Teacher devotions: Is Life a Game of Chance? Ecclesiastes 9:11

Ecclesiastes 9:11 I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. 

Do you ever play games of chance? I’m not talking about betting on horses or playing casinos. I’m talking about those games that we all see at the fairground or a theme park. The ones I like are skeeball and trying to flick the quarter on to a glass table. Sometimes I win; most of the time I lose, and the stall owner knows this when I put my dollars down to play the game. The other one I like is the claw that you see in stores. I’ve won a lot of stuffed animals over the years and I can remember almost emptying a machine in Scotland before the store owner asked me to leave.

According to Solomon, life is a game of chance with no rhyme or reason to what goes on. His conclusion is to eat, drink, and be merry because tomorrow we may die. It makes me wonder that if Solomon knew Christ, would he have changed his philosophy?

As a Christian, I believe that Christ has a plan for my life and every other Christian under the sun. I believe that Jesus still cares about the world and that His ministry is still effectively taking place across this planet. I believe that hundreds of millions of people will do good things in His Name today that will go unreported, unrecognized, and unvalued. And I believe that life is not a game of chance; it is a predetermined journey which will end in Christ’s Triumphant Return when the gift of everlasting life will be awarded to His followers.

Today can be the first day in the rest of our eternal lives if we surrender our hearts and submit our spirits to Christ. Chance has got nothing to do with everlasting life; it has everything to do with Christ.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, Your life and ministry were planned long before You came to Earth. Everything was predetermined by God and You fulfilled all that God wanted and needed You to complete. Our lives have been potentially predetermined by You and there is a purpose for our existence. Help us to be aware of what You want and need us to complete in order to continue Your ministry and mission. In Your Holy Name, we wait and pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment or ask questions about today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org

Today’s drawing is John’s latest chess prints. It’s called “End Game” and features three old men playing chess in the park on a cold winter’s day. If you would like to see a larger version of this drawing, please click on the following link: http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6084/6047493889_86ca7e5e66_b.jpg

Teacher devotions: Nearer to God - 1 Thessalonians 4

1 Thessalonians 4:16             For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 

Understand this: Jesus is coming back at a time that we least expect. Will we be ready?

Probably most of us go through each day from one event, experience, or hour until the next without giving any thought to Christ’s Return. We are so far removed from the time of Paul that we go about thinking something like: ‘well, if Jesus has waited almost 2000 years to return, He probably won’t get here in my lifetime.’ We forget, though, that unlike Paul, we are now 2000 years nearer to that incredible day when Jesus arrives to finally judge the Earth.

This is why changing our present lifestyles is so crucial: honestly ask yourself this: if Jesus arrives today, will I be ready? Will I be taken or forsaken? Will I go to heaven or hell?

Some people turn off when preachers talk like that. They stick their heads in the sand and go into denial about what’s going to happen. They think that if they shut it out from their minds, it won’t ever occur. All they want to listen to is Pollyanna preaching and read happy-go-lucky theology. They don’t want to accept that their time, civilization, culture and society will be no more when Christ returns.

So for those people, let me reiterate: Understand this: Jesus is coming back at a time that we least expect. Will we be ready?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, free us from fooling ourselves and for filling our lives with trivial pursuits. Remind us that we each have everlasting souls and that the destiny of those precious souls depends upon the faith choices that we make on Earth. Keep us from making the colossal mistake of setting aside Biblical truths and replacing them with cultural philosophies. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

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

Today’s image is one of John’s latest “Scotland in Winter” prints called “Bonnie Dunkeld.” It depicts the beautiful town of Dunkeld covered in snow. You can view a larger image of this print at the following link:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/5393592425_c5a7d357f7_b.jpg

Teacher Devotions: Watching Balloons - Acts 1 v 10

Acts 1: 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

Have you ever released a helium filled balloon and watched it float up into the sky? I have done this several times in my life and have been captivated by the balloon’s flight. As it climbs skyward up into the clouds, the balloon gets smaller and smaller. Eventually it is just a mere dot and then it disappears entirely. You end up with sore eyes because you try to see the balloon as long as you can without blinking. One final blink and the balloon is gone forever.

I think that’s how the disciples experienced Christ’s Ascension. They kept looking intently up into the sky because they didn’t want Him to go. So long as they could see Jesus, they knew that they weren’t alone. As He disappeared into the clouds, they must have felt anxious and isolated, fearful and alone.

Suddenly, two angels appeared beside them and gave them words of comfort. “Jesus will comeback in the same way.” In other words, Christ would return to them one day. That restored hope to the disciples. And as if that wasn’t enough, they were also given the promise of the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They didn’t know what this would involve, but Jesus had spoken of this before, so the disciples must have felt that this repeated promise confirmed the truth about what the two angels were telling them: Jesus would come back.

Almost two thousand years later, we are still waiting for that promise to be fulfilled. The Holy Spirit has come and established the Church on Earth, but we still await that glorious day when Jesus will arrive from the sky and be among us again – this time forever.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we await Your Arrival on Earth and yearn for that Day when You will restore all things to God and Time will be no more. We pray that we will be ready to receive You and be willing to do Your Holy Bidding as Your everlasting servants in God’s Kingdom. 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 one of John’s digital glass drawings called “Balloon Fest.” You can view a larger version of this online at the following link: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1161/1454659083_7548f6c333_b.jpg

Teaching Devotions: Happening Now - Mark 13 v 8

Mark 13:8       Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

We had an earthquake about 20 miles away from Knoxville this morning. I think it registered about 3.3 on the Richter scale, so there wasn’t really any damage although some people at the epicenter were a bit shook up with the noise. East Tennessee gets about 10 small earthquakes each year, but they are hardly noticeable to the population. I guess we forget that we live right next to the Smoky Mountains, which were created by earthquakes millions of years ago.

There’s seems to be a lot of turmoil in the world right now: the Icelandic volcano, the Chinese earthquake, and wars in various places. You can’t help but feeling that we’re on the threshold of something big, new, and mysterious. Jesus did warn us long ago that these were the signs of His imminent Arrival. Perhaps we’ve grown so used to being without His physical presence and living our lives in our own fashion that we’ve put the thought of His Second Coming to the back of our minds.

Maybe it’s the caffeine in my system right now, but I get this uneasy feeling that we should be preparing for something, after all today could be the beginning of the End.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, help us to use this day as a means of getting our hearts and minds, our lives and souls in touch and attached to You. Remind us that life is fleeting and that we are given the blessing of everlasting life through You alone. Show us that each day is a gift of grace and a time to prepare for Your Return. 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.

Teachers Devotions: God's Timeline

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.