Chained Forever

[S] Philemon 1:10,23-24 (NIV) --
that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains.
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.


[O] These people listed here by Paul have one thing in common and that bonded them as intimate friends for life.  They were all chained (in prison) together for their faith in Christ Jesus.  The focus is not the imprisonment but that they were one in heart to face any difficulty in order to cling on to Jesus in their hearts.

[A] What is my pain threshold in life?  Am I willing to stand up for Jesus even to this level of "pain"?  My mind is so trained to avoid pain, my walk with Jesus can easily take on the mentality of smooth sailing.  I should not go looking to put myself through pain but I should partner up with others who are unafraid to stand up beyond our boundaries of comfort.  They will last forever.

[P] Dear Jesus, thank You for placing wonderful partners in Christ in my life.  I want to be like Paul where he had cultivated this and of brothers who were unafraid to go through the tough times just for the sake of Christ's name and what He lived & died for.  Please send a band of brothers/sisters who will lock arms together to have big dreams to live for while on this earth.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Honor from God

[S] Hebrews 5:4 --
4 And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.

[O] I once read a book titled, Disciples are Make, Not Born because of the catchy title and this passage reminded me of that book because just like how disciples are made through a process of character building, honor is also something that takes time to earn and given by others.  At times, honor is confused with popularity because both is recognized by others, however, the honor begins with God's calling.

[A] Aaron was called by God into the position of leading His people and they honored him as God's priest.  In my life's purpose, I need to take a moment and think about where I stand before God; where He has called me into His service in honor of His name.  This does not mean I have to be like Aaron, but more of a conviction of knowing where God has called me to serve Him.

[P] Dear Father, show me the way for me to serve You with the maximum output from my life You instilled in me.  May it be with honor for Your name's sake as I ask in Jesus' name.  Amen.

But He Knows the Way I Take

[S] Job 23:10 --
10 "But He knows the way I take;
When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

[O] Job states that he is unable to track where God is working no matter how hard he tries, but he know for certain that he will equip him to come forth as precious and pure as gold to uphold His purposes in this world.  This comes from a man who had just lost everything he treasured for no specific reason and struggled through listening to his friends' blaming him for what he deserved.  He is not going to try to understand everything but to recognize God's purpose for his life and his commitment to live it out.

[A] Not even close to Job's experiences of loss and turmoil, but as I face challenges after another in my life, I should not try to understand everything but to glorify God for equipping me to handle His purpose designed for my life -- and be satisfied with just knowing that.

[P] Dear Father, I'm so grateful for Your preparing my life despite the difficulties I may run into.  May I not focus on the difficult situations but to You O God for doing the wonderful things even if I do not see or understand them.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Out of My Limitation into God's Infinity

[S] Acts 10:19-20 --
19 While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men are looking for you.20 But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself."

[O] The fact that angel of God sent Peter whose obedience caused the works of the Spirit to explode in the midst of the Gentiles is significant for me here because even though the angel go there himself and do this he chose Peter as the instrument to carry out this task.  It is very intriguing for me to see that while God and angels may not need us, we are still invited into the execution of His plans and it is our obedience which will engage us into the fabric of His plans.

[A] I need to stop separating my own limitations from God's unlimited domain because that will make me smaller and smaller and in the end make me impotent with my life.  God wants me to maximize my life to the fullest the way He designed me so anything short of that is really a sin.

[P] Dear Father, I praise You for making me the way I am and I cannot wait to see how You are going to use me and my family members.  Please continue to nurture us with Your patience so one day We will glorify Your name by being the right instrument as Peter was in this passage.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Even Trees Know that He is God

[S] Ezekiel 17:24 --
24 "All the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will perform it. "

[O] Not only our lives and the nations we live in are under His full control, all the nature is also under His control which if you think about it makes a lot of sense because He created them all.  But I usually think about animate objects to be in under God's influence and not really consider (almost) inanimate objects such as trees will "know" that God is the LORD.  Additionally, while we should do our best to be good stewards of this earth we live in, we should also keep in mind that God is the ultimate source who will provide or take away the resources here and we should not fool ourselves of thinking we can determine its final outcome.

[A] If God can bring up or down trees in the mountains, I need to assure myself that He will also bring up or down what I pursue in life, what our church is pursuing, and what this world is (at least trying to figure out) what it is pursuing.  I need not try to play God in any of these areas but be the faithful follower of His movements.

[P] I praise You Father for being in full control of my surroundings, even to a tree.  To such a God, I surrender my life so that it will be raised up and be used to fulfill Your purposes here on earth.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Joy of Parenting

[S] 3 John 1:4 --
4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

[O] John writes here re: spiritual children but I cannot help but to overlay this with my own children.  I will want nothing more than for my children to be continuously walking in the truth as they grow up and into the adulthood.  They will most likely make many mistakes and some of their plans in life may not turn out as expected, but as long as they walk (not mastering) in the truth, drawing closer to Christ, my heart will have great joy as a parent.

[A] No slacking on prayer for my children's hearts to be grasped by God's leadership.

[P] Dear Father, I am so thankful for the children You put me in charge of to raise them to be walking with You at all times such that they will realize their purpose and vision here on earth -- to fulfill the mission You assigned them from the beginning.  I love them much.  Please protect their hearts by surround them with You angels.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

My Calling Before I Was Called

[S] Jeremiah 1:5 --
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
And before you were born I consecrated you;
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."

[O] What a powerful statement that only God can make to us.  God who dwells in the higher dimension surpasses the timeline of this world to bring us into this world with a delicately planned purpose for each one of us.  Generally speaking, this purpose is to speak and convey His heart to this world.  When Jeremiah was called by God, he immediately claims that God must've made a mistake (but He never makes mistakes).

[A] I must acknowledge the fact that God created me for a specific purpose in this world during my lifespan because if I don't, then I can easily fall into the mode of finding my own way through this world; and worse yet, when God calls me to carry out my specific purpose created for, I will try to avoid it because it does not fit my own plans.

[P] Dear Father, thank You for creating me the way I am and in the direction my life is going now with Your guidance.  Please continue to mold me and use me and call me into the path You designed for me to follow.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Go To the Source

[S] John 6:39-40 --
39  "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; 40  and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.

[O] At first read, I'm asking what was wrong with reading the Scripture, but re-examining the passage it says "search" not "read" or "study" the Scripture, for eternal life.  The Scripture itself is nothing more than black ink on white paper and the words themselves do not have the life but what those words point to -- Jesus -- gives eternal life.

[A] Discernment of the author from what the author wrote, miracle from the miracle worker, the message from what the message is pointing to is very critical in living out Christ-following life because it is so easy to get all wrapped up about busily searching for the truth from the wrong places because I miss purpose or the original intention of God.  I have to constantly reaffirm myself of God's heart in my life and all that I do so that I won't get lost in my busy-ness not realizing what God desires from me.

[P] Dear Jesus, I come to You for eternal life, guidance, and forgiving grace for my life.  I surrender all I have such that my life will live out Your purpose that You designed for me from the beginning.  In Your name.  Amen.

Choosing the Path of Failure

[S] Matthew 17:12 --
12  but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands."

[O] In light of the Passion week followed by the Resurrection Sunday we just celebrated last week, Jesus' remark about how John the Baptist came and suffered and murdered and fully knowing how He still came to us despite the suffering He will face is truly the message as a follower of Christ must hold dear to our hearts.  How many of us will take the path when it's been proven to fail for sure?  Not that many.  However Jesus did just that by taking the path of His coming to us.

[A] Rising above the circumstances to carry out God's will is to say the least challenging.  I must partake in His ministry with such an attitude also:  Instead of having a goal of succeeding in ministry (however that is defined), I need to do it for the sake of turning more people's hearts toward God even at the cost of sacrifice leading to suffering.  This world is not conditioned to welcome Jesus' disciples.

[P] Dear Father, please seal in my heart on how to do Your ministry with the right frame of mind.  This isn't some luxurious task I am doing to succeed but to follow the footsteps of my Lord Jesus' whom, fully knowing, took the path of suffering in order to provide a way out for us from eternal condemnation.  I pray in Your name.  Amen.

Recommendations That Break My Heart

[S] Acts 21:4 --
 ⁴After looking up the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem.
 ¹³Then Paul answered, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."  ¹⁴And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, "The will of the Lord be done!"

[O] Paul's disciples urged him to not enter Jerusalem and these weren't simply their own opinions but the conviction they received through the Spirit.  As a leader Paul must've been struggling to discern because of their sincere recommendation in the Spirit.  It is one thing to discern more of a self-centered comments but when you know your friends or brothers/sisters in Christ share their godly, prayerful, and genuine hearts it is a whole new story.  In the midst of his torn heart, Paul proclaims his own convictions to which others "amens" and supports him wholeheartedly.  Paul's conviction did not come overnight and he was well aware of what he was walking in to and yet trusted God's leadership completely.  This must've shown through to others.

[A] What a model to follow after in living my own life -- filled with conviction to drive after a purposeful life much more than just passing through each day.  Even through some tough decision-making moments, I need to have a clear purpose for my life so I can stay on track for what God had called me to carry out.  This is particularly true these days as I ponder on how I have led my children thus far, whether I should have taken a different path or not.  Instead of wavering with surrounding influences/suggestions, I want to stick to the conviction God has laid on my heart.

[P] Dear Jesus, once again Your perfect timing of guiding my heart through You word is so awesome.  Paul's conviction seen through his own struggling moments before entering Jerusalem is so powerfully ministering to me this morning.  Thank you for giving me this role model to follow after.  I want to be moved by You and You alone to live out my purposeful life here on earth.  In Your name.  Amen.