One With the Most Toys Stand Alone

[S] Isaiah 5:8,10 (NIV)  --
Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land.
A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine; a homer of seed will yield only an ephah of grain."

[O] What's sad about this picture is how rich these people are materially and yet so bankrupt and dry their souls are.  On the outside the spacious land filled with houses and grape vines seem so rich and abundant but under hood is nothing but emptiness (nothing).

[A] As you may have heard, God is in the business of making something out of nothing; yet I am so great at making nothing out of something.  So, I must keep my eyes on God's principles and follow it closely if I want my and my family members' lives to be fruitful spiritually.  I hear about so many "ways" and programs to achieve this but I must realize the only way is to follow His ways.  I sure don't want to be alone after pursuing all of these paths thinking that I would end up with much.

[P] Dear Father, I want to pursue Your ways in every aspects of my life in order that I would produce the fruits You intended for my life to bear -- abundantly.  Please continue to prune my life and nurture it with Your word daily so I would draw closer to You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Don't Lift Up My Eyes and See

[S] Genesis 13:10 --
Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere- this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah-like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.

[O] Lot's initial actions bring me back memory of how I involved myself in God's ministry by first seeing thing with my own eyes first. I so naturally took the lad of assessing the situation and then just tried to get God's approval after that. This was so contrasting to what Abraham did by relying on God by giving his nephew the first choice. Even though Abraham ended up with less fertile land God nevertheless worked through to fulfill His plans.

[A] As I am involved with ministry at church I must make Abraham's approach the principle method because once I try to help God I will miserably fail it. So stay humble and let Him work out His plans through my honoring Him while I let Him take te lead in looking out for me.

[P] Dear God, let me not get in Your ways in the sake of doing Your ministry. Your ways are indeed higher than all that I can do. in Jesus' 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.

Never Return Empty-Handed

[S] Isaiah 55:8-11 --
8"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.
9"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it bear and sprout,
And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

[O] What wonderful reminder from this well-known verse about how God’s thoughts and ways are not what I would consider. It is completely incomprehensible by my limited mind. On top of that He never wastes any of his thoughts or ways on me because once He provides a way for me as says in verse 11, it will not be in vain but will definitely accomplish what He desired for my life. For me that part seems pretty straight forward to accept but having it come alive in my life as He intended is the key that I need to work on more on my life. Since God’s part is bullet proof, then the fact that it doesn’t come thru every time points to failure on my part – i.e., disobedience, ignorance, rebellion, sin, temptation, etc.

[A] I take this passage to my heart once again to accept and believe with faith that God’s plan for me will come true as long as I abide in Him through my personally devoted walk with Jesus founded on prayer life that pleases Him.

[P] Dear God, I am so grateful for having a God who not only has a plan for me but will make sure it will come true in my life as long as I yield my life to Your will. Please continue to teach me to abide in Your will and to understand Your heart through studying the Word. As I meditate on verse 8 especially, I’m ever so confident in You to carry out the small group ministry at our church. Thank You for the inspiration. In Jesus’ name. Amen.