Tag: daily devotions

Midweek Message: Know the Truth

church devotions

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.

Midweek Message – Hidden Surprises

church devotions, Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Psalm devotions, Sunday devotions

Psalm 42: 10b “…my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long,” Where is your God?”

They say that life is full of hidden surprises and one morning that turned out to be true at a church I served. A contractor, who was clearing a ditch behind the church offices, dug through a hidden gas main, causing an unexpected emergency. Within minutes, fire engines and utility trucks swarmed into our parking lot. Local businesses were all shut down and for about an hour everything was intense. An explosion could have occurred at any time, but thankfully the professionals managed to cap the pipe and quickly repair it.

This all happened because the pipe was not where it was supposed to be. A painted yellow line was meant to indicate where the pipe was, but it turns out that the gas pipe was twelve feet away from the actual line. Someone somewhere had made a serious miscalculation, which could have resulted in a fatal explosion. If the pipe had been properly marked and located, this error would not have occurred. We learned that day that knowing exactly where the gas pipe rested was crucial to any ditch digging around the building.

The writer of today’s highlighted verse from Psalm 42 was deeply troubled and tormented. His painful experience caused those around him to ask whether or not God actually existed. The inevitable question of ‘where is God when it hurts?’ must have crossed the psalmist’s mind, so he dug deep into his soul to find an answer. And that’s where he found God, right at the heart of his suffering, right in the midst of all his pain.

We each go through ‘dark nights of the soul’ and crises of faith. In the midst of heartbreak, illness, and sorrow, it’s very easy for us to lose our hold of God, But, as one of my Hebrew professors used to say, “It’s not our grasp of God that is important, but that God still has a grasp of us.” In other words, knowing where God is located is not as crucial as God knowing where we actually are.

Point to ponder: Have I ever felt isolated from God? How did God find me?

Prayer:           Lord God, life is full of hidden surprises, and we seek Your presence every day. It helps us to know that You are with us, no matter what we experience or endure. Reveal to us Your whereabouts this day and remind us that Your mindfulness of us is far more important than our understanding of You. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is a Scottish Presbyterian pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.