Unprincipled Men's Society

[S] 2 Peter 3:17-18 --
17  You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,18  but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

[O] Some of the key operands from this passage are: knowing, guard, carried away, and grow.  These actions, while they can describe any healthy growth, should take place daily in my walk with God where my knowledge of His word should teach me how to guard my heart because there are constant pull from the unprincipled men of this world to derail me from the "narrow" path.  In this whirlwind of society, Peter teaches us to fix our focus on the unmoving and constant grace which comes from Christ.  Failing to do so will lead me to be sucked right into the downward spiral.

[A] Today, the aspect of "guarding" hit home because just having the knowledge alone about the wonderful grace of God alone is not enough to protect my and my family members' hearts from the influences of this world as much as a good sports team not having any defense is doomed.

[P] Dear Father, may I throughout my life keep my focus on Your grace to guard my heart against all the influences from the unprincipled men and instead I ask that Your grace will overflow out of me into their hearts.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Trees Clap Their Hands

[S] Isaiah 55:12 --
12 "For you will go out with joy
And be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

[O] Joy is one of the mysterious formula God integrated into our lives because as much as I have two eyes and a nose the joy is a real part of our lives not an optional ornament that we put on whenever we want to.  God put this in our lives for Him to enjoy watching us filled with joy.  He even made plan B in case we don't exercise this gift by letting the mountains and the hills shout joy, and the trees clap their hands.  In fact, if you look around at the nature, I can see how the trees raise their hands upward toward the sky and clap their hands (branches and leaves).

[A] If the trees can express joyfulness to God, I should certainly be joyful at will, not conditional to my circumstances.  I need to mix expressing my joy to God in my daily routine.  Just like how the mountains, hills, and the trees do this through their built-in nature, I would like to make this a part of my nature.

[P] Dear Father, take joy, right now through my life.  I give You the glory and commit my life to make You joyful by watching my life every day.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Moved by the Spirit

[S] 2 Peter 1:21 --
21  for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

[O] There is a limit to what human will can do; but there are lots more happening in this world we live in beyond this limit therefore there must be a greater power work around us.  In light of this, there are only what God can do through the Holy Spirit such as prophesying.  Prophesying is really nothing more than speaking behalf of God so unless the Holy Spirit conveys God's message to me I will only be making things up on my own.

[A] When's the last time I was moved by the Holy Spirit to speak for God?  I need not be too busy to miss the Spirit's working in my life to move me.

[P] Dear Father, move me today.  Move me so not only I but everyone will know that it is You who moved me.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Highway Builder

[S] Isaiah 49:11 --
11 "I will make all My mountains a road,
And My highways will be raised up.

[O] When I think of mountains, I usually think of the terrains that are rough and harsh in some cases for man to travel (or hike) on.  But God says He will make His mountains a road even upgrading them to be highway.  Now I'm envisioning highways being raised up out of the tall and fearful mountains signifying how God will tame the wild and roughness of my selfish desires to be His highways to carry out His message of love to many as I can.

[A] As God claims these to be His mountains, I need to bow down to Him for His sovereign reign over this world I live in.  There is nothing that He cannot change or control.  I need not put Him in a little box so I can watch Him but rather He is above all watching how I live in this world He created for me.

[P] Dear Father, I praise You for creating this wonderful world for me to live in.  Forgive me for not recognizing that while abusing it in ways never intended by You.  May I begin to live in accord with Your amazing works of raising up highways from the mountains so that my life will raise up super highways to carry Your word throughout this world.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

My Trailblazer

[S] Isaiah 45:2 --
2 "I will go before you and make the rough places smooth;
I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.

[O] Since I cannot tell the future which I'm dashing into, this promise of God to His people is very assuring and hopeful because He is going before me to prepare the path that I will be walking.  I don't believe the smoothness implies trouble-free list for me, but the fact that He will watch over my future is the key factor that I can bank on.  Also, the challenges I will face -- doors of bronze and iron bars -- will also be taken care by God who is ahead of me.  He will be my trailblazer.  (As a footnote, this preparation is referring to King Cyrus of Persia who will be used as His instrument to carry out His purpose.)

[A] When I take a moment to stop and think about my future and well as my family members' future -- kids growing up into adulthood, etc. -- it is quite stifling.  However I need to remember again and again about how God is going before me (speaking in terms of this world's timeline) and I need to slip into His presence at all times without worries or trying to take things into my own hands.

[P] Dear Father, I want to give You my total trust when it comes to my future.  I want to know how I may please You in the moment I live in rather than trying to plan the future too much.  I humbly ask in Your name.  Amen

What Comes Before Now

[S] Isaiah 37:20 --
20  "Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God."

[O] The word "Now" transitions Hezekiah's prayer from acknowledging who God is and what He is made of in verse 16 -- O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.  We tend to think of prayer as a way to make requests (thus we call it prayer requests) to God but before requests must come the recognition of who He is and why we need to make requests to Him.  If He is not better than we are, then why waste time making requests to Him.  It is only when I acknowledge that God is much bigger than what I can do my requests carry some weight and value.

[A] Before jumping into a list of my "requests" for God to do for me, I should worship and praise Him for who He is and what He is able to do in and around my life.  Then and only then my prayers like Hezekiah's prayer portrayed here will display His power and my requests answered in His ways and timing.

[P] Dear Father, I humbly fall before You today to fully acknowledge how BIG You are in my life and how You sit above all of this world in Heaven to lead us and to guide us to love us into Your bosom.  I cannot wish anything more than just that, to be right in Your presence because You hold and uphold me.  May this life of 1/6.5 billionth of this world give You joy because I will praise You and worship You despite my circumstances as I pray all this in Your amazing name.  Amen.

Dig Down, Bear Upward

[S] 2 Kings 19:30 --
30  ‘The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.

[O] This passage's picture of taking the root downward while bearing fruit upward aligns with how we should take root downward into God's word while bearing spiritual fruits upward.  The surviving remnant really refers to the active Christ followers in this generation and that means the deeper I lay my roots into His word and commandments, the more fruitful I will be.

[A] Unless I lay my spiritual roots down deeper into the unchanging God's word, I will be swept away with the whirlwind of today's cultural rush.  In the end, the people who bear fruits upward will be scarcer and people will be drawn to those who bear such fruits.  I need to find out how I may be the oasis in this dried up culture I live in.

[P] Dear Father, as one of the surviving remnant of Your people I would do my best to lay my spiritual root deep down into Your word.  Please let Your lovely fruits raise upward in my life.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Rejoicing at God Speed

[S] 2 Chronicles 29:36; 30:12 --
36  Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.
12  The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord. 

[O] There are two significant outcomes when God is on the move with His people:  People rejoice, and it happens at God speed.  In Genesis we see that God created this whole world in six days and it was Good to Him (rejoicing) and Adam rejoiced with Eve.  When God moved through His people using Hezekiah as an instrument, all the people rejoiced especially because he came about suddenly.  Also we see in 30:12 how God united the people's hearts in unity to follow the leaders' guidance.  There is a lot to be said about how God uses united hearts to further our efforts at God speed.

[A] As I'm involved with church leadership and administration to "manage" the growth of our ministry, I can very easily fall into administrative mode of gathering information to make better decisions whereas what God desires is to unite people's hearts so that God can reveal His awesome speed of carrying out His purpose through our congregation who will rejoice over what God is doing in the midst of us.

[P] Dear Father, please guard my heart such that I will not fall into the trap of "running" programs at my church but to dig deeper into Your word in order for me to encourage and guide people's hearts towards what You are doing in the midst of us.  May Your presence bring out the shouts of joy in us.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Path to Pinnacle through Humble Circumstances

[S] James 1:9 --
9  But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position;

[O] The principle here is that when I stay humble, then God will bring me to high position and that's the right way to reach the "top."  Even though this world points to the way of the material richness, that is not the way God approves.  Quite a contrasting concept and a very difficult one to practice.

[A] Whenever there is a choice, pick the humble circumstance.

[P] Dear Father, You have chosen this path of choosing to humble Yourself in the form of Jesus because that was the only way to raise us up into the high position displaying His glory.  Please remind me daily to take the same kind of intentionally humbling myself for the gain of Your kingdom displayed in this hopeless world.  In Jesus' name.  Amen

Zion Refuel Station

[S] Hebrews 12:22 --
22  But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,

[O] Mount Sinai represents a deadly fearful presence of God during Moses' days.  People were unable to draw closer to that mountain, not even animals.  However, Mount Zion represents the city of the living God where we are invited to come because Jesus the perfecter has established the new covenant to mediate us with the Heavenly Father.  God is calling me to come to the Mount Zion.

[A] God desires for me to come to Mount Zion where God of the living resides.  I can so easily focus (or distracted) on things that drain my energy but God is inviting me to a place where my energy is recharged to the fullest.  I want to hike up to this Mount Zion daily through a special appointment with God.

[P] Dear Father, I praise You for providing Mount Zion for me to draw closer to You in the midst of all sorts of busyness and distractions so that I would recharge my soul.  I commit to keep my appointment times with You so my soul may be refreshed and recharged daily.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Architect and Builder is God

[S] Hebrews 11:9-10 --
9  By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;10  for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

[O] Abraham's foundation for his life was based on faith in God.  He was able to pioneer into uncharted territory not because he trusted in his own abilities and knowledge but rather because he trusted God's calling for his life to take part in His plans.  How Abraham searched for the city architected and built by God inspired me very much today because that should be my own perspective whenever I make plans for my life.  Finding God-architected city is not about the physical structure but the infrastructure of how the people's hearts are connected.

[A] I need to find God-architected and built: city I live in, schools my children attend, clubs I join, church I belong to, workplace I find, and investments I make so that I would venture into these areas based on faith in God rather than simply using my own education and experiences.

[P] Dear Father, make me a pioneer like Abraham, who ventures into uncharted territory solely based on faith in You alone.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Stimulating Assembly

[S] Hebrews 10:24-25 --

25  not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. 

24  and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

[O] There is no Lone Ranger Christians because it was designed to be done as a group in accord with one Spirit of God.  There is neither Super Star Christians because once again God desires us to work together in balance of each other relying on the Spirit to coordinate all of us.  This passage encourages us to meet together and uplift and stimulate one another.  Stimulation does not come by accident but through intentional actions.  So, gathering together as a single body of Christ is important but if done without any purpose or intentions then there is less chance of stimulating one another to love and do good deeds -- i.e., actions.

[A] I fall so easily into the trap of gathering for the sake of gathering but lacking the purposeful agenda and outcome of specific action items.  The meetings with others should result in some tangible stimulating actions and this requires prayer for one another before meeting.

[P] Dear Father, may I be a positive influencer to those around me when we get together.  And may I be the catalyst of bringing others together so we may all encourage to carry out God's love and good deeds.  Wherever I  go may there be people motivated to draw closer to Jesus who is the primary motivator of our lives.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Mind and Heart Filled with Beauty

[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] I got into an abstract mood after reading this passage:  My mind is like a jar where God puts His laws with; and my heart is like a notepad where God writes His laws on.  This passage does not state this but I imagine how God desires to fill up that empty jar with His love such that a lovely fragrance will permeate out of it and to fill up that notepad with beautiful message of love written in His flowing letters.  All in all, this passage painted a wonderfully beautiful picture in my mind.

[A] When I open my mind, I want God's beauty released to those around me.  And when my heart is shared with others, that His message of love for all people be read by others.

[P] Dear Father, please continue to fill up my mind and my heart with Your beauty.  I praise You for giving me this beautiful picture through this passage.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Proclamation Against My Enemy

[S] Micah 7:8 --
8 Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy.
Though I fall I will rise;
Though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me.

[O] What a bold statement to claim here to the enemy.  The claim is not about not falling but will rise on every fall.  It's not about just being in the light all the time, but about how even though darkness may overcome, God who rests in the heart of the believe is the light despite the circumstances.

[A] Can I make such a bold claim based on my own relationship with Jesus?  I need to use this passage as my daily prayer to claim to my enemy that it isn't going to come easy for him to take me down because my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is what's going to sustain me regardless of how he tries to distract me or to bog me down.  I will claim this as my daily proclamation against all of my enemies.

[P] Dear Father, You are my God and my mighty strong tower.  You are my shepherd who will not let me go.  I claim that I will rise again and again and to keep you as the unquenchable fire in me to light my path.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Hope is Not Just Positive Thinking

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

[O] The message of hope is defined as how Jesus had lead us into the veil as the forerunner because before then there was a clear separation between God and us since our fall at the Garden of Eden.  At times I think of hope as thinking positively about the future but that is merely based on my own subjective outlook and has no solid basis.  God's hope for us is based on a tangible event at the Cross.

[A] This world is only going to be turbulent every which way I look or live, and so I need to anchor my soul on a solid rock which will not shake loose.  That should be the hope that I hold on to which is solely based on Jesus' sacrifice for me.

[P] Dear Father, I praise You for giving me the total hope I can anchor my soul into.  I praise You for uplifting my soul through this reminder. In Jesus' name.  Amen.

It's Harder to Sin, Actually

[S] Hosea 13:2 --
2 And now they sin more and more,
And make for themselves molten images,
Idols skillfully made from their silver,
All of them the work of craftsmen.
They say of them, "Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!"

[O] There is a saying that no one needs to be taught how to sin (as in little child capable of lying on his own) but in order to keep sinning it requires more energy than worshiping and obeying God because I believe it's the enemy's trick to divert our energy in vain things away from following God by feeding our desires to working harder and harder to achieve higher and higher goals and yet without any grace.  As seen in this passage, the people made idols skillfully by professional craftsmen.  This was no amateur-ish job but products requiring a lot of time and effort, just so they can give sacrifice and kiss these very-well-made objects more for their self satisfaction.

[A] I need to slip into the presence of God's grace more and more -- not to get lazy in His grace -- in gratitude and thanksgiving, praising His saving grace for me.  The first portion (tithing) of my energy needs to be directed at doing this rather than trying to "skillfully" make my worship "craftier" because in the end that will direct my focus at what I "did" rather than what He's "done" for me.

[P] Dear Jesus, I come to the foot of the Cross You bore as the symbol for me to enter into the presence of Your grace.  May my heart throughout today be lifted up by being contained in such a presence radiating Your peace and wonderful grace.  In Your name.  Amen.

Strength of My Failing Heart

[S] Psalm 73:25-26 --
25 Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

[O] No one enjoys failing and when it comes to ones own flesh and heart, failure is to be avoided for certain.  However if it were to happen, would there be anything to hold onto?  The writer of this passage assuredly says God is the strength of his failing heart forever.  It's not an easy thing to say unless one really believes this from the bottom of one's heart.

[A] If things were to fail, would I be clinging onto God's strength?  I'd like to say yet but I will never know, so I need to do all I can to make sure that happens by anchoring my heart into God's hope and strength displayed throughout the Bible.

[P] Dear Father, You are indeed my strength and portion, but when the going gets rough will I still be confessing it?  I sure hope so and I sure hope I hide myself in Your amazing grace in order for me to recite the same thing this author wrote.  Please let Your grace permeate through my life now and forever.  In Your name.  Amen.

Not a Man is Left

[S] Hosea 9:12 --
12 Though 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] What God speaks through Hosea is pretty stern and fearful because He outlines the consequence of not following His ways.  Even though at first things may look ok, the end result is pretty clear about how desolate it will become.  At the end of the day, we as humans adore our own offsprings but God makes it clear that no matter how we adore them they will all be gone when God leaves them.  This is no joke.

[A] It is very difficult to parent my children because I get so caught up in trying to raise them what I see best instead of what God would see.  It is true that there is a fine line between where my desires end and where I, as a parent put here by God, carry out my responsibilities but I need to draw a tremendous wisdom from His word in order to define that line and not be on the wrong side at wrong times.

[P] Dear Father, may Your wisdom fill my heart to raise my children so that they'd be pleasing You and not me, per se.  Allow me to take each day soaking in Your word so I would not miss the cues that You send my ways.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Ticket to Seeing God's Face

[S] Hosea 5:15 --
15 I will go away and return to My place
Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.

[O] God awaits our confession of our status and seek Him earnestly as if a drowning person grasping for the lifeline.  Until that happens we have no choice but to wander and fall away from His presence, not because we actively choose to but because we fall into the whirlwind of the world void of God's presence which will sweep us far away from God.  During this time, we may feel like God is hiding away from us but as stated in this passage, He will return to His place and wait until we recognize of our guilt and begin to seek His face earnestly.

[A] I can get so used to living out a Christian life, I can easily fall into the mode of thinking I'm doing good enough.  I need to not excuse myself from seeking His face earnestly every day and that involves taking a breaking during the busyness of the workplace to lift up a prayer to God to seek His face.

[P] Dear Father, thank You for giving me the ticket to meeting You face to face -- my earnest prayer.  May I not take this for granted but use it often throughout the day?  Please let Your Spirit remind me and may my heart respond to the reminders.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

King at Age Sixteen

[S] 2 Kings 15:2 --
2  He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.

[O] Azariah, the king of Judah started his reign at the age of sixteen for next fifty-two years.  I am assuming that he needed a lot of help from advisers surrounding him because in his teenage years he probably was not equipped to rule a nation.  His mother's name, Jecoliah, was recorded here also perhaps because she was instrumental in Azariah's kingship to guide him to lead the nation in godly ways.  One of the lost art in today's society is leaning on older generations wisdom and experiences to lead godly lives.  It seems we're so focused on my own generation with the thought of "I can do it better."

[A] I need to devote more time and efforts in cultivating the relationships I have with older mature Christians in my life so I would learn from their wisdom and experiences of living a life pleasing to God.

[P] Dear Father, thank You for putting these elder, mature believers in Christ in my life right here.  I've been so busy doing my own thing I did not nurture those relationship further and would like to spend more time with them to hear what You will speak through them for my life.  Please let Your Spirit lead these relationships.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Refresher of Hearts

[S] Philemon 1:7 --
7  For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

[O] Paul and Timothy exhorts Philemon for his presence in their lives and how it has become the source of joy and comfort as well as how Philemon has refreshed many saints hearts.  This seems to cut to the chase about my existence as a follower of Christ -- being the source of refreshing to other saints.  If I miss this then, I may be missing the whole purpose.  What a powerful statement especially coming from Paul himself, too.

[A] Prayer for other believers and co-laborers in Christ so my life and love for them would refresh their hearts.

[P] Dear Father, thank You for giving me the capacity to love others and as I do that please use my efforts to refresh the hearts of other warriors in Christ as we're busily working away in the trenches.  In Jesus' name.  Amen

In the Beginning was a Streaming Server

[S] Isaiah 2:2 --
2 Now it will come about that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.

[O] Here is a grand picture of how God will establish Himself at the top of the mountain, raised up above all and all the nations (or people) will worship Him.  The key word here, stream, is quite interesting and this may not be a spiritual awakening but the fact that God already used streaming server is quite amazing.  Just like how we watch the video streaming from YouTube and alike, God will be at the center of all of our streaming needs above all else and that's something to praise Him about.

[A] I can get so bogged down with so much going on, and significant portion of it about carrying out His ministry by trying to care for other, etc., that I lose sight of how awesome God is and how I need to stream to His excellency.  I must start and end my days by worshiping His awesomeness despite how my day goes.

[P] Dear Father, may You receive my meager praise and worship because You deserver all I got and then some.  May my soul stream to the chief of the mountains where You preside.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.