Choosing the Path of Failure

[S] Matthew 17:12 --
12  but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands."

[O] In light of the Passion week followed by the Resurrection Sunday we just celebrated last week, Jesus' remark about how John the Baptist came and suffered and murdered and fully knowing how He still came to us despite the suffering He will face is truly the message as a follower of Christ must hold dear to our hearts.  How many of us will take the path when it's been proven to fail for sure?  Not that many.  However Jesus did just that by taking the path of His coming to us.

[A] Rising above the circumstances to carry out God's will is to say the least challenging.  I must partake in His ministry with such an attitude also:  Instead of having a goal of succeeding in ministry (however that is defined), I need to do it for the sake of turning more people's hearts toward God even at the cost of sacrifice leading to suffering.  This world is not conditioned to welcome Jesus' disciples.

[P] Dear Father, please seal in my heart on how to do Your ministry with the right frame of mind.  This isn't some luxurious task I am doing to succeed but to follow the footsteps of my Lord Jesus' whom, fully knowing, took the path of suffering in order to provide a way out for us from eternal condemnation.  I pray in Your name.  Amen.

Realizing His Presence in My Prosperity

[S] 2 Samuel 5:10-12 --
10  David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of hosts was with him. 11  Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and carpenters and stonemasons; and they built a house for David.12  And David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.

[O] David had some tough times even after God's promise of using him as His instrument for His purposes and I am sure coping with such a discrepancy was very confusing and draining.  After the death of Saul, people respected David's position and honored him as their king.  And now things are going pretty well for him which the author of 2 Samuel writes that the source of this blessing is because God's presence.  However the key point is in verse 12, David "realized" the purpose of God was on him and that was the reason for his prosperity.  Such a discernment of his well being is the reason why God used David mightily.

[A] I desire everything I do to prosper (do well) and in many areas I am still working towards that.  The key question I need to answer is when/if God let's me to prosper in these areas such as the ministry I take part, will I readily realize that God was the source for the purpose of gathering His people unto Him?

[P] Dear God, grant me the heart of David to 1) seek and then 2) realize Your presence which will work in and through my life to realize Your plans in in this world.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Second Wind of Compassion

[S] Matthew 14:14 --
14  When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.

[O] After hearing about John's death, Jesus left to a secluded place by Himself.  My guess is that He was deeply saddened by Herod's murdering John just to save his own face.  In this journey on His own He runs into the crowd that chased Him around.  Even in this time of solitude and desiring to be away from all the "demanding" people, He still has compassion left for them to heal them as well as to feed them.  Jesus' compassionate heart for His people is really amazing.

[A] In doing God's ministry, I often find myself exhausted from all the hustle and bustle of daily tasks and when I am beat, I don't have any room to worry about others around me; but just like Jesus' model, I must see it through His eyes of compassion to meet their needs.  This is a tall order but I must try to follow after Jesus.

[P] Dear Jesus, please enlarge my heart so I may follow Your footsteps of ministering to others with compassionate heart.  In Your name.  Amen.

From Hearing to Understanding

[S] Matthew 13:14 --
14  "In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;


[O] Hearing vs. understanding and seeing vs. perceiving are two key concepts here.  Hearing and seeing are mere activation of sensors in our body sending electrons up to the brain while understanding and perceiving goes beyond to process those senses into a comprehensible conclusion.  Anybody can hear and see, but only those who work to process further will gain understanding which requires God's granting us through the Holy Spirit in the first place.

[A] As I'm raising my children, I am more convicted to pray and guide my children so they'd attain God's permission to understand and perceive the wisdom God desires them to grasp as they live their lives.

[P] Dear Father, please seal Your Holy Spirit's granting my children to understand Your words and for them to not just hear and see things around them and simply react to them.  May Your wonderful wisdom take root in their hearts deep inside.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Rising from Hopeless Situations

[S] 1 Samuel 30:6 --
6  Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

[O] When David and his warriors found the Amalekites raided their village and took everyone away these men were crushed and even came to a point of blaming David while some wanting to stone him.  So much for trying to lead them as a leader as well as standing up for them when they were in need of a leader.  At this point David regains his strength in the Lord his God and seeks His counsel for a plan to rescue his people.  This moment of turn-around is not simple or easy and that's what sets apart David from other leaders.

[A] I don't believe there is a leader who will always be praised by the followers not because he or she is an imperfect leader, but because it's impossible to please the people's hearts at all times.  Even our perfect Lord Jesus was crucified by His people (some were His followers).  This is almost a stark reality of leadership roles in our world and how at times the only way to strengthen out of a situation like where David found himself in this passage is to turn to God  This may be a lonely and depressing period but at the same time I need to remind myself God is much bigger than any of these depressing moments.

[P] Dear Father, please remind in the times of distress as a leader that You are watching over me and also for me to turn to You for guidance out of such a situation.  Thank You for being there for me to turn to 24x7.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Defining God's Vision in My Crisis

[S] 1 Samuel 25:28 --
28  "Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant; for the Lord will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil will not be found in you all your days.

[O] Abigail's wisdom is astounding here because not only she realized the crisis at hand but her prompt actions and the words she spoke to David was right on target by re-focusing David's mind on the greater purpose of God for him to calm himself to reassess his own heart's condition.  I don't believe this was a simple luck of her saying the right things at the right time but a reflection of her own life leading up to this point married to a "worthless man" (v. 25).  If anyone she would definitely be one of the right person to share about not losing the greater promise of God in her own crisis-stricken life living with Nabal.

[A] I know I will face a lot of crisis in my life; and at times I will respond emotionally like David, but Abigail's wise actions will help me to overcome those situations by re-focusing God's greater plan for my life.

[P] Dear Father, may Your greater plans come to fruition through me and my family's lives as we hold on to Your promises and letting go of less-significant crisis in our lives.  Grant us huge hearts to hold Your grand visions as we ask in Jesus' name.  Amen.

If Look Out fails, then Look Up

[S] Psalm 31:4 --
4 You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.

[O] The enemy works real hard to place the traps (nets) and because they do a wonderful job, I will inevitably fall into it and get caught.  But God will pull me out with His strength and care.  He will never miss me because He is on 24x7 schedule to watch over me.  He never promised me to protect me completely away from being caught but He promised me to pull me out of it whenever I get all caught up.

[A] The enemy is cunning and diligent about setting the traps against me.  This is my reality and so I need to put on my armor daily and make sure my radar system is in operation.  Even then I will still be victim so I also need to claim that He is my rescue hero in all and any situation.

[P] Dear Father, enamor me with Your wisdom so I may work around the enemy's traps in my life and to have the strength through faith in You to pull myself out of times when I am stuck in his net.  Thank You for being there all the time.  in Jesus' name.  Amen.

Look Good When Fasting

[S] Matthew 6:17 --
17  "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face  18  so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

[O] Fasting was (and still is) a way to clear the mind to focus more on what God is speaking.  So this is an effort to control our physical body in order to draw closer to God.  And the purpose of drawing closer to God is to follow His ways better.  However, in this process it is so easy to shift the focus to the people around more than God so it can become an act to look good to others which is far from the original intention.  Verse 17 teaches how I should set my circumstance properly in the first place in order not to get set myself up to derail from my original intentions of drawing closer to God.

[A] All the actions I decide to follow to draw closer to Him have loopholes for me to shift my focus away from God to others around me.  So, as a part of my plan to "do" His will, I should also carefully put in place the safety measures for me to not detail my path away from God.  Just like how I should look "good" when I fast (and not boast about how weak I am without food), I should up front empty my own ambitions for taking part in His ministry so I will be putting in my efforts just for His Kingdom's sake and no one else.

[P] Dear Father, please preserve my heart's purity to serve You and You alone in all that I do for You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

God of Universe is Next to Me

[S] Psalm 34:15-18 --
15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17  The righteous cry, and the Lord hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

[O] I see the sensitive caring of our God for each of us here in this world from these verses.  He clearly distinguishes the righteous from the evildoers and his actions towards them are definitely set apart.  When I care for someone I give my eyes and ears to that person (e.g., I'm all ears) and  I can see we got that from His character mentioned in verse 15.  What a comfort to know that as long as I stay righteous in Him, he will watch and hear that all I say (cry out).  This passage closes with one of my favorite verse, again, displaying His wonderful caring towards me whenever I'm am up against the challenges of this world which may break my heart or crush my spirit, because even though I may have been flattened out, He will raise me up again.

[A] Whenever I feel like no one hears (or cares) about what I cry out about, I need to remember that my focus should not be about whether anyone (including God) cares but whether my heart stays righteous towards God or not.  Once this is set right, the rest is history.

[P] Dear loving and caring God, Your words of comfort from this passage covered me today.  Not that my heart is broken or spirit crushed but just knowing such a powerful God caring just for me out of 6.5 billion people is overwhelming.  Your awesomeness brings out the praise in me.  Thank You so much for being such a loving God as I pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.

Power of: But As For Me

[S] Psalm 59:16-17 --
16 But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength;
Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For You have been my stronghold
And a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 O my strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.

[O] The word, "But" jumped out tremendously because it contrasted before and after that word.  What comes after it is filled with power, confidence, joy, and refreshing spirit.  This is what I needed to hear because I feel like I'm buried in the stuff I need to take care but as I think about it, there is comparison with someone who's life is in total danger.  And yet, he is singing about this strength in him.

[A] Stop the violin and start singing with joy from the bottom of my heart.  Make it simple and start doing some praise songs with my guitar.

[P] Dear Father, may my heart be lifted up to You with joyful singing which defies the pull from all the tasks in front of me.  May I rest in You and You alone.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

From That Day On

[S] 1 Samuel 18:9 --
9  Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on.

[O] Saul was initially called by God to lead His people but after failing to obey God's commands fully he began towards the downward spiral not because God had abandoned him but mainly because he did not repent before God to seek His mercy and grace.  Furthermore, such a state of mind grew into fear of losing his position while scheming ways to sustain his power and position more focused on the popularity than what God prefers.  At this point, the women's song of praising David higher than him put him over into jealousy.  The role of a leadership is very susceptible to the voices of the public and hearing God's voice in the midst of all that "noise" is one of the virtues of great leadership.  Here we can see how Saul was swept away by what the people were saying instead of leaning on what God was telling him to do.

[A] Even though the leaders are to lead the people and to listen and care for their needs, how one goes about doing that must originate from God's principles by first obeying His commands to the fullest.  I must learn to hear His voice in the midst of the noises of various voices surrounding me.  These are not the voices from the master of deception, per se, but from those close to me or the general public sharing their thoughts with good intentions; however if my heart is not right with God, these will easily put me into a territory that I would not want to be in.

[P] Dear Father, I do not believe Saul turned from Your chosen servant to where he is now overnight but he began to take steps which drew him away from God gradually so please guard my heart so I would not compromise in what seems like little things because they all add up to doing Your will properly without my selfish motives entering into the picture.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Breaking Out of Cold War

[S] 1 Samuel 17:3 --
3  The Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them.

[O] This whole scene of the battle formation on either side of this valley seems to depict the spiritual battle right in the midst of the spiritual community of our church where the enemy sends out their "Goliath" to challenge us to come out and fight him day in and day out.  And to a certain extent the tension's been building up in our battle situation and more heat is being put on with so much stuff happening.  How can we find a breakthrough?  I see the boy David's total reliance on God as the foundation of our breakthrough.  Despite the few number of sheep (verse 28) he was tending, he shepherded them with total reliance on God and what he trained for came out when he heard Goliath mocking the God of Israel and with that confidence in God he defeated Goliath.  What is interesting is that as soon as Goliath fell, the Philistines fled while the Israelites stood up in confidence and pursued the Philistines.  In the original picture painted in verse 3, we see this terrible enemy scaring the Israelites with this giant in front of them; but the scene changes quickly when the little boy with some stones in his pouch breaks through and knocks out their flag ship.

[A] The enemy's tactic has not changed where he just scares us to keep us at bay when there is no substance at all behind his deception.  When the power of God flows through just a few (or one) people, the enemy will be on the run.  This is a very crucial period for our church to break out of the apprehensive holding pattern.  This is the time for the leaders to step forward and face the "fake" giant and slay him with the confidence of our day-to-day God Stories.  I am requesting God to use me in such a way -- 100% God factor, 0% me factor.

[P] Dear God of Heaven, I feel it is time to break out of the cold war as in verse 3 by shifting the focus away from the "giant" to the real Giant faith in the Big God I worship and praise.  May I have the faith like David in result of my daily victorious experiences of You.  May Your power breaks through in the midst of our community.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Apart From Such External Things

[S] 2 Corinthians 11:27-28 --
27  I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28  Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.

[O] Paul's dedication to his ministry involved much hardship describe in this chapter.  He wasn't necessarily looking for hardships but in order to carry the message of Christ he had to withstand such difficult circumstances mentioned in verse 27.  I can feel pain just thinking about them and yet he goes beyond that by saying that on top of those "external" things, his concern for all the churches was even greater.  I'm reading about Paul's ministry now because he really gave it all to build the churches in the right way.  He did not just stop at his "good enough" efforts relative to others but he gave his "best" as a caring pastor.

[A] My life seems to be at the very edge these days with so much going on, but reading what Paul had to experience and yet he so much cared for the churches humbles me because my focus is really more on how crazy things are for me rather than the concern for all the ministries at my church to bring yet another soul closer to Christ.  I must re-calibrate my spiritual bearing so that "apart from such external things" I must lock on to pursuing the ministry of saving lives in all fronts.

[P] Dear Father, thank You for encouraging and challenging me through Paul's life to carry on with my own life, not being burdened daily but to move forward with power and conviction of caring for others.  May I do this not through my efforts but by surrendering my life to You first and putting into actions that You're convicting me to carry out today.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Men's Sensitivity to Women's Heart

[S] 1 Samuel 1:8 --
8  Then Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"

[O] Not sure if Elkanah knew the reason and asked this question more out of comfort but based on verses 6-7, Hannah was weeping because of her rivals provocation for not being able to conceive.  I saw here how one person's comfort or trying to comfort is so limited.  Elkanah's comparison of himself to ten sons, although it was a great effort, did not help much because in verse 10 we can see that Hannah's level distress sustained and she reached out to God weeping bitterly.  As I reflect on my own efforts to understand my wife, I know I was like Elkanah in many instances where I do not fully understand the true feelings of her and said some things to comfort her but came very short of doing that.

[A] Coming up on 19th anniversary of our marriage, I continuously need to strive for more sensitive heart towards my wife's thoughts and be a better comforter and companion through ups and downs of our lives.  In the end, it is God who will comfort her, but I should also do a better job of reaching out to her in all circumstances.

[P] Dear God, thank You for guiding our marriage and continuing to lead us as a team.  May I be a more sensitive companion who she can lean on as we go through this journey together.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Now is the Day of Salvation

[S] 2 Corinthians 6:2-10 --
2  for He says, "At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you."
Behold, now is "the acceptable time," behold, now is "the day of salvation"-- 3  giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, 4  but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, 5  in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, 6  in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, 7  in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, 8  by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; 9  as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, 10  as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.


[O] Because of Jesus' resurrection providing us the salvation, every day and moment should be taken as a time of rejoicing in the salvation.  Give no opportunity for any offense even if it means hardships and distresses.  For me, the "sleeplessness" stood out because it's been a physically demanding period for last few weeks and my mind was wandering toward grumbling why I am where I am.  But as Paul writes, now is the day of salvation and in it I can accept it all.

[A] I need to rejoice more in God's salvation and in light of that other "noise" should subside so I can focus on that awesomeness of His saving grace and through that my life will shine forth His light.

[P] Dear Father, please protect my mind from wandering around all the nitty gritty details of life but to fixed on Your amazing grace of salvation.  And may it drive what I think and do every moment of my life.  In Your name.  Amen.

Clinging to the Core

[S] Ruth 2:11-12 --
11  Boaz replied to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know.  12  "May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge."

[O] Ruth followed after Naomi's God and followed through physically by leaving her homeland and coming to Bethlehem.  Originally, Naomi's family left Bethlehem due to famine and settled in the land of Moab where a different kind of famine struck her family and even in the midst of such a famine Ruth's dedication, commitment, and service to her in-laws were exceptional in most people's eyes which Boaz referred to here.  He praises Ruth for seeking refuge under God's wings. In the most unfavorable condition, where she had other options as a way out of there Ruth chose to stick with God because that's what was at her core.

[A] It seems I am faced with lots of turbulent times going through the stage of my life and I do have some options to alleviate myself from this condition to ease a little but I need to examine what's at my core and need to cling on to that belief.  It is what I do now which will mold and prepare for what's coming ahead and it is what I do now which will let God know where my heart is at to trust in Him.  What good would it be if I am conditionally trusting in Him (only when things going well)?

[P] Dear God, give me a heart like Ruth who clung on to Your faithfulness and promise in the most unfavorable situation she found herself in.  I want to find refuge under Your wings.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Together We Can Stand

[S] Judges 21:24-25 --
24  The sons of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one of them went out from there to his inheritance.  25  In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

[O] The people from eleven tribes of Israel joined forces to remove corruption within the House of God's people even if it meant going up against their own brothers from Benjamin.  It was a painful process where they sought the Lord's guidance repeatedly to make sure they are not doing this out of their justification and/or anger.  As verse 25 mentions, in those days there was no leader to rule the land which resulted in wide-spread of corruption; that is when God's people came together to deal with the situation at hand.  As I envision the "sons of Israel departing" (verse 24), I see a wonderful picture of the brothers shaking hands, giving each other hugs as they reaffirm their unity of hearts for the purposes of God's ministry.

[A] The era I live in now is not much different from the time of this passage where everyone is doing what is right in his own eyes and that makes it more challenging to stand up for God's values; but I'm encouraged that by standing together with other believers in Jesus Christ, we can uphold His values.  Through the small group ministry at our church I am praying that God would grant such a community of believers.

[P] Dear Father, please continue to build up Your people who will come together like the eleven tribes of Israel in the midst of our church.  We are fighting a good battle and we rely totally on You to lead us into victory as we continue to strive unity of our hearts denouncing all the schemes from our enemy.  In Your name.  Amen.

The Hook of Unforgiveness

[S] 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 --
10  But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ,  11  so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.

[O] Forgiveness does not come easy and Paul says that he will forgive out of obedience to Christ (who forgave so much for us) which results in protection against Satan's schemes to take advantage of us.  Not forgiving others means granting Satan to take advantage of myself and yet this "hook" is a hard one to loosen.

[A] It's not that I do not know the schemes of the evil one but in the end it is my own lack of obedience that will leave holes in my shield for the enemy's arrows to penetrate and weaken me.  Based on this I need to act promptly about going through the process of forgiveness with some individuals.

[P] Dear Father, please grant me Your peace and the openness of the involved parties so there would be a complete forgiveness in some relationships.  I'd like Satan to know that I won't fall for his traps anymore.  In Your name.  Amen.

Comforting Others with the Comforting I Received

[S] 2 Corinthians 1:4 --
4  who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

[O] What we experience first hand is more likely to be reproduced in our own lives.  I could read many "How To" books but for me the best way to integrate into my own life is to actually go and watch someone else do it then immediately put into practice a few times until I get it right.  The theory alone just does not seem to work well for me because trying to visualize what is written into applicable actions take a long time (let alone get it right the first time).  The best example is origami (paper folding).  Many times, the instructional diagrams and pictures actually confuse me more where as when I see someone make it (watch it on YouTube) and follow along with a piece of paper I learn it so quickly.  One of the things I try to learn is to comfort others when they are in need, but unless I have experienced (or witnessed) how this is done I may be no different than scratching my head with an origami diagram because I cannot figure out what to do.

[A] My life is full of "afflictions" needing God's comfort by the buckets.  I need to surrender these instead of holding on to myself in an effort to "fix" them because it is when I am comforted by God in more of these situations then I am more equipped to comfort others through the on-the-job training He offers.

[P] Dear Father, I offer all of my challenges in life to You now because You're in the business of bringing comfort to my circumstances and I want to bask in that not just to be relieved but so I may in turn learn how to comfort those within my reach just like how You comforted me.  Thank You for Your wonderful training to mold me.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.