Easter devotion: Annual Reminder - Hebrews 10:3-4

Hebrews 10:3-4          But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Usually, when we break a promise or disappoint someone, we seek their forgiveness and hope to be given an opportunity to redeem our mistake with a gift. Sometimes parents do this with their children, especially if they've been unable to keep a special promise because of work related commitments. At other times spouses, who disappoint their partners, have a lot of giving to do in order to make amends. And even businesses, that unexpectedly fail their customers, usually offer a discount or free gift to make up for the disappointment. In all of these cases, some process of sacrificial giving is necessary in order to restore relationships, confidence, and trustworthiness.

In Old Testament times, when God’s people disappointed Him, they quickly offered a ritual sacrifice of a bull, a goat, a sheep, or some pigeons. Their mistakes and sins damaged their relationship with God. Because the people absolutely depended upon His bounty and blessings to sustain them, their livestock, and their crops, they sacrificed the best of their animals or the first of their produce to placate Him. They feared God’s wrath in ways that we cannot understand or even accept today.

But no matter how many times they sacrificed, the people still sinned. No matter how often they kept special feasts or religious rites to glorify God, they still were contaminated by their past mistakes and personal regrets. Their sacrifices were not sufficient to meet God’s requirements. Their regular religious rites could not effectively redeem and restore them to God.

This is why Christ came from God to enter into history and the world. This is why He sacrificed Himself so that our sins, as well as those of Christ’s own people, may be absolutely forgiven by God. After all, if the sacrifice of God’s Only Son was not enough to satisfy the demands of God’s holiness and justice, then there is nothing in all of existence that can save human beings from sin. We may not like the idea of God’s just demands; we may not ever fully understand why Christ had to die; but this we can know: Jesus died for our sins, so that we can be absolutely forgiven and eternally restored to God. This is also why the other name for Holy Week is “Passion Week’ – a sacred commemoration and faithful focus on Christ’s suffering, His Passion, for us.

Questions for personal reflection

Do I accept that Jesus died for me? Do I realize that His Death has given me Life?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, we cannot fully comprehend why our sins would condemn You to death on a Cross. We don’t fully understand why God’s justice demanded such an awful and shameful thing. However, we are fully thankful that Your personal sacrifice has completely atoned for our sins, as well as restoring us to God forever. In Your Holy Name, we humbly and gratefully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment or ask a question about today’s message, please send him an email to traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Holy Week drawings. It’s called ‘Descent.’ If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/13439105075_cac310d7e5_b.jpg

Teacher devotions: Missing the Point - Mark 15:31

Bible Passage: Mark 15:25-32

Key verse:      Mark 15:31     In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can't save himself !”

I cannot begin to imagine both the humiliation and hurt that Jesus must have felt as His own people hurled insults and mocked Him. Their words and curses must have felt like rocks and stones violently impacting His heart and soul. The physical pain of crucifixion must have been awful, but the mental torment and spiritual agony that He also endured must have been absolutely sickening.

Jesus had spent three years helping and healing His people. He taught them about God’s love and mercy. He preached to them about changing their ways and receiving abundant life. His message was challenging and radical, but His mission was about redemption and restoration. Unfortunately, His people missed the point, so instead of embracing Him, they executed their Christ.

Sadly, this is still going on in Christ’s churches today. Some of His own people will miss the point by making up their own ideas about who He was, and of what Jesus does in the world today. Even with so much information about Christ, His life, people, and community freely available to us today, there will still be those who will mock Him with their misconceptions and insult Jesus with their ideas. Holy Week will come and go, but they will not be one step closer to Christ because they will have missed the point of His Passion entirely.

Questions for personal reflection

How has Christ’s death affected my life? What has He done to challenge and change me?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, the point of Your Passion is at the heart of why we are Christians. You died for our sins, so we must come humbly to You to ask for mercy and forgiveness. Sometimes our pride gets in the way, or we take Your grace for granted. Help us to make this week holy in our lives by taking time to serve, honor, and glorify You for all that You accomplished on the Cross. 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.

Today’s image is John’s latest Holy week drawing called “Christ Nouveau.” It’s a depiction of Christ Crucified in the style of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the great Scottish artist who inspired Frank Lloyd Wright. If you would like to view a larger version of the image, please click here:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5072/6897826374_c074c38fbc_b.jpg

Teacher Devotions: Holy Week - First to be Saved

Bible Passage: Mark 15:8-15

Key Verse:      Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.         Mark 15:15 

Did you realize that Barabbas was the first person that Jesus died for? Think about it. Barabbas is released by Pilate and Jesus takes his place. Barabbas is a terrorist who has probably killed his share of Romans. He led an unsuccessful revolt resulting in his capture. He was scheduled for crucifixion; instead Jesus takes his place.

I wonder if Barabbas stayed in Jerusalem and watched what happened to Jesus. The chances are that he didn’t. He probably left the region as quickly as possible, thanking his lucky stars and hiding somewhere safe. We never hear about him ever again, so he perhaps took his undeserved freedom and fled into obscurity.

Justice was denied that day in Jerusalem, but grace increased. Jesus, the peace loving, faithful prophet died in the place of a murderous religious fanatic. God’s Holy Son took the place of a wicked human being. Because we focus so much on the Cross and Resurrection, we miss this most poignant moment of the first Holy Week.

The point that I’m making is this: if Jesus could die for a person like Barabbas, then hasn’t He also died for people like us?

Question for personal reflection

Do you think that Barabbas was ever personally grateful to Christ for dying for him? Are you grateful for the same thing?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You died for each one of us, taking upon Yourself the unholiest of our sins and the vilest of our deeds. You died in place of us, so that we may be completely forgiven and eternally restored to God. How can we ever thank You? How can we show You our appreciation? We give our hearts to You, as well as our lives, to the glory of God. In Your Holy Name, we humbly and 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.

Today’s drawing is one of John’s latest Holy Week images. It’s called “Cup of Salvation.” If you would like to view a larger version of the picture, please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7268/6894799260_642eda84fe_b.jpg

Teacher Devotions - Scoffers - 2 Peter 3:3

2 Peter 3:3           First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.

Being a Christian is never easy, but these days it seems to be a lot harder than it ever used to be. The words “born again” and “evangelical” have been reviled for almost 50 years in our society. I can even recount times in my life when those terms have been sneerfully expressed by church people, as if those who called themselves ‘born again’ or ‘evangelical’ were intellectually limited and spiritually weird. The world never liked those terms, but lately the very word “Christian” is being used pejoratively which doesn’t bode well for the future acceptance of the Church in society.

Peter calls such critics “scoffers” and refers to their prominence in the world as being a sign of the last days. Perhaps this is how Christ finally divides the sheep and the goats. Those who serve Him are saved; those who scoff at Him are cast aside.

I read a great quote this morning from J C Ryle, one of my favorite Bible commentators and teachers. He was writing about the two thieves who were crucified beside Jesus. One asked for Christ’s mercy and the other scoffed at Him. Ryle’s comment on the event is as follows: ‘One thief was converted in his last hour that none might despair. But only one was converted that none might presume.’

I don’t know if these are the Last Days that Peter writes about, but this I do know – Christ is the only Way to salvation and that without being a Christian, there is no other earthly way to get into heaven. Today’s world may revile the term ‘Christian’ as it has done for centuries, but those who honestly claim to follow and serve Jesus Christ will be with Him forever, long after this planet and all its people are merely space dust.

Prayer:                 Lord Jesus, You are the Christ and we are united in Your Spirit. Sometimes we are mocked because of our beliefs and throughout the world many Christians are still experiencing persecution. Keep us faithful to Your words and sustain our spirits as we follow Your Way. 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 drawing is one of John’s digital glass images of the Seven Last Words of Christ. It depicts Jesus and the good thief. This series of drawings was used by a symphony orchestra in Vancouver, Canada on Good Friday as a backdrop to their playing of Haydn’s “Seven Last Words of Christ.” If you would like to see a larger version of the drawing, please click on the following link: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3360/3413043726_56183fb191_b.jpg

Devotions for teachers: A Prophetic Psalm - Psalm 22

Psalm 22:7-8              All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:

 "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."

It’s amazing to think that Psalm 22 was written centuries before Christ died on the Cross, because many of its verses are teeming with prophecies about Jesus’ experiences at Calvary. Today’s passage, for instance, is a prophecy about those who mocked Jesus at the foot of the Cross. They added to His injuries by raging against Christ. As it states in both the psalm and the Gospels, they hurled insults against Him culminating in a mocking accusation of “He trusts in God; let God rescue Him!”

It must have tormented Jesus to hear those hurtful words from His own people. He had spent three years trying to draw them closer to God through grace, love, and peace. But the mob gathered at Calvary didn’t want to hear “All you need is love.” They didn’t want a Messiah who forgave their enemies. They didn’t want a leader who brought about change through helping the weak and healing the sick. They wanted a Christ who obliterated their enemies; they wanted a Champion who would kick the Romans out of the Promised Land.

And so, when Jesus failed to live up to their expectations, they turned against Him and mocked His powerlessness as He agonizingly died upon the Cross.

In some places and with other people, Christ and Christianity still face those torments. Atheists despise us and blame Christianity for all of the wars in the last two thousand years. Advocates of progressive change try to diminish our relevance and message by equating our Faith with other religions. Or they mock our Faith by revising and rewriting history in order to exclude the influence that Christianity has had upon Western Society and throughout the world.

But as long as Time exists and people remain on this planet, Christ’s words and ways will endure, despite the challenges and criticisms of our Faith. The Cross did not end Jesus’ global ministry; it actually began there. The Calvary mockers may have died 1900 years ago and turned to dust, but the Spirit of Christ endures and His mission remains.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, thank You for Your power that prevails and Your words that will not go away. Thank You for enduring on the Cross so that the penalty for sin could finally be paid. Without You, our world would not be the same. With You, we have a hope that continues throughout eternity. 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 or offer feedback, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.