Sunday Devotion: Project Being There

Matthew 10: 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

There’s a married couple in our church who have adopted three great kids from Viet Nam. They did this because they wanted to care for children who were orphaned and needed a good beginning and solid foundation in their lives. It’s cost them a lot of time, energy, and resources to do this, but it’s a wonderful and priceless gift for each child. Those little ones were saved because an American couple cared deeply for them.

But it didn’t stop there. They knew that there were more kids in Viet Nam who needed to be provided for, so they set up a charity called “Project Being There.” They did this to raise awareness and money for an orphanage in Viet Nam. Last week, the group was involved in a Chili Cook Out in downtown Knoxville to let more people know about their organization.

I’m glad that our church has such people in its midst. I’m glad that we can help this new charity become effective in this crucial area. I believe that this is what Christ would call living an abundant life, where the blessings that we have can be generously shared with those in need. If giving a cup of cold water to a thirsty child is a divine gift in Christ’s eyes, then giving orphaned Vietnamese children a good start and a new hope must be holy and sacred to God.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, there are so many good things that are being done throughout our world by people of faith and people who care. Thank You for the gift of compassion and love which can be shared, nurtured, and grown across the entire globe. Bless the work of organizations like Project Being There and enable them to embrace the poor, encourage the orphan, and empower the rest of us to do what we can to make the world a better place. In Your Holy Name, we cheerfully 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.

Out of Africa: The Massai Creed

My daughter Lauren is on a three month mission trip in Tanzania, Africa. Just north of her, are the Massai people, who have their own Christian creed.

Podcast version here

Most of you know that my youngest daughter Lauren is on a three month mission trip in Tanzania, Africa. She is working in a mountain town called Tabora, where she is leading a summer school program for orphaned children, whose parents have died from HIV/AIDS.

1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

Tanzania is mainly an Islamic country, but north of where Lauren is, the beautiful and noble Masai people live. Some of them are Christians and have a very sincere faith. About fifty years ago, they wrote a wonderful creed that just captivates everything about their Christian beliefs. They are largely poor people, but they are rich when it comes to faith. I’ve written out their creed in this message and I am certain it will touch your heart, just as it did mine.

The Masai Creed

We believe in the one High God, who out of love created the beautiful world and everything good in it. He created Man and wanted Man to be happy in the world. God loves the world and every nation and tribe on the Earth. We have known this High God in darkness, and now we know Him in the light. God promised in the book of His word, the Bible, that He would save the world and all the nations and tribes.

We believe that God made good His promise by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, a man in the flesh, a Jew by tribe, born poor in a little village, who left His home and was always on safari doing good, curing people by the power of God, teaching about God and man, showing the meaning of religion is love. He was rejected by his people, tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died. He lay buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, He rose from the grave. He ascended to the skies. He is the Lord.

We believe that all our sins are forgiven through Him. All who have faith in Him must be sorry for their sins, be baptized in the Holy Spirit of God, live the rules of love and share the bread together in love, to announce the Good News to others until Jesus comes again. We are waiting for Him. He is alive. He lives. This we believe. Amen.

Prayer: Lord God, we tend to think that our Western faith is strong and powerful throughout the world. You are teaching us, however, that the least amongst us and the weakest economically have a far greater hold of faith than we do. Help us to learn from the wisdom that You bestow upon Christian peoples of other nations. Open our hearts and minds to their simple, true, and devoted faith. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen.

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

Sunday Devotions: The Quiet Life

Paul urges us to lead a quiet life, minding our own business, and working with our hands. It's a Christian pipe dream, because the world always invades our space. In China, a Christian businessman has been arrested for national security reasons because he was letting other Christians worship there. The crime is punishable by death.

Podcast version here

1 Thessalonians 4:11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you.

It sounds like the ideal way to live a Christian life. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all just get along together? Leading a quiet life and minding my own business seems like an idyllic way of existing. No squabbles, no arguments, no worries, and no concerns. Just keeping your head down, working at your business, and getting on with life. It would be heaven on earth.

But then reality invades my world and I realize that this is just a Christian pipe dream of Paul’s. Life is far from quiet and is in fact much too noisy. No matter how hard I try to mind my own business, someone always says or does something that affects me. And often, when I go to do my work, something occurs which changes my schedule and I have to set aside the projects I wanted to accomplish. I would love for Paul’s Utopia to exist, but unless I joined a silent monastery in a far off place, I’m never going to accomplish it.

I’m also reminded that Christians around the world don’t have it so easy either. Take Alimujiang Yimiti for example. He was quietly working at his business in Uyghur, China in September last year, when Chinese government officials closed it down. They stated that he was using his business as a cover for “preaching Christianity among the Uyghuri people.” Four months later, Alimujiang was arrested and accused of “subversion of the national government and endangering national security.” This crime is punishable by death. Ali has been in prison for six months awaiting trial.

So much for just living a quiet life and working with your hands! Ali became a Christian more than ten years ago and has been an active member of the growing Uyghur Church.

We Westerners get so upset in our churches when things don’t go our way, but I really wonder what we would do if we were threatened with arrest for national security reasons just because we are Christians? The things that are perhaps important to us pale into insignificance when we put them beside what Alimujiang and thousands of other Christians in China are enduring.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we all want our lives to be smooth and trouble-free. We want our needs to be met and our desires to be fulfilled. Sometimes we forget that our wishes and ways are not what You ask of us. Sometimes we need to be reminded that faith isn’t a leisure pursuit or a group activity; it’s a serious life commitment and one that others are being imprisoned, tortured, and even killed for, across the world. In Your Holy Name, we humbly 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