Stushie’s Stuff

I only failed one test when I was at university. It happened in my first semester and of all things to fail, I failed New Testament. The professor and I didn’t see eye to eye, so I think I was marked out for a humbling experience. I missed the pass grade by half a point and he wouldn’t round it up. There were no do-overs or extra credits at the Divinity Faculty, so I had to live the next semester with my failure.  I guess if I had studied more, been better prepared, and had gone unnoticed in the class, I might have squeaked through a pass. Whatever the case, it was my own fault, but I learned my lesson. Throughout the next six years at the Faculty, I never failed a class again and finished up with an Honors degree.

2 Corinthians 13:5     Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-unless, of course, you fail the test?

Testing our faith is something that we don’t pay a great deal of attention to these days, but in Paul’s time, it was very important. People had to truly know within their hearts if their faith was real because Christians were being persecuted at the time. When believers put their trust in Jesus, they were also laying their lives on the line. To call Jesus “Lord” was a capital offense against Caesar and the Roman Empire, so followers of Christ had to be sure they wanted to be Christians. If they didn’t test their faith from time to time, then they may have been found wanting when a real trial came their way.

But what about us today? How do we properly test our faith? I think we’ve got to ask ourselves if our faith is a leisure pursuit, a life style choice, or an everlasting commitment. We may never be asked to lay down our lives for Jesus, but we may feel pressured to worship on an irregular basis because of other commitments. Or we may hold back from giving our time and resources for Christ’s church because of insecurity or insensitivity. Or we may neglect growing our faith and be led astray by New Age teachers and prosperity Gospel preachers without realizing it.

I think the best way to test our faith in different situations is to honestly ask ourselves would Jesus approve or do this. If the honest answer is “No” and we ignore it, then we have tested our faith in Christ and failed. During those times, we need to seek His forgiveness and allow Him to help us start again. Christianity is not easy and it is not comfortable, but when we do the right thing and please the Lord, it is the most spiritually rewarding faith in the entire universe.

Prayer:                        O Lord Jesus, we fear failure in our lives and we don’t like to lose in our society. We forget that our faith competes with our decisions and choices every day. Help us to remain faithful to You, so that when we are deeply and sorely tested, we will not fail You. And if we do fail, enable us to sincerely and humbly come to You for forgiveness. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

This took place at the Living Waters Retreat center in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. I went there for a couple of quiet days to be with God and ask Him for a vision of our church.

As I looked out of my window, I saw four tall elm trees. Everything was quiet and still. It was a prayerful moment of peace and tranquility, and yet I felt there was something mysterious in the air.

As I looked at the trees, I marveled at how the slender trunks had taken years to branch out into smaller limbs, twigs, and leaves. I thought about Christ’s Church being the largest tree and all the denominations becoming strong branches on the new limbs.

Where was Erin on this great tree? In 2000 years of Christianity and throughout the numerous denominations, and even amongst billions of Christians, what part did we represent of the great tree?

As I contemplated our size and history, I realized that we were just a mere leaf toward the top of the tree. Amongst myriads of leaves, we were just like any other – a tiny leaf, on a small twig, connected to a big branch, attached to a large limb, growing out of a giant trunk. We were the smallest of the small – insignificant, unimportant, and ineffectual.

In the stillness of the moment, I felt stung in realizing that we had only made such a tiny contribution to the Great tree of Faith. It was humiliating and hurtful, shocking and surprising. I came to the retreat center looking for an almighty vision, and all that I was given was a divine reality check.

And then God showed me something totally unexpected. Everything was quiet and somber. As I looked at the little leaf that I had chosen as Erin, it slowly began to flutter. Nothing else was happening to the whole tree. Somehow that little, unimportant and insignificant leaf was catching the wind. It seemed as though it was dancing.

Soon other little leaves around it began to flutter and dance. They were also catching the wind and, for a while, they all fluttered alone as a group. And then, all over the tree, other tiny leaves began to catch the wind, and they also fluttered and danced.

The twig that was Erin began to sway ever so slightly, and then it began to swing to the music of the wind. Very soon other twigs were swaying and then the bigger branches joined the dance. The wind was beginning to pick up and the tree was full of its energy. Leaves were fluttering swiftly, twigs and branches were swinging, boughs and limbs were swaying rhythmically in the breeze.

As the dance continued, the sound of the wind picked up and it choreographed the whole tree. I then wondered when the great trunk of the tree would move. I didn’t see it, but I heard it. Throughout this great orchestration of the wind and leaves, I suddenly heard the deep moaning sounds of the trunk creaking in the wind. The whole tree was alive to the movement of the air. I was watching a great symphony that began with the fluttering solo of a little leaf called Erin.

That’s when God struck me with the vision. Erin is just a little church, the tiniest of leaves on this great tree of the Christian faith. Our role is not to be great or grandiose, important or significant. Our purpose is simply to await the coming of the Holy Spirit, to catch its wind, to flutter and dance as the Spirit moves us, so that other little leaves around us may be encouraged and influenced to do the same.

We are here at Erin to catch the wind of the Holy Spirit. The earth may never know who we are or that we exist, but God knows and our role is to delightfully dance before Him. If we wait upon the Lord and catch the Spirit, then we will have fulfilled our purpose. When the Spirit comes, those little leaves that are ready will dance joyfully and flutter faithfully, pleasing God and delightfully serving Christ.

Erin, God is preparing us to catch the Wind? Are we ready to begin the dance?

Calvin called them the ‘attestations of God’s wisdom.’ He was referring to the wonders of nature and creation all around us, which lead us to having faith in a benevolent Creator. Whether it’s the majesty of magnificent mountains, the crashing of waves against the shore, or even looking at a blade of grass under a microscope, all of them inspire a feeling of awe and wonder within us, which can only be explained as a oneness with the creator.

Podcast version here

Job 26:14        And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”

I also like what Job has to say about these wonderful works of creation. To him, they were the outer fringes of God’s works; in other words, there are even greater things to experience about God. As I have written before, one of my hopes about being on the other side of death will be traveling throughout the whole universe and seeing everything that God has done. I want to watch stars being born and different planets. I want to feel the pleasure and delight that God has in His creativity. I want to be there when a new heaven and a new earth are created for the glorious purpose of a new beginning for humanity.

As I look out my study window, I see that the sky is overcast and that the trees have lost the brightness of their colors. But I know that very soon the sun will come out from behind the grey clouds and that these mere fringes of God’s creation will become bright and alive, beautiful and marvelous. All things attest to God’s wisdom and I feel both privileged and humbled to be a creature of His making, who experiences the wonders of His creating.

Prayer:                        Lord God, help us to take the time to feel the sense of wonder at the beauty which is all around us. No matter what we do or where we go today, remind us of the joy of creation and let us experience the awe of Your beauty. In the Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

My mother’s name was McClay, and I used to think that the name “McClay” meant “son of the earth.” It made me feel as though I came from some very common stock, of pitcher people from long ago, who made jars of clay for my Scottish ancestors. Because my father’s family were all Stuarts, who were once Scottish kings and queens, I tended to be a wee bit snooty regarding my heritage when I was much younger. I would rather have royal blue blood running through my veins than to be taken from old grey clay, any day.

Podcast version here

But when I researched the name McClay I discovered it had nothing to do with clay pots or working with mud. You see McClay is an anglicized form of the old Gaelic name “Mac An Leigh,” which means “son of the Healer.” My mother’s heritage didn’t come from clay workers; they were instead the ancient shamans, medicine men, and pagan healers of the old Gaelic tribes. Perhaps instead of royal blood in my veins, I’ve got pastoral blood from my mother’s side.

Job 33:6          I am just like you before God; I too have been taken from clay.

No matter what my heritage may actually be, or how fanciful I think it is, I am humbled by this one thought: that we are all created equal by God and, as far as the Bible is concerned, we are all made from dust and clay. In God’s eyes, it matters not how noble or powerful, wealthy or esteemed, famous or infamous that we are in the world; as far as He is concerned, we are all His creatures, whose purpose is to praise God and enjoy Him forever.

We are all sons and daughters of clay, yet we are also destined to become sons and daughters of God through the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God’s Holy Son. By placing our faith in Christ, we are not left to sink into the miry clay of darkness and oblivion; instead we are given the sacred opportunity of rising out of the mud, of being cleansed by Christ’s blood, and being led into the everlasting, holy, and joyful presence of God. Then, in my opinion, we all become the equivalent of immortal McClays – sons and daughters of the Healer of the world. My mother would just love that.

Prayer:                        Lord God, we all have different heritages and ancestry, backgrounds and cultures. And yet we have the same source of life, which comes from You alone. Thank You for allowing us to share this wonderful creation that is all around us. And we praise You for the glorious opportunity of experiencing this forever, through the noble sacrifice and royal blood of Your Son and our King, Jesus Christ. In His Name, we pray. Amen.

SNELLVILLE, Ga. - Praise the Lord and pass the petrol.

The First Baptist Church in Snellville, Ga., is fuelling its membership drive with a sign in front of its sprawling campus proclaiming “Free Gasoline.”

There’s a catch, of course. The offer is a not a giveaway.

By Greg Bluestein, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Instead, each time newcomers or members attend a church event during a Sunday-to-Wednesday revival they get a pink raffle ticket for a chance to win one of two $500 gas cards.

The church boasts a congregation of about 9,000, but church officials say only about 2,500 regularly attend Sunday services.

“We don’t know how far it will go with these soaring (gasoline) prices,” said Rusty Newman, the church’s senior pastor. “But (winning) it may make someone’s night.”

The church, like others, has long relied on special dinners and giveaways to draw in members, but elders wanted something a little more timely.

They set up a sign advertising the offer outside the church’s parking lot on a busy road near downtown Snellville, a traffic-clogged suburb northeast of Atlanta.

Read the rest of the story here…

When I was a kid, I used to love visiting Springburn Park in Glasgow, Scotland. It had three massive ponds, full of sticklebacks, minnows, and perch. The park was about three miles from my home and, during the long days of summer, my brothers and friends used to walk to the park and spend all day there.

Podcast version here

We each carried cane nets and empty jelly jars. As soon as we got to the ponds, we would walk around the edge trying to catch as many small fish as we could. By the end of the day, our jars were full of black, blue, green, silver and red fish. Just before we left the park, we would tip our jars back into the ponds. By the time we walked home, we would all be tired and head to our beds. Sometimes I would dream of catching more fish the next day.

Psalm 33:7      He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses.

I’m fascinated with how psalmist describes God’s ability to gather the waters of the sea in jars. I guess he thought that the world was flat and that God filled up the seas from His heavenly storehouses. These days we would laugh at such a notion, but I like the image of God doing this. I can see Him with gigantic jelly jars, peering at all the different forms of aquatic life. I know that it isn’t real, but at times I wonder if God looks at our entire planet and sees a global aquarium and world-wide safari park.

I think what the psalmist was trying to convey was this: God is in control and rules over nature. Now that I can accept, for it is one of the true foundations that solidifies my faith. God is in control, so no matter what I go through or experience, He will have a grasp of the situation and grant me guidance when I need it.

Prayer:                        Lord God, thank You for the wonders of creation and the mysteries of the universe. You absolutely know everything that goes on in every place, every time, and every person. Thank You for being in control of the entire cosmos. Thank You for watching over our lives with interest, grace, and love. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

Continuing a page by page critique of Eckhart Tolle’s book “A New Earth”, which Oprah is promoting. Christians should be aware of the unChristian theology and heresy that is being presented throughout this book.

A New Earth: Critique on Chapter Two

Page 25:          Tolle suggests that words are mere labels, and totally ineffective when it comes to knowing something truly. It fascinates me that Tolle insists in using words to describe this. I think he is beginning to use this for a later argument that the words we use to label God are useless because God is totally unknowable.

We know something of this from scripture: God’s ways are mysterious, yet because His thoughts and ways are not our own, He uses scriptural words and sacred history to reveal Himself to us. Tolle also forgets that God (Genesis 2) gives man the gift of naming animals, thus the source of these ‘labels” comes from God.

Tolle is using this line of argument to show us that there can be no absolutes, i.e. we only know the tip of the iceberg, so therefore we cannot be certain of anything.

Page 26:          Tolle talks about the Source of all life (this is an oblique form of Deism), however he then talks about objects pointing back to this Source, to God, to yourself. This is new Age stuff…of equating ourselves with God ( which, BTW, was the original sin in the Garden of Eden).

Talks about essence being communicate from all types of objects. Tolle should perhaps read Isaiah 46!

Uses an illustration of Van Gogh feeling the Beingness of the Chair in his painting…but the painting is about VG’s genius and artistic talent, not the chair!

Tolle talks about us becoming obsessed by thoughts and words, and losing our transformational spirituality in the process…but the intricacy of our language is what makes us distinctly human!

Talks about our essential self, which can only be discovered if we disentangle ourselves from all labels and images….this sounds very like Buddhism.

Page 27:          Tolle insists that labels make us shallow; we may know words but lose wisdom. This is absurd. Almost all of human wisdom has been saved with words. Without the words of previous generations, we would have lost wisdom! E.g. Renaissance occurs when Greek literature is rediscovered.

We also establish relationships with others through the knowing of our names.

Tolle is beginning to say that we are imprisoned by words…he’s going to use this as a means for rejecting scripture. He also says that the human mind does not amount to much…as compared to the mind of God perhaps, but to other planetary species, the human mind is amazing.

Tolle starts to talk about the “primordial error,” which is too much of a focus on “I.” This is what we would call original sin.

Page 28:          Tolle quotes Einstein and follows his thoughts upon being isolated from the whole of existence – that we are aware of everything around us as part of an optical illusion of consciousness. But the writer of Psalm 8 went there before Einstein and Tolle – “when I consider that stars & the heavens, the works of your fingers, what am I…?” It’s called ontology – why do we exist?

Tolle suggests that everything is an illusion and that when we recognize this, the illusion will cease to exist. This is classic Buddhism – Nirvana

Paul however would suggest that now we see through a glass darkly, but then face-to-face…the illusion will not dissolve, but that which we poorly see will become more real. Calvin talks about this with regard to sunflowers – people look at them and see the glory of the flowers, but they forget to look above and see the actual sun!

Tolle continues to insist that using the book will lead to enlightenment – I can hear Obi wan Kenobi saying it: “Use the Book, Luke!”

Tolle suggests that when we use the word “I” we are not talking about ourselves – then who are we talking about? This could have moral consequences of personal disassociation e.g. George Washington: I cannot tell a lie, father. It was I (but not really who I am)????

Page 29:          Tolle begins to talk about the I-thought as something separate from ourselves. This may be something similar to Martin Buber’s teaching in I-Thou.

Tolle states that we built up our identities through the things we claim as our own. This is called materialism. Jesus would teach against this as follows: “Where your heart is, there your treasure lies.”

He talks about our I-dentity as being precariously bundled together to form an illusory sense of self. But this is not precarious at all; all of this is natural.

Page 30:          Tolle talks about a new awakening, a deeper sense of “I” – this is self-centered spirituality, which once again displaces God for ourselves.

Talks about materialistic “I” superseding the deeply, spiritual “I.” There is almost something Jungian in this. Thought begins to possess the mind, heart, and soul. The “I” takes over everything – Greek Orthodox mysticism has something similar – the eo?

Tolle writes about the process of dis-identifying from your thoughts. Instead of being thought-entangled, you experience peace. This is Buddhism, compartmentalism, or border-line schizophrenia. I’m beginning to wonder if Tolle suffers from this.

Pages 30-33:   After arguing against being identified with the ego “I,” Tolle then proceeds to give an autobiographical account of an event in his life…isn’t he arguing against himself here?????

Page 33:          Tolle writes about experiencing a detachment from his mind. “Life isn’t as serious as my mind makes it out to be.”

Jesus would say: Come to me, all of you who are burden and rest in me.”

Tolle talks about three years of anxiety, depression, and suicidal tendencies….uh oh! He becomes free of compulsive thinking and of the false, mind-made I. This could be psychologically serious, folks.

Page 34:          Tolle doubts the absolute validity of the human intellect – here it comes: there are no absolutes. Thinking is only a tiny aspect of the consciousness that we are…???? And yet, isn’t Tolle using his tiny thinking capacity to write this book?

Egoic mind conditioned by the past – subtle implication that if religion drives the mind, then it is out-dated too.

Page 35:          The mind unconsciously wants to identify with something other than itself – whereas Christians would say that we strive for completion, but will only find it when we discover God.

Tolle writes that people do perceive the success of themselves through the objects they possess. True.

Page 36:          We buy things to enhance our identity – build our esteem…true. The egoic mind unconsciously wants to identify with structure (Tolle will use this to reject institutionalized religion).

Ego-satisfaction is short lived – keep looking for more, something better: but couldn’t the same be said for Tolle’s followers? Aren’t they looking for something better than the past? Is it the novelty of this philosophy that is driving millions towards it? He’s arguing against himself.

Page 37:          Each thing has beingness and origin in the formless one Life – Buddhism. Again, read Isaiah 46, Tolle.

Most people don’t inhabit a living reality, but a conceptualized one. This is Buddhism – why doesn’t he call it this?

The unchecked striving for more, for endless growth is a dysfunction and a disease. Anti-materialistic. Also Hinduism. Christians would call this the sin of avarice and greed.

Pages 38-41: Tolle’s first person story about the Lost Ring. Letting go of the things we possess, or that posses us.

Page 40:          Tolle now calls beingness “I AM-ness” This is highly controversial. “I AM” is the sacred Name of God. Tolle is discarding God for himself. Christians should understand what is happening here. God is being replaced totally. Instead of being Christo-centric, Tolle is, funnily enough, urging his readers to become ego-centric!

Page 41: Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness…Paul would say that troubles lead to endurance, and in turn to faith in Christ. Tolle is advocating that our life experiences are meant to give us a higher spirituality, whereas, for the Christian, we go through experiences to lead us closer to Christ. It’s not about us; it’s about glorifying Jesus.

Page 42:          Tolle insists that the ego isn’t wrong: it’s just unconscious. He is absolving us from accountability and responsibility for our sins. We’re all absolved from our greed…this isn’t Christian. This is self-centered pandering to our pride which doesn’t want to be humbled by any divine absolutes.

Page 43:          Tolle suggests that on our death bed everything falls away and that no thing has anything to do with who we are/were. However, to Christians, this is not true. It’s what we do with what we have that is very important to who we are to God. NB – Christ’s Parable of the Hidden Talents.

Tolle again quotes Jesus and insists that the poor in spirit are those with no internal baggage, no “identifications.” Once again he is twisting Christ’s words to suit his theory. When Jesus mentions the poor in spirit he is referring to those who are spiritually poor and sincerely faithful – it’s nothing to do with what Tolle alludes. He also describes the kingdom of heaven as being the “simple but profound joy of Being” – this is so trite and diminishes what Christ means by the Kingdom of God – once again it’s not about us or our existence, it’s about God.

Page 44:          Tolle states that the egoic mind patter sees itself as right and others wrong. He is trying to disarm his opponents, whilst at the same time bolstering his followers with the old argument of  “they’re out to get us” type of cult mentality.

Mentions absurdity of land ownership & talks of the “white” settlement – isn’t this racist? Also, how much “land” does Oprah possess? And what about Tolle himself with the success of his books? Is this a barb of land-envy, or will it lead to a one world, one belief, one path viewpoint?

Page 45:          Ego = the more I have, the more I am…Oprah: the more I have, the less I need to believe in God????

Collective delusion and chasing after things…anti-materialism, Buddhist??? Christian vow of poverty???

Page 46: “I am the awareness that is aware…” ego-centric theism. Tolle should read Daniel 4 – Nebuchadnezzar’s awareness story….

I don’t have enough yet…= I am not enough yet. Parallel with Christ’s parable about the successful farmer who wants to build bigger barns.

Ownership is a fiction – delusion which is Buddhist. However, you could argue Psalm 24…”the earth is the Lord’s and all that is contained therein”

Greed is an addictive need – but people like Tolle can also be spiritually greedy – I want more than Christ can give me…

Page 47:          Tolle has a few good paragraphs about bulimia – is he trying to connect with women who have eating disorders? Is this a sincere example or a way of exploiting the problems of his readers????

Unfulfilled wanting leads to unease, restlessness, boredom, anxiety, and dissatisfaction. Paul would counter these with the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians.

Page 48:          Tolle rants against the large corporations which is ironic because his patron, Oprah, has managed to market herself into becoming a corporation….

He talks about the egoic structures never satisfying you…will he transfer this onto the Church???

Page 49: gender = identity: fulfilling our gender identity is the means of fulfilling our lives. Talks about good looks, strength, and appearance…and how we have become obsessed with such. Appealing to his readers and the pressure they put themselves under????

Page 50:          Talks about Bulimia and anorexia addicts having egoic dysfunction…healing can only come from within. Self transformation.

Tolle starts to express his view of the body not being important…this is both Buddhist and Gnostic.

Page 51: As the body weakens, the light of consciousness begins to shine – Buddhism and Gnosticism again. Also Hinduism. Whereas Christianity – the resurrection of the Body.

When ego finds an identity, it doesn’t want to let it go…same could be said about Tolle’s philosophy & Oprahism.

Page 52:          You can go beyond body-identification – this is classic Gnosticism

Body is just an appearance – our outer forms are intensely alive energy fields. Too much Star Trek here…NB genesis – we have the breath of God within us…not on the outside.

Tolle does the hand imagining thing…Sci Fi writer Frank Herbert wrote about this in Dune decades ago. Tolle is borrowing from Herbert!

Page 53:          Inner body & life energy are the same. When we are in touch with the inner body, we move away from form…we are no longer imprisoned by the body ( Gnotsicism). This awareness strengthens our immune system…this is dangerous for anyone who is seriously ill. Also, this is like theories practiced by Church Scientists.

Ego causes us to lose ourselves…Christ asks us to lose ourselves in order to find God.

Page 54:          Tolle talks about other forms of consciousness – but there is no scientific data for this…it’s his ideas, something similar to what Uri Geller described about 20 years ago talking about Brahams.

Page 55:          Tolle talks about Descartes “I think, therefore I am.” If there were nothing but thought in you, you wouldn’t even know you are thinking…C.S. Lewis writes something similar in either mere Christianity or the Problem with Pain.

An emerging new dimension of consciousness…but how can it be new if it is already there????

Page 56:          Tolle ends the chapter with a discourse on peace – an elusive, ethereal, transformational peace.  He backs up his opinion by quoting Paul, but he only half quotes the verse (Philippians 4:7)…Tolle calls this transformation a peace that passes all understanding, using Paul’s words, but what he deliberately cuts from the verse is the following phrase…the peace of God which passes all understanding…will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus!…in other words, Paul is talking about a peace that leads us to Christ, not Tolle’s transformation consciousness! This is one of the worst usages of scriptures in the book.

Page 57: Spirit is released from the its imprisonment through death….Buddhism & Gnosticism together. This leads us to this great self-awareness, this I AMness which is the peace of God. But this is not what Paul states…this peace of God can only be found in Jesus Christ.

Talks about the old ego becoming contracted, more rigid, impenetrable, bitter and resentful. He’s laying the groundwork for identifying Church and Christianity with this ego. Clever move by Tolle.

Page 58:          Resistance means you are closed to the transformation and that the universe will not be on your side. Has Tolle suddenly become God? How does he know what the universe will or won’t do?????

Starts to talk about creative intelligence…is this back door theism/ Deism????

You rest in God when you surrender. God = peace. There is no need for confession or conviction, judgment or absolution – just the right transformational awareness. For Tolle, this is the equivalent of being justified through faith…but not faith in Christ, faith in our own awareness, beingness, and I AMness.

 A New Earth Part 1

Have you ever had one of those days when you walked in the house and forgot to switch off the burglar alarm? Or you had the alarm on, and went to take the garbage out late at night, only to panic when all of the sirens, bells, and whistles screamed throughout the subdivision?

Hello, my name is John Stuart, and I’m an accidental alarmist.

It’s so embarrassing and you feel like an absolute fool. One moment the neighborhood is all quiet and cozy, and then it’s as if World War Three had broken out late at night. And you know what the neighbors are thinking: that Scottish twit has just set off his burglar alarm again.

For peace and security, most people invest in some sort of burglar alarm. They want to keep their homes free from any disturbance, break-in, or invasion. A burglar alarm guarantees that everyone in the neighborhood knows that something is wrong and the security people, who monitor the alarm, get ready to call the police if no one responds to their call.

We all want peace and security in our lives, whether it’s in our homes, at our school, or in our workplaces. We hate the stress and pressure of conflict and alarm, fear and trouble. We all just want to get on with our lives and be left in peace to enjoy our freedom, resources, and leisure.

Isaiah 32:17   The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

The Bible offers us these in two ways: from the Old Testament, Isaiah suggests that peace and security are the fruits of righteousness, which really means remaining absolutely loyal to God. If we are faithful to Him, then God will protect us from all sorts of trouble.

But the New Testament is slightly different. Paul states that if we want to experience the peace that surpasses all understanding, then we have to allow Jesus to guard our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:7). In other words, Christ becomes for us the spiritual burglar alarm within our souls, so that when evil and temptation try to ruin our peace and upset our lives, Jesus gives us the strength, guidance, and courage to overcome them.

So, if we want real peace and security in our lives, we need to place our faith in God and let Christ rule our minds and hearts. Otherwise, we’re just setting ourselves up for fear and anxiety, worry and heartbreak.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we all feel insecure, isolated, and irrelevant at times. Help us to hold on to Your promises and to look to You to bring the peace and security that we need in our hearts, minds, and souls. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Hillary is on her last legs in West Virginia…

Shame really, she was once a great politician…now she’s in denial.

Mega Churches pander to themselves in ways that promote their own churches instead of the Gospel. Small God-fearing churches serve Christ faithfully and preach the true heart of the Gospel.

Podcast version here

2 Corinthians 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

One of the biggest mistakes that the American church is making today occurs when preachers preach for their audience and not for the sake of the Gospel. I see too many churches falling into this life-application, life-style series, and life affirming type of preaching. It makes the hearers the center of the preaching, instead of Christ. It makes the congregation the focus of the message, instead of Christ’s ministry. It makes modern Christians the reason for the sermon, instead of the Good News.

And the trouble is this: American Christians don’t see it happening. They turn out in their thousands to hear Gospel charmers and narcissistic preachers who will stroke their egos and pander to their desires. Instead of being humble and becoming servants, the church audiences become proud and arrogant, spoiled and indignant (just visit any restaurant after mega-church members finish worship and you’ll see how badly they treat their servers).

The purpose of preaching is to preach the Gospel. And not just any Gospel – we preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ – where we are told to repent of our sins, to recognize our fallen ways, to seek the blood of Jesus to cleanse us of the past, and to place our lives, hearts, and souls into His hands. It’s not about life-style, or life-application, or life affirmation – it’s about needing Christ as our Savior and putting all our faith in Him alone.

Thankfully, there are small churches all over America where this Gospel is being preached. Their membership may only measure 30, 60, or 100, and they may never take over whole communities like the mega-Goliaths who swallow up local resources to feed themselves. But those small churches with their God-fearing members and Gospel preaching pastors are doing the true work of Christ, and they usually serve in the poorest of areas and hardest places to present the Gospel. They truly are servants for Jesus’ sake and they do not preach themselves.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, teach us the hard lessons of humility and service. Forgive us for turning the Gospel into a sugar-coated and syrupy message that panders to our life-style choices, instead of letting it challenge and change our lives. Bless those wee churches who struggle each week trying to preach Gospel truths and who serve You faithfully. Enable us to follow their example, instead of trying to be something You never called us to become. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.