Love Based on Conviction, not Condition

[S] John 2:24-25 --
24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men,25 and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.

[O] How Jesus knows our hearts so well and that's why He did not entrust Himself to men until He has accomplished God's will on earth by going to the Cross and be crucified.  He had to live out His purpose fully here without being dragged down by men's weakness.  What 's amazing is that even though He knew us so well (untrustworthy) He still went all the way to die for us.

[A] Love is a choice I make not dependent on circumstances or conditions just like how Jesus decided to come to this world to live a perfect life just to die for us fully knowing who we really are -- imperfect wretched beings.  My love for others should also be based on this same model of conviction rather than condition.

[P] Dear Jesus, may my heart be soaking up the principle of love from You.  I want to love others not based on condition but out of my conviction coming from Your role model.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Investment of Friendship

[S] John 1:11 --
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.

[O] What a bummer this would be when you come to your best friends (or even closer), they do not receive you.  It's like betrayal to the max isn't it?  So, from Jesus' end it's the betrayal (which He fully anticipated) but from the Israelites' perspective this was total ignorance and blindness.  The leaders who called themselves the most spiritual and wise were really blinded to recognize the true God Himself.

[A] Two takeaways: 1) Build intimate friendships so that we will always recognize and receive each other.  This takes a lot of time investments of building trust and intimacy.  So, I need to do better job of doing this with my close friends.  2) Continue to gain insights into God's heart by reading His word continuously and meditating on it for the Spirit to saturate my heart with His love and grace.

[P] Dear Father, I want to know You more and more so I will always recognize You and Your mighty workings around me.  Please let Your Spirit seal Your love in my heart always. In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Values that Won't Burn Up

[S]  2 Peter 3:10 --
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

[O] As seen with what wild fire can do to the beautiful homes when Jesus returns all of our values will burn up and will have no meanings.

[A] I need to pick and choose where I need to our my values in life especially when it comes to leading my family because I tend to focus on urgent things rather than the ones that will have a lasting effect.

[P] Dear God, may Your Spirit convict my heart with the highest priority values that I must retain and pass on to my children so that I won't be "wasting" my energy on the things that just have a very immediate needs. Please give me the eternal perspective.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Don't Be a Blind Watchman

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

[O] By definition, the watchmen are supposed to have keen vision and and quickly notify.  However the sinful leaders disobedient to God will lose that very ability making them ineffective to lead their people.  It also describes that they dream but does nothing about it an slumbers instead.

[A] In my leadership roles, I need to take this to heart -- need to have a keen vision to watch what is coming ahead and notify those I am leading, and to have dreams (visions) that will lead what I do.

[P] Dear Father, I want to have an obedient heart so that I will be alerted to be a great watchmen for those whom you entrusted me to lead.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Rocky Water

[S] Isaiah 48:21 (NIV) --
They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and water gushed out.

[O] The Rock who is Jesus Christ is the source for this eternal and living water to quench our drying souls to provide hope for the days we live here on earth.

[A] I can definitely sense my own soul drying up as years pass by and I need to remember again and again that my source of wellspring is my Jesus Christ who is my Rock.  He is the only one who will provide me the water that can hydrate my spirit.  Many times I disbelieve that water can gush out of a rock and try to find that oasis on my own but that is why I must go to the right Rock.

[P] Dear Jesus, may my life, especially as I grow older physically, never leave from You who is my Rock so that my spirit will be hydrated at all times by Your living water.  In Your name.  Amen.

Dig'em Now Cuz It's Coming

[S] 2 Kings 3:17
For thus says the Lord, 'You shall not see wind nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts.

Isaiah 41:18
"I will open rivers on the bare heights
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water
And the dry land fountains of water.

Isaiah 43:18-21
"Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
19 "Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
20 "The beasts of the field will glorify Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
21 "The people whom I formed for Myself
Will declare My praise.

Isaiah 44:3-4
3 'For I will pour out water on the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring
And My blessing on your descendants;
4 And they will spring up among the grass
Like poplars by streams of water.'

Isaiah 45:8
"Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it. I, the Lord, have created it.

[O] These verses all came in a single day's reading (except 2 Kings 3:17 which was last Sunday's sermon) with the theme of how God is starting new works (Isaiah 43:18-19) and that He will quench the dryness in and around us with the miraculous springs of water that only He can provide.  In fact, His abundance will not only cover the people but the beasts will benefit also.  Sunday's sermon was about how we just need to keep digging the trenches (carrying out the mundane routines daily, such as my devotional time with God).

[A] I've been praying to seek how God was moving in our church lately, especially with respect to a couple of recent developments.  And He opened this flood gates of His word to me to let me know that He is starting something new which will go beyond any of our imaginations.  However this does mean that we need to work hard in digging the trenches so that when the springs of water gushes down, we will direct and distribute them to those in need (which is all of us).  For me, digging trenches means higher quality of prayer and devotional times.  I gotta prepare the way for His new and wondrous works.

[P] Dear Father, thank You for the providing me the vision and the blueprint to join what You're about to do in our midst.  I'm so excited to be the witness of that but I also request that my weaknesses that the enemy will try to lure me into laziness be plugged up by Your indwelling Spirit's workings as I desperately ask in Jesus' name.  Amen.

Not Playing at Their Levels

[S] 1 Peter 2:15 (NIV) -- For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.

[O] Natural way to fight against foolish people is to to ignore them or be just like one of them.  However God's way is to not give in to the others ways but to stay in paths of righteous.  Continuously doing good to those who are ignorant is not an easy act to follow but that's the way God desires for His followers to follow.

[A] Doing Good when things are tough can be a true test of my trust in God.  I must trust that doing good despite the circumstances is the path God teaches me to take. I realize that there are some difficult people in my life so this wisdom is something I need to treasure in my heart all the time.

[P] Dear Father, please continue to infuse in me these wonderful traits so that my heart will be overflowing with Your foundational principles.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

The Wounded Healer

[S] 1 Peter 2:24 --
and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

[O] What comes packaged with my life is the need of healing whether it's a small cut on my finger to deep emotional hurts.  In some ways, the physical healing is very limited to the life we live here on earth but spiritual and emotional headings are more eternal.  In light of this, Jesus provided the greater healing for me.  He bore the wounds so that I may gain this eternal healing in my soul.  This does not mean physical condition is not important, but to me even these, Jesus' wounds will bring healing as well when we believe in His amazing life of giving all kinds of healing to the people who followed Him.

[A] As our family is still bearing through the crisis of a health condition, this verse ministered to me with a fresh wind as I picture the road Jesus took which to free us from the eternal bondage.  If He died for my spiritual soul, why would He not be able to heal us physically also within His plans.  So, I will not deter from pursuing anything else but His wounds He bore on the cross for me and my family.

[P] Dear Father, Your amazing love just won me over again today through this passage.  Please continue to fan the flame of Your love in me so I may live for You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Preparing for Success

[S] 2 Chronicles 32:30 --
30 It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook.

[O] I'm jealous of being successful in everything he undertook.  What a feeling that must have been for Hezekiah to be in such a position and yet his pride got in the way.  I want to be successful in all that I do but more than that I need to desire humility in God and protect my heart not to be prideful because when God blesses me to be successful I sure don't want to be like Hezekiah.

[A] I need to surrender my grumbling heart of not having everything my way.  Even though I know God is in control and will provide best for me, when things don't go my ways I feel like a loser.  I need to make sure I understand that it's not whether I'm successful or not but whether I am working on my humility first.

[P] Dear Father, please make my heart humble so I would be prepared to received Your blessings in my life to be like Hezekiah who would be successful in everything that I undertake.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Fear Of or Having Fear

[S] Isaiah 33:6 --
6 And He will be the stability of your times,
A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge;
The fear of the LORD is his treasure.

[O] Whatever comes to mind very first after waking up from sleep in the morning is most likely what I fear the most.  Why?  Because as I begin a new day, I want to overcome any obstacles getting in the way and so I would think about how I may plan my day around them.  How to schedule so many activities, manage so much tasks at work (knowing that I won't get through all of them), etc.  In light of this, if I turn my eyes toward God first, then I am actually turning to Him who is greater than any obstacles I will ever face and my fear of the Lord is actually positioned in the right priority.

[A] This fear of the Lord is not because I am scared of Him, but out of respect and honor that I fear Him before any other.  It is the awesomeness of His presence that just brings me to my knees to worship Him.  I want to worship Him just like that throughout the day.  And starting the day with a time with God will be essential in making that happen.

[P] Dear Father, instead of seeking my own ways of stability, may I first seek to fear You from the moment I open my eyes in the morning until I go to sleep at night.  I want to bring out You and You alone in my life throughout the day.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

My Children to Reflect His Holiness

[S] Isaiah 29:23 --
But when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst,
They will sanctify My name;
Indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

(NLT)  For when they see their many children
and all the blessings I have given them,
they will recognize the holiness of the Holy One of Israel.

[O] Receiving God's blessings for my own life and for my generation is definitely a good thing.  However as I get older each year, which means closing in on my last days on earth, the hope of this verse gets highlighted even more.  The NLT version put a clearer picture in my mind about how when I see God's blessings in my children I will recognize His holiness (setting them apart from this world for His purpose).

[A] I am in awe of how God has been blessing my children, especially with Ensay's health conditions.  Tomorrow is another blood count and as I'm praying for His continual healing, I am fully recognizing by lifting up my hands in awe for His setting my children to do His great and wonderful works even after I have left this world.

[P] Dear Father, more than simply asking for protection and healing in our lives, I am praying that You would sanctify our children and their future so they would be in the middle of Your holiness as I ask in Your name.  Amen.

Love the New Stuff

[S] Hebrews 8:13 --
13 When He said, "A new covenant, " He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

[O] We like new things -- cars, gadgets, shoes, clothes, etc.  But when it comes to God's new covenant, we dearly hold on to the old thing of living by the sets of rules and regulations.  Let go of the old things and seek for the new covenant God provides for me right now in Jesus' victory.

[A] Every morning, pray for God's leadership in my life so the new covenant will be lived out and touch someone else with it also.

[P] Dear Father, I want that new covenant and not want to have any part of the old covenant.  I want to learn to live by the new covenant from Jesus and that my life will have the forward-moving momentum in Him.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Stop Re-Inventing the Wheel

[S] Romans 6:1 --
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

[O] Jesus had already done it all.  Why re-invent the wheel again?  Just accept His provision and live in His plans for us.

[A] Why is that I give my utmost best to grow and mature in everything else but when it comes to spiritually maturing in Christ, I take my time?  One of the insight from this passage is because I try to re-invent the path Jesus had already paved for me to attain that by accepting the fact that He had done it (and I don't have to re-do it again).  When I try to do it (again), I make it a chore and I tend to get lazy at doing them.  I need to meditate more on what it means for me to slip into all that Jesus had accomplished for my spiritual maturity.

[P] Dear Jesus, please come and fill this heart of mine so I will not try to re-do everything You already done.  Instead, teach me to enter into the presence of Your amazing and perfect works for me so that I may mature in You every day.  In Your name.  Amen.

Blossom Out of Shadow

[S] Hosea 14:7 --
Those who live in his shadow Will again raise grain, And they will blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

[O] I cannot avoid passing through the shadows of my life.  But God's promise of raising those in the shadow is very encouraging and refreshing.  Not only he will raise up but will produce much fruit out of such a shadow.

[A] Every time I feel like I'm in the dark, I want to turn to this verse to know that God will raise me up again.

[P] Dear Father, I want to grip that hope of salvation out of my dark moments.  Please continue to fill this heart with Your hope.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Blindness from Self Pity

[S] Hosea 7:14 --
14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail on their beds.
They slash themselves, appealing to their gods for grain and new wine, but they turn away from me.

[O] When (not if) we fall short we are saddened and tend to bring some comfort through self pity as well as to find a greater authority to seek help (or grumble against).  What's done is done and life must move on but being too deeply engaged in self pity will blind my soul to just keep wailing and not cry out to our God of this universe subsequently turning to other idols of this world grasping for some comfort and hope.

[A] There is a significant difference between being remorseful and being repentant before God for my own failures and shortcomings.  The former will be like drinking sea water because it will only dry me up more while the latter where I'd be like drinking from a fresh wellspring of water to quench the dryness of my soul.  As I face many (more) mistakes of my life, I must cry out to God for His extension of grace as mentioned in  Hosea 6:6 (NIV).

[P] Dear God of this universe, I want to turn to You especially during the times of my failures.  May my heart be lifted up by Your saving grace every time I turn to You and may my cry turn into joy of Your great salvation.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

My Contribution to this Society

[S] Hosea 4:14 --

14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot
Or your brides when they commit adultery,
For the men themselves go apart with harlots
And offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes;
So the people without understanding are ruined.


[O] This is a very convicting verse because while I may be judgmental about the issues around me I may actually be indirectly condoning them.  According to this verse if the men kept their integrity and behaved appropriately then there won't be any harlots.

[A] If I keep myself devoted to following God's ways, then I will be helping to remove issues in my society by removing  one less influence factor of adding fuel to the fire.  My sinful nature can only help spread the poison.

[P] Dear God, please make my heart purified to pursue after Your own standards so that I would contribute to making this society a better one.  I want to understand more of Your wonderful heart to live out the life of wellspring touching others live with Your light.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

A Personal Creator of this World

[S] Hebrews 1:2 --
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.

[O] Jesus made this world I live in and He is so personal that He wants to speak to me.  The scene of Jesus finding His disciple Peter after the resurrection to personally talk to him to affirm and re-affirm the love between them.  In many ways, His talking to me personally now is like that.  I've already messed up big time and still doing a fine job of doing that and yet Jesus pursues me personally to share with me the wisdom of living in this world.

[A] I need to tap into this wonderful resource that Jesus Himself offers to me to guide me how to live in this world.  I have to stop giving excuses about being too busy.

[P] Dear Jesus, please continue to shower me with Your wisdom to live this world as wise as I can putting total trust in You.  In your name I ask. Amen.

Chained Forever

[S] Philemon 1:10,23-24 (NIV) --
that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains.
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.


[O] These people listed here by Paul have one thing in common and that bonded them as intimate friends for life.  They were all chained (in prison) together for their faith in Christ Jesus.  The focus is not the imprisonment but that they were one in heart to face any difficulty in order to cling on to Jesus in their hearts.

[A] What is my pain threshold in life?  Am I willing to stand up for Jesus even to this level of "pain"?  My mind is so trained to avoid pain, my walk with Jesus can easily take on the mentality of smooth sailing.  I should not go looking to put myself through pain but I should partner up with others who are unafraid to stand up beyond our boundaries of comfort.  They will last forever.

[P] Dear Jesus, thank You for placing wonderful partners in Christ in my life.  I want to be like Paul where he had cultivated this and of brothers who were unafraid to go through the tough times just for the sake of Christ's name and what He lived & died for.  Please send a band of brothers/sisters who will lock arms together to have big dreams to live for while on this earth.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

One With the Most Toys Stand Alone

[S] Isaiah 5:8,10 (NIV)  --
Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land.
A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine; a homer of seed will yield only an ephah of grain."

[O] What's sad about this picture is how rich these people are materially and yet so bankrupt and dry their souls are.  On the outside the spacious land filled with houses and grape vines seem so rich and abundant but under hood is nothing but emptiness (nothing).

[A] As you may have heard, God is in the business of making something out of nothing; yet I am so great at making nothing out of something.  So, I must keep my eyes on God's principles and follow it closely if I want my and my family members' lives to be fruitful spiritually.  I hear about so many "ways" and programs to achieve this but I must realize the only way is to follow His ways.  I sure don't want to be alone after pursuing all of these paths thinking that I would end up with much.

[P] Dear Father, I want to pursue Your ways in every aspects of my life in order that I would produce the fruits You intended for my life to bear -- abundantly.  Please continue to prune my life and nurture it with Your word daily so I would draw closer to You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.