September 15, Tuesday

REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, written by Pastor Mark Chun of Radiance Christian Church in S.F., was originally posted on March 28, 2014. 

Devotional Thought for This Morning

“Approaching God Daily with Confidence”

1 John 5:13-15 (ESV)

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 

Many people see eternal life as just a fairy tale ending to the gospels and something that doesn’t impact our day-to-day lives.  We can mistake the resurrection as simply a happy ending to a life filled with sin, discouragement, stress, and heartache.  Since all of us go through difficulties in this life—literally all at the same time amid the present pandemic—it’s tempting to see eternity as nothing more than a way of escape.  However, the resurrection of Christ is far more than just a guarantee of life after death:  It also guarantees that we will have sufficient power to overcome this world and to find joy in the present age.  I love the pastoral cliché, “Christ came not to add years to our life, but life to our years!”  

A great part of our joy in this life comes from having confidence that God hears and answers our prayers.  Some of the most amazing experiences that I have had spiritually have come as a result of answered prayers.  I’ve always wondered how we will pray in heaven without the presence of pain and sorrow because so many of our prayers are driven by difficulties.  From that perspective, praying presently with an eternal mindset is one of life’s greatest gifts.  Our personal assurance of eternal life allows us to approach God daily with confidence. 

However, there is nothing that hinders this relationship with God faster than a lack of conviction, because, ultimately, mistrust ruins relationships.  If we are not convinced that a person is trustworthy, or convinced that he’s genuine, then our relationship with that person will fall apart.  Our relationship with God and our prayers to Him need to be based on conviction. The resurrection of Christ gives us the power to believe that God is everything that the Scriptures tell us, that He sent His only Son to take the sins of this world, and to bring the hope of the resurrection.  We need to believe and live out the impact of eternal life here and now.  And we will need plenty of this conviction as we all are entering the uncharted territory of post-COVID world.  So, remember the resurrection of Christ and continue to approach God with confidence. 

Prayer: Father, we ask that You give us the confidence to approach You daily with all our needs and struggles.  Teach us how to trust in You and to pray with the assurance of eternity in our hearts.  As we receive answers to our prayers, help us to be content and satisfied with Your will and that we would imitate the prayer of Your Son, “Not my will but yours be done.”  Amen.  

Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 30

Lunch Break Study  

Read James 5:13-18: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.”

Questions to Consider

1.  How does James teach us to pray for the sick?  

2.  What is the connection between sickness and sin?

3.  Who has the power to pray for healing?  

Notes

1.  James accents the need to pray in faith for the sick.   Obviously, we should always pray with faith, but the prayers of faith are most visibly noticeable in our ministry to the sick.       

2.  The Scriptures frequently allude to sin as a sickness.  There is clearly a connection between sin and physical maladies.  Emotional sins like unforgiveness, anger, resentment, and bitterness are often the cause of headaches, back pain, and other ailments.  

3.  This passage reminds us that the prophet Elijah had a nature just like ours (sinful and human), and yet God answered his prayers miraculously.  We can have the same conviction that God will do the same for us when we pray according to His will and purpose  

Evening Reflection

How is your prayer life?  Do you feel like God is hearing you or do you feel as if your prayers are hitting a spiritual ceiling?  Ask the Lord to search your heart and to give you the desire to pray according to His will in faith.  

September 14, Monday

REPOST Today’s AMI Devotional QT, written by Pastor Sam Lee who leads Catalyst Agape Church in Northern New Jersey, was originally posted on July 28, 2014.  

Devotional Thought for This Morning

“Spiritual Respite Amid Bad News from All Sides”

1 Peter 4:7

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.

When I was young, bad news reported on television was limited to what happened locally. Now with the advent of the internet, I get bad news from every corner of the world, instantly. I hear about the civil war in Syria, the conflicts in Ukraine, the oppressions in North Korea, the increasing conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, and on and on.  All these bad news from afar, along with bad news around me, can steal my peace and keep me up at night. 

So how should Christians respond to things that seem out of our control and causes us to stress? The Bible says, “Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.”  That is to say, when we are losing peace, the best response is to pray.  Though those around us seem to depend on a round of golf, a shot of espresso, or a quart of ice cream, prayer is so much better, more powerful, and more effective in handling anxiety, chaos, and stress. 

So today, seek spiritual respite amid bad news from all sides.  Pray—not the superficial, guilt-driven, garden variety kind of prayer, but vine-to-branch connection prayer.  Today, find the best time and place to pray: that is, a time when you are most alert and awake, as well as a place where you will not be distracted.  Find a place that inspires you to pray.  It may be a remote park bench visited during your lunch time. During this special time, come before the Lord with a soft and honest heart. It is not His purpose that you suffer through lifeless prayers. He will meet with you. As a matter of fact, He is waiting for you. The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is waiting for you.  

Prayer: Lord, remind me and motivate me to find the time and a place to spend quiet and quality time with you today.  You are always so ready to meet with me, though I always make excuses.  But not today, Lord!  I will see you later during my lunch hour.  Thank you, Jesus. 

Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 29

Lunch Break Study

Read Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Questions to Consider

1. Write down the convictions that God gives you through this passage concerning prayer.

2. How can you apply those convictions to your prayer life?

Notes

1. Most of us worry too much, even those who emphasize God’s sovereignty. That’s why it is important to take a pause in the middle of a hectic day and meditate on Ps. 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.”  

2. To pray like this, we cannot be hurried nor rushed.  While we do most of the talking (praying), we must also keep silent to detect God’s whisper (e.g., a verse, affirming or convicting words, even an image) spoken to our heart.

Evening Reflection

Reflect and walk out the revelations God gave you during your time with Him.

September 13, Sunday

REPOST Today’s Spiritual Food for Thought is a reprint of Kate Moon’s blog that was originally posted on May 10, 2014.  Kate continues to serve the Lord in E. Asia.

Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend

“One Disadvantage Advantage of Being a Woman”

Titus 2:3 

“Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.” 

You Just Don’t Understand, by Deborah Tannen, spent four years on the New York Times bestseller list (eight months at number one) because her discussion of the differences between the way that men and women engage in conversation touched a chord.  A look today at some of her insights on the way women use “talking”:

“For most women, the language of conversation is primarily a language of rapport: a way of establishing connections and negotiating relationships. Emphasis is placed on displaying similarities and matching experiences . . .. [In contrast,] for most men, talk is primarily a means to preserve independence and negotiate and maintain status in a hierarchical social order. This is done by exhibiting knowledge and skill, and by holding center stage through verbal performance such as storytelling, joking, or imparting information.”

“Girls’ friendships are made and maintained by telling secrets. For grown women too, the essence of friendship is talk, telling each other what they’re thinking and feeling, and what happened that day: who was at the bus stop, who called, what they said, how that made them feel.” 

“There is [a] way that the desire to forge connections may be at work in creating gossip. Talking about someone who is not there is a way of establishing rapport with someone who is there. By agreeing about their evaluation of someone else, people reinforce their shared values and world views.”

“Although gossip can be destructive, it isn’t always; it can serve a crucial function in establishing intimacy–especially if it is not ‘talking against’ but simply ‘talking about.’”

What we can see from the excerpts above is that because of the way women use language to engage with one another, they can be much more susceptible to becoming slanderers.  Addressing this tendency, the Bible encourages older women to use their words in more constructive ways.  Teaching others does not necessarily mean by giving lectures (i.e., in the way that Tannen would say is more natural for men).  Women can teach others through conversations that reach out, connect, build intimacy – sharing their lives with others in ways that encourage and build them up, at the same time making every effort to be watchful that they do not cross the line, falling into “talking against” others in the name of sharing what they are going through.

As we share our lives with one another, can we be more mindful of our words today?  

Prayer: Lord, remind us of the power of words.  Help us to be alert so that we don’t “let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Eph. 4:29).  Amen. 

Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 28

September 12, Saturday

REPOST Today’s Spiritual Food for Thought, written by Pastor Sam Lee who leads Catalyst Agape Church in Northern New Jersey, was originally posted on October 10, 2013.

Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend

“What Intercessory Prayer Looks Like”

Matthews 6:9-10

This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” 

Our prayer needs to be balanced with personal prayer and intercession. Intercession is a prayer focus outside of self. We need an encounter with God not so that He knows what we want, but so that His purposes are revealed in us—i.e., “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” 

Intercession makes us have compassion for the things that is in the heart of God. Furthermore, intercession burdens us for the things God is burdened. Intercession brings heaven on earth. 

Today, pray for others. Pray for your church and government leadership. Pray for people who do not know the Lord. Pray for your community. Pray that researchers can soon find the vaccination for the coronavirus.  As you read or listen to the news, pray for the thing God highlights in your heart. Pray for people who are being spiritually attacked. Pray that God would raise up worker for the harvest. 

By the way, don’t forget to pray for yourself as well. 

Prayer: Father, remind and empower me to take praying seriously. Help me not only to pray for my own needs but for the needs of others. Constantly remind me not to just talk about prayer but actually pray.  Call out my duplicity when it comes to prayer (since I don’t pray much) so I can really pray. Amen. 

Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 26-27

September 11, Friday

REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, provided by Pastor Ryun Chang (AMI Teaching Pastor), is an updated version of his blog first posted on October 31, 2014.

Devotional Thought for This Morning

“Compassion in the Face of Tragedy”

Job 18:5 

[Bildad replied]: “The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out; the flame of this fire stops burning.”  

Acts 12:1

“[Herod] had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.”

After arriving in Guatemala City in 2004, followed by another three hours of driving and then a boat ride, I finally reached my destination, where I was scheduled to train missionary candidates. I stayed at the home of the hosting pastor who, though small in stature, was a dynamic yet gracious leader overseeing a growing church. Eager to build a relationship with him and hoping to introduce my courses there in the future, I spent time getting to know him. But something the pastor said over lunch made me stop: “I’m going through the most difficult time of my life right now. My wife and two boys, on their way to join me at our annual conference, were killed in a bus accident.”

That kind of tragedy is supposed to happen to the wicked, according to Job’s friend Bildad. But the pastor’s wife was no more wicked than you or me; yet her lamp was snuffed out as if she were. I wonder whether Bildad would have said the same thing to Mrs. Zebedee when her son James, one of Jesus’ top disciples, was killed before he had even reached his prime.

Following a moment of silence, I shared something with him, but it was nothing like what the disciples asked Jesus after seeing a man blind from birth: “Who sinned, this man or his parents?” (Jn. 9:2). I simply expressed how devastating his loss must have been, how sorry I felt as a husband and father myself, and how grateful I was to witness such grace flowing from him despite his unfathomable pain. My heart went out to this devastated husband and father, however clumsily I may have expressed it.

As for Christ’s response to His disciples, He said, “This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (Jn. 9:3). While I’m not sure whether that was the reason behind the pastor’s tragedy, it does affirm what Jesus said about our world: “In this world you will have trouble” (Jn. 16:33).

So we take precautions and pray for God’s protection, fully aware that unwanted events may still occur. 

Therefore, we live one day at a time (Matt. 6:34), thanking God for what He has already done for us in Christ and doing our best to serve Him. Let us also be compassionate, particularly toward those who have suffered. “Today” is always a good time to start!

An update 22 years later: A few weeks after losing my wife, I have the feeling that I probably said some things I shouldn’t have to that Guatemalan pastor 22 years ago, since I now have a better sense of what he was truly feeling then.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I exalt and praise You this morning for being the firm anchor of my life. In this tumultuous world in which we live, it is so comforting to know that I am always in the hands of my Creator, Provider, and Sustainer. Above all, You are my Redeemer, and for that I am eternally grateful. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 25

Lunch Break Study

Read Luke 13:1-5 (NIV): “Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.’”

Romans 12:15: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”

John 11:33-36: “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked.

‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’”

Questions to Consider

  1. When the people informed Jesus about what Pilate had done against certain Jews, what were these people thinking?
  2. What does Jesus’ reply truly reveal?
  3. How should we respond to people who have suffered from life’s travails?

Notes

  1. They thought that those whom Pilate slaughtered were, somehow, worse sinners than they and that was why that tragedy came upon them.  In that sense, they were being no different than the disciples who wondered aloud why the blind man was born that way. 
  2. The default position for all humanity is to suffer, whether through a tyrant or an accident (like the tower that fell on the people at Siloam) because the place in which we live is a fallen world.  It is only by God’s grace and mercy that we are still alive.  This calls for our repentance out of gratitude.   
  3. I once witnessed an older woman rebuking a grieving mother, who just lost her son, to stop crying because that showed no faith.  The elderly woman got it all wrong.  Our faith does not dehumanize us; we mourn with those who mourn, like Jesus did when his friend Lazarus died.

Evening Reflection

Do you know anyone who is grieving today?  Would you say a prayer for them?  As you conclude this day, thank God for the life that you presently enjoy.  Worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. 

September 10, Thursday

REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, prepared by the then-staff of Kairos Christian Church in San Diego, was first posted on July 9, 2013.

Devotional Thought for This Morning

“Our Faithful God”

Psalms 74:20-22

20 Have regard for your covenant, because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land. 21 Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name. 22 Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long.

Finally, the psalmist finds hope in the covenant of God.  In the Ancient Near East, a covenant was a treaty sealed in blood.  In a covenant ceremony, animals were cut in half and the parties of the covenant walked between the pieces.  In this way, they vowed to keep their covenant promises or face the same fate as those animals.

When God makes a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15, God alone walks through the halves of the animals.  God takes full responsibility for fulfilling His promises to His people.  While our circumstances and feelings may tempt us to doubt God’s promises, our God is not a liar.  Ultimately, the Son of God Himself shed His blood to guarantee the fulfillment of every word He has said.  

God may not give us whatever we want, but He is absolutely faithful to fulfill His promises to us.  What promises address your concerns this morning?  Pray with boldness that God will fulfill His promises in your life.

Prayer: LORD, You are the God of promise.  I thank You that You have given to me more than empty words and sentimental thoughts, but the blood of your Son has secured every promise You have ever spoken.  Even in the midst of frustration and struggle, grant me grace to cling to your promises.  I wait for the day when You bring each promise to its full fruition. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 24

Lunch Break Study

Read James 1:26-27 (NIV): 26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Questions to Consider

  1. For those who do not keep a tight rein on their tongue, what are they doing to themselves? 
  2. What two qualities make up the “religion” that is pure and faultless that God accepts?
  3. Check your own tongue for patterns of gossip, lies, complaints, slander, etc. 

Notes

  1. Wrongful speech can come in various forms, maligning another’s character. Gossip, for example, does not merely annoy those who are maligned; it threatens the gossiper’s own spiritual health. Those who gossip are not merely slipping into a bad habit but rather, they are betraying their inner selves. 
  2. The first requirement is to visit orphans and widows in their distress. Visit implies to also provide care. God often promises to judge his people based on how well they care for the husbandless and fatherless (Matt 25:31-46). The second requirement is to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Here emerges a perfect example of being “in the world but not of it” where we must function as salt and light to the needy but not lose our ability to illuminate the darkness.
  3. Personal response.

Evening Reflection

Are there some Biblical promises that guard your heart from sinking into a sea of insecurity? Spend some time journaling about a few of those promises. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I ask that my tongue be used to bless and not to curse; to build up and not to tear down; to speak truthfully and not deceptively. Amen.  

September 9, Wednesday

REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, originally posted on November 12, 2014, is provided by Pastor Yohan Lee.  He is a friend of AMI who in the past has served as a staff at several AMI churches. 

Devotional Thought for this Morning

Proverbs 6:1-5

1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger, 2 if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth, 3 then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. 4 Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; 5 save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.  

In the 1995 film Heat, Robert DeNiro, playing a bank robber, tries to live by one guiding principle: “Don’t let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.”  As a felon, one could see how such a philosophy would be helpful:  if you have to flee from the police, it behooves you to not have to go back for a family, house, dog, etc.  Of course, in the movie, DeNiro is undone because he betrays his life principle, and ultimately his relationships (girl and loyalty/desire for revenge) lead to his downfall.  (By the way, don’t watch Heat, it’s kind of slow and violent.)  

In many ways, I see debt as that thing that regular honest people cannot “walk out on in 30 seconds flat.”  For example, when I was doing college ministry, countless number of people have told me that they felt called to go overseas and serve in missions.  But since they were students and had to pay off student loans, they worked after college.  Yet after working for a few years, the Parable of the Sower kicked in, where many were “choked by the cares of this world and the deceit of wealth” (Matt. 13:22).  Payments on cars, homes, credit card debt bills and other financial obligations won out, while the dream of missions never materialized. (I still hope and pray that these guys will make it out some day.)  

In today’s passage, the writer of Proverbs warns against debt (technically co-signing) and likens it to being trapped by a “hunter.”  Anyone who has been in heavy debt will tell you that this is an accurate description of what it feels like.  Have you ever thought that your financial responsibility can make or break the way God uses you?  There is a reason why Christian financial advisors warn against debt.  If God were to tell you to get up and go, would you be prepared financially to obey?  If the answer is no, then understand that financial freedom (in Christ) does not often happen overnight.  Although it takes years of disciplined decisions, the process could start today.  

Prayer: Dear God, help me to be a faithful steward of all that You have given me.  Help me to “leave no debt outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another” (Rom. 13:8) but to make wise and disciplined choices starting now. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 23

Lunch Break Study

Read Matt. 13:1-9; 18-22: 1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.” 18 “Here then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Questions to Consider

  1. What do the seeds represent? 
  2. What do the differing types of soil represent?
  3. Personally, which of these “soils” best represent you and your life?  

Notes

  1. Although the common interpretation is that the seed represents the gospel message, it can still be applicable to the believing Christian, because any Christian can hear God’s word/calling and fall into these circumstances. 
  2. The seed on the path are those who are easily plucked by Satan; rocky soil is a person with a poor foundation; thorn filled soil is one who has a lot of worries in life and loves riches and is endangered of being choked; and the good soil is a receptive heart yielding an abundant harvest.   
  3. Personal response. 

Evening Reflection

Did you have a chance to eliminate some thorns today, particularly in your financial decisions?  Is there a debt that you need to pay off?  Is there some other word that has hit you lately that needs to fall on good soil?  Were you able to move toward that goal today? 

September 8, Tuesday

REPOST Today’s AMI QT blog, written by Pastor Mark Chun of Radiance East Bay Church, was originally posted on March 18, 2014.

Devotional Thoughts for This Morning

“Love Deficiency”

1 John 3:16-18

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

Unlike God, everyone is born with a deficiency of love.  And that is why we are all driven in one way or another to fulfill our desire to be loved.  Some of us seek that love in our families, while others look for it in friendships, and for many, they search for it in their marriages.  Unfortunately, most people don’t realize that there is a very dark side to love that arises out of our unmet needs.  We see it in children who are willing to manipulate their parents to get what they want; we find it in friends who were once close but grow distant; and sadly, people leave their marriages hoping that someone else can fulfill that longing for love.  The irony of the human condition is that our unquenchable need for love is the very thing that keeps us from truly loving others.  For instance, a starving person will only share begrudgingly, thinking that his supply is very short.  

But this is where the Gospel provides a solution to this human predicament.  The apostle John writes that this is love: that Christ laid down his life for us.  God, having nothing to gain, gave everything that He had to creatures who could give nothing in exchange.  Through the sacrifice of his Son, God forever proved that his love has no limit and is immeasurably pure.  And so receiving Christ and beginning the Christian life is as simple as opening your heart to this love that is selfless in its motive, sacrificial in its ability to cover sin, and completely sufficient to satisfy the longings of our hearts.  

In addition to having eternal life, a relationship with Christ transforms our hearts to love just as God has loved us because through Christ, our hearts can finally be set free to love.  God’s love should enrich every relationship that we have to enjoy in this life.  Try it today; you won’t regret it. 

Prayer: Father, You are the very definition of love:  Help us to receive Your love into our lives.  May we come to realize that only You can fulfill our deepest desire to be known and to be loved.  Reveal to our minds and hearts the incredible depth, width, and height of Your unending love.  Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 22

Lunch Break Study  

Read Matthew 5:43-48: 43“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Questions to Consider

  1. Why does Jesus place before us this difficult command to love our enemies?  
  2. How does loving our enemy reflect our relationship with God? 
  3. What does it mean to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect?  
  4. Are you growing in godliness?  

Notes

  1. One of the distinguishing marks of a genuine Christian is the way he or she loves.  If we only love just as the world loves, we do God a great disservice because we misrepresent the nature of who He is and how He loves.  
  2. Loving our enemy and those who are unlovable is an indication that we are growing in our sonship with God.  In other words, we are learning what it means to be children of God, because we are learning to love as our Father loves.  
  3. In this context, perfection does not mean moral purity, but rather becoming whole and mature.  It takes great maturity to love without limit, but it is something that can be pursued and attained in this life. 
  4. Personal response.

Evening Reflection

Was there an opportunity for you to love someone who irritated, frustrated, or bothered you?  Review your day and write about situations where you could have exercised more love and grace.  

September 7, Monday

REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, written by the then-(2013) staff of Remnant Westside Church in Manhattan, was originally posted on September 12, 2013.

Devotional Thought for This Morning

“Worshiping the Lord Wherever I Am”

Psalm 87:1-3

1 On the holy mount stands the city he founded; 2 the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. 3 Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah.

In the Old Testament times, Jerusalem played a significant role, for the temple of God resided in this city. Also, many of the kings of Israel ruled from this city, making it the center of Judah. People would make pilgrimages here, sometimes annually. It is not a far stretch to say that it played a central role for the people of Israel. Yet, more than the role it played in the lives of the people, what we see is the psalmist pointing to God’s heart for this city. The physical Jerusalem pointed to the spiritual Zion, which was a place of God’s presence; this was where God met and revealed Himself to His people.  For the psalmist, his love for Jerusalem overflowed from God’s delight for the city. This was the place where God established his temple as a place of worship and encounter with God for the people. 

For us who are in Christ, we know that wherever we may be and whenever the time, we always have access to God (Rom. 5:1). Through Jesus, as seen in the story of the Samaritan woman at the well, there is a paradigm shift from worshiping the Lord at the temple, to worshiping him in spirit and in truth.  As the psalmist exalts Jerusalem because of the Lord’s delight to meet with his people in that city, it is an encouragement to for us to delight in the Lord in worship whether it be in our cubicles, classrooms, our apartments, or the city God has placed us in, because these are places to encounter and worship God. 

This morning, God is reminding you of how glorious it is to be in a place where his presence can be made manifest. He is calling you to encounter and worship Him in the place where He founded and delights in. Just as the physical Jerusalem pointed to Zion, the spiritual reality, where you are, here and now, can be a place where the spiritual reality of God can be established.

Prayer: Dear God, no matter where I am today, remind me to worship You.  Whether loudly or quietly may I shout or whisper my expression of gratitude unto You in response to Your amazing grace expressed in Your Son Christ.  Amen.    

Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 21

Lunch Break Study

Read Philippians 2:5-7: 5“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

Paul continues to address matters of the mind and attitude, culminating in this exhortation to have the mind of Christ.

By the way, because verses 5-11 have a poetic quality to them, many scholars believe that it was an early hymn. For this reason, many translations (including NIV and NLT but not ESV) set it in an indented text.

Questions to Consider

  1. What is the relationship between the mind of God and the incarnation of Christ?
  2. What do we often forget when only the fact that our salvation in Christ is totally free is stressed?
  3. What does “he emptied himself” imply?

Notes

  1. The mind of Christ (v.5) led to this radical change of Christ’s relationship to the world. He was in very nature God (v.6), yet took up the form of a servant (v.7).
  2. Sometimes, we get so enamored by the fact that our salvation in Christ is totally free that we fail to acknowledge how costly it was to God—the price He paid to redeem us is incalculable. 
  3. He “emptied himself” refers to this idea that Christ was entirely poured out or spent in this process of taking the form of a servant.

Evening Reflection

Psalms 16:11: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Lord, how you desire that I experience and enjoy your glory! You want me to enter your gates with thanksgiving (which means that I have been invited) and to come into your courts with praise.  Just as you gave Moses the privilege to access your presence, I have the same promise, for you have said, “In your presence is fullness of Joy!”

God, I will not live in a pessimistic, cynical, and defeatist attitude, despairing over this world. You invite me to fellowship with you, whether it be working on perplexing challenges or in loving others, I am encouraged that I can do it with you, for you have said that I can accomplish great things in you, and I will!  You invite me to sit at your right hand where there are lasting pleasures, and to begin living this moment in my true identity as your child.

September 6, Sunday

REPOST Today’s Spiritual Food for Thought, originally posted on November 9, 2014, is provided by Pastor Jason Sato. Jason, along with his wife Jessica, serves in Japan as an AMI missionary.

Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend

“Scrutinizing Everything & Everyone Except the One that Really Matters” 

Proverbs 4:23-27

23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. 24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. 25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Are you vigilant about small things?  Do you notice the dust on the floor, the number of calories in that cookie, or the wrinkle in your son’s shirt?  The important things in life (or at least the ones important to us) require a great deal of attention to detail.  Yet it’s so easy to ignore the details when it comes to righteousness.  The author of Proverbs directs our attention to the ordinary words we use and the direction that they take us.

We tend to go through life at a frantic pace while being unaware of what is really going on in our hearts.  We’ll stop to consider large matters, like a crisis of faith or relationship on the verge of a breakdown, but are often oblivious to the ordinary direction of our lives.  Longstanding patterns of small but corrosive indulgences do not trouble us because we refuse to recognize them.  I find it difficult to even identify the crooked speech or devious talk that I am tempted to utter.  Maybe I’m that unaware of myself.  Maybe I’m just not paying attention. 

My use of words was brought to my attention by a brother whom I was pastoring a few years ago.  A steady stream of sarcastic comments, criticisms disguised as jokes, and unhelpful off hand remarks had been slowly eating away at our relationship.  Thankfully, he took the initiative in bringing this to my attention and we were able to reconcile.

What direction are we going?  Are we slowly walking down the path of cynicism and hard-heartedness?  Is it the path of life or the path of complaining and ingratitude?  Are we indulging in gossip and finding out too late that we are heading toward broken relationships?

Take a moment to dwell on the goodness of God in your life.  What words can you speak to Him and to others today that are true?  Pray that your words would lead to a life of faith, hope, and love for yourself and those who hear you.

Prayer: Lord, may my words lead to a life of faith, hope, and love for myself and those who hear me. Amen. 

Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 20