Famine of God's Word

[S] Amos 8:11-12 --
¹¹"Behold, days are coming," declares the Lord GOD,
"When I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water,
But rather for hearing the words of the LORD.
¹²"People will stagger from sea to sea
And from the north even to the east;
They will go to and fro toseek the word of the LORD,
But they will not find it.

[O] There are two types of famines: lacking physical food, or spiritual food. The physical food is felt tangibly and more immediately than the spiritual food because we are less sensitive to the spiritual aspect of our health than the physical. We miss a meal and our stomachs will enter into a red-alert condition and we begin to lose strength making almost everything look like food to eat. It appears that our minds are stronger than our stomachs because it can sustain the lack of nourishments far longer, however, by the time it realizes the famine, it is almost too late to recover. So, in some sense stomach's warning system works a lot better. In this passage, God warns about the condition where when our minds come to the point of realizing that we hit the spiritual famine and decide to feed up on spiritual food there may not be any to feed from. This type of a famine is really scary. Without physical food we would only die from this physical world, but without the spiritual food our deaths will last forever.

[A] Store up His Word in my heart (Psalm 119:11) while I can -- NOW. Do not put it off.

[P] Dear God, I praise You for giving me Your Word to feed my mind with. The Bible is like the buffet table where I have unlimited amount of spiritual food. This is wonderful and I will not take this for granted because I may never know when I would face with the situation described in today's passage. What I have in my heart will remain with me and so I will do my best to store up as much as I can now. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Give Me an Undivided Heart

[S] Psalm 86:11 --
¹¹Teach me Your way, O LORD;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.

(In NIV) ¹¹ Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.

[O] Generally speaking, we are taught to display (or in some cases, show off) what we learn. For example, when I'm learning a musical instrument, I perform in front of others in concerts and competitions to display how much I learned and am good at playing the instrument. Rarely am I taught to fear how to play or just to appreciate the instrument (and not perform on it). Here in this passage, however, the result of teaching is fearing God's name wholeheartedly. I liked the more descriptiveness in NIV translation of "undivided heart" because God does not want part-time commitment but a 100% commitment from me as I learn His ways through His Words.

[A] As the new small group ministry is being formed at my church, I pray that we would all develop the undivided heart of fearing His name because only through that name our ministry will strengthen and grown as we all learn His Ways. As the structure is being developed, never lose focus of this principle.

[P] Dear God, Your name is awesome and I pray that our church will come to grips with acknowledging that in all aspects of our ministry, especially in the new small group ministry about to take off in about three months. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Prophesy, Dreams, Visions, Spirit of Power

[S] Joel 2:28; 2 Timothy 1:7 --
²⁸"It will come about after this
That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.

⁷For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

[O] God desires to pour out His Spirit on us all. It's the spirit of power, love and discipline which brings for the prophesy, dreams and visions. So many times, I try to take part in God's ministry with the best of intentions and resources but bypass His Spirit thus omitting the power, prophesy, dreams and visions in the process resulting in doing His work by my own power rather than having Him work through me. As I am putting my efforts of laying the foundational structure for a small group ministry at my church I'm clinging on to these two verses because in the end I desire His dreams and visions will be what the congregation will catch and by the size of those dreams/visions God will send the workers needed who will carry on the ministry with the spirit of power, love and discipline.

[A] Pray daily for His Spirit to lead me in this effort.

[P] Dear God, I just love 2 Timothy 1:7 because You have not given me a spirit of timidity but of power! Praise You and I will carry on with one who has received such power. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Obstacle of Wrong Expectations

[S] 2 Kings 5:11-12 --

¹¹But Naaman was furious and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.'

¹²"Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage.

[O] Naaman already had a clear expectation of how he should've been treated by Elisha before meeting Elisha (or at least tried to meet him). And when Elisha's response did not match his expectation he was furious and left in a rage. He flushed his opportunity of healing from God down the drain because of his own disappointments. I couldn't believe how much I related to Naaman's response here because so many times I go to God expecting Him to respond to me in a certain manner or way and when God responds to me in His way, then I get all worked up about it and lose focus of why I went to Him in the first place due to my upset emotions. For Naaman, though, thanks to his faithful servant's adivce he went ahead and obeyed Elisha's commands which brought healing from God as promised.

[A] When I go to God, I must surrender all of my own expectations and only have a humble heart of obedience to the fullest even if it may seem rediculous to me. Right now, as I'm getting involved with setting up the foundation for a small group ministry I have gone before God to show me clear direction -- I want to be extra cautious about having an open mind to receive whatever He says to me with the readiness of following it to the fullest.

[P] Dear God, thank You for caring for me all the time even when I do not trust in You 100%. You also care for me such that if I obey Your ways even when I do it out of obligation, Your will is realized through my own life. I ask for a humble and obedient heart so that I would gladly follow and enjoy the excitement of sensing Your wonderful power. Please guard and guide my family members each and every day. In Jesus' name. Amen.

The Third Captain's Heart of Shepherd

[S] 2 Kings 1:13-15 --

¹³So he again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, "O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight.

¹⁴"Behold fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight."

¹⁵The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him." So he arose and went down with him to the king.

[O] This was the third captain of 50 soldiers to approach Elijah to invite him to King Ahaziah. I give a lot of credit to this captain and the fifty soldiers because they clearly knew what had happened to the previous two sets of soldiers sent before them -- fire from heaven consumed them up -- and yet they went to Elijah anyways and begged Elijah to consider their lives precious. I see the combination of boldness, courage along with humbleness. Knowing when to be bold and when to be humble is deadly effective in living a wise life. I also gleaned from this passage the insight of how the preciousness of life is the lifeblood of any ministry, especially a small group ministry. Additionally, the shepherding heart of this captain shined through because he was most interested in saving the precious lives (including his own). In our small group ministry we need to approach with the likemindedness of requesting (to the point of begging) God to consider each of our lives as precious and show His mercy showering us with His grace.

[A] As we lay the structure of our small group ministry, keep the "preciousness of each lives" at the center and not lose focus in the midst of the organizations or infrastructural busy-ness.

[P] Thank You, God, for considering me precious in Your eyes through the cross that Jesus Christ bore for me. May I be reminded of this fact and live my life with humility and submission to You as I approach the small group ministry at church. Please let me not forget how You consider each member to be so precious. May I also approach with the shepherd's heart like this third captain of the fifty soldiers. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Make My Speech Tasty

[S] Colossians 4:6 --
Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

[O] How can my speech be seasoned with salt? Tasty? Just like how salt brings out the taste in food, sprinkled with grace my speech can bring out the taste when I talk to other people. Edifying others with what I say is a gift and according to this verse, I need to do that "always!"

[A] Think about a tasty juicy steak that is not marinated at all (no A-1 steak sauce either). Whenever I speak, don't let it be one of these untactful steak.

[P] Dear God, as the one who's experienced Your grace, may I sprinkle that same grace in all that I say to others? I want to start reminding myself before opening my mouth. Thank you for this word. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Got Thanksgiving?

[S] Colosians 3:17 --
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

[O] Do I start with thanksgiving in whatever I say or do? This is one area I need to improve in and especially when I pray, I need to start with the awesome thanksgiving for all He's done for me. This could be the glass half full or empty concept but if I start counting my blessings this may come easy. So I need to veer away from complaining attitudes about what's going on around me. Whenever we do our group prayer at BSF, we start with Praise + Thanksgiving and I really like that model to follow after.

[A] Follow the ACTS sequence for prayer.

[P] Dear God, I praise You for who You are and what You are doing in me and my family's lives. You are always working to bring out the best in us. Thank You for the family and the relationships we sustain. Thank You for our children who love Your word and desire to follow Your ways. Thank You for providing resources for us to enjoy freely and the Spirit to guide us each day. Forgive me for not recognizing this enough throughout the day and may I continue to remember this. I give You what I have today such that Your glory will shine because of that. In Jesus' name. Amen.

First Repair the Torn-down Altar

[S] 1 Kings 18:30 --
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD which had been torn down.

[O] After Elijah gave a chance for the Baal prophets to bring down consuming fire from above, it is not his turn to request God's glory to rest upon the altar at Mount Carmel. In this verse, the first thing he does is to repair the torn-down altar of the Lord. My observation here is that God's works come about in an orderly fashion. It is my job to know what steps I need to take first instead of just rushing to requesting God's power to rest on me to do His will. Before every step I take before Him, I must examine what fundamental areas of the ministry needs "repairing" such that it would be used to bring out God's power in the midst of us.

[A] I sense that God is inviting me into repairing the small group ministry at my church as we plan for a restructuring during this summer.

[P] Dear God, Your power is awesome and do not need any of my assistance. But You always invite me to join You at work. Thank You and please accept my meager efforts of "reparing the altar" where You are about to bring out some awesome glory. Please continue to work in the hearts of those committed workers and may I have an opportunity to take part in this great movement. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Let Them Find Him

[S] 2 Chronicles 15:15 --


All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.


[O] I am noting three characteristics on how "All Judah" south the Lord: 1) Rejoiced; 2) With their whole heart; 3) Sought Him earnestly. Then Lord responded by letting them find Him. I don't know how many times I tried to "find" God in my trouble times and yet I don't believe I had a pure approach as the Judah did here in this passage. I was seeking God more out of desperation and hoping to grab something. What I should have done is to rejoice in the covenant He gave me through Jesus, and then to approach Him with my whole heart by first surrendering all of my own ways, and then earnestly look for His grace. Fundamentally speaking, I cannot find God on my own unless He allows me to find Him. And He will only let me find Him when I approach with appropriate attitude.

[A] Before trying to find God, first remember to rejoice of the covenant He's made with me through Jesus Christ. Start every prayer with rejoicing/praising.

[P] Dear God, even though I get in to the mode of thinking that I can enter into Your presence whenever I wish like calling out my genie but the phrase from today's passage, "let them find Him" reminded me that I can only approach You on Your own terms and by Your approval. Please put in my heart the sincere desire to approach You and may Your heart give approval to my desire every time I come to You. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Heart Steer

[S] Ecclesiastes 10:2 --
²A wise man's heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man's heart directs him toward the left.

[O] There is a contrast and a commonality in this verse. Right and left contrast each other while the heart is the common factor which directs the path in both types of men. The picture comes to mind is the steering wheel which sets the direction of the entire car. Unless due to a mechanical failure, I have not seen a case where the car goes to the right when the wheel is turned to the left. Or have seen a driver wondering why the car is veering to the left while turning the wheel to the left. Likewise, my heart's desire is where my whole body (as a person) will head toward. If I'm headed down a wrong path, then instead of wondering why it's happening, go to the source -- my heart -- and set the bearing straight.

[A] Keep jamming in God's ingredients into my heart so that it will be saturated with the right attributes in directing my life in His ways.

[P] Dear God, this verse hits home once again about how critical it is for me and my family to keep our hearts in the right direction by abiding in You at all times. I ask You to shower down Your wisdom for me to carry this out for myself as well as to influence my children to hold on to this foundation for the rest of their lives. Please bless my two children who will be attending the CYIA camp next week such that their hearts will be set in the "right" direction. In Jesus' name. Amen.

When It Comes to the Dark Side, Move Swiftly

[S] Ecclesiastes 8:11 --
¹¹Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.

[O] As the saying goes -- If you can't beat'em, join'em -- if we don't act swiftly against the evil one when we have the opportunity, we will eventually end up joining him. In fact, the moment I think, "I can handle it on my own," I'm almost handing myself in to him because it's the reflection of my pride and arrogance thinking my own power is sufficient to thwart the evil one. We are like sheep which, without a good shepherd, has no chance against the evil one. So without having to lean on God while fully abiding in Him, I am bound to be given fully to do evil. As Joseph who ran away from Potiphar's wife (in Genesis 39:13) to avoid the evil one, we must discern our circumstances and make our move quickly and firmly.

[A] Teach my children to know there are times when they need to act swiftly.

[P] Dear God, our lives are filled with different scenarios for us to respond to and based on this passage I ask that You continue to fill my children's hearts with Your wonderful Words so they would know when they need to act quickly against evil, or otherwise appropriate. Please allow them to have the discernment coming from You at all times. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Hope of His Calling, Strength of His Might

[S] Ephesians 1:18-21 --

¹⁸I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

¹⁹and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might

²⁰which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

²¹far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

[O] I am especially saddened by two local high schoolers ending their lives in the same place, same method just a month from each other; and just last night another student attempted but was averted by his mother. My prayers are reaching out to these two families and further I cannot stop asking the question of, "Was there any way we could've prevented these?" And further, "How can we care and mentor these young, bright, and full-of-hope youngsters to save themselves from taking the wrong turn?" Today's passage reminded me of how our lives can thrive by being called to certain purposes. When I was little, at times I would be one of the last ones to be picked when forming teams and that can weigh you down because you were not "called" by anyone. Later in high school, though, I was not only playing on the varsity soccer team but was called to be the team captain as well as the MVP of the year. That brought great boost to my outlook in life and even considered to play soccer professionally. God has the Hope of His calling for all of us in order to provide the strength of His might in our lives every day.

[A] Emphasize to my children that no matter what happens in life, nothing is higher than the Hope of His calling for their lives to be His ministers to other people.

[P] Dear God, please minister to the families who lost their loved children in recent weeks. I pray that Your comfort and the bearers of Your love may make a visit in their lives to bring healing and hope in the midst of these desperate times. Please continue to nurture our family with Your Hope of Calling and fill us with Your mighty strength. In Jesus' name. Amen.