Keeps On Going Again and Again

[S] John 10:7-8,11 --
 ⁷Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."
 ⁸The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?" 
 ¹¹This He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep." 

[O] If the disciples knew about the danger of going back to Judea, I'd think Jesus was aware of this also.  However, He decided to go there again fully knowing the risk and yet he was fully driven by His purpose mentioned in verse 11.  Of course that was the practical reason with the ultimate reason of glorifying God through that miracle.  Many times I discredit Jesus' actions like these because He was God -- much like how I'd expect the Superman to fly over a building without any problems, I expect Jesus to make this type of a decision because He knows the future and He is above the earthly circumstances.  But today, God whispered to me about how He was a full man and how He was fully bound to the earthly limitations too which means, He was fully capable of averting the risks He may be walking into.  He did have an edge being the Son of God but in the end His human side had to be led by His spiritual side.  This is one way to define ministry:  Overcoming the earthly limitations with Heavenly purposes.

[A] How many times, have I weighed the risks of venturing into the "ministry zone" and decided to stay safe within the boundaries of the "safe zone" (or perhaps the "twilight zone")?  I find myself doing this whenever I am unclear of God's purpose which increases the fear factor.  So, I must ask God to make the purpose of my ministry clear at all times such that I, too, may say, "Let us go to the 'ministry zone' again, and again."

[P] Dear God, please continue to sustain your vision and purpose of doing ministry for You.  This is more than simply participating in a ministry program but for my inner heart to be pumping His vision all the time in order to constantly pursue the avenues to reveal God's wonderful presence without caving into the fear of unknowns to leave myself in my own safety zone.  Please grant such an assurance in my life.  In Jesus' name.  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.

Though the World May CrumbleDown

[S] Habakkuk 3:17-19 --
    ¹⁷Though the fig tree should not blossom
         And there be no fruit on the vines,
         Though the yield of the olive should fail
         And the fields produce no food,
         Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
         And there be no cattle in the stalls,
    ¹⁸Yet I will exult in the LORD,
         I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
    ¹⁹The Lord GOD is my strength,
         And He has made my feet like hinds' feet,
         And makes me walk on my high places.
         For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.

[O] After going back and forth with God about His judgment towards His people, Habakkuk realizes God's wrath is unavoidable (Habakkuk 3:2 -- In wrath remember mercy).  His realization brought him to the foot of Jesus' Cross it seems even though he's an Old Testament character because in the midst of this confession, I see a sense of resurrection and life instead of crumbling down in despair.  In verse 18, he will rejoice in the God of his salvation.

[A] Looking around my life, I can so easily lock on to what's not going right and fixate myself there forever feeling so sad for myself.  However, Habakkuk taught me that even though everything may fall apart around me, I can still exult in the Lord and rejoice in His salvation because God is my strength making me to walk on my high places.  This is the true joy God desires me to latch on to and so I will do just that.  There are many things which aren't necessarily going the way I expected but in some sense, that's the way it is while I rejoice in the Lord of my salvation!

[P] Dear Heavenly Father, I will rejoice in Your wonderful salvation no matter what disasters may come my direction.  You are indeed my fortress and I want to live my life to reflect that.  Please guide me each day and fill me up with Your strengths.  In Your precious name.  Amen.

Long but Sweet Years

[S] 2 Chronicles 35:19 --
 ¹⁹In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign this Passover was celebrated.

[O] Eighteen years is a long time and what's amazing is King Josiah persisted those eighteen years to restore the Passover celebration into the lives of Israelites.  I'm sure it was a battle fought every day to first cleanse out the old idols both physically as well as mentally from the people, and then establish the respect and worship to the God of Heaven.  This un-doing first before establishing a new culture is a process that requires patience and sustained vision because things like this does not happen overnight with some brute forced revolution.  I'm so encouraged to read this short but heavy verse describing how King Josiah's desire to glorify God came through in the end.

[A] I am so encouraged by King Josiah's dedication to re-establish God's Kingdom and His culture despite the long years of hard work.  It appears doing God's ministry in many ways reflect King Josiah's efforts because it will take time (in earth measures) and demands my persistent pursuing of His dreams put into my heart.  I am going to do just that in the small group ministry at my church.

[P] Dear God, may You allow me to be used by You so I may also leave behind such a short but powerful statement of restoring Your culture in the small group ministry as well as in my own family and life.  I realize this won't be a walk in the park, but I am going to dedicate my energy for this purpose.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Is This Enough, Lord?

[S] John 6:9,12 --
 ⁹"There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?" 
 ¹²When they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost." 

[O] Andrew's question in verse 9 (highlighted) is very convicting to me because it seems that is the proper posture of a servant of God engaged in His ministry -- what can I add to the vast ministry that God is already working in?  The answer is nothing, really, in fleshly sense but once gripped by Him, it can multiply to meet the capacity of the ministry at hand.  Contrarily, I must be careful not to have an attitude of saying, "Isn't this good enough God?  Look how much I brought to the table to do Your ministry?"  This type of an attitude is not only dangerous of pride, but also deplete the Power of God to manifest itself in the ministry I'm involved with.  In verse 12, Jesus also ensures me about how none of what little I bring forth into His ministry will be wasted.  The leftover fragments may refer to "failures" of ministry on first round which Jesus will gather up to apply in furthering the ministry or to turn them into food for the servants themselves (i.e., me).

[A] Always stay humble when bringing my share of efforts to His ministry by having the posture of Andrew: But what are these for so much need?  Humbly submit my efforts into His hands so it may multiply according to His plans.  And while it is inevitable to have dips and slumps in ministry, I must not write them off as failures but to gathering them up as my own food for thought and to gain strength from it to further my involvement in the ministry.  Make sure no efforts will be lost.

[P] Dear Jesus, what is my life and involvement for so much need in people around me especially at my church?  It really is a drop in a bucket but that's why I rely on You 100% so my meager efforts will multiply into meet the needs according to Your desires.  I want to experience just that and add the layers of my spiritual growth because I feed myself from Your wonders happening right in my own life.  Please continue to gather up my failures to feed me for regaining strength to carry on.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Monitoring God at Work

[S] John 5:17 --
 ¹⁷But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working."

[O] Easily I can say it was easy for Jesus to know His Father was working and for Him to work along side Him.  But He was a full human and He He had to focus on what God was up to in order for Him to follow along.  Despite how He did that the key point here is the fact that He was aligning what He did with what God the Father was doing.  In order to do this, He had to know where God is at work so He may join Him there (as Dr. Henry Blackaby says in His Experiencing God).  At times I'm so busy figuring out what I need to do for God I neglect to find out where He is at work first.  It's like re-inventing the wheels all over again.  Logically speaking, I am doing God's ministry and that means God is already at work some where and my job is to follow His footsteps.

[A] Spend time of prayer to seek where God is at work around me so I may align the small group ministry at our home church to His workings already begun in the midst of us.  Try not to re-invent the ministry He already started.

[P] Dear God, although I glossed over this passage many times, today You revealed to me how important it was for Jesus' ministry to be knowing Your workings first.  Needless to say my ministry must also do that by first finding out where you're working.  I would really like to know that in many aspects and especially please reveal that to me re: the small group ministry at our church; and then about parenting my beautiful children.  I want to follow your footsteps, every step so please show me the way and open the eyes of my heart.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Turning the Spiritual Tide Through Generations

[S] 2 Kings 21:3 --
 ³For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.

[O] When Manasseh became the King of Judah at the age of twelve, he restored all the corruption back in their places against what his father, Hezekiah had destroyed.  At such a young age, he was already biased toward worshiping Baal and other idols such that he was determined to turnover the whole nation.  I cannot pass judgment on Hezekiah as a father, but without having to dig into the root cause there was a disconnect from Hezekiah's value system to Manasseh's.  It wasn't a slight difference but a completely different basis of spiritual foundation.  In order to bring this type of an impact, Manasseh must have been influenced strongly in his upbringing by those against the God of Heaven.  The point is the value systems we see now in our society were shaped through several generations and did not happen overnight.

[A] Needless to say that I need to do my utmost best to pass on the spiritual values to my children and their generation just like my father had done just that up to his last days on earth.  Instead of being like Manasseh who did his best to get rid of Godly presence, I wish and pray that my children will give all they got to restore the presence of God in their lives and generation they will thrive in.

[P] Dear Heavenly Father, please hear my prayer about passing on the Godly spiritual values to my children and allow me the honor to do just that in my lifetime.  I pray that the spiritual foundation I lay down for them will become the basis for their layer of the spiritual foundation imparting their own friends and families.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.