Tabernacle of God is Among Us

[S] Revelations 21:3-4 --
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

[O] The tabernacle of God from the Old Testament days is still here in the midst of the people.  Back then it was the physical structure but now it's the presence of God in our hearts so that we may call Him our God.  He will care for us and when He returns there will be no longer any reasons to cry or die.  It will be new world for us to live and enjoy God's presence in.

[A] We we end this year of 2011, this vision from God through John is the hope I can cling on to through another year of 2012.  There are lots of challenges we faced this year and no doubt I will face more in the upcoming year, however, knowing that God's tabernacle will remain with me to dwell in me is a huge encouragement for me to look forward to 2012.

[P] Dear Father, thank You for being with me closely in 2011 and also the promise of Your doing that in 2012 is really the only hope and strength I can claim.  I will do many things in the New Year, but may I not do them with my own intellect and strength but to rely on You at all times through my prayer and devotions in Your word daily.  May Your light shine through this broken life of mine.  In Jesus' name. Amen.

Keep Your Clothes Until the End

[S] Revelations 16:15 --
15 ("Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.")

[O] The book of Revelations has many images and explanations difficult to grasp but one thing for sure is that Christ is returning and when He comes the world we live in will be in order according to His will.  We do not know when He is coming and yet we need to be alert and be prepared to receive Him when that time comes.  To me, the "clothes" in this passage means my faith and spiritual dignity which at times I feel like abandoning because they all seem unnecessary in my day-to-day living dealing with all sorts of factors (too many to handle it seems).

[A] Passages like these bring out the deepest aspects of being a follower of Christ because it requires endurance, patience, and hope to wait for that unknown moment of His returning to take us home.  I want to be ready at that moment and run this race strong and firm every day.

[P] Dear Jesus, I long for the moment of Your coming back and give me strength and reminders like these to hold on to the faith You desire for me to cling on to.  As this year ends and look forward to the upcoming new year, may my faith continue to grow through ups and downs of my life.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Christ Came in the Flesh

[S] 2 John 1:7 --
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

[O] This passage seems very appropriate for Christmas -- the coming of Jesus in human form of a little and helpless baby to do God's ultimate will to save us.  In the busy-ness of this season this core message can easily be lost in the shuffle of all things.  In fact, when we look around we see less and less of the word "Christmas" mentioned during this season which points back to this passage again about how the works of the deceiver is at its height (and climbing).

[A] This thought of the the antichrist roaming the earth deceiving more and more people's hearts to believe that we don't need God (Jesus) is alarming and as I look into 2012, I want to keep my personal appointments with Jesus every day to hear the real truth to have it settle into the deepest parts of my heart such that I won't be persuaded by the deceptions of this world and to further fight the battle with like-minded Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

[P] Dear Jesus, thank You for coming in the form of a helpless little baby in order to relate to us to convey the truth of God's amazing love to us while you didn't have to do all that.  It is that love I will cherish and draw closer to You even more.  Happy Birthday to You!  In Your name.  Amen.

No Minimum Requirement

[S] John 15:2 --
Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

[O] After carrying out certain actions for some time it is so easy to forget about the purpose that was set forth in the first place. Living out my Christ-following life often falls into this mode for me and Jesus' proverb reminds once again the ultimate purpose is to bear much fruit which God is pleased with.  In fact, short of bearing Godly fruits, I am bound to bear fruits which pleases our enemy.  From what Jesus goes on to say, there is no minimum requirement in bearing God's fruits because no matter the quantity or quality, He will increase it by taking care of me (pruning) -- I just have to get it going.

[A] So many times, I get swept up in the whirlwind of task management, I lose focus of why I'm doing everything and bearing God's fruit falls to the bottom of the list.  I need not be too concerned about the "project management" but be more intentional about spending my energy to produce His fruits.

[P] Dear Jesus, as I abide in You more and more through my personal time with You, please instill in me a focused mind to bear much fruit for You rather than spending all my energy on non-essential things which seem important and yet only temporal.  In Jesus' name.  Amen

Beautiful Trinity Gospel

[S] 1 Peter 1:2 –

2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.

[O] I see a beautiful harmony of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit in this passage.  My heavenly Father who according to His original master plan continues to pursue after me – who by the way keeps on wandering away from His plans -- by initially sacrificing His Son so His blood is used as the covering of my stupidity and then perpetually works in my life through His Spirit in order to sanctify my life while living in this world.  This is the wonderful message of the gospel.

[A] As the Christmas is nearing not only I should be meditating more on the meaning of Jesus’ coming to this world in order to carry out the above plan, I also need to manage my mind so I am not sucked into the whirlwind of busy-ness with a ton of activities during this time of the year.  I will thank my God the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit every day so that my spirit will not lose focus of the meaning of this season.

[P] Dear Jesus, Your coming into this world as a meager man just to pave the pathway for me to return to God is the key for my life’s meaning.  May my life display that and overflow into other people’s lives around me.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Un-Shrinking Act

[S] Hebrews 10:39 --
39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.

[O] Every so often I get stuck in a dead-end street and feel like all I can do is to shrink back and hide from everything but this passage reminds me that I belong to a group of people who live by faith to preserving of the soul not withstanding any obstacles in the way (not because I am so powerful, but because of my faith in the one who is bigger than anything that stay in my way).  The concept of shrinking back vs. going out without any hesitation refreshes my soul.

[A] Whenever I hit that dead-end street, I need to turn to this verse and un-shrink and bounce forward in God's glorious strength working in me.

[P] Dear Father, thank You for promising me to be the one bouncing forward in Your name.  I want to trust in You and to grasp that promise whenever I tend to shrink up.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Honor from God

[S] Hebrews 5:4 --
4 And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.

[O] I once read a book titled, Disciples are Make, Not Born because of the catchy title and this passage reminded me of that book because just like how disciples are made through a process of character building, honor is also something that takes time to earn and given by others.  At times, honor is confused with popularity because both is recognized by others, however, the honor begins with God's calling.

[A] Aaron was called by God into the position of leading His people and they honored him as God's priest.  In my life's purpose, I need to take a moment and think about where I stand before God; where He has called me into His service in honor of His name.  This does not mean I have to be like Aaron, but more of a conviction of knowing where God has called me to serve Him.

[P] Dear Father, show me the way for me to serve You with the maximum output from my life You instilled in me.  May it be with honor for Your name's sake as I ask in Jesus' name.  Amen.

The Secret is Out

[S] Romans 16:26 --
but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;

[O] This secret has been made public now do all to attain this faith in God through the amazing sacrifice of Jesus. However this world struggles to grasp on to this truth. In fact, it seems to abhor such a wonderful news. To me this is a simple proof of how hard our enemy is working to confuse us on order not to accept God's gift to us.

[A] Don't give up. Keep on passing the good news. Let God be lifted up.

[P] Dear God, may this wonderful secret unlocked be known by more and more people. May the come to knowing You as their King.

Restoring Honor and Dignity

[S] Romans 12:10 --
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;

[O] Brotherly love is so critical in this society in or out of Christian community because that is the glue which holds us together.  When we lack the brotherly love, then it will lead to everyone looking out for themselves only and the community cannot be established.  Brotherly love begins by giving each other preference in honor.  I feel that the honor and dignity is a lost art these days and hope that the believers would set good examples of restoring that art.

[A] In 2012, prayerfully work towards having more and more Brothers and Sisters in Christ in our small groups to give preference to one another in honor.

[P] Dear Father, please let our church community overflow with brotherly love for one another as we continue to devote ourselves to Your word in 2012.  May Your Spirit shower upon us and lead us into restoring honor and dignity in the midst of us.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.