Heaven's Highway

4 Minute Daily Devotions: The King's Business

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:39:00 +0000

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

A friend of mine was writing on the web the other day that it’s only just more than fifty days to Christmas. My first reaction was: WOW! Where did the rest of the year go? I’ve been extremely busy all 2009 and here I am heading into the ‘busiest time for the church.’ I don’t feel like I’m ready for it. I’m wondering if the Lord will slip in another month before Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas, just to let me catch my breath.

And then I read this beautiful verse from Isaiah again and calmly exhale. Christmas isn’t about what we do, or what the church does; it’s all about what God has done and will do again. The busy-ness of the holiday season is all about the King’s business.

If we’re under pressure and stressed out, God provides a Wonderful Counselor.

If we’re weak or feeling weary, we are given a Mighty God.

If we’re bewildered or fearful, we are guided by our Everlasting Father.

If we’re troubled or unsettled, in Christ we have the Prince of Peace.

With all of these marvelous qualities and attributes of God, I am really looking forward to spending Christmas with Christ.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are all that we need, especially at this time of year. Prepare our hearts and minds to receive You gladly, cheerfully, and faithfully in our churches, our homes, and our hearts. In Your Wonderful 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.

Appalachian Art: Dora's Waterfalls

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:05:00 +0000

A crayon drawing based on a photograph that a friend sent me.

Psalms Project: Psalm 94 Stushie Art

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:56:00 +0000

Christmas Gifts: I Heart My Kindle

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:34:00 +0000

After thinking about it for months, I decided to purchase a Kindle from Amazon.com about six weeks ago. It has revolutionized my reading and become one of the delights of my life.

The Kindle is a portable electronic reading devoice which downloads books, magazines, and pdfs. Instead of paying $20 for a best seller and looking for a place to store the book, I download the same book on Kindle for $10. I read about 30-40 books per year, so after 12 months the Kindle will have paid for itself.

Currently I'm reading several books on my Kindle: Craig Ferguson's "American on Purpose;" Stephen Covey's "The Speed of Trust"; and Max Lucado's "Fearless." I also subscribe to Time and Fortune magazines, as well as this blog!

My NIV Bible is also on my Kindle, so it helps me with my daily readings.

Honestly folks, this is a great investment and a wonderful gift for Christmas...for yourself!

A Call to Stop Using the 'H' Word

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:55:00 +0000

I think that its time for people on either side of the gay debate to stop using the “H” word. It’s very easy for some people to intolerantly call other ‘homophobes’ as a means to diminish their views, make them feel guilty, and silence their opinions.

It’s used in the same intolerant and bigoted way that the ‘n’ word was expressed to subdue a whole race of people, to make them feel inferior, and to silence their protests.

‘Homophobe’ is used to destroy dialogue and people in just the same way that ‘fag’ and ‘queer’ have been expressed to label people with different lifestyles and ideas. Those words should also be eliminated in the interests of having a constructive dialogue.

I have been called a ‘Homophobe’ because I am not convinced about the ordination of actively gay people. I struggle with that issue on theological and biblical grounds, and not because I fear homosexuals. In fact, I very dearly love my younger brother and also one of my nephews in Scotland. Both of them are gay.

I have also sat, prayed, and held hands with gay men who were dying of HIV-AIDS.

I have annually supported WORLD AIDS DAY each year for many years and have been deeply moved by testimonies of gay Christian people.

I have done all this and yet when I express my struggle over gay ordination, I am labeled, quite unfairly and bigotedly, as a homophobe.

If we are going to get anywhere in this dialogue, then we all need to stop using the ‘H’ word.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

4 Minute Daily Devotions: Saying "No."

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:36:00 +0000

Titus 2:12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.

I wonder what the Christians in Paul’s time would have made of our society. Would they have applauded our freedoms and approved of our liberties? Would they have accepted our standards and applied our syncretism? Would they have allowed our culture to shape our churches? I suspect that the answer to those questions would be a resounding “No.”

There are so many boundaries and barriers that we have crossed that it is sometimes very unclear to see any difference between Christians and other people. And yet, there has to be a difference. There has to be something which sets us apart from the world.

I also wonder if we substituted our type of Christianity with that of Paul’s time, would the Christian faith and church have emerged from the heart of the Roman Empire? Sadly, I think that the answer to that question would also be “No.”

We need to take a step back from the cultural abyss that we’re about to jump into as Christians. We need to honestly ask ourselves if we are being guided by the Holy Spirit or engulfed by worldly ways. We need to ask these questions because the salvation of our souls and those of our children depend upon us taking the right choices and making the right moves. If we fail to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, then we fail as a generation that claims to be Christian. We may fool and delude ourselves, but we can never fool and deceive God.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, there are so many pressures laid upon our society that would steal our souls away from You. We delight in our distractions and take pleasure in pleasing ourselves. Help us to truly realize what it means and costs to be Christian people. Save us from ourselves and bring us to our senses. 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.

4 Minute Daily Devotions: Prolonging Our Lives

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:20:00 +0000

Proverbs 3:1-2 My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.

A lot of my time lately has been taken up with our church’s Capital Campaign. Every day I am dealing with a new item on what I call the Campaign Trail. It’s a fascinating process, but it also can get very burdensome at times.

The purpose of the Campaign is to prolong the life of the church. We are renewing ourselves for the missions and ministries that are yet to come. Our church has constantly grown because we try to apply God’s teaching to our community. Every week, people come to church to hear more about God’s Word, to seek guidance for their lives, and to be challenged by Christ in ways that will make our world a better place.

We grow because God gives us this blessing. We increase because Christ inspires us. We add to our numbers because the Holy Spirit activates our faith.

When the Campaign is over, the true work will begin. I look forward to what lies ahead for our church because we will have more opportunities to glorify God, praise Jesus Christ, and be led by the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank You for the privilege and blessing of serving You. You take imperfect and unholy people and shape them into a church. You work in our midst and inspire us through Your wonderful words and glorious ways. Thank You for such gracious blessings. In Your Holy Name, we praise 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.

Sunday Lectionary Devotions: Psalm 104 Pitching Tents

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:03:00 +0000

Psalm 104:2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent. (NIV)

I learned how to pitch a tent with my Scout troop at a camp in Scotland called Auchengillan. Our scout patrol was full of tenderfoots like myself who knew practically nothing about camping, but we watched the older scouts put up their tents and tried to copy them.

The tents were nothing like the light nylon ones that we have today. They were made of old heavy canvas and we used thick ropes with wooden spars to set them up. It took most of the morning to construct the tent, but once it was up, our rookie patrol was thrilled. The older scouts, however, were not impressed and later that night we discovered why.

Firstly, we had chosen the roughest piece of ground to pitch the tent. This meant that no matter where we positioned our sleeping bags, the hard contours of the ground dug deeply and painfully into our backs. Secondly, it began to rain in the middle of the night, causing the canvas and ropes to shrink. Eventually, our tent collapsed, so we had to re-pitch it during the darkest, coldest and wettest part of the night. By the time morning came, we were absolutely worn out.

After breakfast, the older scouts helped us re-pitch our tent properly. They found smoother ground and showed us how to storm-rig the ropes. When it rained the following night, we didn’t even notice. Our patrol was sound asleep because our tent was comfortable and secure.

I like the old passages about tents in the Bible. They remind me that the people of God were once nomads, wandering the wilderness and camping in different places. But no matter where they went, they believed that they were secure under the canopy that God had pitched in the sky. I guess their simplistic view of the world was not scientific, but it did offer them comfort and strength, faith and hope that God was watching over them.

Perhaps God doesn’t pitch His tent in the sky any longer, but He does place His presence in our hearts and minds. And whatever the rough passages in our lives or the storms that we endure, His promises keep us secure and His love continues to strengthen our spirits.

Prayer: Lord God, build Your tent in our hearts and pitch Your canopy in our spirits. Grant us sufficient strength for our daily tasks, and restful sleep during the night. May we always know of Your abiding love and holy presence each moment of our days. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. He writes the Presbyterian devotional blog “Heaven’s Highway.”

Today's image is taken from John's Fall Series Drawings, which are on exhibit in Knoxville. It is called "Autumn Wall"

4 Minute Daily Devotions: In God We Trust - Luke 16 v 31

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:07:00 +0000

Luke 16:31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Over the years, I’ve been fascinated with the story of the Turin Shroud. It’s the famous medieval cloth that purportedly is meant to be the cloth that Christ’s Body was wrapped up in when He was placed in the tomb. The image found on the cloth is centuries old and it looks like the outline of a crucified man, especially after photographs of the Shroud were looked at in their negative prints.

I’ve never been convinced that this is the true shroud. To me, it’s a discarded canvas that Da Vinci, Michelangelo, or their artistic associates worked on and never finished. The local church in Turin capitalized on their community’s fascination with venerated objects. I guess if the shroud had been recently discovered in someone’s attic, it would end up being sold on Ebay, along with slices of toast that have Christ’s face on them.

Some people need tangible proof of Christ’s Resurrection before they will begin to believe that it actually happened. They want factual evidence, not faith. They want someone to prove that it occurred before they will place all of their lives, hearts, and souls into Christ’s keeping.

But that’s always been the important issue with God: are we willing to trust Him simply on His Word? Are we willing to trust the truth of the Gospels without question, or will we wait until the end of Time to discover it, when all will be revealed? To coin an old Southern preacher: if we wait, it will be too late.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, faith is a hard burden to carry, especially when we try to pin it down and rationalize it. God has set us this test in order to see if we really trust Him. If we fail, we let go of any eternal hope. If we have faith, we win everlasting life. Keep us from complicating this simple challenge. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you have any comment s about today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

4 Minute Devotions: Awareness

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:48:00 +0000

1 Timothy 6:18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.

Like most congregations, we have a number of women who are breast cancer survivors, or who have known someone in their family with it. At this time of year, they get ready to gather together for the annual 5k Susan G Komen Race that takes place in our town. They plan everything cheerfully and encourage our church families to participate in organizing, donating, and even the running. It’s a wonderful cause to support and I greatly admire the work that they do.

There’s a lot of good that emerges from their efforts. They form family support groups; they educate their children. They encourage other women to take heart. They even help the men in their lives understand how important they are to this cause. In fact, one of our church families has even printed T-shirts for their team which reads: DUDES for BOOBS. I’ve even seen photographs of their young sons proudly and cheerfully wearing them. It’s a great cause and a wonderful event. People are so generous and willing to share their experiences, their encouragement, and their enthusiasm.

I see the whole campaign not only as a community gathering, but also as a beautiful opportunity for church people to give of themselves to something important outside of the church. We are so blessed as Christians; it’s also a blessing to be generous and willing to share our faith, our fellowship, and our finances with such a valuable cause.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the many different people who make up our churches. We especially thank You for the courageous women who have faced breast cancer and survived. We praise You for their continuing work amongst us and we ask that You will bless their efforts to make more people aware of this important issue, and to enable us one day soon to find its cure. 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@erinpresbtyerian.org.

Stushie Art: Moon Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:43:00 +0000

I think the moon is becoming my trademark....

Love Poems: Yearning

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:20:00 +0000

I miss the taste

Of your tantalizing wine,

And I long for

The warmth of your touch.

Years ago, I sipped from

Your well of tenderness,

And drank contentedly

From your heart.

But I consumed more

Than you could give,

And quenched more

Than we could tolerate.

I staggered from

Our supine embrace

And reeled with

The rancor of my lust.

I lost it all.

So now,

I miss the taste

Of your tantalizing wine,

And I long for

The warmth of your touch.

Celtic Poetry: Shekinah

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:54:00 +0000

I stepped out

From the shadows

And into the sun,

Only to find

It was a moon

Of my own making.

The lilting light,

That I thought was sacredly solar,

Was only a torch

Of my own burning.

Then I looked

Beyond both lights

And was instantly blinded

By a divine eclipse.

I scrambled in the darkness

And sought to hide myself

From the blaze of heaven,

Which was fiercely imminent.

My moon melted away;

My torch flickered out;

My burning was consumed

And I stood naked

In God’s inexorable Light.

Instantaneously,

Eternity emblazoned,

And totally engulfed

All

That once

Was

me.

Daily Devotions: Unopened Door

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:34:00 +0000

Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Yesterday, I was teaching one of our young people about sin and salvation during his confirmation class. I made the point that we all sin and separate ourselves from God, so we need Christ as our Savior to heal the breach. I also reminded him that Christ can do nothing for us until we ask Him to be our Savior. We are not restored to God’s Kingdom until we invite Christ into our hearts and lives.

It’s just like the image from this verse in Revelation. Christ is knocking at the door from the outside. Only when the door is opened, can He enter in. Without that personal invitation, all that Jesus can do is wait outside and knock.

So, the question for all of us is this: have we invited Christ into our hearts, or is He still waiting outside?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to open the door of our hearts and invite Your Holy Spirit to mingle with ours. In Your Sacred 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.

Daily Devotions: Greater & Grander

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:11:00 +0000

2 Chronicles 6:18 "But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”

As some of you know, I write several blogs on the internet. I do this to widen the message that I feel that God has laid in my heart. Sometimes I get emails from Christians around the globe who write to say how much a particular message has truly meant something to them. Sometimes the message is years old, but through the wonders of the Internet and more especially the work of the Holy Spirit, they latch on to a phrase or prayer that has really touched their hearts.

At other times, I get emails from people who don’t believe in God and who strongly oppose the message. A couple of days ago, I received such an email from a confirmed atheist. He wrote that he was looking forward to the day when Science would explain everything and that the human need for God would come to an end. I thanked him for the email, but also wrote that the more we learn about the universe, the greater God becomes.

King Solomon in 2 Chronicles put it even better: "But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”

God is too big to fit into the religious, philosophical, scientific, and theological boxes that we have made. The more we know about God, the even grander He becomes.

Prayer: Lord God, You are Almighty and Infinite, All present and All Knowing. As we explore and make new discoveries about the universe, we extend the boundaries of Your power, Your presence, and Your Passion for Creation. Thank You for the fact that these wonders will never cease, both in this world and the next. In Christ’s 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.

Scottish Kids Busking in Edinburgh

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:25:00 +0000

Best ten minutes of my week...:)

Stushie Art: Fall Series: Autumn Wall

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:14:00 +0000

Part of my Fall series collection on exhibit at the Bear Creek Coffee House on Middlebrook Pike, just across from Food City.

Daily Devotions: Bride of Christ

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:10:00 +0000

Ephesians 5:32 This is a profound mystery-but I am talking about Christ and the church.

It seems so old fashioned now, but I can remember a time when the title “Mother Church” was constantly used. It referred to the place where we were spiritually nurtured, either as a child or as a new Christian. In my lifetime, there are two places that I would call my “Mother Church.”

The first was a mission hall situated at the heart of one of Glasgow’s toughest and most deprived areas. As I picture it now, I can still see the barbed wire at the top of its steel fence and some of the graffiti that was constantly spray painted on the outside walls. Inside the hall were a couple of classrooms and a sanctuary that could seat about sixty people. The pews were stained with a dark lacquer which would stick to your clothes on a wet day. As churches go, it was as run down as the surrounding area, but it was in that hall that I first really came to hear and know about Jesus as a child.

My second nurturing church couldn’t have been anymore different. It was a huge Gothic church in the center of town. It was about three hundred years old and could seat at least a thousand people. Sadly, when I went there, the congregation numbered about sixty on Sunday mornings.

The sanctuary was magnificent and the stained glass windows were absolutely beautiful. Each time I went there, I was mesmerized. The church organ was one of the finest musical instruments in the city and the organist was a professor of music from Glasgow University.

The Ramshorn Church, as it was called, was surrounded by a cemetery that went back to the seventeenth century. It also had a downstairs Fellowship Hall with a crypt beside it where famous Cotton Merchants and Tobacco Lords were buried. And it was there in that fellowship hall, one Wednesday night in June 1977, that I gave my heart to Jesus. I was reborn and my spirit was nurtured in that church for over five years.

Perhaps today, we might all take time to think about our ‘Mother Churches,’ and give thanks to God for their importance in our lives. Some people think that churches are outdated, old fashioned, and archaic, but Christ has used them successfully as His vehicle for bringing people closer to God for almost two thousand years. The Church is the Bride of Christ, so do we honestly believe that He is going to abandon her after all these centuries? So long as Time remains, so will Christ’s Bride.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the churches that have nurtured our spirits and brought us closer to You. Thank You for the congregations that have mothered us and shown us the way to God’s Kingdom. Continue to bless our present churches and help them to nurture young people and new Christians. 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.

Daily Devotions: God's Timeline

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:35:00 +0000

2 Peter 3: 4 They will say, "Where is this 'coming' He promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."

Podcast version here

Every now and then, I have to remind myself that Christ can return at any minute. I often take it for granted that the world will continue indefinitely and that the seasons will come and go, just as they usually do each year. But then I remember that I am a Christian first and a citizen of this world second. The Earth will not last forever and when Christ appears, human history will be over.

I get so caught up in my own routine and my own wee world that I forget about God’s intentions and Christ’s promises. The ultimate reality is the eternal reality and my ways, my words, and my works are just mere blips on God’s timeline. He is center of the Universe; He is the real thing.

It sounds cliché to some, but perhaps today is the Day when Christ will come back. Am I ready for such a cataclysmic event? Or will I just put it to the back of my mind and trivialize it, so that I can focus upon what’s in front of me and what’s happening now?

Within me, a quiet voice is saying: “Time marches on, John, but not forever.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive us when we unintentionally set aside the thought of Your Return. Pardon us when we are so selfishly focused upon ourselves, that we forget about Your words, Your ways, and Your works that are still to come. Help us to remember that we serve You and await Your arrival on Earth. In Your Holy Name, we expectantly 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.

Daily Devotions: Better Things

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:46:00 +0000

Hebrews 6: 9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case-things that accompany salvation.

For the first time in its history, our church at Erin is undergoing a $1 million Capital Campaign. It’s a high bar to reach and has shaken us up from the cozy culture that we have embraced over the years. We want to be more effective and influential for God’s Kingdom in our community. We want to reach out to more people and families in our surrounding neighborhood. We want to update our facilities and offer our members, worshippers, and visitors an attractive building and a welcoming experience. These are the better things that the writer of Hebrews expresses in his letter – the better things that accompany salvation.

These changes are not easy to accomplish. We all have grown used to our church and treat it like a comfy spiritual sofa. We tend not to see the building’s wear and tear. We tend to put up with an old sound system. We tend to ignore the state of our classrooms because we only use them once per week. But what if the state of the building actually reflects the neglect of our spirits? Don’t we just tend to put up with things spiritually and rely on God to ‘understand’?

The more that I get involved with this campaign, the more that I understand that it’s not about the money. It’s about who we are as Christians and how we practice our faith. It’s both a cultural revolution and a spiritual rebirth, which makes us honestly review our personal commitment to God and how we seek to serve Him. The better things that accompany salvation means that the old way of thinking “that will do” just will not do, and that “that’s enough” just isn’t enough.

This campaign will change our church for the better. It’s also changed me. My prayer is that our whole congregation will embrace those changes too.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, keep us alive and in tune to Your Spirit moving among us. Remind us that we belong to You and that our purpose is to faithfully serve God’s Kingdom. Help us to work for the better things that accompany salvation, so that we may attract and welcome others to Your Church. In Your Holy Name, we expectantly 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.

Daily Devotions: Anxious Living

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:11:00 +0000

I was reading the other day that film director and actor Woody Allen cannot sleep at night because he suffers from an anxiety about death. He’s an atheist and he can’t come to terms with the fact that his death means the end of all his accomplishments. When asked about death, he says: “The trains all go to the same destination. They all go to the dump.”

I pity him because he’s such a talented and creative person, and you would think that such creativity would help him to see beyond himself. But he has chosen not to believe in God, so he walks around his apartment at night time fretting about death.

For me, faith is real wisdom because it gives us an understanding that we are not the center of everything and that there is a structure, order, and a plan for the universe. God’s creativity is all around me, so I can look at the Smokey Mountains and see His grandeur; I can listen to birdsong in the morning and hear God being praised; I can be in the company of good friends and Christian people and experience God’s presence. Life is good. Death may come, but life goes on eternally.

Proverbs 15: 24 The path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him from going down to the grave.

The writer of Proverbs knew what he was expressing when he wrote today’s verse. Those who are faithfully wise go onward and upward in life; those who are foolishly miserable end up digging graves for themselves, or just get on board trains that are heading to the dump.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the gift of eternal life and the hope of things to come. Thank You for sacrificing Yourself, so that we may live forever in the embracing love of God. Help us to help others discover this divine happiness. In Your Holy Name, we thankfully 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.

Daily Devotions: Return to Love

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:38:00 +0000

Hosea 14:4 I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.

The prophet Hosea lived a tragic life. He fell in love and married a woman called Gomer. She was a prostitute and throughout his married life, Hosea had to buy back Gomer from her life on the streets and in the slave market. She broke his heart again and again, but because Hosea was a faithful servant of God, he forgave her time after time, lover after lover, and sin after sin.

Hosea must have questioned his own loyalty to Gomer and to God. He must have been deeply saddened and shamed by her actions. His soul would have been in anguish and his mind must have been constantly unsettled, but he still plodded on faithfully, serving God by looking after his uncontrollable wife. Hosea had the grounds for a religious divorce, but he didn’t want to leave Gomer destitute and cast aside.

The prophet knew that the day would come when Gomer’s reckless living would destroy her beauty, her strength, and her attractiveness. One by one, her lovers abandoned her and she was left lonely and bitter, isolated and vulnerable. When all seemed lost and hopeless to the wretched woman, Hosea found Gomer and brought her back into his home. He forgave all of the hurts, insults, wounds, and shame that she had caused him. He looked after her for the rest of her life. Hosea remained faithful because he knew that God did the same for His people.

Over the years, I have seen some marriages wrecked because of the selfishness of a wayward partner. His or her self-centered ways have permanently ruined what was once a loving relationship. But I have also seen the forgiveness of faithful partners save a marriage and even strengthen the covenant between them. It reminds me that hopelessness can be overcome by faithfulness and that even the most serious covenantal breach can be healed.

This is how God’s works amongst us. He remains faithful to the last and will not leave us without an opportunity to be reconciled to Him through Jesus. We may wander and drift far away from God, but Christ’s Cross can lead us back again to God’s grace and love. We only have to turn, reach out, and take His nail pierced hand.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes we let ourselves grow distant from You. We serve our own needs and fulfill our own desires. We wander from the truth and even wonder if You are real. Help us today to turn back to You and let us re-experience Your love and grace. 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.

Daily Devotions: The Lost Ring

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:02:00 +0000

Psalm 36: 7 How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

My wife Evelyn lost her engagement ring the other day. She had put some hand cream on her fingers and the ring must have slipped off. She left a message on my cell phone to let me know. It saddened both of us to think that something so significant could be lost.

We bought the engagement ring with my last tax rebate before I went to college to study to become a minister. That was thirty years ago. I can remember shopping for it in Glasgow’s Argyle Arcade where most couples in the city bought their rings. It was an exciting time for us and eventually we found the one clustered diamond ring that Evelyn liked after wandering from store to store. It cost us every penny that we owned at the time, and through the years it has become priceless.

Thankfully, Evelyn found the ring on the carpet next to her exercise bike. That was both a moment of relief and jubilation. This weekend, we’ll be taking it to a jeweler to have a clip put on it. We both don’t want the ring to be lost ever again.

When the writer of Psalm 36 talks about God’s unfailing love, he calls it ‘priceless.’ He cannot buy God’s love nor can he compare it to anything else in the whole universe. Believers in Christ know and understand this to be true, for how can we put a price on complete and everlasting salvation? How can we estimate the cost of Christ’s atonement for our sins?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are priceless to each and every one of Your followers. We can never repay the debt that we owe to You for redeeming our souls and restoring us to God. Thank You for such wonderful, amazing, and priceless love. In Your Holy Name, we cheerfully 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.

Daily Devotions: Battling Bitterness

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:56:00 +0000

Malachi 3: 15 “But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.”

Podcast version here:

The greatest foe against faith is not unbelief; it is actually bitterness. Bitter people find it hard to truly believe in God because it seems as though He has not lived up to His side of the bargain we call life. Resentment and bitterness fragment faith and can eventually destroy it altogether. It is the fiercest foe that the Church has to face. It is the most damaging opponent that Christians have to conquer.

A tragedy, such as the loss of a loved one, can overshadow someone so much that, in the midst of their grief, they bitterly cry out against God’s goodness and grace. A major disappointment, from a Christian leader, family member, or friend, can also lead to an unresolved bitterness against God’s people. And even unfulfilled dreams can be a bitter experience to faithful people, especially when they see evildoers prosper. It’s like a spiritual slap in the face, which leaves the believer unappreciated, unnoticed, and unhappy.

Faith is not enough to face down bitterness. Hope and love are also required to reclaim bitter hearts and diminish resentment. The hope that we have in God’s everlasting justice and mercy reminds us that evil will not triumph eternally. The love that we experience from God through Jesus and His followers comforts and reassures us during the toughest and bleakest of times.

I think that St. Francis of Assisi best described this process of beating bitterness through his own wonderful prayer:

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. 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.

Picturing the Psalms: Psalm 92

noreply@blogger.com (Stushie) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:34:00 +0000

I'm glad to get back to my Psalms artwork.

Bear Creek Coffee House Exhibition continues through October.