January 17, Sunday

REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, provided by Pastor Yohan Lee, a friend of AMI, who in the past has served as a staff at several AMI churches, is an updated version of his blog first posted on April 13, 2014.  He is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania (BA) and Cairn University (MA).

Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend

“When Do You ‘Wear’ Christ?”

Galatians 3:25-29

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

I am generally not a soccer fan, except for about two weeks to a month, three times every four years, men’s World Cup, women’s World Cup, and the Summer Olympics.  During these events, I just can’t turn the television off; I can’t get enough soccer, and of course, I will stay up to ungodly hours to watch my team play live.  I can admit this, because I know that at least 50% of the people reading this post have done the same.  

Question, who do you root for in the World Cup or they Olympics?  I root for the red, white, and blue baby because I am an American!  However, I know that a lot of my friends and family members as well as many of you reading this post probably root for a small peninsulaic nation renown for making smartphones, tablets, and televisions.  

In sports, it’s harmless to root for one country while being a citizen of another, but in the Christian life, you will not function properly if you do not have your identity straight.  The Galatian Christians wanted to be Jews and Christians or Gentiles and Christians, but the problem was that their ethnic and cultural identity superseded their spiritual identity as followers of Christ.  Instead of relying and living by the blood of Christ, they fell back into living by the law.  

How do you identify yourself, are you a doctor, lawyer, investor, programmer, father, mother, wife, husband, son, daughter, etc.?  Practically speaking, do all of these come secondary to being a child of God?  Here is a litmus test, how do you treat people, especially those “beneath” you at work?  Do you play to the corporate games and politics even if it is a little dishonest?  Have come to terms with what it means to be a Christian in your profession?  Obviously, in your life being faithful to what God has given you and where He has placed you entails wearing several different “outfits,” but beneath it all, do you “cloth yourself in Christ” or is He just someone you wear on Sunday?  

Prayer: Dear Father, help me to remember that I am first a follower of You and everything else comes at a distant second.  Give me wisdom and boldness to discern that that means for me.  Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Genesis 20

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