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.

Teacher Devotions: King of kings - Revelation 17:14

Revelation 17:14 “They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings--and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

Before I became a US citizen, I was a subject of the UK. This literally meant that I was under the authority Queen Elizabeth II’s government and subject to the laws which her Government decreed. Living under a monarchy is not the same as being a free citizen of a Republic. Before any laws are fully passed in Britain, they must be signed by the Queen. Without her signature, the laws are null and void. If the Queen ever refused to sign a law, then a Constitutional crisis would occur that would probably bring about the end of the British monarchy.

I sometimes wonder what free born, free-spirited and independently minded Americans think when they read about Jesus being called “Lord of lords and King of kings.” Those terms are so alien to American culture that I wonder if they can really imagine what is being related to them. Lordship and Kingship are ancient terms of autocratic power. To call Jesus “Lord” is to submit your whole self to His commands. To accept Him as “King,” is to place Him at the top and at the center of our lives. There is no such thing as lip-service to a Lord or carefree service to a King. It’s all or nothing. It’s His ways, His Words, and His Works that we honor and glorify.

So today, let’s all ponder what it truly means to call Jesus our Lord and to accept Him as our King. And then let’s try to apply that meaning in our lives.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You rule over the Earth and are the Sovereign of the Universe. You are the Holy Son of God and the King of all Creation. Help us to humbly submit our hearts and lives to You alone. Grant us the faith to live under Your Everlasting Monarchy and Eternal Rule. 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 or ask a question about today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest chess drawings. It’s called “Battle Scarred” and features several chess pieces on a board. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6087/6117600335_1c11500f3d_b.jpg

Teacher Devotions: Just Another Belief?

2 Corinthians 6:15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?

One of the major battles that Christianity is currently fighting within itself, is a creeping form of universalism. Universalism is a belief that no matter what people believe, God will forgive them, accept them, and bestow all of His eternal blessings upon them. Therefore universalists believe that if you’re Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, or of any other religion on the planet, it’s all the same thing in God’s eyes.

This happens because the world is a much smaller place these days and a cross-fertilization of cultures, beliefs, and traditions is happening all of the time. Rather than accepting Christianity as the absolutely true religion, people want to believe in tolerance, acceptance, and respect. It makes the world a whole lot easier and religion becomes a private pursuit.

The trouble with this is twofold: firstly, it causes people to lose their faith altogether in God, and replaces it with a faith in themselves. Secondly, we forget that Christianity emerged in a world where there were countless Roman, Greek, and Egyptian gods and goddesses. If Christianity was meant to be universalist, its first followers and devotees would never have undergone persecution and death. Rather than profess their sole allegiance to Christ, they would have gladly accepted Caesar as a god, too.

We tend to arrogantly think that just because we want it to be so, then God grants us a divine exemption from following the foundational beliefs in the Christian church. The temptation to be Christian universalists in the past is no different from today’s multi-cultural world. However, Christianity is an absolutist faith, whether we like it or not. Jesus is Lord absolutely, and not co-equally with any other religious leader, figurehead, or deity.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the King of all Creation and the Ruler of the Universe. Whenever we forget that, we are in danger of falling down a slippery slope that will take us away from You and into the morass of a world gone wrong. Remind us constantly of the courage of the First Christians, and help us to avoid the same old temptations of secularism, syncretism, and universalism. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.