Pruning for More Fruit

[S] John 15:2,16 --
 ²"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 
 ¹⁶"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. 

[O] God desires me to bear His fruit.  He wants to me to multiply.  He does not want me to stay stale.  So, he needs to take care of me and prune my life so I would bear more fruit -- not just a few here and there.  I believe that during this process of pruning, my life will be matured, sync'ed, and groomed to align with God's will because as mentioned in verse 16, my life will be filled with receiving whatever I ask from Him.  It is almost like I don't really have to ask from Him because my life will already be synchronized with His heart that He will already have given me what I needed.  That's the idea anyways.  This is not an easy road but longer you stay on it, the better it gets.

[A] Surrender areas of my life that I know God wants to prune.  Don't hold on to it.

[P] Dear God, every time I read John 15:2, I'm so thankful for your care for my life in order that I may bear more fruit for You. I want to bear much more fruit to edify people around me.  Please help me to let go of the things You desire to prune away from my life.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Power of Testimony

[S] John 12:9b, 20-21 --
 ^9band they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead.
 ²⁰Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast;
 ²¹these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."

[O] Sure people were curious about who Jesus was but in this case, the people were more curious about seeing Lazarus who was raised from the dead by Jesus.  It seems to me all Lazarus had to do was the walk out of the tomb (cave) but apparently, his testimony of doing that spread wide and people were flocking around to see him.  My testimony should not be based on the level of miraculous power or how much of an effort I put into it, but should be based on the fact that only God could've done it and I am merely the outcome from it.  However, the fact that God included me into His glory is what makes my testimony powerful.  Lazarus' testimony was powerfully influencing people and gathering them around.  Even the Greeks were curious and wanted to meet Jesus as we can see.

[A] Am I refining my attitude every morning such that God would work His miracles through my life that day and my testimony would not be focused on me but on the miracle worker Himself?

[P] Dear God, Your willingness to include me into your works of glory is simply amazing.  Thank You.  I also want to be like Lazarus where people are drawn to Jesus because of what You are doing in my life -- bringing death into a vibrant life!  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

I Went Away and Washed

[S] John 9:11, 25 --
 ¹¹He answered, "The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash'; so I went away and washed, and I received sight."
 ²⁵He then answered, "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." 

[O] The phrase "I went" in verse 11 jumped out because that was the outcome of his obedience.  It was a specific action committed by him when Jesus gave him the command.  The significance is increased here because of his obedience based on faith.  Jesus had not provided much other than to do wash at Siloam.  I am searching my heat now to see how many times Jesus had given me a clear direction to act upon but I didn't because it didn't make sense to me.  How I should've acted like this blind person.  I don't know how many blessings I've foregone because of my unfaithful actions.  Then I wonder why I am not bold for God.  As I see in verse 25, this blind person's boldness came because of his experiencing of God through his obedient faith.  God does not need answers from me (He knows them all).  He just needs my obedience because I trust that He cares for me 100%.

[A] Be cautious about God's prompting next time and make that action of commitment.

[P] Dear God, help me to trust You more so I would act with obedience based on my faith in You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

My Father's House or Place of Business?

[S] John 2:16 --
 ¹⁶and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business."

[O] The comparison between "My Father's house" and "place of business" is what intrigued me as I was reading this familiar passage.  Same physical location can be used for different purposes and that's what was happening here.  The issue was that place which had a purpose of being My Father's house (sanctuary or church in today's term) became a place of doing business.  I am wondering whether I am changing the purpose of "My Father's house" I am supposed to steward into a place of my own business of interest.  As I can see from here, Jesus does not like that type of changes.  I also took a look from an opposite angle where my place of business transforming into "My Father's house."  God likes this type of transformations.  In fact, He spent a lot of time in the marketplaces converting people as His disciples.  Paul in the New Testament also did this as well.  So, while I need to be sensitive about keeping the purpose of My Father's house, I also need to excel in transforming the places I do my own business -- work, neighborhood, gym, sports coaching, etc.

[A] Make Sunday a holy day set aside for family worship time at church and through all other activities.  Continue to carry on that spirit into Monday through Friday when I'm at my own places of business so I can be the influencer of people around me right there.

[P] Dear God, I want to follow the footsteps of Your message here where I would detest converting your sanctuary into a place of business while I would devote all of my efforts to turn my places of business into places of Your presence.  I am so thankful for giving me such a passion to live out my life for that purpose.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Rock-Solid Faith to Become the Most Precious

[S] 1 Peter 1:7, 18-19, 23; 1 Peter 2:9 --
 ⁷so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
 ¹⁸knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,
 ¹⁹but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.
 ²³for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 
 ⁹But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

[O] These verses combined had one message for me.  God wants me to have a rock-solid faith such that I can be the most precious person that He designed for me to become.  I'm more precious than gold.  I've been redeemed with eternal promise which is the precious blood of Christ.  I'm a chose race, a royal priesthood who may proclaim the excellencies of God.  After reading these verses, I feel so good because no matter what I may be facing now, God's design for me is to become the most precious.  The God of this universe desires that from my life.  This really made my day!

[A] Especially after coming back from trip to Korea my life seemed to have been just floating around.  Time seem to just pass rapidly and I feel like I'm totally behind in everything ... rushing, rushing.  As I examine myself, I am sure there is an aspect of sadness from losing my father and it's preoccupying my mind or something.  However, I'm not going to try and analyze it too deeply because these verses are guiding me to soak up the awesome plan God has for my life regardless of the circumstance I'm in now.  I am going to be joyful because of this awesome news I was reminded of.

[P] Dear God, Your word has lifted me up and I praise You for that.  Please continue to pour out your Spirit into my heart such that my heart will lead me into the spiritual journey which will lead me to the point of being the precious child that You intended for my life.   In Jesus' name.  Amen.

United By Faith

[S] Hebrews 4:2 --
²For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.

[O] The aspect of "faith" in our life is really a mystery because it seems the outcomes of what we do actually changes by how much faith is involved in the process. I can never tell for fact whether this is true or not because there is no way for me to compare doing the same act twice with and without faith as my life is not like a computer program. So, I only have one shot at what I do with or without faith. That was my view. Now, God's view on this is clear based on this verse. Even the same word of God will have differing results based on how it was received. If received with faith, then it will be the refreshing good news. If not, it will be no different that any other noise around us.

[A] Do I start my LIFE Journaling time united by faith knowing that what I'm about to receive is the living and breathing word of God custom tailored for my life for this day? If so, then it will most likely be that for my life. If not, it will most likely be that for my life.

[P] Dear God, thank You for providing me the DNA of "faith" in my life because through that my life has a chance of being united with Your wonderful design for my life. I want to pursue that with the whole heart and by believing that You desire that from me. I look forward to blossoming my life for Your sake by having such faith in all I do. In Jesus' name. Amen.

The Word of God is not Imprisoned

[S] 2 Timothy 2:7-9 --

 ⁷Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
 ⁸Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel,
 ⁹for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned.

[O] Don't we often feel like we're imprisoned to the surroundings we live in?  The job, school, family, volunteering jobs, friends, etc.?  In fact these are the areas the word of God is to be lived out in its full potential.  Verse 7 mentions how God will provide understanding in everything, so even though what I started to write here may not have an answer, per se, we can truly rely on the understanding God will provide to us as needed because even though I may be or feel imprisoned, the word of God cannot be imprisoned at all.  So, the main take away for me from this passage is: Don't try to carry the word of God, instead let the word of God carry me.

[A] Since I returned from Korea, everything seemed to have been piling up and it's been a non-stop movement.  My LIFE Journaling had been sparse and the word of God definitely was not at its full potential through my life.  If my life is "stuck" then the word of God is stuck through the channel called Yoon.  So, I must let the word of God flow through my life first before I can be freed to be used to carry God's word.

[P] Dear God, I want to go back to the daily appointments with You to dig into Your word.  Please grant me the peace and the margin in my life to do just that.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.