Love That Expects Nothing in Return

[S] 2 Chronicles 24:22 --
22 Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The Lord look upon it, and require it.

[O] When King Joash started his reign at age 7, Jehoiada the priest guided and shepherded Joash to lead the nation to follow after God's ways.  However when Jehoiada died the people seemed to have worshiped the king which eventually abandoned the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols. (v.18)  When Zechariah the son of Jehoiada preached to the people to turn back to God, Joash killed him not remembering the kindness of Jehoiada.  This picture is so much like our Heavenly Father and what Jesus did where we murdered Jesus not remembering the kindness of the Father who created us in His image.  Such is a sad picture, but this seem to happen all the time in circles of lives we live in.

[A] My takeaway from this passage is not to set high expectations from others who I serve, starting with my own children, others at church, and workplaces because many times I set my own expectations too high thinking what I "do for them" is going to change their hearts to like me forever (which really is my own pride getting in the way).  But the reality is God's care and love for me the only constant factor and no other person in this world is going to provide that, regardless of my actions toward them and this is a great reminder for me to anchor my life deeper into His love for me.

[P] Dear Father, Your un-ending love mentioned in John 13:1 ministered to me now as I reflected on this passage.  May I enter deeper into Your gracious love and out of that flow the same level of love for others in my life expecting nothing back from them.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

God-sized Expectations

[S] Acts 3:12 --
 ¹²But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, "Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?

[O] If I start to fly by flapping my arms or something that would truly be amazing because it goes beyond my capacity.  However when God who is all powerful does something that is out of this world, should I be amazed other than being awed at what I witness?  My expectation of God is in question here.  Is my expectation so low that I get amazed at what God can do?  Or do I expect Him to do His thing naturally?  That's what Peter is saying here -- why are people so amazed thinking it's the works of Peter and John when it's the works of Jesus whom the men of Israel murdered.

[A] Set God-sized expectation in God's ministry.  Set man-sized expectation in man's ministry.  God convicted me to sweep through the small group ministry at church and so I should maximized my expectation on that ministry for Him to sweep through in amazing ways.

[P] Dear God, I lift up my voice to You and praise You for You are the one who's going to lead this ministry.  I will expect awesomeness to take place in this ministry even though we seem to be going through some struggles at the moment.  May I remain in Your faithfulness that never fails.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Obstacle of Wrong Expectations

[S] 2 Kings 5:11-12 --

¹¹But Naaman was furious and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.'

¹²"Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage.

[O] Naaman already had a clear expectation of how he should've been treated by Elisha before meeting Elisha (or at least tried to meet him). And when Elisha's response did not match his expectation he was furious and left in a rage. He flushed his opportunity of healing from God down the drain because of his own disappointments. I couldn't believe how much I related to Naaman's response here because so many times I go to God expecting Him to respond to me in a certain manner or way and when God responds to me in His way, then I get all worked up about it and lose focus of why I went to Him in the first place due to my upset emotions. For Naaman, though, thanks to his faithful servant's adivce he went ahead and obeyed Elisha's commands which brought healing from God as promised.

[A] When I go to God, I must surrender all of my own expectations and only have a humble heart of obedience to the fullest even if it may seem rediculous to me. Right now, as I'm getting involved with setting up the foundation for a small group ministry I have gone before God to show me clear direction -- I want to be extra cautious about having an open mind to receive whatever He says to me with the readiness of following it to the fullest.

[P] Dear God, thank You for caring for me all the time even when I do not trust in You 100%. You also care for me such that if I obey Your ways even when I do it out of obligation, Your will is realized through my own life. I ask for a humble and obedient heart so that I would gladly follow and enjoy the excitement of sensing Your wonderful power. Please guard and guide my family members each and every day. In Jesus' name. Amen.