Validating God's Hope in Our Lives

[S] Proverbs 13:12 --
¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

[O] Promises not kept discourages people and eventually overdrawn discouragement makes the heart sick. I recently watched a video clip called "Validation" and it highlights the power of validating how God has gifted each one of us. To me this is validating God's hope in each of us -- and this makes people's hearts to be happy and brings smiles on their faces. At the same time, that will become contagious to those around like a tree that bears tasty fruits. In light of leadership, a leader that makes promises that cannot be delivered will eventually discourage the followers. At least in a for-profit corporations, the motivation is based on making revenue (otherwise goes out of business) so people can be driven to move forward, but in a non-profit organizations like churches, it can be easier to make plans but not deliver just to make another plan, repeating this pattern. This leads to the members losing confidence in the leadership and their hearts disengage away from the works of God through that church. On the other hand, walking with God in every plan to fulfill each of them will lead to the "tree of life."

[A] As I am planning the small group initiatives for my church, stay strong in His Word and prayer such that I will be in accord with His plans and deliveries.

[P] Lord, Your plans for our church is to grow and multiply. You have been blessing us with many members and now we're at a point to draw up some specific plans to adminster and minister to the growing members. Give us the wisdom to see into Your heart and draw from it the life that can be distributed to the members throughout the church. Thank You for allowing me to gain the insights in previous years and may that be used in this time for Your glory. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Pride vs. Humility = Dishonor vs. Wisdom

[S] Proverbs 11:2 --
²When pride comes, then comes dishonor,
But with the humble is wisdom.

[O] Person of honor is a concept we don't get to hear often these days. If you read the news these days you are bombarded with stories about how people are trying to cheat, beat, or kill others. Perhaps I may be listening to the wrong news channels but it's definitely rare to hear about the honors people are exchanging with one another. Why? Today's passage seems to shed some light on this question. Instead of humility, we are almost taught and encouraged to be proud over other people. The problem with pride is that it demands others around to be lowered (so you can stand out). So as a result, it will definitely bring dishonor. On the other hand, humility will beg wisdom to make a visit because it requires wisdom to be humble.

[A] Wonders why it's so easier to be proud than humble. I'm going to ask from God for humility by way of asking for more wisdom.

[P] Heavenly Father, grant me a humble heart and spirit. I realize this isn't gonna come naturally and will need to work on it. I wanna work on it, Lord. In Your name. Amen.

Higher Yield than Choicest Silver

[S] Proverbs 8:18-21 --
¹⁸"Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring wealth and righteousness.
¹⁹"My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield better than choicest silver.
²⁰"I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
²¹To endow those who love me with wealth,
That I may fill their treasuries.

[O] These days in the midst of our financial downturn many of us are seeking to create higher yields with our investments both in personal and corporate levels. Banks are trying to attract new customers with their higher-yielding savings accounts, CDs, as well as lower interest on loans. The financial analysts are trying to analyze the current situation to death while attempting to project the outlook in next 1-2 years. I recently got a newsletter titled: "When Conventional Wisdom Is Wrong Strategy Report." I don't know about you but it's an information overload for me trying to keep up with all different perspectives and analysis. In the midst of all this, today passage was like an oasis to me because it talks about how God is in control of my yields as well as my treasuries. Oh yeah, I'd better not lose focus of Him in this roller coaster ride otherwise I'll lose my bearing and get dizzy.

[A] Do not forget that in the end, God will give and take away all things I have/will have.

[P] Dear God , You are teaching me to trust You in the whirlwind of the situation we're all in. Many uncertainties such as how long I'll be employed in my current position and how much more we need to dive before we hit the bottom. May I grasp on to your word as my untimate treasure and may Your grace allow my children to do likewise (in their concerns which are more school works and other activities). In Jesus' name. Amen.

Source for Springs of Life

[S] Proverbs 4:23; Romans 8:27 --
²³Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.

²⁷and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

[O] As much as the physical heart is an essential part of our lives, the spiritual heart determines the path for our lives. Although we cannot control our physical heart easily, our spiritual heart can be controlled by our will power. We can decide how our spiritual heart will behave because God gave us the power to make choices. In Proverbs 4:23 it talks about how we need to watch over our hearts with diligence. And Romans 8:27 describes how our hearts can search for God's heart. So, our hearts are capable of taking a course of actions which will steer the way I live inside out, and also to overflow the springs of life to others around us.

[A] Sustain the devotion during the summer break from BSF such that my heart will be trained to take the right courses of action every day.

[P] Dear God, thank You for providing me the choice to decide where my heart will go. I am honored to make the right choices and also to teach my children how to make right choices with their hearts. Please grant Your wisdom in our family so we may be the sources of sprints of life to those around us. In Jesus' name. Amen.

How The Law Was Abused

[S] Romans 7:11 (NLT) --
¹¹ Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me.

[O] Wouldn't it be simple if whoever obeys the law better comes out ahead in the end? But it isn't. Contrary to popular belief, the more you try to obey the law, the worse we seem to get because sin figured out how to abuse the law to keep us further away from God. This does not mean we should ignore the law completely either and this is where it can get confusing. However, this all depends on what purpose I live by -- am I ultimately trying to fulfill all the laws (and expect that I will be considered justified); or am I ultimately trying to fulfill the law to my best ability (knowing I cannot 100% fulfill the law) but be under the grace of God to be considered His justified child? The former concept means I've fallen into the "abused law" trap because I will never be satisfied and will never be under His grace because I will die trying to fulfill the law.

[A] Call out to His grace every morning to come into my heart and reign.

[P] Dear God, shower upon my family, today, Your grace. We will fail trying to conform our physical life to the perfect patterns we desire, but we will never fail living by faith through Your grace. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Character That Is Proven

[S] Romans 5:4 --
proven character; and proven character, hope;

[O] NASB's translation describes the character as "proven" and that seems to add depth to my understanding of this passage. Even though this concept is implied in a character (what is it worth to have a character that is not proven?) but this puts a more emphasis on my behalf to attain godly characters which are proven over time instead of just putting on an act for a short duration. Having just completed the Life of Moses study in BSF, the meaning of being proven over time hits home very well by how Moses character was proven over the 120 years of his life going from a fugitive newborn to Prince of Egypt to a "nobyd" shepher, to a friend of God.

[A] Why is it so difficult to build up the character of not blowing off my morning appointment with Jesus?

[P] I desire to prove my character for You in this area of my life so that I would be a dependable partner in Christ to carry out bigger tasks for You. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God's Response to Our Prayer

[S] 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 --
¹Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the house.

 ²The priests could not enter into the house of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD'S house.

 ³All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the LORD upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the LORD, saying, "Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting."

[O] After Solomon had sent up an awesome prayer, God responded by sending down the fire from heaven and accepted the sacrifices and with His noticeable presence.  When's the last time I felt His glory like a thick cloud?  Without it my life may run dry quickly.  The people of Israel worshiped God when they saw His presence by bowing down from where they were.  I pray to God in difference situations but I lack this type of experiences where after pouring out your heart before God through prayer God responds with a tangible presence.  Perhaps I am not looking for (or expecting to see) any fire coming down from heaven.  More so than the wonderful prayer of Solomon, I am very impressed and almost jealous of how God responded to his prayer.

[A] Look for God's response to my prayers.  Make it a two way communication.

[P] Dear God, I am so encouraged by how you responded so vidily to Solomon's prayer because I am now going to seek for Your tangible responses to my prayers.  I look forward to Your glory filling my surroundings so we would all be blessed through it.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

From Law to Faith to Law

[S] Romans 3:20, 31 (NLT) --

²⁰ For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

³¹ Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

[O] The concept of the Law vs. Faith is a delicate one because it is almost like two sides of the same coin. One cannot exist without the other. Verse 20 explains that one of the key functions of the law is to bring knowledge of sin in us and with such knowledge of realizing how sinful we are, we would need the faith to understand how we may be qualified to have fulfilled the law because this is the only way to be with God once again. In the world today, in US for example, we are bombarded with various perspectives on how to live our lives to the fullest; but how many of these are based on the realization of how sinful we are based on a plumb line God had set before us? My estimate is not many. In fact, most of them are based on our own subjective logic and ideology. This certainly creates a lot of confusion which brings us down further into the whirlwind of corruption and broken lives that are sweeping through this nation.

[A] Living by faith does not mean a lifestyle of "Wild, Wild West." We are all still subjected to the universal Law God integrated into the fabrics of our lives. But we must come to realize that our efforts alone is insufficient for us to fulfill it and thus need to come before God to consider us justified. I must regurgitate this truth in my life daily through my own devotion with God -- a personal appointment with Him.

[P] Dear Heaven Father, I lift up the close community my family interacts with on daily basis. For those who do not know the wonderful truth of Your freedom from our laborious efforts of living day to day trying to achieve the goals we set for ourselves, please use our family members to shed this light of freedom into their lives. I know You are still working each of our five family members and yet we want to be used by You to touch others around us. Humble us and use us mightly. In Jesus' name. Amen.

The Choir of Nature

[S] Psalm 98:1a, 7-8 --
¹O sing to the LORD a new song,
For He has done wonderful things,
⁷Let the sea roar and all it contains,
The world and those who dwell in it.
⁸Let the rivers clap their hands,
Let the mountains sing together for joy

[O] If I listen carefully enough I will notice that the nature really sings out loud according to their creation. The sea roars, the rivers clap their hands, and the mountains sing for joy. How am I doing with my part in this global singing? I guess I need to always remember how I am created and how I am designed to sing such that I may join in the orchestra of this wonderful nature. What would it look like for rivers to sing like the sea roaring and vice versa? It would be weird, huh? That may be what's happening whenever I grumble or downcast instead of being happy and smiling because what God had done for me regardless of my circumstances. I want to join in on the choir of the nature.

[A] God's designed me to sing by praising God with my heart. This may manifest in smiling, raising hands to the sky, sacrificing to help others. What I need to watch out for is not to get caught up too much in my own tunes of selfishness and pride.

[P] Dear God, thank You for putting the desire to sing for You deep inside my soul. May I not hinder that singing with my own consciensness. I want to let go of myself to sing with rest of the world to You for what You had done for us. In Jesus' name. Amen.

From Dedication to Healing

[S] 1 Chronicles 26:26-27 --
Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of all the treasuries for the things dedicated by King David, by the heads of families who were the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and by the other army commanders. Some of the plunder taken in battle they dedicated for the repair of the temple of the LORD.

[O] There was a need to repair the temple of the Lord. They needed funding to meet this need. The funding was met by the offerings King David dedicated. Our dedications to our local church community is used to build up His ministries. The word "repair" prompted me to think that above the practical aspects of the buildings, etc. how much we are in need of the healing of our souls. As we observed that King David's victories were led by God in a supernatural ways, but He still uses our offerings to build up His ministries rather than doing everything for us. Couldn't He have repaired the temple Himself? Yes, but it was the offerings of His people that was used to repair it instead. God includes us in His wonderful works.

[A] When giving to God's ministries, don't hold back. Those are opportunities for me to be included in His works.

[P] Dear God, as You look at our hearts and not what or how much we offer to You, I want to dedicate my whole heart to You and also dedicate the rest of the resources You granted me to have in this world. I pray that my offerings will be used to repair/heal Your people here. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Find Purpose and then Stick To It 100%

[S] 1 Chronicles 22:9 --
Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days.

[O] God instills a clear purpose for each life that He brings into this world. Discovering that should be the most important task we can carry out because then we can live aligned according to His plans. Here we see that God tells David the purpose of his son along with his name. God says He will give Solomon "rest from all his enemies on every side." Solomon may have been the instrument but ultimately it is God who is in control and Solomon was used when he was obedient to His calling. At times I think I am going to prepare myself through training and experiences to great works for God. While this is a good motivation, I must first learn to hear what God's calling for my life is and then avail myself to obey that to the fullest.

[A] As I raise my children, I also need to pray and guide them to find out God's calling for them more so than to walk the path I want them to follow.

[P] Dear God, I bow down before You for Your greatness; how wonderful it is to know that You care for each one of us by name and by our special callings while we live on earth. Please reveal in me, my wife, and my children's hearts the purposes You desire in each of us as well as in our family as a whole. We desire to follow that wholeherrtedly. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Night and Morning Difference

[S] Psalm 30:5, 11, 12 --

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

[O] As I'm reading this passage enroute to San Diego to attend my dear friend's parents' funeral service God seemed to be comforting me in order to pass it on to my friend; not necessarily by reciting these verses but by showering the heart of God rendered in them through my presence. The mourning and weeping will last the night but the shout of joy will come in the new morning because of God's grace and mercy. Dancing singing praises will take place as the focus shifts from the loss of the beloved parents to the gratefulness of God in our lives for those living for His glory. This obviously is much easier said then done ... but encouraged by the author of this psalm that this is God's promise to us and can take courage to step forward in this path.

[A] Today in my participation at the funeral and burial services to carry this spirit for them for the unspoken message of God's abundant gracious care to embrace the mourning family members.

[P] Dear God, may Your wonderful Spirit of healing and hope be hoverong over the gathering today. Thank You for paving the path through Jesus Christ so we may escape from the sorrows of this world into Your eternal Joy. In His name. Amen.