Now You Don't See It, Now You Do

[S] John 1:31-34 --
 ³¹"I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water."
 ³²John testified saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.
 ³³"I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.'
 ³⁴"I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God."

[O] In these four verses I noticed the pattern which I boldfaced:  I didn't recognize Him => but God showed me.  I am relating more and more about the not recognizing Him (or His works) when I rely on my own ways and efforts because He needs to "show" me, or open my eyes, first.  It is humbling to read what John the Baptist said about how he couldn't recognize Jesus at first Himself when He was the appointed forerunner before Jesus.  God's assignment or calling for my life does not necessarily mean He will show me everything and all things because He desires for me to walk with Him daily to find out what I need to know from Him each step of the way.  I believe that God's given me the vision to carry on His ministry in the capacity of my home church's needs and I'm grateful and fully commit to do that.  However, I must still rely on Him 100% all the time to be able to see what God is doing so I may align myself with what He's up to.  And in the end I should echo as what John the Baptist said:  "I myself have seen, and have testified."

[A] Ask God to show me what He wants me to see and not try to find what I think I should see.

[P] Dear God, I humbly fall before You to show me what I need to see in the midst of my involvement with the small group ministry as well as the ministry You called me into in my life.  I am throwing my life in Your hands so You will mold me and lead me through the path I need to journey on even if it means making some major adjustments.  Please guide me.  In Your precious name.  Amen.

In For the Whole Distance

[S] Isaiah 57:10 --
    ¹⁰"You were tired out by the length of your road,
         Yet you did not say, 'It is hopeless.'
         You found renewed strength,
         Therefore you did not faint.

[O] The road of following Christ was not meant to be a walk in a park as Jesus tells us to take up my own cross and follow Him daily (Luke 9:23).  In fact, at times even in the midst of the joy of seeing lives transformed and lost souls finding God's grace and love, I feel tired and wearied and the road seem just endless without the "light at the end of the tunnel."  It's at times like these my original vision and commitment is tested to either give up (or retreat with discouragement and hopelessness) or find renewed strength in Him.  I am reminded of David a simple boy who took five smooth stones to go up against Goliath.  He knew from the beginning he may have to go the full distance to take down Goliath by preparing himself with five stones not just a couple which would be too little and not a bag-full because that would slow him down.  God allowed His strength and power to work through the first stone David flung at Goliath but David's preparedness impresses me and encourages me to do just that.

[A] What was my commitment and preparedness when I entered into initiating the new small group ministry at my church?  Was it based on some "successful" metrics or was it founded in the strength of God which will funnel the renewed strength in my life as I hit the challenges in carrying out this ministry?  I need to go to the foot of His Cross to renew my strength to stand up and not "faint."

[P] Heavenly Father, may Your awesome strength sent to us through the Holy Spirit and the Cross Jesus bore permeate through my life, especially now, to carry on the small group ministry that You desire to establish at our church.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Dreamers Who Slumber

[S] Isaiah 56:10 --
NASB: ¹⁰His watchmen are blind,
         All of them know nothing.
         All of them are mute dogs unable to bark,
         Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber; 

 NLT: ¹⁰ For the leaders of my people—
      the Lord’s watchmen, his shepherds—
      are blind and ignorant.
   They are like silent watchdogs
      that give no warning when danger comes.
   They love to lie around, sleeping and dreaming.

[O] God's description of the leaders of Israel is much like a bunch of losers. They are missing the key component.  How can blind watchmen keep a watch?  How can leaders lead others without knowing anything?  How can dogs that cannot bark give warnings of danger?  How can dreamers not live out their dreams?  Very sad picture.  Among these the dreamers slumbering caught my attention the most because at least others are desribing handicaps that disables them to do their roles, but dreamers already have their dreams but they choose to not do anything about it.  Dreams are a way for God to letting us tap into His plans and once we do that what good is it if we don't do anything about it?

[A] God's been pouring out His plans into my heart over last 30 years or so and I've been excited to live them out most of those years.  I'm definitely not getting any older and at times I feel as though I've been slumbering away.  I need to go to the Lord and ask Him if I'm on or off course because I sure don't want to be one of these lazy dreamers.

[P] Lord, please don't stop pouring Your dreams into my heart, and further please continue to direct me to live out those dreams in my heart.  May I be challenged to take up Your cross in the areas of my life that I had not applied that yet.  I ask that You'd show me specific ways for me to live these dreams out.  At times my heart seems to burst with Your wonderful dreams and yet I do get discouraged because they seem so huge and I don't feel I can even scratch the surface of living them out.  Please give me patient heart and obedient heart to fall under Your grace.  I want to give my life for Your dreams.  In Your precious name I pray.  Amen.

Pay Attention As To A Lamp

[S] 2 Peter 1:19 --
 ¹⁹So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.  (Similar message found in John 1:5)

[O] God's Word is like a lamp (note the singular form) shining in this dark place we live in now until Jesus returns.  Even though His Word is powerful and is the true promise from Him, He uses it as a lamp not a search light, or bunch of lamps to shine away the whole darkness.  He chose to leave it as the single point of hope to the darkened world.  In theory, a single light in darkness should pretty much stand out and draw everyone to it, but unfortunately that is not so because there are many false lights drowning out the true lamp.  However, when the morning comes, the darkness will be completely cast away with the bright morning sunrise and there won't be any false lights leading anyone astray but the true bright sunlight will be declared.  Until then, those paying attention to a lamp will have to realize it's gonna be a challenge trying to light the darkness but stay firm faithfully waiting for the rising of the morning sun.

[A] There are many challenges in ministry of God and it is almost by design that is the case.  God wants to let His light shine as a lamp in the dark place and that means only those who seek after will find it and treasure it.  This means it's an uphill battle to partake in His ministry which is to let people know about this true light.  I need to align my expectations as I partake in His ministry here on earth so I won't be weary seeing how difficult it is.

[P] Dear God, Your ministry is Yours and I need to be a true follower of You rather than trying to make Your ministry into mine by trying so hard on my own efforts.  Trying to light the dark place with a lamp is not a trivial task and I must adhere to Your design of spreading the truth -- one soul at a time with dedicated care and love.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Hidden In His Quiver

[S] Isaiah 49:1-2 --
    ¹Listen to Me, O islands,
         And pay attention, you peoples from afar
         The LORD called Me from the womb;
         From the body of My mother He named Me.
    ²He has made My mouth like a sharp sword,
         In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
         And He has also made Me a select arrow,
         He has hidden Me in His quiver.

[O] God has indeed created me from the beginning (womb) and He desires to keep me until the right moment arrives to use me in the way best suited for my purpose.  In His quiver, I am one of the sharp arrows ready to be launched into the ministry God intended for me and until then, He is going to conceal me until the right moment.  The big question is will  I be ready when He calls my number?  I sure hope so but that's a scary question.

[A] Through this passage's picture I just described, I am more than ever challenged to keep up my daily lessons with Jesus through the personal devotional time because I believe I am formed into that arrow prepared for the right timing through a daily process of learning from the Master Himself.  The weekend's have been toughest for me to consistently do the Life Journaling with so many activities going on but I need to start the weekends with the devotional time regardless.

[P] Dear Father, what an amazing picture you gave me through this arrow being hidden and protected until ready for your purpose.  I am the extension of the Israel your Servant and I, too, have been created and named by You.  That's a privilege I need not forget and with it my heart races faster to serve You more and more as I commit my life to You.  Please keep me closest to Your heart.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Pure and Holy God

[S] Isaiah 44:15 --
 ¹⁵Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down before it.

[O] When a man makes an idol image out of wood, that same pieces of wood are used for many other purposes such as firewood to warm themselves up or to cook food with.  The point here is that the fundamental element for the gods people worship are no special than any other wooden sculpture for example.  However, our Heavenly God is a holy God; there is none other like Him and He is made (if I can use that term to describe God) of 100% holiness.  There is no way of mixing His entity with anything else other than God Himself.

[A] Re-examine my understanding of God and see if I had diluted His holiness with my own earthly values.  I need to put Him where He belongs and I must worship Him as who He is none other that God Himself.

[P] Dear God, may Your holiness smother me inside out such that I will recognize You, and to present myself to You as the God of holiness.  And when I am with You may my mind be soaking up Your holiness and nothing of this world.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Which Voice to Listen with Pleasure

[S] 2 Kings 20:13, Isaiah 39:2 --
 ¹³Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 
 ²Hezekiah was pleased, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and his whole armory and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

[O] These two verses record the same incident where Hezekiah's heart is revealed by the two words I boldfaced: listened, and pleased.  When King of Babylon paid a visit to comfort Hezekiah who was ill, his heart was pleased and pretty much gave his heart to King of Babylon.  He needed to apply some discernment here because instead of listening to God's voice he was more inclined to listen to King of Babylon's voice and went over board to show him everything he had without understanding what motives the Babylonian King had.

[A] Who am I listening to with pleasure these days?  Is it some other people who seem to be good to me?  Although it is good to trust other co-laborers in Christ to carry out His ministry together with one heart, in the end I must listen to the voice of God and be pleased from that alone.  Even though King Hezekiah did many good things in the eyes of God, he was not immune to making mistakes so the only way for him to avoid that was to listen for God's voice each and every day; and I must not neglect to do that.

[P] Dear God, I desire to be pleased by listening for Your voice only to guide my life.  May I not be distracted by many other voices, some of them sounding very friendly.  I want to be discerning in which voices to listen to as there are so many coming my way.  Please continue to train my ears to recognize Your voice through the Holy Spirit.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Carrier of Imperishable Seed

[S] 1 Peter 1:23 --
 ²³for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.

[O] I see so many products sold which makes people younger because all of us get old and people want to reverse the clock so they can get younger.  We all know this is only a temporary measure because we all grow old and eventually leave this place to eternity.  (Eternity either with or without God but that is another topic.)  However, this concept of growing younger must be a popular idea because many people are sold on these products.  When God saved us he planted the seed which will never perish, and to go further, He provided the ingredient that will keep our soul and spirit young forever through the living and enduring word of God.  What a great deal!

[A] The core of my new-born spiritual life is based on the imperishable seed.  My life is already been given the term of eternity.  How exciting this news is for me and I need to reflect this in my own life.  At times I'm hit with challenges and downers but I must not forget what type of seed I'm carrying and stand up especially during those situations.

[P] Dear God, Your awesome word is the food that will keep me young forever so I need to intake that more and more.  Please continue to infuse in me Your wondrous life so I would pass that power of life to those around me.  I pray for Mr. B who is my neighbor for his health conditions and that my family will pass on Your life to him during difficult times.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Angels Protecting and Fighting For Us

[S] 2 King 19:35 --
 ³⁵Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead.

[O] When King Hezekiah payed to God for deliverance, He sent His angels to destroy the Assyrians during the night.  Many times, I'm faced with oppositions from the enemy in doing God's ministry when I should not retreat but I need to move forward like Hezekiah trusting in God to protect and destroy the enemies surrounding me.  Perhaps the biggest enemy in these situations is my lack of trust in God while trusting on my own abilities and strengths which is not much to begin with.

[A] As we are about mark our year since we launched our small group ministry, I sense great pressure to fight the challenges we're up against and can easily feel like all has crumbled down.  That's type of a situation Hezekiah was up against and He clung on to God.  I also need to cling to God in this situation because there isn't much I can do but there is a lot God can do.

[P] Dear God, please send your angels to protect our church, small group ministry, and my family.  I desperately pray for Your intervention in these areas to do no one else can do.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

It Came Suddenly

[S] 2 Chronicles 29:36 --
 ³⁶Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.

[O] King Hezekiah cleaned up the House of Judah by getting rid of the idols and consecrating all the priests.  He returned the Israelite's heart back towards God and in some sense simply by initiating that great things begin to happen in the midst of the Jewish people.  The transformation did not take place by applying some phenomenal management strategy but by going back to the basic posture of the people of God.  What caught my attention from this verse is the part about how people rejoiced because the things of God came about suddenly.  The people were surprised about how God showered His blessings to them so quickly.  Again, the people weren't trying to find joy but to align themselves right with God and the joyfulness came as a result of that.

[A] Whenever I am lacking joy, it is so easy for me to work on finding that lost joy as how I would search for a misplaced item.  I would work so hard by making some strategy of my own to restore what's lost.  And at first this would seem like the right path to take however based on my experiences this would lead to tiredness and then after making some progress I would plateau out.  Instead of trying to replace that lost joy, I must first align my own heart back to God and consecrate all the areas of my life.

[P] Dear God, I want to experience your sudden workings of the wonderful blessings because I've cleaned out the junks in my life so I may consecrate myself to God.  Please show Your grace and mercy in my and my family members' lives.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Wisdom From Above

[S] James 3:16-17 --
 ¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
 ¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.

[O] Observing the inverse of this cause and effect statement, disorder and evil things are caused by jealousy and selfish ambitions; and purity, peacefulness, gentleness, reasonableness, mercy, fruitfulness, unwavering, and honesty are the results of wisdom from above.  So when I look around me I should be able to tell where they originate from: jealousy and selfish ambition or wisdom from above.  I hate to admit it but I see more of disorderliness and evil things around me and so I can conclude the world around me is more driven by jealousy and selfish ambition.  Verse 17 gives the way to counter that momentum by seeking the wisdom from above in order to fill my own heart with the resulting factors listed there.  Seeking this wisdom requires discipline on my part to daily exercise gleaning from his Word through His Spirit.  This type of skill is learned by continuously striving to gain more just like many skills in life which are not earned overnight.

[A] Many times I try to seek orderliness from the chaos around me by applying the right structure as well as eliminating the messiness at the same time.  This passage, however, outlines that God's principle is not to clean up the messiness but to first gain His wisdom from above because the outcome from that will naturally be the orderliness in His ways.  My take away is the solution to many of my problems I face is at a dimension higher than where the problems are at.  His ways are higher than my ways, says the Lord in Isaiah 55:9.

[P] Dear God, please continue to remind me to seek Your ways from above instead of trying to apply my meager "fixes" for the problems I face in life.  I want to have the fruits from the wisdom from above as mentioned in verse 17 around me because of my basic attitude of wanting to seek Your ways.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Vaccine Against Such Hostility

[S] Hebrews 12:3 --
 ³For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

[O] This is a very powerful statement because I'm bound grow weary in this life on earth and what Jesus bore on the Cross is like the immunization shot against all weariness I will face.  As it says, weariness leads to discouragement which will lead to powerless life unable to live out to bear the fruits God desires.  So, this is definitely another potent weapon the enemy uses against us to veer away from God's path.

[A] Jesus paid the price by enduring hostility he did not deserve in order to provide the "vaccine" for us.  Now I have to take the vaccine to protect myself against the virus of weariness and discouragements.  I feel that virus is knocking at my door right now so I need to soak up more of His wonderful protection from the Cross he bore and realize I also need to endure various hostility because that is one way I can encourage other Brothers and Sisters in Christ around me.

[P] Dear God, I can see that the model Jesus set before us is the model we also need to live out in our own community.  Please grant me Your strength to endure the hostile environment I live in to shine a bit of the light that I received from Jesus.  In His name.  Amen.

Floating Out Of Circumstances

[S] Hebrews 11:23 --
 ²³By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's edict.

[O] Parents of Moses risked their lives to save their newborn son because he was a beautiful child.  I mean, which parent is not going to say their newborn is the most beautiful child?  Even though newborns pretty much look about the same, the parents think theirs is the most beautiful one, right?  Well, Moses' parents went a step further than that and really believed there was something special about their son.  So, they hid him for three months and then let him float down the Nile River in a water-proofed basket (Exodus 2:3) when they could no longer keep him in secret.  As he was named Moses (which means "drew him out of the water" -- Exodus 2:10) I am wondering what would take for people to go out of their ways for something they really believed in.  The analogy here is as how Moses floated on the water without sinking because someone believed in him, I should also be believing something God has instilled in me to a point of rising above the situation I'm bombarded with.

[A] I feel like I am sinking in the current state of small group ministry after about 11 months since the inception, however, because I believe in the small group ministry to be the foundation of our church's spiritual growth toward God's purpose for reaching out to those desiring to make greater commitment to God here in the Bay Area.  It's quite challenging at the moment and I need to remember how God floated Moses out of the sinking waters of the Nile River.

[P] Dear God, draw me out of the water like Moses.  I can only turn to You now and lean on You as I pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.

Sin Eliminator

[S] Hebrews 10:18 --
 ¹⁸Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.

[O] The sin offering is needed because we sin. If we do not sin then there is no need for such an offering.  In that train of thought, this verse tells me forgiveness creates such an environment where there is no need for sin offering which implies where there is forgiveness there is no room for any sin.  The forgiveness is one of the disciplines of my walk with Jesus that is still very difficult for me to obey completely.  I realized that opens up the opportunity for me or others to sin and I need to take this verse to heart.

[A] The most challenging part about forgiving someone who's offended me is my emotions and feelings telling me I have all the right not to forgive them since I was the one who was offended.  I want to claim my own right.  But in light of what Jesus our High Priest did to get rid of sin, I need to follow that model and forgive despite my rights.

[P] Dear God, You know which part of my life needs more obedience in forgiveness.  It still does not come naturally but have to struggle with it.  I need to reflect more on how You, Jesus, had forgiven us when You had all the rights not to and You did this in order to accomplish God's plan and purpose.  I would like to do this not just to become a better person but so I may fulfill Your purpose and plan through my obedience.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Perfect Blood for Perfect Covenant

[S] Hebrews 9:13-14 --
 ¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, ¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

[O] If an animal's blood was used to cleanse people's sin in the first covenant with God, Jesus' own blood will definitely cleanse and then some my sin in His new covenant.  His perfectly pure life was used by God to offer up as a sacrifice for an unworthy life of mine (and the rest of mankind).  This new covenant is a perfect covenant because a perfect sacrifice was used to make it.  Why would God do such a thing?  I believe His purpose was for me to walk away from my own dead works in order to serve the God who lives now and forever.  I need to keep reminding myself how significant this needs to be in my every day life because as I take it for granted my life's purpose becomes more blurry.  God's new covenant is what gave me the new life and that's not a small matter.

[A] I need to take a break from all the busyness of small group ministry and have a retreat of my own to praise God for His perfect and new covenant which is the reason for why I get myself involved in His ministry in the first place.  I have to avoid getting myself too wrapped up in "doing" the ministry.

[P] Dear God, You perfect and lovely plan of salvation is why I call myself Christian, or follower of Christ.  May I not forget that as I involve myself in Your ministry here on earth.  I want to do them not for achieving goals I set but because the joy overflows out of me for remembering the amazing sacrifice You provided for me.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Covenant Written On My Heart

[S] Hebrews 8:10 --
    ¹⁰"FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
         AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD:
         I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS,
         AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS.
         AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD,
         AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

[O] The covenant God makes with the house of Israel is the ones that are permanently embedded into their minds and hearts first.  Unlike most of the contracts we make today with a whole bunch of conditional clauses, God's covenant is foremost targeted toward our minds and hearts such that we will be His people, acknowledging that He is our God.  So this is something much beyond a written contract because it is written on our hearts to establish such a covenant relationship with God.  He desires for me to call Him my God while submitting myself under His authority.

[A] One of the ways for me to gauge how well I am doing in this department of keeping the covenant God written on my heart is to ask the question of how hard I'm working to achieve my ministry goals because if my answer is yes, that indicates I am not acknowledging God of Heaven as my God and forgetting that I am part of His people.  Deep inside, I must first catch His peace of doing His ministry.  Once I sustain my right attitude, then yes I will strive for the highest excellence, but in the end I know God is the one who will achieve my ministry goals (which originated from Him in the first place).

[P] Dear God, You are my God, and I'm Your people.  May this covenant be alive in all I do for You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

The Anchor of My Soul

[S] Hebrews 6:19-20 --
 ¹⁹This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,
 ²⁰where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

[O] The anchor is used to stabilize a ship from floating or drifting away in ocean.  That picture applying to my soul was a great concept for me today as I thought about how easily my soul can wonder off in midst of all the events taking place in my life coming at me like the ocean waves.  Without any anchor my soul will wonder far away into the ocean getting lost as the waves get stronger and stronger.  This anchor is the hope Jesus gave me by through His life on earth living out the full purpose of God.  This anchor is the hope for any and all situations I am and will be in.  This anchor is what will sustain me through ups and downs of my life.

[A] Even though doing God's ministry is a joy, it was never meant to be easy, per se.  In fact, in some ways there is agony of building up a ministry from ground up.  Much like a start-up company requiring a lot of sweat hours to bootstrap a viable business from a mere concept (or a dream), I believe kick-starting a God-inspired ministry requires a lot of efforts, struggling through challenges to bring them into fruition God intended.  One of the major stumbling block in carrying out His ministry is discouragement, and a simple definition of discouragement is absence of hope, and just like verse 19 states, without hope my soul will be anchorless.  So, I want to reattach my soul to His Hope for me that He had paved the way for me to have a direct access to God who is almighty, all knowing, and all powerful.  How can I have discouragement when I can tap into such a wonderful God?

[P] Dear God, forgive me for feeling discouraged with so many things coming my way in life when I can cast all of my burdens on You.  I want to anchor my soul to Your hope, and through that I want to steadfastly and all-out serve You rain or shine and seek Your wisdom to carry me forward.  I surrender the small group ministry to You once again because it is Your ministry after all.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Daily Adjustments

[S] Hebrew 5:8 --
 ⁸Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.

[O] This verse encourages me because it implies obedience is not easy!  Even God's own Son had to learn obedience.  It is true that what Jesus had to obey was many orders of magnitude higher than what I would ever think of but the fact that obedience is not something you're born with encourages me to continue learning despite the number of failures before and still to come.  Now the end of this verse mentions the obedience of Christ included His suffering.  It was not merely getting up a little earlier to start the day with devotions, but the suffering of being detached from God the Father and then to bear the painful cross and humiliation and then to surrender His own Spirit into the hands of death.  Did He know He will rise again conquering the death?  Yes, but that does not make the process any less painful.

[A] Obedience is not about one day I will be up against an awesome opportunity where I will either obey and come through with flying colors, but it is about constantly making adjustments in my own life through daily devotions in God's word to learn from smaller things how to obey despite the sacrifices and suffering involved.  I must obey the calling of Jesus about taking up my cross daily, not weekly, monthly or yearly.

[P] Dear God, in the midst of so many distraction, I want to put the personal time I have with You foremost.  Please allow me to adjust my own schedules to do just that.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

My Flesh and My Heart May Fail

[S] Psalm 73:25-28 --
    ²⁵Whom have I in heaven but You?
         And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
    ²⁶My flesh and my heart may fail,
         But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
    ²⁷For, behold, those who are far from You will perish;
         You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.
    ²⁸But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
         I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
         That I may tell of all Your works.

[O] What a great praise this is to my God and Lord of my life!  This described my sincere heart toward God and as I read and re-read this passage, it gave me a wellspring of strength to carry on.  This must be the quick answer to my prayer from yesterday's journaling.  God is good indeed.  My own "efforts" (flesh & heart) may fail but God will never fail and He's encouraging me to take the step of releasing my children into His hand because He will make sure they will not perish but to tell of His wonderful works to the whole world.  As stated in verse 28, I will "make" the Lord God my refuge and stronghold.  That is my decision from this point one.

[A] I will praise Him today by repeating verse 25.  You're the awesome God!

[P] Dear God, I praise You for leading me and my family into Your presence.  Please continue to mold our family so we, too, may follow the steps of those who will not only be used by You to spread Your wonderfulness to this dying world, but to also praise You for You alone can bring the best out of our lives.  There is nothing I can do that will replace any portion of what You can do through me.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Entrusting the Future of Our Children

[S] Hosea 9:12 --
    ¹²Though they bring up their children,
         Yet I will bereave them until not a man is left.
         Yes, woe to them indeed when I depart from them!

[O] When God's hand is removed there is nothing I do that will bear fruitfulness.  I can easily dive into the mode of trying to become the best dad for my children because I want them to grow up being the best they can be.  All very good intentions but this verse teaches me that even the "bestest" intentions of raising my children unless God is at the core of their lives (and mine), it will all be in vain.  In fact, they will be "bereaved."  A very scary thought and a good reminder for me to put this at the forefront of my fatherhood -- do not let God's hand be removed from you by seeking Him daily at the feet of Jesus through the Holy Spirit and His Word.

[A] My wife and I had good discussion about the strategy of raising our children especially when they're in their teenage years of going through so much changes and growth in all aspects of their lives; we can all get lost in the mix of it all!  And the devotional reading in last couple of weeks have honed in on this topic so well that we're convicted to let our kids know what the "core" they must hold on to and what are the superfluous surroundings they do not have to cling on to.  This is actually a scary step for us to take because at the center of this means we are entrusting our kids' lives/future into God's hands.

[P] Dear God, please send us Your confirmations of our decision to take this route with our parenthood because it's very difficult to steer down this path as I feel I'm losing control even though in my mind I know You ARE in full control.  We want to entrust our children's future into Your hands.  Please mold them and use them for Your glory.  And continue to encourage us a little here and there because we need it.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Lowering Before Caring

[S] Hebrews 2:9 --
  ⁹But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

[O] God allowed, according to His plans, Jesus to be lowered than the angels in order for Him to first experience death and to overcome it afterwards paving the path for us to follow.  It is almost like the Superman flying in to save those innocent people trapped by the super villain.  The people's own strength alone was impossible to free themselves until the Superman paves the way out for them breaking through the villain's trap.  Jesus did not enter the scene with flying colors because His method of paving the way out is not by physical force but the permanently overcome the death trap of Satan by first dying and arising from there Himself.  This method is a lot more painful and patient path because the "super" power had to be surrendered and he had to fully experienced the whole process of the crucifixion in raw.

[A] This passage not only refreshed my mind with the Great Salvation Plan of God for me through lowering of His only Son, but also challenged me how I can follow the footsteps of Jesus in my own life when I try to live out the life of His discipleship.  In one area of caring for others, I need to ponder what it would mean for me to fully experience what those who I desire to care for are going through first instead of simply trying to "give them a solution."  This is a much more involved process but I am realizing that is the example Jesus set for me to follow.

[P] Dear God, I will need a lot of Your help in walking down this path.  Please continue to teach my heart to perceive the situation properly for me to care for others in Your ministry.  Thank You for inviting me into Your wonderful ministry of caring for others.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Prosperous Priority

[S] 2 Chronicles 26:4-5 -- ⁴He did right in the sight of the LORD according to all that his father Amaziah had done. 
  ⁵He continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding through the vision of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God prospered him.

[O] This is what King Uzziah did following after his father Amaziah's footsteps of righteousness in the Lord.  I don't know what Amaziah did that influenced his son to follow after God (unlike many other successors we read) but at the age of sixteen, Uzziah dedicated his efforts to pursue after God's ways.  In verse 5, the key operands were "continued" to seek God, and "prospered" him.  This is the cause and effect of living out a life God desires.  He wants me to continuously seek Him while putting myself in the midst of a godly culture seeking after God's vision PERIOD.  Then as long as I stay on this course, God will prosper me.  This is not about being prosperous materially but about how God will use me to display His amazing power and presence.

[A] This message of continuously seeking God which leads to God's way of making me prosperous hits home for me especially now because my mind's been filling up with setting plans for raising and guiding my teenage children upright and also be successful in the society as well as how to lead the small group ministry at church to mature speedily to minister to the growing congregation.  In the end I seem to be relying more on my own plans and efforts rather than seeking God continuously leaving the results to God's ways of prospering me.  I am convicted to throw myself at Him and surrender the outcome of my children's' lives and the small group ministry.  With my children, I must hone in on how their hearts will focus on pursuing God foremost.  With the small group ministry, I need to work with one leader at a time to shepherd them on how each of them can seek God continuously in their own lives not worrying too much about how to "lead" their group members.

[P] Dear God, O please work in my heart, my children's' hearts, and the small group leaders' hearts such that they would desire You continuously like Uzziah did to receive Your prosperity in the own lives which will eventually germinate throughout their circles of influences.  Please allow me to not worry too much but abide in You!  In Jesus' name.  Amen.d

Life of Dignity

[S] Titus 2:6-8 --
 ⁶Likewise urge the young men to be sensible;
 ⁷in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified,
 ⁸sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.

[O] Having teenagers at home I can completely understand this statement of how important teaching the younger generation to have dignity.  I guess I've been there myself but in those years they go through the "I know it all" phases and are eager to try new things without getting influenced by the "traditional" mindsets of their parents generation.  This is a good thing as they are setting themselves up for innovation and creativity to do greater things but they must also grasp the idea that certain values in life do not really change such as doing good deeds, honesty, and dignity and they must not try to alter the fundamentals of these values because it will be a waste of time and energy as they will never change.

Across all cultures using different languages I believe there is one common thread in most of them which is the people of dignity and sound speech are respected.  In fact, we as believers must take on this mindset also where because of the aroma of  our lives around others, they have nothing bad to say about us.  This is a tall order but that's the standard of excellence God desires for us to pursue after.

[A] I need to show this by my own example in addition with God's wisdom to teach this point to my children.  They must realize sooner than later how important this will be in their lives even though they do not understand it yet.

[P] Dear God, please allow Your wisdom to funnel through my life to teach my children the principles of godly living starting with pursuing after a life of dignity.  Thank You for giving me a father who's gone ahead of me to show me how such a life can be lived out.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

God's Expectation of Fruitfulness

[S] Isaiah 5:4 --
    ²He dug it all around, removed its stones,
         And planted it with the choicest vine
         And He built a tower in the middle of it
         And also hewed out a wine vat in it;
         Then He expected it to produce good grapes,
         But it produced only worthless ones. 
    ⁴"What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?
         Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?

[O] As described in verse 2, God prepares his vineyard with maximum effort (not that God needs any effort but this is described in our terms of expression) because He desires it to produce good fruits.  I know when I put in my best efforts in something I do it to produce the best result.  If I prepare a nice meal, I would like those eating it to enjoy it fully, not just to nibble on it and then dump into the trash can later.  Again, using my limited expression, God expects his vineyard (my life) which He cultivated so carefully to bear good grapes (fruits).  In fact, because He had planted the grape vines, His vineyard is going to bear some grapes.  It's a matter of what type of grapes it will bear -- good ones or worthless ones.  Haven't you eaten honeydew melons which tasted flat like cucumbers?  God doesn't want my life to produce fruits that are tasteless and worthless.

[A] One of the things I still try to master is keeping flower plants alive more than a few weeks.  Why is it that these flower pots look so fresh until they come home?  I water it and carefully place them in the sunny areas in the house but eventually the flowers whither, leaves fall off and it's struggle just to keep it alive let alone keeping flowers intact.    I sure hope to keep my spiritual life thriving better than I do with my flower pots by examining my life daily by reflecting various aspects of my life against God's word.  This week, God's been reminding me to focus more on my family by thinking, planning, and praying for my family members.  It seems my mind's been pre-occupied with work and church ministry leaving very little room in my mind for engaging pro-actively in family matters.  This doesn't mean I don't participate in family matters but I need to be more pro-active and think for longer term perspective so I can better guide my family.

[P] Dear God, thank You for reminding me how I need to create more margin around my life to think and plan for my family's overall "health" in order for me to act as a good shepherd for my family members.  I don't want to assume they'll be OK as I see them every day, but just like how the flower pots I see everyday whithers if I don't take care of them daily, I realize I must do that for my family members also.  Please continue to shower down Your wisdom for me to do just that.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Balancing Good Deeds and Faith

[S] Titus 3:5-6,9b --
 ⁵He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
 ⁶whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
 ^9bso that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. 

[O] In my journey with God, one of the toughest areas to balance is between my deeds (works) and my faith because it seems like there is a fine line separating these two in the context of following God.  For example, in order to follow God I must start with a right faith in God which is more of the believing aspect of my heart but following that are my good deeds (works) which is aligned with that original faith.  It's almost the "chicken and egg" problem -- intertwined and recursive and these two really cannot be thought of separately.  Paul writes about these two aspects in today's passage.  God's saving grace is not based on a list of actions I achieve/accomplish but by His mercy of regenerating our hearts.  But he continues in verse 9 about how the believers must engage in good deeds as they are good and profitable for others.  It appears that the order makes a critical difference where if I try to reach God's grace and mercy of renewing my heart by doing a bunch of checklist actions, then I'm headed down the wrong path.

[A] I must renew my heart and attitude toward God daily as I approach Him during my devotional times.  So the case in point is to make this happen daily!  I must do this out of my desperation of keeping my heart in line with His because without doing that I would veer away slowly from the path I should be on.  This concept also applies to my fatherhood for my children.  I could easily get into the mode of having them follow a bunch of checklist items and if they fulfill them all well, then they are good kids and if not they're in trouble with me.  On the outset this is not a wrong statement, but if they do it just to "please" me, then the whole thing is on a wrong foundation.  I must learn the wisdom to shepherd their hearts to first desire to establish a intimate and sound relationship with me and out of that they desire to carry out the "good deeds" and at this point wherever they need my coaching on how to improve on these good deeds, then I can step in to guide them further such that their actions will be profitable to others, especially to their parents!

[P] Dear God, I feel like I'm sandwiched between learning to be a good kid to You and learning to be a good father to my kids.  You know I cannot do both without Your wisdom.  Would you please not withhold any wisdom on how to shepherd my kids' hearts foremost so they would come to embrace Your saving grace and have the desire to pursue You?  There are so many things going on in their lives many times I get distracted in the midst of managing all of them and easily just become a taskmaster myself rather than the shepherd because there is almost a fear of losing control of these activities.  I want to surrender them all to You, really!  I want to see You working through their lives and want to not get in the way.  Would you continuously show me how I can do this better?  In Jesus' name.  Amen.