Good Offense is Also Good Defense

[S] Titus 1:9 --
  ⁹holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

[O] As with the World Cup soccer games we enjoy watching these days need good defense as well as good offense, my spiritual life also needs both good defense as well as good offense.  I must be able to defend my faith in Christ whenever faced with any attacks on my faith with my firm foundation in God's promises and truth.  At the same time, I must also look for ways to have an offensive strategy to challenge those who are contradicting God's truth.  I cannot just let them do what they desire as a passive believer.  Am I equipped to do this?  Have I been too much of a passive believer at workplaces when others talk down on Christian faith or other Christian believers?

[A] As much as I need to know the fundamentals of having a genuine faith in Christ, I also should prepare my mind to refute those who contradict God's truth.  This is not about declaring a war or anything like that but I must stand firm on my faith and if that means taking an offensive attitude, I must know how to do that.

[P] Dear God, may I not be too lame when it comes to refuting those who contradict Your ways.  Please train me with Your word as I go to You daily to learn Your ways.  Allow me to have an offensive strategy.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Restoring the Shiny-ness

[S] Psalm 80:3 -- ³O God, restore us
         And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.

[O] This passage reminds me of restoring a tarnished silverware which over time turns from a shiny, sparkling silver to dark and black-covered surface.  What's also interesting is that even though this process takes place over time, I usually notice it one day almost thinking the tarnishing took place overnight.  I enjoy applying the cleaning solution to tarnished silverware because as the original shiny and sparkling surface emerges from beneath, I get a sense as though I've just made them fresh.  And on top of that when I can see myself reflecting on the newly restored shiny surface, it brings me a truly refreshing sense.  This psalmist must have been thinking about the same concept when he wrote this phrase -- how our lives can over time gets covered with "tarnish" and stops reflecting God's face and how we need to request God to restore us to the original state of letting His face shine upon us.

[A] The tarnishing takes place over time, little by little.  Instead of waiting until I'm "hopelessly" tarnished, I need to apply the cleaning solution on daily basis to keep my shiny-ness in order to have His face shine off my face.  I feel this cleaning solution for me is my prayer time with God and I need to dedicate more of my personal prayer time.

[P] Dear God, I request that You would restore me and cause Your face to shine upon my face as I approach You during my personal prayer times.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Direct Source of Equipping

[S] 2 Timothy 3:16-17 --
 ¹⁶All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
 ¹⁷so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

[O] Verse 16 is well-known to explain how the Scripture came about -- it came directly from God through various authors and that make Scripture very credible.  However the question to ask at this point is: "What difference does this make for me?"  Unless there is a direct impact in my own life, that fact alone, although it's true and fantastic, may have nothing to do with me.  That's why Paul continues with verse 17 where he explains the purpose of God-inspired Scripture given to us.  It is a tool to keep me adequate, equipped for every good work.  Now the question is will I be utilizing this tool to do just that?

[A] There is a direct relationship with my desire of serving God and doing His ministry to how much I delve into the Word of God because without doing the latter, the former is impossible to accomplish because I won't have the right tools to stay equipped to carry out the good works for God.

[P] Dear God, I pray that Your Scripture will be directly impacting my life equipping me to carry out the wonderful tasks You had planned for my life.  May I not try to take short cuts in supplying myself with adequate dosage of Your Word every day.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

No Status Quo Faith Possible

[S] 2 Timothy 1:13-14 --
 ¹³Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
 ¹⁴Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.

[O] Paul charges Timothy to retain the sound teachings in the faith and love.  He also tells to guard through the Holy Spirit indwelling in us all.  Paul writes this because just like how gravity naturally pulls things down, unless we continue to retain the good teachings of Christ as well as guard them, we will either lose them or will be stolen from by the master deceiver of this world.  There is no such thing as a status quo in living out Christ-like life and that's what Paul is emphasizing here.

[A] I need to re-examine my spiritual life for any areas that I consider status quo thinking that I can some how retain and guard my faith.  One of these areas is my life as a father to my children.  I also need to put more efforts to retain the quality of excellence and guarding that position by learning and researching on how I can be a better dad by better adapting to my children's growing up such that I can be applying the right (timely sensitive) wisdom to bring them up.

[P] Dear God, I surrender all aspects of my life to You.  Please sprinkle Your Love and Grace on it so my life won't go sour.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

What Will People Do When I'm Gone?

[S] 2 Chronicles 24:15b,17-19 --
And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.
 ¹⁷But after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them.
 ¹⁸They abandoned the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols; so wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt.
 ¹⁹Yet He sent prophets to them to bring them back to the LORD; though they testified against them, they would not listen.

[O] Jehoiada left behind a spiritual legacy by being the key influencer to the Israelites to continually worship God.  After he went to be with God, the leaders of the Israelite society almost immediately abandoned following God and turned to their own idols.  I am touched by Jehoiada's charismatic leadership which sustained the people's perspective towards God and to keep Him at the center of their lives.  I hope it wasn't purely based on fear of his power that people followed him and I also hope my life will be used by God to keep people around me focused on God because of my influences on them.

[A] Being an influencer to people around me means disciplines around my own life to do just that first.  I need to stay humble toward God and others at all times while fearing God everyday.  I need to be thankful in all situations for His grace in my life because it's due to that grace that I can even be the person I'm trying to be.

[P] Dear God, thank You for the wonderful grace in my life.  Please continue to humble me so I may stay on my knees as I surrender my life to be one of your influencers for those around me.  Please take this life and use it for shining Your light on others.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Look Out for Unfinished Businesses

[S] 2 Kings 10:28-29 --

 ²⁸Thus Jehu eradicated Baal out of Israel.
 ²⁹However, as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin, from these Jehu did not depart, even the golden calves that were at Bethel and that were at Dan. (NASB)

²⁸ In this way, Jehu destroyed every trace of Baal worship from Israel. ²⁹ He did not, however, destroy the gold calves at Bethel and Dan, with which Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to sin.  (NLT)

[O] Jehu did a fabulous job of eradicating Baal out of Israel with remarkable plans and execution.  However, he still left the golden calves which was enough for him to follow the sin of Jeroboam in the end.  This picture is so typical of my doing God's work where I always seem to leave a bit of an unfinished business despite the efforts I put in.  I am so susceptible to the gravity pull of sin and in many instances I can easily fool myself to think I've done such a great job for God I can get away with a little unfinished area.  However God desires a complete obedience and so He may work through me.

[A] Especially after doing some task for God, stay humble and seek His mercy in my life.  Do not rely on my achievements to fool myself of thinking I'm worthy of His praise.  Instead, reflect on which areas I've missed and surrender them to His grace.

[P] Dear God, please keep me humble as I desire to serve You in my family, church, and community.  May I not get a big head from serving You as that is my simple duty for what You have done for me.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Seared Into Our Conscience

[S] 1 Timothy 4:1-2 --
  ¹But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,
 ²by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,

[O] At first read, this passage gave me the impression of some witches with evil looks, but God seem to whisper into my ears how the devil is like the wolf in sheep clothing -- looks safe on the outside but not so inside.  In the society I life in now, it is so difficult to discern right from wrong, truth from lies, and genuine from counterfeits.  This is so because over time we drifted away from the core of God's ways, little by little we shifted away and before we know it, we're so far from the Way.  As Paul wrote in verse 2, slowly but surely the hypocrisy of liars seared into our conscience as with a branding iron.  This gives me a clear picture of the branding iron searing its marks permanently into people's conscience.  I thought our consciences are unalterable because God gave them to us but unless we daily abide in Him, we cannot guarantee to guard our consciences against these doctrines of daemons.

[A] Continue to spend the alone time with God through meditating on His words in order not to drift away from the stream of His wisdom and knowledge.

[P] Dear God, protect me and my family's consciences to be immune from the deceitful spirits and doctrines of daemons.  May our children continue to abide in Your word and please grant them more desire to read Your word more and more.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.