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.

In the meanwhile of crisis

[S] Genesis 37:36 --
Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh's officer, the captain of the bodyguard.

[O] What a tragic scene for Joseph and some of his brothers with tension even among them after Joseph was sold.  While they were scheming how to cover up their sins, God was still at work in the "meanwhile" in Joseph's life.

[A] I want to take this one from Joseph's perspective who found himself right in the middle of a major crisis quite against the "dream" he received from God.  I am sure his mind was full of fear, questions, and simple unbelief of what just happened.  He wanted to wake up from his dream.  Along the time of being transported to Egypt, and then going through the auctioning process to be sold to Potiphar's home, he must have lost all of his hopes and dreams.  In the meanwhile, God was placing Joseph into the path that will mold him as the man He wanted to use.  Wouldn't be great if we could see what is up to during the meanwhile of our crises?

[P] Dear Father, thank You for not forgetting about me even through the darkest moments of my life.  I trust in You to mold me to be the person who will be used by You to carry out Your will. Please continue to fill my heart with Your hope and strength.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Fruitfulness 24x7

[S] Jeremiah 17:8 --
8 "For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.

[O] This tree will yield its fruit at all time despite the environment changes (fertile or drought).  The reason is because its roots are firmly planted into the stream.  It is not fearful about the harsh conditions it faces, either -- unshakable.

[A] Life has many challenges and they always come at the worst times, so it seems.  The wisdom in life for a Christ follower is not to wish for a trouble-free life but to be prepared for those challenges I must face and in order to do that, I must lay my spiritual roots deeply into God's word where I not only draw the strengths, but also to anchor my life into the bedrock of God's unshakable foundation.  The sure sign of such a person is the 24x7 fruitfulness despite the challenges that come in life.

[P] Dear Father, forgive me for not taking Your word seriously as the foundation of my life.  May I work on laying my roots deeply into Your truth on daily basis.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

When God is Late to Our Appointment

[S] 1 Samuel 13:8-10 --
8 Now he waited seven days, according to the appointed time set by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, "Bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings." And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. 

[O] Saul did wait until the promised time expired and then he took his own actions.  So his original intention wasn't to defy God or to disregard Samuel, but his actions resulted in disobedience because he did not hold on to his faith to wait until Samuel (or God) showed up.  Also notice how Samuel just showed up as soon as Saul committed his act of disobedience.  Why couldn't he have shown up a little sooner?

[A] Since I am generous I may give some lenient amount of time after our "appointed" time of meeting, so if God does not show up until some generous amount of time, I am no different than Saul because since I won't know how much longer to wait I would have to take the Plan B option.  But when God makes an appointment with me, I need to realize that He may "seem" late in my own timetable but He is never late in His timing because His timing is all about increasing my faith in Him.  So I must not take matters into my own hands but to keep my hands open in surrender, until He shows up.

[P] Dear Father, You have been teaching and molding me lately (as You always had been doing) especially through some situations where I feel like You are late to our appointments and leaving me hanging.  I pray that I won't be like Saul but to wait it out with the faith You have allowed me to have in my heart.  In Jesus' name I ask.  Amen.

Serving Free For a Clear Cause

[S] 1 Corinthians 9:19 (ESV) --

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.


[O] Paul was clear on his objectives -- to win more souls for Christ.  He was willing to serve for free and become the servant to all if he was able to achieve this end-goal for Christ's sake.  This statement displays the complete transformation of Paul from before and after he had met Christ and his life turned around.

[A] As I claim that my life had turned around after meeting Christ, I am not as clear or bold as Paul is and this is one area God has been building me up.  I need to continue working in this area of winning more (or as many as I could) souls for Christ.

[P] Dear Jesus, forgive me for lacking in this area.  As we enter the Passion Week, I want to approach a family to come to East Service with us this Sunday.  Please allow me to serve them and invite them.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Floating Higher by the Spirit

[S] Galatians 5:18 --
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

[O] Just like a plane when it loses its thrust by default will fall to the ground, unless I am led by the Spirit, I will by default be led by the Law.  There is no in-between and I must figure out what my spiritual thrust is so that I will continue to "fly" by the Spirit.

[A] Recently, God's been leading me through His Spirit through my personal prayer times.  I need to balance this with my continued meditation and study of the Book of Genesis through BSF so that not only through my chatting time with God but He will uplift me as I gain the strength from His word.

[P] Dear Father, I want to defy the gravity of this world's law which is nothing more than trying to live on my own will power.  Please continue to shower down Your blessings as I spend my personal times with you.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Revelation Beyond Intellectual

[S] Galatians 1:12 --
For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

[O] Paul describes that the gospel that was preached to him was from God Himself because the revelation came from Jesus Christ directly (through the Holy Spirit).  It is not a teaching of another man even though God may have used others to send him the message, the actual revelation came from Jesus Christ.

[A] It is important the note here that the intellectual teaching itself is not enough to know the heart of our Father because it has to be revealed by Jesus Christ for me to fully understand the meaning which in turn should bring transformation causing a greater commitment toward God's vision.  As I study God's word I must not forget to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth and the heart of my Father to convict me.

[P] Dear Father, please continue to surround my heart with Your Spirit so that Your vision, purpose, and heart may be revealed in my heart to follow You each day without missing any mark.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Look Back and See Who's Got Your Back

[S] Deuteronomy 6:10-12 -- (boldface and font color added)
10 "Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, 12 then watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 

[O] The key operand here is "I don't deserve" what God blesses me with because none of them are what I earn for but instead are provided for me simply because I commit my heart set apart to follow God by remembering His message of love for me.  All these blessings are what this society is pursuing after (umm, including myself) on our own efforts, stomping each other to get ahead.  This passage is followed by the Ten Commandments.

[A] I took a moment of silence after reading this passage as I meditated on how awesomely great my God is for me.  I've been learning about "surrendering" who/what I am in order to be "lifted up" in His timing and ways and this passage hit home about how He's got my back for good.  I must continue to surrender areas of my life so that I will only reflect His image without smearing it with my own.  Just like how God warned His people not to forget (in pink color), I must not forget His awesomeness.

[P] Dear Father, I want to learn to let go of the things I hold on to so I would decrease and You would increase.  Thank You for providing all I need as I surrender these things while remembering what You did for Your people throughout history.  May my faith increase such that I would rise above the culture of pride and selfishness for Your sake.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Good or Bad, Name Lasts Forever

[S] Numbers 25:14-15 --
14 Now the name of the slain man of Israel who was slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father's household among the Simeonites. 15 The name of the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was head of the people of a father's household in Midian.

[O] I am wondering why God recorded the names of these two people when they clearly died from their sin against God.  One thing I noticed was that their fathers were in leadership roles in respective nations and yet they both got wrapped up in Baal of Peor worshiping and eventually Cozbi became the reason for God's judgment of Medianites.

[A] For me, this passage speaks to me about how important it is to raise up my own children in the upright way to fear God and Him alone especially when I am in leadership roles in my social and spiritual community because my children intentionally or not learns how to influence others.  So it is very crucial for them to influence others with the right motives and faith.

[P] Dear Father, as I ponder on my own ways of influencing my children, I realize more and more how I must lean on You every moment so I don't attempt to teach my children my own ways or experiences but what You instruct me to pass on to them on daily basis.  Please continue to overflow my heart with Your love and grace.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Scriptures Can Be All Greek To You

[S] Mark 4:11-12 (NLT) --

11He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders, 12so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:
‘When they see what I do,
they will learn nothing.
When they hear what I say,
they will not understand.
Otherwise, they will turn to me
and be forgiven.’”


[O] God permits us to understand the truth of His word so we will turn to Him and receive forgiveness. It does not come by our efforts alone as if studying harder makes one smarter or more knowledgeable.  Unless God permits my mind to comprehend the wondrous truth, it'll all be "Greek" (or parables) to me.

[A] Seek His permissions before reading His word so that He would allow my mind to comprehend the truth directly from His Spirit.

[P] Dear Father, please grant Your truth to settle deep down in my heart.  May my life then reflect that truth to many people.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Recognition of Jesus In Every Moment

[S] Mark 3:11 --
Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, "You are the Son of God!"

[O] Here we are trying to learn the ways of the "clean" (Holy) Spirit and yet we unrecognize Jesus in our midst and yet the unclean spirits never missed a beat of recognizing Jesus and submitted under His authority.  As a follower of Jesus shouldn't we be falling down before Him and praise Him whenever we encounter Him?

[A] Every moment, take my eyes off what I am so involved with and recognize Jesus at work and then submit under His authority with praising.  I am not doing this enough throughout the day.

[P] Dear Jesus, I want to recognize You and worship You every moment of the hour in each day.  Please let me be in Your presence at all time as I ask in Your name.  Amen.

Bearing in the Winderness

[S] Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. (Numbers 9:22 ESV)

[O] As simple as this looks knowing when to go or stop in sync with God is not trivial because not only I have to be alert every moment but also have to constantly look at Him for signs to know when He is on the move. On the other hand doing this will relieve me from constantly trying to figure our if I got right timing or not about when to move on or stop. This is how God led His people in the wilderness for forty years before entering into the Promised Land.

[A] There is something more than daily reading of His word to sync up with His moves. My application is to spend a chunk of time in prayer and fasting to seek out what this means for my walk with God.

[P] Dear Lord, I desperately need Your Spirit's guidance now to know where You are moving toward, or should I say where I need to move toward. I've been dealing many factors in the last year and it all seems to have whirled up in the whirlwind and feel lost in the midst. Just like how You led the Israelites in the wilderness (except for the long detour) would you guide me with affirmation through this very challenging moment in life. I nevertheless praise You God for being mindful of me despite how I feel now and for working in and around me in the "meanwhile." In Your name I pray. Amen.

God of Meanwhile

[S] Genesis 26:26 --
Meanwhile, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces.

[O] The word "meanwhile" in this verse refers to the period of Isaac under pressure from the neighboring nations to push him out because God bless his community to be rich and significant in size.  He had to keep moving to different wells until the herdsmen of Gerar did not challenge them anymore.  While these events were taking place -- i.e., Isaac going through some difficult times -- Abimelech was on his way to meet Isaac because (v.28) they saw clearly that the Lord was with Isaac.  It's a wonder how God works in people hearts in His timing.

[A] Whenever I am going through some challenging times (not because of my wrong doings), I feel like God has abandoned me and yet just like this passage, He works in some mysterious ways in other people's hearts and He will raise up those He recognizes to be faithful to Him.  I needed this reminder and a reset of my attitude such that I must continue to honor the God of this universe who in the "meanwhile" works in and around me.

[P] Dear Father, thank You for this wonderful passage to touch my heart to encourage me.  Please let my heart be rejoicing for who You are and what You are doing even though I do not see everything clearly.  I put my trust in You who's got my back!  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Don't Just Pass the Buck

[S] Acts 25:9 --
9 But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me on these charges?"

[O] Like his predecessor, Felix, Festus also wanted to please the crowd and went through gestures to put Paul on trial when in actuality he believed Paul to be innocent.  So, when he came to a dead end, he simply passed the buck to the next level up.  It was much easier to do this than to step up to the plate and do his duty to the fullest.

[A] I am also put into some tough situations to step up to the plate and handle it myself but my mind is no different than Festus -- pass the buck and take the easy way out.  This coward attitude must go and I need to step forward not trusting in my own abilities but in God's promise of standing by me all the time.

[P] Dear Father, please allow me to be bold in You when I face these challenging situations.  I am by no means a master at these situations so I need to rely on You all the time.  Please continue to teach me Your ways.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Hearing Leads to Doing

[S] Acts 24:24,27 --
24But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.
27But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul imprisoned.

[O] Felix listened to the gospel many times and yet when the time came for his actions, he still chose to carry our his own desires.  Listening for the sake of just listening is the culture these days.  In fact, we're in the information overload phase with so much being poured into our minds through the Internet and social media apps.  It is leaving very little time to process and impact how we actually live our lives daily.

[A] When I listen to God's word and His guidance (spoken directly into my heart), I need to make sure my actions are affected to bring out more of Him and not my own will.

[P] Dear Father,  as I am currently going through some challenging moments which is really an opportunity from God for me to make adjustments in the way I think and act, I pray that I would have the right bearing to live it out in obedience of His teachings.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Preservation While I Wait

[S] Psalm 25:21 --
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For I wait for You.

[O] Starting with 25:10, the writer describes a moment of struggle in his life where he had to rely on nothing other than God's providence itself and to know that God will provide the best in His time.  In the end verse 21 puts the icing on the cake by concluding that it is none other but his own integrity and uprightness which will preserve him while he is waiting.

[A] I am proclaiming that my integrity and uprightness be the soul source of strength and courage during my waiting period.

[P] Dear Father, please preserve me as I seem to be walking through the lonely and dark period because without Your promise I really have nothing else to hand on to.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.