How to Fight a Losing Battle

[S] Ephesians 6:12 --
12  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

[O] The categories listed here are awesomely powerful, and may be stating the obvious but much more powerful than what I can be or do.  Therefore there is no doubt my own strength is insufficient to win over these forces coming against me.  This is why I need on daily basis invite the power of Jesus into my life because He is above all and will definitely dominate all of these forces.  It is a foolish thought to even think I can handle it on my own.

[A] In light of how God's been blessing our church to grow and allowing us to unite hearts to prepare for a greater maturity I cannot help but to think that the above anti-forces are ramping up as well to take us out in every which way possible but most importantly by bringing disunity when for a moment we think we can "do" this church on our own efforts and experiences.  Based on this, I humbly bow before the Almighty God to allow His Spirit to guard, protect, energize me, my family, and my church community to bulldoze through the forces coming against us.

[P] Dear Father, may Your awesome armor of protection cover our church so we would stay humble before You and others.  May we continue to invite more and more people to understand the depth of Your heart so more of us would slip into the Spiritual armor You provide for us.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Greet with a Holy Kiss

[S] Romans 16:16 --
16  Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

[O] This is the conclusion Paul shares after listing a whole bunch of people's names who co-labored for God's ministry with him.  Not only he had so many of them to work together but his sentiments are reflected in this statement displaying such an intimacy with them.  Not sure what holy kiss is but such an expression would be used for someone very close.

[A] I seem to be so busy doing God's ministry but I wonder whether I will also be going down the list of all of my close friends in ministry and how I wouldn't think twice about greeting one another with a holy kiss.

[P] Dear Father, may I stop to smell the roses as I'm taking part in Your ministry so that I am not just so busy running.  May I build the right relationships in my life with those sharing the vision You gave us so in the end we can all be so grateful for each other and to give thanks to You for bringing us together to work for Your glory.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Perseverance and Encouragement Brings Unity

[S] Romans 15:5-6 --
5  Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,6  so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[O] The two operatives perseverance and encouragement are the secret sauce of receiving likemindedness with others in service to God resulting in glorifying God.  Unity among a group of believers first begins by latching our hearts to perseverance and encouragement which come from God.  When two or more people gather there exists differences in opinion and from that can arise divisions.  Perseverance will prevent this because it allows waiting and eventually accepting others as they are moving into the territory of encouragement.  I know that when I coach teenagers soccer, I can see their eyes sparkle when I encourage them on specific thing they did well which results in their deeper interest in the game.

[A] So, as I am constantly asking the question of how to "CONNECT" people at my church, I will take these two operatives to heart and also emphasize to the small group leaders to take on the same heart.

[P] Dear Father, we have a small group seminar in a couple of weeks where we want to build a unity of spirit among the members of our church in order to lay a rock-solid foundation of small groups to carry us further into Your wonderful ministry of reaching out to the people around us so they may know You and Your beautiful plans for their lives.  Would you please send Your Spirit ahead of this event so our members will attend with the hearts of perseverance and encouragement?  In Your name.  Amen.

Back-end Support of Ministry

[S] 2 Samuel 17:27-29 --
27  Now when David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim,28  brought beds, basins, pottery, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans, lentils, parched seeds, 29  honey, curds, sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David and for the people who were with him, to eat; for they said,  "The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness."

[O] There are times of war and there are times of rest and re-energizing because we cannot go full force at all times.  David and his men were running on empty in more of a survival mode until they arrived here at the place of Mahanaim and Shobi where they were provided with food to rest and recuperate from the weariness.  It must have been like an oasis in the desert for these men.  At times of war we may only focus on the fighting front while the back-end support is as important and critical.  In the spiritual battle we're surrounded by, we can easily fall into the same mindset of busily fighting away the enemy's attacks while somewhat neglecting to suppor those in the battle front.

[A] In our church community, we need to be sensitive to all the servants, despite their titles or roles, taking the beating from the spiritual battle and how much support they need.  The support of encouragement, "food" to replenish their strengths, and a place of rest.  Building up a community of believers isn't always about moving forward & forward, but at times that time of rest in the presence of like-minded caretakers is as critical.

[P] Dear Jesus, please send Your Holy Spirit in the midst of our community to gain the wisdom of providing the right support to each other in order we not grow weary in the fighting our enemy. Let us encourage and re-energize each other to go forward in unity.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Together We Can Stand

[S] Judges 21:24-25 --
24  The sons of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one of them went out from there to his inheritance.  25  In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

[O] The people from eleven tribes of Israel joined forces to remove corruption within the House of God's people even if it meant going up against their own brothers from Benjamin.  It was a painful process where they sought the Lord's guidance repeatedly to make sure they are not doing this out of their justification and/or anger.  As verse 25 mentions, in those days there was no leader to rule the land which resulted in wide-spread of corruption; that is when God's people came together to deal with the situation at hand.  As I envision the "sons of Israel departing" (verse 24), I see a wonderful picture of the brothers shaking hands, giving each other hugs as they reaffirm their unity of hearts for the purposes of God's ministry.

[A] The era I live in now is not much different from the time of this passage where everyone is doing what is right in his own eyes and that makes it more challenging to stand up for God's values; but I'm encouraged that by standing together with other believers in Jesus Christ, we can uphold His values.  Through the small group ministry at our church I am praying that God would grant such a community of believers.

[P] Dear Father, please continue to build up Your people who will come together like the eleven tribes of Israel in the midst of our church.  We are fighting a good battle and we rely totally on You to lead us into victory as we continue to strive unity of our hearts denouncing all the schemes from our enemy.  In Your name.  Amen.

One Mind Will Go a Long Way

[S] Acts 1:14 --
 ¹⁴These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

[O] Praying together corporately powerful but what precedes that is everyone having one mind.  Without having this hearts of unity, devoting in prayer together has no meaning other than the outward appearance.  One of the cliche we often throw around is "let's pray together" as if it's some sort of a spell we memorize and a genie will come out to do some magical thing for us.  But I realize praying together is really more for us to tune our own hearts in one accord in order to bring our body of believers in unity before God and this scene must be something that will put smile on God's face.  In the culture when women were not even counted (remember the 5,000 fed by Jesus recorded in John 6 counted only the men) the women (probably led by Mary the mother of Jesus) joined with men to pray continually.  Likewise, the foundation of any vibrant ministry is to have one mind.

[A] Promoting one mind within our church requires wisdom and disciplined way of leading the congregation such as effective communication.  Prayer and studying word is the default requirement we must hold on to but the practical aspects of embracing people's mind is a pre-requisite ground work that must go on continually.  This year, I need to work in this area for our small group ministry such that not only we refine the "program and structure" but to gather more people's hearts in one mindedness.

[P] Dear Father, please gather our church congregation's hearts into one mind just like how you did in this passage so out of such a culture people will naturally pray together in various groups for our ministry and for one another.  Please make our community a praying community.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

People Gathered as One Man

[S] Nehemiah 8:1,4,6 --
 ¹And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had given to Israel.
 ⁴Ezra the scribe stood at a wooden podium which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam on his left hand.
 ⁶Then Ezra blessed the LORD the great God. And all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

[O] If you read the underlined portions from today's passage, the sequence of events builds up like this: 1) People united as one and gathered; 2) Requested the respected leader to teach them about God's principles; 3) They were prepared to listen and treasure up God's teachings -- wooden podium prepared for this purpose, as well as a bunch of key leaders standing by Ezra; 4) People responded with Amen, hands lifted, worshiping in humility.  What a wonderful blueprint of how we should meet and grow together as a community of God.

[A] Preparedness to receive God's teachings and worshiping with humility and self-unawared posture of fully immersed heart in His presence is what I need to take note and grow toward becoming, not because I try to mimic but because it flows out of my heart.

[P] Dear God, make me Your creation fully worshiping You from the bottom of my heart.  This scene of the Israelites rebuilding Your city from ground zero is very inspiring and I'd like to imprint this into my heart and mind to follow after.  Please seal it with Your Spirit.  In Your holy name I pray.  Amen.

Rubbing Shoulders in Unity

[S] Zephaniah 3:9 --
    ⁹"For then I will give to the peoples purified lips,
         That all of them may call on the name of the LORD,
         To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.

[O] I journaled on this passage five years ago and today as I read it again, it moves my heart again because the picture of God consecrating His people for His works is simply beautiful and so full of hope.  God will display His justice because that's who is is with respect to corruption and sin.  But to the remnant of His people He will restore the purified lips, ability to call on His name, and to serve shoulder to shoulder with others in unity.  In fact, the serving shoulder to shoulder puts an awesome picture of our church coming together rubbing shoulders with other members in order to carry out the ministry charged for our church.  In the recently months God's been continuously sending new members seeking to be connected with God and it's just exciting to see these new people but wouldn't it too wonderful to see them settle in and begin to serve God shoulder to should with the rest of us?

[A] Five years ago, I journaled on this passage dreaming of one day serving God shoulder to shoulder with many brothers and sisters in the Lord.  Today, God has placed us in this home church and is beginning to gather His people to literally rub shoulder to shoulder in His service.  This does not mean things will just click all of a sudden because we still have to work out our differences and discipline ourselves to be aligned with His purposes in humility.  But I am so thankful to God for granting the vision to come true thus far and I am so encouraged to move forward in this direction.

[P] Dear Father, it's been an exciting journey thus far and what a privilege to serve You shoulder to shoulder with others in Christ.  Lately, though, I've been feeling physically tired and would like to ask for your protection and empowerment to carry on the small group ministry.  I also lift up our pastor who is also being swamped with a super high load of responsibilities -- please send Your angels to surround his household and fight off any attacks from the enemy forces.  In these challenges I continuously strive to serve in unity and humility in Christ.  May Your name be lifted up high at all times.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Same Mind, One Voice

[S] Romans 15:5-6 --
 ⁵Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,
 ⁶so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[O] The ultimate goal of godly perseverance and encouragement is to have the same mind in Christ to glorify God.  According to the standards of our society the goal is to be successful which translates into some measurement of quantity such as position, power, or money.  But God's standards are measured by how close my life will follow in accordance with Christ Jesus' principles which He Himself displayed for us during His ministry on earth.  We talk about casting visions and living them out, but unless it is founded on a group of followers with the same mind and with one voice glorify God, that vision is only going to be a dream that may never fulfill.

[A] Any ministry within a local church need to build on top of this principle of same mind and one voice and achieving that requires a common understanding of a certain chain of commands because without it, we will be spending a lot of time trying to figure that out instead of impacting God's ministry itself.  I'm convicted to start praying for this to take place within our small group ministry.

[P] Dear God, please grant the same mind with all the leaders of the small group ministry according to Christ Jesus.  I am not going to worry about all the other logistics for now and focus on this principle to take place.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Unity from Diversity

[S] 1 Corinthians 12:25-26 --
²⁵so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

[O] Paul addresses the use of the spiritual gifts within the church and as he points out the many gifts given to the members of the church he also emphasizes how God intended these various gifts to bring unity to the body of believers and not divisions.  I guess even back then the achievement-oriented nature in us was pretty strong because we get so caught up trying to achieve everything including the spiritual maturity as we seek the degrees, certifications, points, etc.  However, growing in God is not about achievement of reaching different levels according to a set of measurement we set forth but it's about how much our hearts are becoming more like God's heart in the way live our lives 24x7 and not just on Sundays.

Our success will determined when the members of the same body unites such that one another share the tears and joy equally together regardless of various stages of our spiritual walks.  As verse 26 says if one of us suffers, everyone suffers together; if one of us is honored, everyone rejoices together.  As we pursue this, I am reminded to be cautious about insensitivity to other members of our body of believers where our unintended words of discouragement can tear someone apart (some times even without my knowing).

[A] I need to be more sensitive to the "hurts" and "sufferings" our small groups leaders may be going through and to walk alongside them.  Need to spend more personal times with each of them.

[P] Dear Heavenly Father, I so much desire the spiritual unity among the small groups leaders especially as we try to build up the leadership team.  Please speak to all of us as we pursue the Life Journaling together as we go through the book Divine Mentor such that our hearts will truly unite on the ultimate purpose of our ministry rather than getting hung up on the logistics and procedures which we need to put in place to better steward this ministry even though they bear man-made limitations.  Grant me a big heart to shepherd these leaders because of what I gain from You and not relying on my own experiences.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Couriers, Kings, and Princes

[S] 2 Chronicles 30:10-12 --

¹⁰So the couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.

¹¹Nevertheless some men of Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

¹²The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the LORD.

[O] I observed two ways God speaks and moves people's hearts: 1) through messengers (couriers) who besr the message of God to masses of people; 2) through leaders (kings/princes) commanding their people directly. In #1, it is a hit-or-miss (perhaps more misses than hits) and only some people will catch the message and respond. In #2, since it comes from the top, most people will follow in unity. Another thing to note in #2 is that God unites the people's hearts through His grace. I feel that most of us fall into the #1 category where we are the mere messengers of God's truth and many will laugh at us, but some of those who responds make it all worthwhile. When God showers His vision to a church, in many times, not all will respond but only some. But behind it all, God's hand is at work and so our tasks of passing on the message should just be that and leave the rest to God. We are seeking co-workers at our church now and as we cast the vision God placed in the leadership of this church, God will also unite the people's hearts to labor together to shine His wonderful light.

[A] Don't get discouraged by the people's responses but be satisfied by how much I am following and obeying God's command.

[P] Dear God, this passage is so encouraging for me because in doing Your works discouragements are bound take place and especially the couriers may be hit the hardest. But as the saying goes, "I'm just a messenger," I do really want to be just the messenger of what You placed on my heart. The rest I surrender to Your grace. May Your name be lifted up high in the midst of our ministry. In Jesus' name. Amen.