separate us from the love God through our Lord Jesus Christ. If we let Him into our lives and open our hearts to Him, if we accept Him and believe that He has the power to pardon us, then He will grant us forgiveness instantly and immediately, totally and completely.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we love You dearly, but we hate the fact that we caused You to die on the Cross for our past mistakes and present sins. We are humbled by Your humility and are in awe of Your obedience to God. Without Your death, we would have no Life; without Your sacrifice, we would have no salvation. In Your 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 drawing is a nighttime scene of the Henley Street bridge in Knoxville. The picture is called “Moon over Henley.” If you would like to view a larger version of the drawing, please click here: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5249/5322272559_cdb65afa3d_b.jpg

All of John’s drawings can be found on the Web at his art site at http://www.stushieart.wordpress.com/

Signed, numbered and matted prints are available for only $20 each (plus shipping if necessary). They make unique gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and new homes. Just contact John by email and he’ll be delighted to help you.

Celtic Devotions: Bride of Christ - Acts 27

Acts 27:31       Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved."

“I don’t need to go to church in order to be a Christian.” If I had a dollar for every time I’ve read or heard something like that, I’d be thousands of dollars richer. People honestly believe that church isn’t necessary for them to be good Christians. All they need is a simple straightforward belief that Jesus loves them and that because He’s a universal cosmic good guy, He will let them into heaven – no questions asked. Church becomes irrelevant because it robs the individual of their freedom to do what they want. As long as they can go directly to Jesus, He will understand and let them away with everything and anything.

Unfortunately, that popular misconception eternally separates more people from God than anything else in modern times.

So why did the First Apostles form the Church? They, of all people in history, should have been granted exemptions because they personally knew Jesus. And yet they didn’t skip church to go and do other things. They didn’t take their faith for granted nor did they cheapen Christ’s Grace by doing what they wanted.

You see, they understood that the Church is actually the Bride of Christ. They knew that the Church was Christ’s closest companion in His ministry to the world. To be part of the Church meant being baptized into the faith, participating in communion, and worshipping together with Christ’s followers. It was not an individual spiritual pursuit or personal religious journey. Being a part of Christ’s Kingdom meant being involved with Christ’s Community of faith – the Church.

I think that this is why Paul’s statement to the Roman soldiers and sailors on the doomed ship has a deeper significance for us today. It’s not just about a ship wreck, it’s about staying on board and being together during a crisis. Without remaining on the ship and heeding God’s word, the passengers and crew would not survive the storm. The same applies to us today – without being in church and remaining with Christ’s people through these turbulent times, salvation cannot be guaranteed.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we know that salvation belongs to You alone, and yet You also established the Church to be the vehicle of Your gospel and the means of bringing people to You.  Bless Your Church on Earth with a renewed sense of purpose. Help us to dedicate our lives to Your service and glorious Kingdom. 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 one of John’s new Christmas 2010 drawings. It’s called “Church in Snow.” A larger version can be viewed online at the following link: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/5023390336_1c9c7da679_b.jpg