When I Am Forced to Do the Dirty Job

[S] 2 Samuel 6:10-11 --
10 And David was unwilling to move the ark of the LORD into the city of David with him; but David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.11 Thus the ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

[O] There is always someone who has to do the dirty job and here we see Obed-edom was that guy who had to take in the ark of the LORD after Uzzah was killed instantly by touching it (for a good cause).  Would I have volunteered to house the ark?  No.  So Obed-edom probably was assigned to park the ark in his driveway without much choice.  However the result of his doing that turned into God's blessings for his whole household. I am also thinking of Simon of Cyrene who was forced to carry the (physical) cross of Jesus.  Even though he had no idea who this "criminal" was that he had to help carry the cross, but in the end there was no one else who can claim what he had done -- what a blessing that must have been for him.

[A] God allows these moments of being "forced to carry the cross" of others to mature my faith so His glory would reflect off my life.  As I am going through a medical challenge in our family, I am just "forced" to cling on to God's word daily.  I knew this was something I needed to do but not until God put me in this current situation I am actually carrying it out more diligently and desperately.  I cannot readily see the "blessings" outpouring from the situation but whether that really happens or not I will not give up on pursuing Him not because things make sense but because my heart tells me this is the path He desires.

[P] Dear Father, I thank You for putting me in this situation to stay on course of trusting Your mighty power of omnipotence and healing.  I will not deter from fixing my eyes on this course to know that You are allowing things to happen in order to reveal Your wonderful glory and I just need to cling on to that.  I praise Your name now just because of who You are.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Beyond My Chariots and Horses

[S] Psalm 20:7-8 --
   ⁷Some boast in chariots and some in horses,
         But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.
    ⁸They have bowed down and fallen,
         But we have risen and stood upright.

[O] What are my "chariots and horses"?  They could be my position in society, money, power, gadgets, appearances, and cars.  I can compare these with others somewhat quantitatively and thus I am easily falling into the trap of trying to gauge where I fit with respect to others around me by comparing these things.  However, when's the last time I compared how many more Bible verses I memorized, or how may needy people I supported physically or financially, or even about how loudly I cried out to God proclaiming His wonderful compassion toward me?

The short answer is not as much as I boast about my chariots and horses.  As I ponder on this passage with this thought going through my mind, I am concluding that the reason is because at the core I trust in my chariots and horses to rise above the society.  Psalmist reminded me that ultimately God is the one who will do that and thus I need to boast about how wondrous He is going to lift me up as I abide in Him alone and boast in His name.

[A] May my life be boasting about how Your word unfolds the wondrous love through all I do and do be founded in drawing wisdom from the Divine Mentors from the Bible every day.

[P] Dear God, I am grateful for all the material things You granted in my life and yet may I not boast in those but instead develop a well-disciplined life of soaking up Your wisdom layer by layer, day by day.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Rock of Actions

[S] Matthew 7:26-27 --
 ²⁶"Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
 ²⁷"The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall."

[O] This passage differentiates knowing from doing.  So many times, I fool myself by thinking I can do it when I only know it how to do it.  Isn't it true that best musicians or athletes are not ranked by their theoretical knowledge of the music or the game, but how well they play (do)?  Likewise, faithful followers of Christ is displayed by how well they act (do) and not only by how much they know about Christ.  As it says in James 2:19, the demons also believe, and shudder.  This passage's key point for me is the fact that building my "house" on a rock is a result of my acting out of obedience to God's word/teachings.  No matter how much I know, I should strive to put them into practice 100%.

[A] Application for this passage is the application of this into my life in every day activities.  Don't just learn, but just do it.

[P] Dear God, I desire to build my house on a rock of Jesus Christ so it may withstand all sorts of turbulent course in my life.  Grant me the discipline to obey the teaching from You little by little, in every aspect of my life.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Easy to Miss Spiritual Closures

[S] Joshua 19:51; 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 --
⁵¹These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the households of the tribes of the sons of Israel distributed by lot in Shiloh before the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land.

²⁶Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air;
²⁷but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

[O] Both of these passages reference a point of closure. Joshua encourages the 7 tribes (Joshua 18:2) to hurry up and take possession of their land that God has given them. What's the waiting for? So they end up dividing the land by casting lots and in verse 51 it says, "So they finished dividing the land." The Canaan had already been conquered but this step of taking possession of the shares from each of the tribe was required to complete God's task for the Israelites. I also often leave God's tasks unfinished when it appears to be done already on the surface. It's almost getting into the point of spiritual complacency.

And then Paul also talks about how God gave us the freedom to follow or not follow Him to the max. I can do a very comfortable job of following Him or I can go all out for Him. The choice is mine just like the 7 tribes of Israelites who neglected to go that extra step of possessing the land and instead was in their own comfortable state. I like Paul's description of not running without aim, not beating the (empty) air but to discipline to the point of being a slave (for the purpose of preaching of the gospel to others). This is type of a commitment and endurance that I like to model after in living out my personal life for God as well as a leader within the ministries God placed me in.

[A] Continue to discipline to use the early morning hours for having my personal devotion with Jesus to allow Him to set my day's agenda for me. I feel I've been comfortable enough and need to work in this area as the last possession of the Land God promised me.

[P] Dear God, with Your strength I know I can take possession of the Land completely. I know I can conquer the morning hours to dedicate to a time spent with You. I will awaken the dawn as the Psalmist recorded in Psalm 57:8. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Consuming Fire Ahead

[S] Deuteronomy 7:3-4; 8:4,5; 9:3--
^7:3"Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons.
⁴"For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you.
^8:4"Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.
⁵"Thus you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.
^9:3"Know therefore today that it is the LORD your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so thatyou may drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the LORD has spoken to you.

[O] God made it clear about how the Israelites were to completely destroy the Canaanites as they conquer that land because of the reasons He laid out here which, in a nutshell, was so they would not veer off from following God wholeheartedly. As this veering off takes place gradually through small compromises God commands the Israelites not to intermarry with the Canaanites because even though it may seem harmless on the surface, over time this will draw the people's hearts to server other gods and since we have a jealous God, He won't like that at all. If I stop here, the image of our God is the strict and stern one demanding His people to conform to His harsh rules and procedures. But He reminds His people that He is a caring and loving God who desires us to fully enjoy our lives as He had intended in the first place; He reminds His people how for forty years even their clothing and sandals didn't wear out (not by coincidence). How much more would He have cared for people's future well being then? As noted in 9:3 -- very much! He goes ahead to prepare the path for us. He will destroy and subdue them so the Israelites would wipe them out quickly and completely.

I am encouraged by His going ahead of me to prepare me to conquer my life's obstacles. What a comfort that is because my life does have more than enough challenges for me to tackle. At the same time, I also noticed from 9:3 that He involves me in completing His plan for me to live a victorious life. He didn't wipe clean the Canaanites for His people to enjoy the "virus-free" lives in Canaan. The people still required trust and faith to obey God's commands of completely destroying the Canaanites. However, as we read from other parts of the Bible, we know they failed to follow this through and did not destroy and drove out the Canaanites completely. This is the story of my life where I struggle to completely drive out my old nature in me while God desires for me to do that in order for me to bask in His amazing presence while on earth.

[A] What "intermarrying" in my life should I avoid? The list is not short, but for now I need to focus on not giving in to undisciplined use of my daily schedule. This starts with my getting up early to start the LJ and time of prayer with so many needs around me. So, my intermarrying is giving into making myself too busy with non-essential items first so end up spending late hours to get to all the tasks and thus starting the vicious cycle of unable to get up early, etc.

[P] God, You've given me the same 24 hours everyone else has in a day. I want to be more disciplined about utilizing my hours so I am maximizing to tackle the essential items first so I can also be disciplined about my sleeping and waking up time. Even though this may not bear much spiritual aspect, I am convicted this would allow me to draw closer to You every day. So, please help me through Your Holy Spirit to guide me. I trust in You who said will fight ahead of me as a consuming fire. In Jesus' name. Amen.