Disguised Process of Refinement

[S] "Behold, I go forward but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him;
He turns on the right, I cannot see Him. "But He knows the way I take;
When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. (Job 23:8-10 NASB)

[O] As Job going through this trial has been seeking where God was in all that is going on in his life which is no different from what he has been doing all his life -- to walk with God I intimately. He has gone forward and backwards, left and right but could not find Him anywhere. However that did not alter his view and relationship with God. He was assured in his heart that God had not lost him in the shuffle but rather convicted that He knows exactly where he is and in fact, he is right in the middle of God's wonderful and perfect plan of refining him to be precious "gold".

[A] Storms of life come in various ways. Some big and some subtly. However just like the hurricane Sandy viciously hitting the East Coast states they all leave behind scars of impact. Times like these is when I must learn from my divine mentor Job about where to keep my focus -- God's sovereignty and His non-failing plan of keeping me right where I need to be in the process of refining my life for the purpose of molding me into what He desires of me. One thing clear is not to dwell on the "damages" from the life's storms.

[P] Dear God, please wrap me with Your Holy Spirit to strengthen me to turn the stormy situations into a time of re-affirming Your plans for my life. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Realizing His Presence in My Prosperity

[S] 2 Samuel 5:10-12 --
10  David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of hosts was with him. 11  Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and carpenters and stonemasons; and they built a house for David.12  And David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.

[O] David had some tough times even after God's promise of using him as His instrument for His purposes and I am sure coping with such a discrepancy was very confusing and draining.  After the death of Saul, people respected David's position and honored him as their king.  And now things are going pretty well for him which the author of 2 Samuel writes that the source of this blessing is because God's presence.  However the key point is in verse 12, David "realized" the purpose of God was on him and that was the reason for his prosperity.  Such a discernment of his well being is the reason why God used David mightily.

[A] I desire everything I do to prosper (do well) and in many areas I am still working towards that.  The key question I need to answer is when/if God let's me to prosper in these areas such as the ministry I take part, will I readily realize that God was the source for the purpose of gathering His people unto Him?

[P] Dear God, grant me the heart of David to 1) seek and then 2) realize Your presence which will work in and through my life to realize Your plans in in this world.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

God Hears Every Grumble

[S] Numbers 12:2; Mark 2:8 --
 ²and they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?" And the LORD heard it. 
 ⁸Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, "Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts?

[O] Here are two instances where God hears what we say, grumble, or mumble because He sees our hearts where all these originate from to begin with.  The phrase from verse 2, "And the LORD heard it" was almost amusing to read because when did God close His ears to hear what we say?  Or perhaps it is the statement describing how Aaron and Miriam were thinking what they grumbled was not going to be noticed by God just like how the Pharisees who mumbled thinking Jesus won't hear them.  This goes to show how limited our views are of this world and yet we try to claim that we know everything when we can only fathom just a fraction of what is really out there in the realm of God.

[A] Through the Book of Isaiah God's been teaching me how He is the true author of this universe and the small world we live in without a doubt.  He is the one writing the history down to the specifics of who is going to be in ruling powers of certain nations.  In light of this, how I get so wrapped up in my little world and what seems to be huge problems I'm facing.  I need to break out of this shell and open up my mind, spirit, and perspective to the wider and grandiose plan of God for my life.

[P] Dear Father, I bow down now and praise You for what You have done and will do in this world.  I pray that my life will be in sync with what you're about to do and that my mind will meditate on Your word day and night to soak up Your awesomeness to live out my days with a super zing!  In Your name.  Amen.

Unwrapping From Man's Ways

[S] Acts 15:10-11 --
 ¹⁰"Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹"But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are." 

[O] One of the most difficult aspects of following God is to distinguish the efforts of man (me) from God's working and here we see the people so wrapped up in Mosaic Law that they lost track of God's new and wonderful ministry to the Gentiles clouded by their own efforts.  Peter responded to this type of reasoning by highlighting how salvation comes to us through the grace of Jesus before, now, and forever, to everyone and we should not get in the way of His plan of salvation .  He even points out the fact that such a reasoning is actually putting God to the test.

[A] I am challenged by this scene to re-evaluate the direction of the small group ministry I'm leading at my church because I should not put forth the plans of man over God's greater overarching plan of salvation.  I need to bring this topic to the Lord personally so He would convict me to follow His plans within the boundaries of the small group ministry.

[P] Dear Father, show me Your ways and not my or any other men's perspectives.  I don't want to hinder Your plans and works of salvation through the grace of Jesus Christ.  Please show me; I ask in Your nam.  Amen.

But to Keep It In Mind

[S] Genesis 37:8,10-11 --
 ⁸Then his brothers said to him, "Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
 ¹⁰He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?" ¹¹His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

[O] Joseph's dream stirred up this family conflict because it sounded absurd especially in that culture for older siblings and father to submit to the younger one in the family.  It carried no weight whatsoever despite the fact that it did come from the Lord as everyone found out in the end.  I liked how Jacob nevertheless kept Joseph's reporting of his dream in his mind without totally discarding it as nonsense.

As I face many things in life everyday, I also find myself facing some unique situations where it seems so out of place that I want to just ignore it and move onward because it just does not make any sense to even dwell upon it, just like Joseph's dream to his brothers.  However, this passage spoke to me about how I need to be prayerful especially to these situations to examine and seek how God may be working in them to reveal His purpose and just like Jacob, keep these in my mind and bring it to my Lord for His shepherding my heart through them.

[A] As I am pondering upon a situation which I can come up with a longer list of why we shouldn't go down that path, I heard God's small voice through this passage about how God's plans and ways are indeed greater than what my tiny brain can come up with.  I cannot find a specific verse now re: how God's plans are bigger than mine but Jeremiah 29:11 captures the basic concept of that.  The take away in this current situation is how I need to seek for His purpose rather than coming to a conclusion.  Keep this in my mind and take the journey down the path to find out what God has in store for us.

[P] Dear Father, I submit to Your wonderful plans for our lives especially when things don't quite seem right, or does not make sense to me.  I want to trust You as Jacob did desiring to follow You every day seeking Your guiding hands rather than to come up with a total solution because even if I did find such a solution, I still have to rely on You every moment anyways, so trusting and learning from You take a much higher precedence.  Thank You for being the leader of my life.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Forget My Past

[S] Philippians 3:13-14 --
 ¹³Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,  ¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

[O] Ability to look and move forward without being all caught up in the past is a blessing from God because it is much said than done.  I think my brain is wired such that it will latch on to some ideas from the past and won't let go trying to play out all sorts of "what if's" as if it will make any difference in my life going forward (other than learning from the past and applying the lessons learned from them).  I'm sure Paul had a bunch of life-impacting moments to the point of almost losing his life, but he says he's going to reach for what lies ahead and pressing toward the calling of God in Christ Jesus forgetting what lies behind.  Someone once said, all, except one, aspects of our body are designed to go forward (eyes, ears, nose, mouth facing forward for example) therefore our mind should also continuously move forward and not get hung up in the past.

[A] Even just living out the rest of this week, I want to spend more of my thoughts in preparing and planning for the future of what and how God had called me to live them out in comparison to regretting, worrying, and even dwelling on successful achievements.  If I were to quantify it, 75% future planning; 25% reflection and gratitude of the past.

[P] Dear Father, I give You the glory for creating me in a way to move forward in order to enjoy and explore Your callings for my life rather than to dwell (and get stuck) in the past.  Please continue to reveal in me what Your callings are for me and the heart of obedience to follow them.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Anything But What Christ Accomplished

[S] Romans 15:18-19 --
 ¹⁸For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, ¹⁹in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 
(NLT) ¹⁸ Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. ¹⁹ They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.

[O] Paul testifies his evangelism plan which is nothing but to boast about what Christ has done through him. If he had a plan, it would've been to let the miraculous wonders of Jesus Christ shine through the actual power of God.  It's almost like stepping aside so God can show off what He can do instead of attracting the attention of men toward what he is doing.  Seems like a very simple and yet dynamic plan of not only bringing the Gentiles to God but putting all the glory to God and not on any man.

[A] It is so easy to get all the attention of doing God's ministry and Paul's model is an excellent one to keep in mind and to model after in all my ministry involvements.  Additionally, whenever the plans of doing God's ministry get too complicated, it should be a warning sign to me that I may be getting in the way of God.

[P] Dear Father, I want to stay aside from getting in the way of Your miraculous wonders to take place to impact the "Gentiles" from drawing closer to You.  Thank You for giving me this model to follow after.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Even Through Generations of Glitches

[S] Matthew 1:5-6 --
 ⁵Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. ⁶Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.

[O]  The generations these two verses cover reveal what appears to be "failures" to the plan of God for bringing His own Son to this world in His purest form of God let alone a Jew because Rahab and Ruth were not Jews and Bethsheba didn't really take a legitimate route of becoming a queen.  This was a period of back-to-back glitches leading to the birth of King David.  And he almost didn't get picked as the anointed one when Samuel visited his family because his father ruled him out as one of the possibilities for being just a boy.  However, despite all this God's plan still came through without a hiccup.

[A] Even when things seemed to derail from the plans set forth, I need not to focus too much on the failures but need to turn to Him for His guidance through those tough times.  If He reveals my faults in that, then I need to repent and correct my heart but need to be sensitive to His voice about the hope and peace when all I have to do is to persevere through it to see the glory of His plans unfolding.

[P] Dear Father, I want to recognize that You are in full control regardless of how I may interpret circumstance I'm in leading to the recognition of Your ultimate plan coming through.  There are so many times in a day when my mind would doubt Your plans so I want to work on more of letting those thoughts go in order to believe in the hope that has been promised by You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Generations of Faithfulness

[S] Ezra 7:1-5 --
 ¹Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, there went up Ezra son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah,
 ²son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub,
 ³son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth,
 ⁴son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki,
 ⁵son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest. 
 ⁶This Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all he requested because the hand of the LORD his God was upon him. 

[O] Ezra who was the key teacher of God's law was a descendant of Aaron the chief priest.Through all the generations listed here the hand of God was upon Ezra.  It is so beautiful to see the string of Aaron's descendants who had stay faithful to God and how God used their faithfulness in his "restoration" project of bringing back His people from the Babylonian exile.  As long as we stay faithful to Him, He will involve us in His wonderful plan of salvation.

[A] I'm so grateful for allowing my grandfather, father, me, and my children to stay faithful to His teachings.  I need to continually guide and shepherd my children's hearts such that they, too, will cling on to His grace as they grow up.

[P] Dear God, Your love amazes me and I am more and more desiring to take part in your love for us humankind.  Please don't let my heart drift away from staying humble before You and let You reign in my life.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.