Repairer and Restorer

[S] Isaiah 58:12 --
12"Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.

[O] God gives second chances to me and I should also carry on that same spirit of rebuilding broken lives starting with my own.  I need to raise up the age-old foundations to repair and restore them in the image of God.

[A] I need to make the foundation of my life to carry out the spirit of God, one of which is the spirit of restoration in the midst of brokenness.  He has mended and restored my broken life (in many ways still broken but He's not done with me) and that's what I need to pass on to others around me.  God has been nudging my heart to begin such a ministry to those near my life.  I need to seek His guidance for clarity and for like-minded co-workers to carry that out.

[P] Dear Father, please show me the way clearly by sending those who has been dreaming the same dream.  Please allow me to repair and restore what has been breached in people's lives.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Sync Up My Thoughts

[S] Isaiah 55:8 --
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways," declares the Lord.

[O] Time to sync up with His thoughts and ways instead of doing things on my own.  In fact, searching for His thoughts and ways is a gradual process which I need to fine tune so that I won't fool myself of thinking my thoughts are His thoughts.

[A] God's ways are going to be different than my ways.  I need to remember that whenever I come up with my ways.  I am fearful that when I plan things I would leave out God's ways and take things into my own hands.  I really need to double check every decision I make.

[P] Dear Father, please shower upon this unworthy's life Your insight into Your ways and thoughts so that what I do will be nothing short of following after You.  Please let my own desires fade away from my thoughts.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Get Used to His Voice

[S] 2 Peter 1:20-21 --
20But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, 21for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 

[O] Need to clearly distinguish between my own interpretation and what is inspired by the Holy Spirit.  What is difficult about this is that in the end, it is still spoken through a person so whether a person was truly moved by the Holy Spirit or not it still can be subjective.  In my opinion, this is why connecting with God on daily basis to be moved by His Spirit in small matters is crucial in discerning what God speaks through the Holy Spirit.

[A] Be moved by the Spirit daily.  Experience His Spirit and get used to His voice.

[P] Dear Father, thank You for bringing me back to spend my devotionals with you on daily basis listening to Your voice.  I want to familiarize it more and more so that I will not miss a beat of walking this life on earth to serve Your will effectively.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Got Flock?

[S] 1 Peter 5:2 --
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;

[O] One cannot be a shepherd without any sheep.  God showed me how to shepherd others through Jesus Christ's example of His earthly ministry and wants me to follow that (just like how Jesus told Peter to tend His sheep).  I need to ask the question of who are in my flock?

[A] Got flock?  Before answering this question I must ask myself how I'm doing to gather this flock.  I need to be more intentional to gather them to care for them.

[P] Dear Father, please show me like-minded church planters to plant a church which models after this as the core -- 100% caring for others into God's flock.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Look Up Once in a While

[S] Isaiah 40:26 (NIV) --
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing. 

[O] In my business, I hardly have time to "smell the roses" around me.  This verse is a wonderful reminder that I should look up and see all the wonders made by God which holds this universe together.  Human science is finding one star at a time but God already named each of them and placed them around and not one of them will be missing.

[A] This may not be super spiritual thing to do, but I need to take breaks from my crazy schedules to see the wonderful works of God surrounding me and praise Him for sustaining the balance to hold earth in its place and to encapsulate it with the atmosphere containing oxygen we need to live on.  I should at least enjoy all that He's provided for me.

[P] Dear Father, I praise You for all the wonderful works surrounding me.  The warmth of sunlight, the rain that feed the soil which gives life to all vegetation which in turn feeds the creatures roaming the earth.  It is simply amazing to know all these are held by Your love.  Thank You God.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Live Such Good Lives

[S] 1 Peter 2:12 (NIV) --
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
[O] The ingress point is the return of Jesus Christ; that is when what we do will make a difference.  Until then we must endure all sorts of situations and accusations from the society we live in which is getting further away from God.  When the truth is revealed at the point of Jesus coming back to take us home, will the world glorify God because of what the believers have done, or treated them?  Let's hope so.

[A] Keep my eyes focused on the day of Jesus' return and do everything now for that moment.  Learn how to endure some of the unfair circumstances because in light of that moment, all things are insignificant.

[P] Dear Father, please allow me a big heart to absorb the noise along the way of see You come back here again to take us home.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Pass on the Purified Love

[S] 1Peter 1:22 (NIV) --
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.

[O] Before obedience I need to purify my heart because only then will I be able to sincerely love others.  Loving with God's love is not just doing good works for others but genuinely care for them from the bottom of my heart.  In order to do this, I must first receive God's supply of pure (purified) love for me daily.  Genuinely loving others is becoming a conduit of God's love, not fabricating my own "love" for them.

[A] Before I want to care for my family members a father, I must first plug myself into the source of love and purify the channel through which I receive His love from.  This is not easy especially when there are so much noise (pollution) around me.  I need to seek His wisdom in purifying my surroundings so God's love is channeled directly into my heart.

[P] Dear Father, please pump Your pure love into my heart so I may pass that on to others.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

To the Last Strand of My Strength

[S] 2 Kings 19:14 (NIV) --
Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.

[O] This letter most likely drained every strength he had in his body.  However, he mustered up his last strength and went up to the temple of the Lord and surrendered it before Him.  When I hit a crisis I am not sure if I would first go up to the temple of God and surrender my circumstances or not.  Even though Hezekiah may have felt like he was total loser, he still hung on to the promise of God.

[A] When my life passes through crisis I still need to surrender my situation to God by spreading it out before Him.  I may feel like I could spend the last strand of strength to find a way out of that situation but God wants me to use that last breath to spread my situation before Him because He is in full control despite where I may be passing through.

[P] Dear Father, Your name is above all things and that's the truth I should never neglect or forget.  May Your trust always shine through my life as I surrender my desperate situations before You in humbleness.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Insignificant Portion of Infinity

[S] James 4:14,15 (NIV) --
Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

[O] In some ways this verse is discouraging because my life is just a mist in the timeline of infinity.  So, what does it matter how I live my life?  Is it going to have an impact in the course of eternity?  But verse 15 explains that is the wrong question to ask because how I live my life here on earth will not change God's ultimate plan but how I will spend the eternity in relation to God is going be impacted by how intimately I spend my life here.

[A] I need to start each day by seeking what God's will is for my life through a consistent devotional time with God in the Word.  I've been lazy to actually write down the journaling lately after reading the passages but I need to get back into that.  This means re-arranging my daily schedule to setting aside that time of appointment with Jesus as a highest priority and make it happen daily.

[P] Dear Father, forgive my laziness to take the easy way out of keeping my relationship with you.  I will re-align my 24 hours you've graciously provided for me so I will start out with a standup meeting with you to hear your instructions for my day.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.