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

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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.

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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. 

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

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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.

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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.  

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

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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. 

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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? 

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

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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.

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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.  

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

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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.

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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.

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

REPOST Today’s Spiritual Food for Thought, originally posted on December 29, 2019, is provided by Christine Li. Christine has been serving as a deaconess at Remnant Church in Manhattan, New York, for the past several years.

Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend

“Safe to Tell the Truth”

Romans 2:1-4 

1 “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.  2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”

As a child, I observed one way that my parents disciplined my younger brother. When my mom couldn’t get anywhere by raising her voice or sounding threatening, she would soften up and take any consequences of her getting angry off the table. Then the following exchange would take place: “Didi (younger brother),” she would say, “tell me the truth.” Then she would wait. Unfailingly, he would start, “The truth is…” and admit whatever he had done. It was amazing that it always worked! As soon as my mom signaled that she wouldn’t be upset and just wanted the truth, my brother always confessed. He always confessed because she had made it safe for him to do so.

I think back to this when reminded of how God’s kindness is what leads us to repentance. In this passage, Paul describes the right way to look at condemnation of sins. When we are afraid or ashamed of our sins, our natural instincts will be to hide. We might avoid confession, or sometimes we hide behind others by calling to attention their wrongs so that we seem relatively good. By doing so, we avoid facing the reality of our own guilt. More than that, we trample over the costly gift of forgiveness from God and devalued the path of restoration He has offered.

Our Father has paid a great price to show us endless kindness and patience. Now He has made it safe, good, and joyful for us to confess our wrongdoings, and we should gladly do so. As we are led by His kindness, we are free to assess the horror of our sin and the wonderful gift of restoration. He always delights to restore us when we come to Him. 

Let’s take some time to think about our relationship with God and how that affects our confessions. Are you keeping God at arm’s distance, hoping He doesn’t find out or catch up with you and let you have it? Or are you a child who is secure and unafraid to confess wrongs, eager to be restored? Let’s ask Him to help us live in that latter category. Let’s not keep away when we know we could have joy by encountering Him today.

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your kindness! Thank You for making it safe and wonderful to come into Your presence. I know that when I confess my sins, You are faithful to restore and glad to make me more holy. Help me not take for granted Your gifts of forgiveness but live in a way that honors You. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 18-19

REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, provided by Pastor Peter Yoon of Kairos Christian Church in San Diego, is an updated version of his blog first posted on May 16, 2014. 

Devotional Thought for This Morning

“I Don’t Remember a Thing”

Titus 3:1-2

1 “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.”

A pastor once commented that we suffer from a 30-second memory ability when it comes to following good instructions. A professor often repeated that “a good memory is not as good as a ragged pen.” All of us tend to forget, whether it be returning a book to the library, paying the bills, or friends’ birthdays. And so we set up Google calendars or hang up calendars on our refrigerators to “remind” ourselves. 

Apparently, the congregation that Titus oversaw also overlooked matters. However, these matters were of utmost importance for the Christian community, that is, if it was going to be an effective witness for the Lord. Paul, therefore, instructs Titus to “remind” the people of God. 

Today, we live in an age of information. Thanks to technology, we have immediate access to information in just about any language at any given moment. And so we download all sorts of information to our brains. By the time you arrive at work or your morning class, you’ve already read through pages of news, blogs, articles, Facebook posts, etc.; but how is it that you can’t remember a thing! Do you remember a time when you actually used to remember a person’s phone number? Do you remember the sermon from this past Sunday?

Apparently, the 1^st century congregation also forgot the pastor’s sermon by Monday, and that is why Paul tells Titus to remind the people. 

Has God recently “reminded” you of something that you needed to follow through? Perhaps God used your small group, a friend, or your spouse to send out His reminder. God is giving you another opportunity for obedience. Take the opportunity to follow through today.    

Prayer: Dear God, I admit that I can easily forget the things that You have taught me and revealed to me. Thank You for sending me reminders of the ways in which You desire for me to live. Grant me Your grace this day to follow through on the things You are reminding me to obey. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 17

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Lunch Break Study  

Read Joshua 4:1-9 (NIV): 1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” 4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe,5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” 8 So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.

Questions to Consider 

1. Why does God command the Israelites to gather twelve stones after crossing the Jordan River? 
2. For whom was the stone memorial erected?
3. What memorials can you intentionally build around your life or in your family so that even after some time has passed, God’s greatness and goodness will be remembered? 

Notes

1. The twelve stones were to serve forever as a sign and as a memorial (cf. Ex. 12:26–27; Dt. 6:20–25). Memory plays an important role in any society. Without memory a person loses identity, and without a history to sustain it, a society and the world around it become virtually like a phantom. Any society that hopes to endure must become, as sociologists put it, “a community of memory and hope.”
2. In the future, the children of the Israelites would ask, “What do these stones mean?” As the Israelites were crossing into unchartered and dangerous territories, they would have been reminded and comforted to know that their future children would inhabit the land.
3. Personal response.

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Evening Reflection

Spend some time reflecting on some critical moments or seasons in your life where the Lord revealed Himself to you. As you reflect, give God thanks for His sovereign foundations that He’s established thus far in your life.  

REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, provided by Pastor Ryun Chang (AMI Teaching Pastor), is an updated version of his blog first posted on February 12, 2013.

Devotional Thought for This Morning

Psalms 16:7-9, 11

7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure. 11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

No one wants to be the last person chosen for a pick-up game.  I know how that feels and believe me, you just want to hide.  Yes, no one likes to be chosen last.But when facing life’s troubles—and there’s plenty to go around in our world ravaged by the coronavirus—we often do this to God, seeking Him as a last resort after exhausting all other avenues. Why?  Maybe we don’t think God is that good, or He “plays” the way we do, like winning at all cost, including cheating, if necessary.  Think of Houston Astros who cheated their way to win the World Series.  (Of course, God doesn’t do that!) 

Evidently, God doesn’t like to be chosen last either.  To the idol-worshipping Israel who chased after territorial gods such as Baal or Molech, God said, sarcastically, “Go and serve your idols, everyone of you!  But afterward you will surely listen to me” (Ez. 20:39).  Yes, doing things our way may work, temporarily, but ultimately, they will disappoint us.  

Today’s psalm shows that, at some point in David’s life, he discovered that setting the LORD always before him was the path toward joy and security in life.  Later, Jesus would echo David’s outlook in life when he said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33).

So, before seeking man’s counsel, get on your knees and cry out to Him.  Don’t consult the horoscopes, but diligently study God’s word and apply it to your life.  And that’s how we can receive God’s instructions and counsels!  Only then will we truly understand what David meant when he sang, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Reflect on the immensity of our LORD and how this great God actually cares about you!  Find rest in that today. You will need it as we are wallowing in the mire of COVID-19.  God, have mercy on us, especially when we, in our stupidity, seek You last.  

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I praise and exalt You this morning for being a great and awesome God who, astoundingly, cares about an insignificant person like me.  How many times have I insulted You by choosing other means to solve my problems, instead of turning to You to seek Your wisdom, instruction, comfort!  I thank You, LORD, for always making Yourself available to me.  Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 16

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Lunch Break Study  

Read Jeremiah 42:1-6: 1“Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near 2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, for all this remnant—because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us— 3 that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.” 4 Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your request, and whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you.” 5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the Lord your God sends you to us. 6 Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”

Jeremiah 43:1-7: 1 When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the Lord their God, with which the Lord their God had sent him to them, 2 Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to live there,’ 3 but Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon.” 4 So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah. 5 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven— 6 the men, the women, the children, the princesses, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan; also Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7 And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And they arrived at Tahpanhes.

Questions to Consider 

1. The hostile remark in verse 2 was made to the prophet Jeremiah. Who said this to him (Jer. 42:1-6)?
2. Appearances can be deceiving.  How was this true in this case?  What did the prophet Jeremiah say that set them off (Jer. 42:7-18)?
3. What did they do and how did God respond (Jer. 43:2-7, 44: 11-7)?  
4. When seeking God, what should be our posture?

Notes 

1. After the Babylonian invasions, which left Judah desolate (due to many who were exiled), a small Jewish remnant came to Jeremiah inquiring what they should do.  Their request seemed quite genuine.
2. In short, Jeremiah told them something they didn’t want to hear.  Egypt was where they wanted to go all along, but once they were told to go elsewhere, they accused Jeremiah of lying.  Apparently, they had come to Jeremiah with their minds already made-up and were determined to insist that their will was God’s will.  They were hoping that the prophet would agree with them but once it became clear that he wouldn’t, they proceeded to discredit the messenger.
3. They went to Egypt in disobedience, even taking Jeremiah with them.  Nothing provokes God’s indignation more than our active disobedience; thus, God vowed to punish them.
4. Unless we’ve the willingness to obey God, we shouldn’t seek His counsel.  Neither should we seek God after having already made up our minds nor to appear religious or spiritual.       

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Evening Reflection

A day can go by so quickly.  Before turning in for the night, consider these questions:

What are some personal or work issues that are causing you to lose sleep at night, or at least make you feel stressed? Did anything happen today that caused you to stress out even more?  What have you done about them? Have you earnestly sought after God regarding these issues?  If not, do you know why you haven’t?  Do you have trust issues with God?  Write out a prayer to Him honestly telling the Lord how you feel.  Pray about your condition. 

REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, first posted on April 2, 2013, is provided by Pastor Barry Kang who heads Symphony Church in Boston. 

Devotional Thought of This Morning

“About Confession of Sin”

Psalm 32:3-5 (NIV)

3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.  Selah 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”— and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Guilt and shame are terrible weights to endure.  There is a reason that “blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven”!  The Psalmist makes clear the way out: confession.  

When we come into the light with our sins, we are able to receive forgiveness (spiritual, emotional and psychological).  When we keep our sins hidden within our hearts, and leave them unconfessed before God, we are not bringing them into his forgiving light.    

Do we need to confess every sin?  What if we forget one or two (or many)?  Does that mean we won’t receive full forgiveness?  No.  We are saved (which includes being forgiven) by grace . . . not by the work of confession.  But it is through confession of our sinfulness that we declare that God is the one able to set us free.  It is a sign of trust, hope and faith (and faith in Jesus is an important part of the salvific process).  When we fully trust in God’s forgiveness, then we can also be set free from the psychological weight of guilt and shame.

Don’t allow yourself to be hindered by your past.  Confess your sins before God and receive His forgiveness today!  

Ps: Two words seem anathema to modern day Americans: “sinner” and “confess.”  Lest, this point doesn’t come out clearly, let me say from the outset: it is crucialto our understanding of the gospel and Jesus Christ that we know that we aresinners saved by the work of Jesus Christ.  We cannot grasp the importance of the cross and the overwhelming nature of God’s grace unless we know deep in our hearts how far we are from deserving it.  When we are afraid to confess our sins, it shows our mistrust of God.

But God’s promise is that if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just and will forgive.  If we believe this, we will confess our sins.  We will confess our sins even to one another (c.f. James 5:16), for we will know that it is never by our own actions that we can claim righteousness but only through what Christ bought for us on the cross.

Prayer: Father, I confess my sinfulness to You.  I am in need of your grace and mercy.  I ask that You would bring healing into my heart and my mind.   I want to live this day in Your joyful presence.  In Jesus’s name I pray, Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 15

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Lunch Break Study

Read 1 John 1:8-10 (NIV):  8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 

Questions to Consider

1. Why does John say that if we claim to be without sin that we are deceiving ourselves (c.f. Romans 3:10-12)?
2. In this passage, what does John imply is the opposite of claiming to be without sin?
3. How important to our relationship with God is it for us to comprehend that we are sinners saved by Grace? 

Notes

1. Romans 3:10-11 tells us that we are all sinners.  No one in the history of humanity was without sin (except for Jesus). We all fall short of the glory of God.  When we claim that we are without sin (as I’ve heard some Christians claim), we are on dangerous ground, for it shows that tendency in our hearts to desire righteousness on our own terms.
2. John contrasts “claim to be without sin” with “confess our sins”.  In other words, the opposite of the proud self-righteous person is the person who humbly confesses his sin.  When we confess our sins, we are declaring our trust in a God who is “faithful and just” and will “forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  When we confess our sins, we are putting our faith not in our own righteousness but in the righteousness of God.
3. John warns us that if we are not confessing our sins to God, then we are making God out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.  Confession of sinfulness is an important aspect of what it means to have faith in the God revealed through scripture.

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Evening Reflection

As the old Scottish maxim goes, “confession is good for the soul.”  Are you resisting confessing your sins?  Are there sins so terrible in your life that you could never confess them to another?  If so, ask God to help you to fully trust him.  Write of the ways that you doubt God’s promises.  Confess any waywardness and any doubts hindering your faith and surrender them to God.