Faith-to-Faith Resuscitation

[S] Romans 1:17 --
 ¹⁷For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."

[O] Just like how mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is an integral routine for CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to revive a failed heart, faith-to-faith resuscitation seems to be a key factor in passing on the righteous lifestyle in God to subsequent generations.  It is not concept-to-faith, rhetoric-to-faith, or dream-to-faith.  It must be a genuine faith in action passing on from one generation to the next which also is actively living out such a lifestyle.  Such a lifestyle cannot be passed on just by heritage, or by writing a wonderful manual (we already have "the" manual called the Bible).  You never see a mouth-to-mouth done with a straw or a hose -- it's done through one mouth pressing against the other to breath in the air minimizing any loss of air.  Likewise, faith-to-faith must be done from one faith to the next tightly pressing against each other to minimize any loss of faith.

[A] Such a timely message for me because we're currently going through some issues to deal with at home with our children and I am realizing how critical it will be for me not to lose focus of passing on the righteous lifestyle by pressing my own faith hard against theirs to pass on this message of attaining the righteousness of God through their faithful living.

[P] Dear Father, grant our family to live by faith alone, to please You and to live out a life that will be passing on such a faith from generations onward.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

When Jesus Returns

[S] 1 Thessalonians 4:17 --
 ¹⁷Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

[O] The picture of meeting Jesus when He returns is pretty awesome, beating any Hollywood movies.  Not sure exactly how it'll look physically but meeting Him in the air (watch out Michael Jordan) is definitely going to be an experience of a life time before we spend the eternity with Him.  At this point, the whole world will be aware of the returned King.

[A] In light of this, all that goes on here on earth seems so irrelevant.  This does not mean I will be lazy for the rest of my life but it means I will not put too much emphasis on what we do here on earth in contrast to preparing for the eternity I'll spend with God.

[P] Dear Father, there are so much worries in this world I live in -- some for good reasons -- but in light of this passage even those need to be surrendered.  I want to live the rest of my life expecting the great return of Jesus who will take me up into His arms in the most awesome way.  In gratitude and anticipation I pray in Your name.  Amen.

Authenticate the Truth

[S] Matthew 28:15 --
 ¹⁵And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.

[O] The guards agreed to spread the wrong rumor of Jesus' body being stolen by His disciples during the night by accepting the bribe money from the chief priests and elders.  The funny thing is that this rumor spread widely for a long time highlighting the fact that what goes around (the Internet these days) are not always true.  This was no secret but the point is we should always confirm and verify the source before we pass on any of the "rumors" which seemingly pass as the latest "news."

[A] In this day and age of speedy "forward" or "reply-all" to the overflowing information I need to be careful about passing on information to others such that they are accurate.  Also continue to dig into God's Word through Life Journaling such that I would extract the truth and nothing but the truth about our Heaven Father and His love and grace for us.

[P] Dear Father, You are truly my Father in Heaven and I want to stay true to Your purpose for us by passing on the truth that I extract from the Bible.  Please continue to instill in me Your wonderful news and truth.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Not Everything Has a Return Policy

[S] Matthew 27:4-5 --
 ⁴saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to that yourself!"  ⁵And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.

[O] Judas realized the fault he had committed and wanted to reverse it the next morning by going back to the priests willing to return the 30 pieces of silver they gave him as the payment of leading them to Jesus.  But the priests already got what they wanted and had no desire to refund.  In despair, Judas throws the money back and then goes away to hang himself.  I see the result of repenting in wrong places.  Only God through the life of Jesus on earth can accept our repentance and forgive, there is no one else who may do this.  In fact, short of God, we will only make things worse as we see in this situation.

[A] With my faulty commitments, I need to bring them to God and surrender to Him in exchange for His peace and forgiveness because if I bring them to any one else, including holding them within myself, it will only rot away my mind and will lead me to self destruction.

[P] Dear Father, I'm so thankful for Your forgiveness through the Cross Jesus carried for me way before I was even conceived because through that all of my faults can be lifted up freeing me to live a life that will please You alone.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Preparation Now Matters In The End

[S] Matthew 25:5 --
 ⁵"Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.

[O] All ten virgins (five foolish, five prudent) faced the same challenges in their circumstances and suffered the same consequence of getting drowsy and falling asleep.  However when the bridegroom came, the two groups of the ladies responded completely different based on their preparation for this moment.  The foolish didn't have enough oil and thus could not meet their bridegrooms while the prudent were able to welcome and greet their bridegrooms while their opportunity was at hand.  They could seize the moment which they were longing for a long period of time (while the bridegroom was delaying).

[A] How well I'm prepared for the moment will make that significant difference when that moment finally arrives.  How am I preparing myself for the significant moments in my life starting from my immediate presentations, work tasks, children's future, and eventually meeting Jesus when He returns?  I need to continue to increase my personal prayer time with the Lord as well as Scriptural memorization.

[P] Dear Father, I love You for guiding my life to be closer to You.  I want to prepare my life just like the prudent ladies from this passage such that even though I may fall from the challenges of my life, when You return I will be fully prepared to meet and to receive You to spend the eternity with You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Let's Not Be Speechless

[S] Matthew 22:12 --
 ¹²and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless.

[O] The man ended up in the marriage banquet and enjoying the feast with others but when he was asked how he came in there without the proper clothes, he could not answer, meaning he didn't know how that happened either -- i.e., who gave him permission to join the banquet.  Before he was asked this question, he did not think about why he was enjoying the feast.  This is one of the traps we must avoid where we just do things without really knowing why.  It could be just going with the flow or peer pressure, but in the end it's I need to know what I am doing rather than mindlessly going along so that when I am asked this type of a question, I would have a clear response back.

[A] Today on the Thanksgiving Day, I'm inviting some guests over for a dinner time together for a fellowship.  I am preparing my heart so that there may be a time to share about how we need to guide our lives with a clear purpose so that we won't be "speechless" when asked of how we got where we are headed.

[P] Dear Father, please grant through the working of Your Spirit today to have a wonderful time with guest and may Your love and presence fill this place.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Have Achievable Goals in Life, not just Wishful Thoughts

[S] Matthew 18:26-27 --
 ²⁶"So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.'
 ²⁷"And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.

[O] Here is an excellent example of how a wrong set of assumptions or expectations can lead to a greater error.  The slave asked for a delay of payment until he can make enough money to pay it all back while the master in verse 27 actually released his debt completely.  The slave's "good intention" of paying back his debt was actually impossible to achieve because of the amount was something more like millions or billions of dollars in today's term.  Based on his (wrong) assumption of paying it back, however, drove him to start gathering all the money he can and that determination turned him into a merciless man only purpose in life is to make more money to pay back the master.  Instead of living a life filled with his own plans to achieve a goal and purpose that is unachievable, he simply had to accept the pardoning of his master and live a freed life filled with gratitude.

[A] This story speaks into my heart every time I read it because I find myself not really living out the "freed" life with gratitude of God's pardoning of my inability to pay Him back with my life's efforts.  I need to grasp onto His gift of forgiveness so I may enjoy this life for Him.

[P] Dear Father, please correct any wrong assumptions in my life so that I won't live a worthless life like this slave.  I want to enjoy the fullness of your joy based on the freedom You gave me to live without worrying about my faults.  In Jesus' name. Amen.

Crumbs of Thanksgiving

[S] Matthew 15:27 --
 ²⁷But she said, "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."

[O] This statement always warms my heart.  This mother's love and care for her daughter's well being as well as her belief on the feasibility of Jesus' healing allowed her to have a tremendous heart of gratitude for even an infinitesimally small amount of Jesus' grace and touch of love.  She had already surrendered everything else and all she needed was just a drop of God's touch which she was ready to receive with utmost thanksgiving.  There were no strings attached.  Her motives were pure.  And Jesus used that to bring forth God's glory.  Or stating differently, her fully surrendered self was prepared to display the amazing grace of God.

[A] How is my scale of "thanksgiving" especially during this time of Thanksgiving?  Am I still trying to reach a certain level before I can have a "thankful" heart?  Or am I going to be thankful even if just a drop of God's grace skims by my life?

[P] Dear Father, I want to have a heart like this woman to be thankful even for crumbs of Your love and grace dropping into my life. And through that may Your glory be revealed as I pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.

Seek Repentance, not Miracles

[S] Matthew 11:23 --
 ²³"And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day.

[O] Capernaum was one of the city that did not repent (v.20) faced the consequence of descending to Hades.  Jesus also mentions that enough miracles took place in Capernaum and yet people's overwhelmingly unrepentant hearts could not save from the city ending up in Hades.  At times, I wish God's miraculous power be revealed in this world falling away from God every day as if that's going to turn the ship around, but this passage set me straight by explaining that it's not the presence or God's miracles that's going to save people (city, nation, or the world) but the repentant hearts of the very people Jesus died for on the Cross that is going to save us.

[A] As I face the challenges of daily life, and the struggles I must face, I wish for some sort of God's miracles to take place in my life to lift me out of these circumstances.  Instead of that mentality I must examine my own heart to make sure it is aligned with His through repentance, commitment, and devotion to His wonderful grace and love because my own pure heart for Him is what's going to bring forth His beauty and in turn lift me out of my own struggles.

[P] Dear Father, I want to increase my commitment for You out of gratitude for Your wondrous grace.  May I not seek an easy way out by way of some lightning bolt from Heaven to set my life straight because it is my dedicated and pure heart You're after.  I humbly offer up my heart to You in surrender.  In Your precious name.  Amen.

Even Through Generations of Glitches

[S] Matthew 1:5-6 --
 ⁵Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. ⁶Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.

[O]  The generations these two verses cover reveal what appears to be "failures" to the plan of God for bringing His own Son to this world in His purest form of God let alone a Jew because Rahab and Ruth were not Jews and Bethsheba didn't really take a legitimate route of becoming a queen.  This was a period of back-to-back glitches leading to the birth of King David.  And he almost didn't get picked as the anointed one when Samuel visited his family because his father ruled him out as one of the possibilities for being just a boy.  However, despite all this God's plan still came through without a hiccup.

[A] Even when things seemed to derail from the plans set forth, I need not to focus too much on the failures but need to turn to Him for His guidance through those tough times.  If He reveals my faults in that, then I need to repent and correct my heart but need to be sensitive to His voice about the hope and peace when all I have to do is to persevere through it to see the glory of His plans unfolding.

[P] Dear Father, I want to recognize that You are in full control regardless of how I may interpret circumstance I'm in leading to the recognition of Your ultimate plan coming through.  There are so many times in a day when my mind would doubt Your plans so I want to work on more of letting those thoughts go in order to believe in the hope that has been promised by You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Keep It Simple and Straighforward

[S] 2 Corinthians 11:3 --
 ³But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

[O] The key operatives here for me were: craftiness, simplicity and purity.The serpent's deception was to complicate the simple relationship to God and out of this confusion Eve fell for the trap.  Another concept of simplicity is purity because by definition, purity means absence of impurity.  It stays simple with just the pure elements.  Based on this concept, sticking to simplicity of my devotion to Christ is one sure way of not falling to the traps of the enemy.  Definitely K.I.S.S. (keep it simple & straightforward) applies here.

[A] Whenever I feel confused about the love of God for me, a red flag should go up inside me to make it simple once again.  God who didn't have to do anything, abandoned Himself in order for me to live with Him eternally.

[P] Dear Father, Your simple grace and love is just too powerful!  I want to keep it simple and powerful in my life so please protect me from the spell of confusion coming from the enemy.  May my life and mind stay pure and simple to devote my life for You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Keep Multiplying Seed of Thanksgiving

[S] 2 Corinthians 9:6,10-11 --
 ⁶Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ¹⁰Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; ¹¹you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.

[O] It is one thing to not look for what I had not sowed in the first place, but saying that I didn't have enough resources to sow in the first place is not going to work with God (or Paul) because God has an abundant quantify of His resources for us to sow to reap His harvest of righteousness which eventually produces thanksgiving to God.  I may run out of things to sow if I'm seeking for other results than what God is intended but as long as my purpose stays within this boundary, we won't have to worry about running out of sees to sow.

[A] In this time of Thanksgiving Day I want to receive His abundance of His seed of thanksgiving and create opportunity to sow them into hearts of those who may be in need of just that during this time season of the year.

[P] Dear Father, please provide Your abundant seed of thanksgiving to hand out to those we're reaching out to some people during this Thanksgiving Day.  May Your Spirit permeate through the time we'll have together.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Works From Outside or Life In Me?

[S] 2 Corinthians 4:11-12 --
 ¹¹For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹²So death works in us, but life in you.

[O] I could see the relationship between external influence vs. implicit nature built right into my life.  The power of death works externally to influence my life while the life of Jesus manifests in my life implicitly.  Verse 12 speaks to this contrast clearly by saying, BUT life IN you.  Now the question is which should have a greater impact of my life?  The external influences trying to change my implicit way of thinking, or what I'm already born with in my DNA?  The answer should be simply what I am born with, however, the external influences seem to bring greater impact at many times.  What gives?

[A] Application of what I read and learn from His word needs to strengthen my innate nature of the life of Jesus and not let the external influences.  Just like how the salt-water fish are insulated from the saltiness of the water even though they live in it all the time they do not taste salty, I need to insulate myself from the external influences of the world I live in so I an preserve the freshness of Jesus' life.

[P] Dear Father, in the life-stream of this whirlwind, I can easily lose focus of where I'm leading my life or my family toward.  Please instruct me in my devotional time with You the bearing I must hold on to.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Retirement Model from Job

[S] Job 42:12,17 --
 ¹²The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning;
 ¹⁷And Job died, an old man and full of days.

[O] After all that Job went through, the completion of his life displayed the splendor or His beautiful and wonderful provision for His children.  It is not only because God restored the material wealth and his family, but because of the greater intensity of Job's life in the latter days than his beginning as well as how he was able to die full of days.  He maximized his life in the Lord even through the "deadly" downturn of his life.  My take away here is: I will surely go through challenges of my life no matter how closely I walk with God but that shouldn't be my excuse to not live out my life full of days, giving it all for Him.

[A] As I'm bombarded with lots of interruptions and challenges of my life stage, I need to defocus the strain coming from them and redirect my heart to focus more on the hopes and visions God intends for me to catch and to figure out a way to live the rest of my life giving it all for Him.

[P] Dear Father, Job's beautiful example of living out his life for You inspires me today.  I also want to follow his footsteps of living my days full for You.  Just like how someone once mentioned that on his tombstone, he wants to put a gas gauge with the needle pointing to "E" (for empty) signifying how he's given it all he had during his life.  I want to follow that model so please continue to teach me how I may do that until You call me home.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Fallen Even After Experiencing Resurrection

[S] 1 Corinthians 15:6 --
 ⁶After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;

[O] Jesus appeared to more than 500 people after His resurrection and most of them have remained abiding in Jesus' promise but some have fallen away from following Christ even though they have experienced Jesus' resurrection in person.  At times I wished I experienced some tangible miracles of Jesus in my life like starting tomorrow morning I will miraculously wake up early every morning to start the day with my devotion because I am thinking such an experience will just totally transform my life.  This may be the case, but then just like some of these fallen asleep people after seeing the resurrected Jesus, it may not last for long before I lose the impact in my life.  So, I shouldn't wish for such an experience to sustain my spiritual life but to be faithfully purify my heart on daily basis.

[A] Don't get too hung up on the time of my waking up time but focus on when I go to bed and with what type of a heart after a hard-working and tiresome day.

[P] Dear Father, may I not seek for miraculous powers but a faithful heart purified to hear your voice every day.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Love Is In All Things

[S] 1 Corinthians 13:7 --
 ⁷bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

[O] In this chapter of "love," Paul writes these gem qualities of love of bearing, believing, hoping, enduring all things.  Love is not just the warm and fuzzy emotions but a firm and disciplined actions to bear, believe, hope, and endure ALL things.  Today, the love is so loosely defined as my own preference of "liking" something or someone before I can start to love.  However, Paul seems to be telling me that love starts by first committing to bear, believe, hope, and endure all things with and toward someone, and by sustaining that commitment through all circumstances, the true love will blossom into a full fruition.

[A] This is the model of Jesus' love for me.  He first chose (committed) love me and thus went all the way to bear that fruit of love for me through His complete surrender and sacrifice for me.  I can apply this to many areas of my life, but want to re-examine my heart toward my wife.  After years of marriage, I don't want to assume anything here and make sure my "complete" love for her still is about bearing, believing, hoping, and enduring ALL things with and for her.

[P] Dear Father, praise You for providing me such a wonderful and beautiful life partner.  Please allow my heart to be set to apply the gem of Your true love for her.  Thank You for this principle to keep in my heart.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

The Heavenly Choir in the Morning

[S] Job 38:7 --
 ⁷ as the morning stars sang together
      and all the angels shouted for joy?

[O] I love singing, especially praising God for who He is, but never thought of the beautiful morning stars as the Heavenly choir singing to us each morning, not to mention the angels harmonizing together in the background.  God starts each day with this awesome orchestration and I have not been paying much attention to it.  The description from this passage hit home for me to join in on the singing.

[A] Now that the jet lag is passed I should get back to the normal cycle of waking up early to join the morning choir and to praise Him and to soak up His instructions for me through the Word.

[P] Dear God, I praise You for providing such a beautiful surrounding for me to wake up and join You to start off the day with a resounding singing from the bottom of my heart.  Please continue to shine your grace upon me to move beyond my physical limitations to join you each morning.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Do Voluntarily or as a Stewardship

[S] 1 Corinthians 9:17 --
17For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.

[O] Paul refers to his preaching of the gospel here and points out that certain aspects of a Christ-follower's life has no option but to do it whether voluntarily or not -- there is no compromising here.  I feel that I'm so used to the customization of this society offers and quickly and easily apply that to my walk with God when it's God who sets the pace and the rules for me to follow.  It's not about God being so mean or strict but His nature is such that He is perfect and that means the followers like me also need to abide by His perfect nature and that translates into certain aspects of following Him is not optional or customizable.  I just have to do it -- voluntarily when it becomes a joy and until then as a stewardship entrusted to me.

[A] Need to work on missing less of my daily devotions, especially on weekends when there are just too many activities going on (so I should wake up earlier to do this).

[P] Dear God, touch my heart with Your Spirit such that I will spend that time with You not as a stewardship but a joyful volunteering.  I've tried a lot of stuff but I give up on all of them because they're just not working completely.  I want to totally surrender to Your Spirit's leadership in this area.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Two-way Love Story

[S] 1 Corinthians 8:2-3 --
² Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. ³ But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.

[O] While knowledge is important, just having the knowledge is not everything because that only establishes just one side of the equation.  It's like having a one-sided love while the other person doesn't even know me.  Even if there is a way to completely understand the heart of God by our own human comprehension (without the intervention of the Holy Spirit), unless God recognizes me also my own understanding means nothing in the eyes of God.  Am I recognized by God as the one who love Him?

[A] Talk to Him in a quiet and private place within next week to share my love with Him to ask Him if He recognizes me and to guide me based on Psalm 32:8.

[P] Dear God, I want to love You and be recognized by You.  Please whisper into my ears that You know me and love me.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

At the Cross-roads of Foolishness and Power of God

[S] 1 Corinthians 1:18 --
 ¹⁸For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

[O] Lately, I've been prompted frequently to the message of the Cross as if God was asking me:  Do you really understand the message behind the Cross Jesus Christ carried?  I knew the textbook answer but somehow I couldn't answer with a confident "yes" because deep inside I knew it was much deeper than the simple definition of where Jesus died for our sins.  It is where my God exemplified what sacrificing His all for me was and in turn for me to do just that because only then I will rise up in the power of God which raised Jesus Christ from the dead.  So, while the spiritual climate these days are so hostile towards Christianity just the thing they consider foolish -- the message of the Cross -- is where I can draw the supernatural power from to live out the life God called me to live out.

[A] Without applying this message of the Cross in my life, there is no way I can serve God because anything short of that will just be fooling myself in thinking I'm doing something for God.  But He does not really need my help, does He?  He wants my heart of obedience leading to total surrender/sacrifice.  As I am disturbed by this thought right now, I am sure He will clearly show me the application as I continue to chew on how to apply the message of His Cross into my own personal life.

[P] Dear Father, You taught me through las Sunday's message about how Your will be done in my own life first.  I want to ask You to do just that as a scary request it may be.  I want to go back to Job 28:28 where he concluded the fear of God is the wisdom and I will claim that You will plant the wisdom based on my awesome fear of You who sent me the message of the Cross.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Got Wisdom? Get Fear!

[S] Job 28:28 --
    ²⁸"And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
         And to depart from evil is understanding.'" 

[O] Job covers all the possible places and ways to attain wisdom in this chapter but concludes with this verse that "fear of the Lord" is the only way to get that.  No money or precious gems of this world can bring me wisdom.  To Job, God's wisdom is the key to living out his life because nothing on earth -- as he had the luxury of attaining many things of this world by the way he knows well what they are -- could satisfy.

[A] What is my irreducible minimum in my life to live out a Godly life?  If it is wisdom like Job, then my basic posture should be to fear the Lord from the moment I wake up to the time I go to sleep.

[P] Dear Father, teach me to fear You such that Your wisdom will never leave me.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

What Are My Signs?

[S] Mark 16:17-18 --
 ¹⁷"These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;
 ¹⁸they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

[O] These are awesome signs of miracles.  Why is it that my mind is so faithless when it comes to God's miraculous signs working through my life?  As I'm reading this passage I'm thinking that this is for someone else but me.  I seem to lack the faith of a mustard seed (small), in this department and I sense God desiring to expand my faith here such that my mind won't restrict what God can do through my life only if I totally surrender to His glory and power.  In fact, my life could use some miracle these days because it seems like I am being bombarded with tasks without having much margin in my life to enjoy some of the things God placed in my life.

[A] Praise God for His wonderful power.  Praise Him for who He is and what He can  do.  Praise Him that He's already integrated my life into His plans.

[P] Dear Father, I know You love me and want to include me in Your plans.  I want to totally throw my life at You and have You take care of it.  I want to have the message of the Cross written all over my life.  Please continue to uphold my faith and my children's faith such that through the life's journey we would grasp on to Your promises and hope, not of this world's.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

What is My Question for Jesus?

[S] Mark 9:22-23 --
 ²²"It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!"
 ²³And Jesus said to him, " 'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes."

[O] The father of this demon-possessed boy asked the question "If you can do anything ..." and to that Jesus responds by saying "If you can?  All things are possible to him who believes."  At first, I felt like this man asked a "dumb" question, but as I reflected more on this passage, his question led him to experiencing Jesus' miracle right in his and his son's lives.  What question am I asking Jesus now with the issues in my life?  Am I too calculative in forming my question to impress Jesus or others?  I need to be like this father who simply wanted his son to be healed and sincerely asked Jesus to reach that goal.

[A] The questions I ask Jesus reveal my utmost interest in life now.  Make a list of my questions for Jesus to examine my own heart's motives.

[P] Heavenly Father, I want to align my mind with my heart so that my mind is fully occupied with what is most important to follow and worship You.  I want to ask the right questions like this father regardless of worrying about how well it sounds.  Please let Your response take place in my life because I want to experience Your miracle -- only what You can do -- in my life.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.