Teacher Devotions: 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.

School 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

Teacher Devotions: White Noise - Matthew 13:9

Matthew 13:9  “He who has ears, let him hear.”

Have you ever heard of the term “white noise?” It’s used by broadcasters to blank out unwanted sounds on radio, television, and satellite programs. On its own, it sounds like a lot of static, but when it’s applied to a recording, the white noise gets rid of irritating sounds and unwanted frequencies.

We use “white noise” when we want to block out other sounds too. If workers are drilling in the street outside our homes or offices, we may increase the volume of our televisions or radios to cancel out the drilling noise. Or if we’re in a building where we can hear people talking in the next room, we might put a fan on to cancel out the sound of their voices. That would be white noise too.

There’s a lot of white noise in the world and in people’s hearts and spirits. The white noise that we’ve created with our lives has cancelled out Christ’s Voice. We make important choices without even consulting Him. We worship without even focusing on Him. We express our faith without even reading, knowing, or applying His Words. We’ve cancelled out Christ with all of the distractions in our lives. He still speaks His challenging words to us, but we’re either not hearing Him at all or we’ve distorted His words to suit our own ideas, opinions, and culture.

We’re afraid to listen to Christ’s Truth because He will radically change our ideas.

We’re afraid to follow His Way because we want to keep things going our way.

We’re reluctant to accept His Life because our lives will no longer be our own.

So instead of listening to Christ or hearing the Gospel, we create white noise to block out His irritating words and uncompromising demands. We want Jesus to be meek and mild – meek enough to mold Him our way and mild enough not to meddle in our lives.

The challenge that we face today and everyday is this: how can we block out the world’s white noise and really listen to Jesus?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we have failed to follow You completely. We are guilty of setting You aside and blocking You from tampering in our lives and changing our ways. We want You to go along with us and listen to everything we have to say. We forget that You are the Lord and we are only Your servants. Help us to refocus our hearts and minds so that we will actually listen to You. In Your Holy Name, we urgently pray. Amen.

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

Today’s image is one of John’s latest 2011 Nativity drawings called
“Light of the World.” It features a silhouetted Joseph and Mary walking in the outskirts of Bethlehem beneath the Natal Star. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6469850593_46b13aa547_b.jpg