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.

Jealous for His Name

[S] Ezekiel 39:25,29 --
 ²⁵Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name. 
 ²⁹"I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel," declares the Lord GOD. 

[O] God is jealous for His holy name and for the sake of His name, He is going to restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on them as well.  He will also pour out His Spirit on the house of Israel.  The promise of God to the house of Israel was kept once again and God is quite serious about guarding His holy reputation.  This is not about His marketing plans but how His character itself does not allow anything less than that.

[A] How serious am I about guarding my own reputation as an ambassador of God?  I face a lot of different situations at workplace and there's a constant struggle between trying to make myself look good to others there vs. trying to make God look good.  What is the best way to do this when someone at work makes a negative comment about how some Christians are so dogmatic and condemns the "lost" people with pity?  It's not about getting into a discussion or argument but making God look good, right?  Need to keep seeking His wisdom.

[P] Dear God, may Your name continuously be holy and may my life continue to lift Your name up high so others will see how holy You are and that becoming a Christian is solely based on their own encounter with You and it's not about what others say or do (or don't do).  Please shine Your love through my life at my workplace.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Covenant Written On My Heart

[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] The covenant God makes with the house of Israel is the ones that are permanently embedded into their minds and hearts first.  Unlike most of the contracts we make today with a whole bunch of conditional clauses, God's covenant is foremost targeted toward our minds and hearts such that we will be His people, acknowledging that He is our God.  So this is something much beyond a written contract because it is written on our hearts to establish such a covenant relationship with God.  He desires for me to call Him my God while submitting myself under His authority.

[A] One of the ways for me to gauge how well I am doing in this department of keeping the covenant God written on my heart is to ask the question of how hard I'm working to achieve my ministry goals because if my answer is yes, that indicates I am not acknowledging God of Heaven as my God and forgetting that I am part of His people.  Deep inside, I must first catch His peace of doing His ministry.  Once I sustain my right attitude, then yes I will strive for the highest excellence, but in the end I know God is the one who will achieve my ministry goals (which originated from Him in the first place).

[P] Dear God, You are my God, and I'm Your people.  May this covenant be alive in all I do for You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Water Used in Two Different Ways

[S] Genesis 9:13-15 --

 ¹³I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.
 ¹⁴"It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud,
 ¹⁵and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.

[O] I was bad at chemistry in high school but this morning, I got into the mood of chemistry as I was reading this passage because God referred to H₂O for the flood as well as the rainbow.  The flood part is easy because it was the water that flooded the earth, but if you think about the rainbow it's the water molecules in the cloud that is reflecting the light.  In both instances the H₂O covered the earth but in the former case, the water contained the "sin" of this world as it was washing it away.  It did not reflect any part of God other than His wrath.  In the latter case, when the cloud covered the earth (v. 14) God's light reflected into beautiful rainbow colors and thus it signified His covenant with us.  When only our images are reflected, it leads to destruction.  When God's image is reflected, it leads to a beautiful covenant with Him.

[A] Be one of the water molecules that reflect God's beautiful spectrum of light.

[P] Dear God, use me as one of the water molecules to reflect the rainbow to the people around me.  Make Your covenant known to those around my life.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Be Cleansed from Dead Works

[S] Hebrews 9:12-14 --

¹²and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh,

¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

[O] God's covenant required blood to be shed in order for forgiveness to take place and so many animals were sacrificed to atone for the sin the flesh committed. However once Jesus came to earth and shed His own blood as the once-for-all sacrifice in our place we no longer have to keep sacrificing animals; instead we just have to be covered under that sacrifice which applies to my life eternally. As in verse 14, the outcome of this covering is serving the living God with living works. I notice in my own life that when my brain loses a strong grip in this graceful offering from God, my life becomes trapped deeper and deeper into the staleness of my own "greatness" which really is nothing close being great at all.

[A] God has led me to take part in a ministry at my church. Based on this covering of Jesus' own sacrifice, I need to be intentional about producing the "living works" of God. This can be easily seen by the fruitfulness of the ministry where there is joy, happiness, and spiritual growth in people's lives.

[P] Thank You, God for sending Your own Son Jesus Christ to shed His own blood for my own inaequacies once and for all. May my life reflect the true value of this wonderful offering for me. In Jesus' Christ name I pray. Amen.

Not By Numbers, but By Covenant

[S] Deuteronomy 7:7-9 --
⁷ The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. ⁸ But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

[O] I always look for bargain deals on almost everything and that's why Costco is one of my favorite shopping places (so it used to be more of a warehouse, bulk-rate place than it is today) as much as finding a charter flight rates for traveling.  But am I glad God does not operate with the same mindset because I would never make His list on my own.  This passage states that it's the love of God, nothing of what I do or which group I belong to draws me close to Him.  He keeps His covenant of love to me.  This is a great comfort!

[A] I need to stop applying the rules of this world -- how volume, power, strength, money, etc. makes a big difference.  In God's domain, His love for us is the only thing that makes a difference.

[P] Thank You, for your Love for me by keeping Your promises not depending on my performance.  I want to grow deeper in You to understand that deep Love and I want to pass that on to others.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.