REPOST Today’s Spiritual Food for Thought, first posted on April 3, 2015, is provided by Pastor Shan Gian who leads Remnant Westside Church in Manhattan.  Shan is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania (BA) and Gordon Conwell Seminary (M.Div.).

Devotional Thought for This Morning

“The Sufferings of Christ”

Isaiah 53:1-12

Who has believed what he has heard from us?
    And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
    and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
    a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
    he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
    yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
    so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
    and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
    stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
    and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
    and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
    he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
    make many to be accounted righteous,
    and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
    and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
    and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
    and makes intercession for the transgressors.

What we read here in Isaiah 53 does not sound “good” at all. This servant of God, despised, rejected, full of sorrow and grief, stricken, smitten, afflicted, pierced, crushed, oppressed, cut off, is like a lamb that is led to the slaughter. How can this be good? This sounds brutal and harsh. We wouldn’t wish this pain and death upon anyone, much less an innocent man, undeserving of any of it.  But we celebrate this day where an innocent man was horrifically beaten, unjustly tried and convicted, rejected by his friends and executed in the more tortuous of ways.  And still, we call this day “good.”  How can this be?

We call this day Good Friday because we remember our loving Savior showing us the full extent of His amazing love for us: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).    We were the ones who were guilty.  We were deserving of this punishment and shame.  We should have been lambs led to slaughter.  This day is so good because Jesus took the punishment of our guilt upon Himself, and by His sacrifice we were set free.  Today is Good Friday because this is Good News, the best news there could ever be – Jesus died on a cross for us so that we could be set free from our sins, given new life, given eternal life with our loving King.

Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for being so good to us.  Today we remember Your love shown to us on that cross.  We were so undeserving and so unworthy, but still you loved us and laid down your life for us.  There is nothing we can do or say to repay you.  All I can do is say, “Thank you, Jesus!”  In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 16

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Lunch Bible Study

Read Romans 5:6-11: For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Questions to Consider

1. How does Romans describe our spiritual states before Jesus?
2. What do we have as a result of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross?
3. Why did Jesus Christ die for us?  

Notes

1. We are contrasted with good or righteous people.  Paul describes us as weak, ungodly sinners, and enemies of God.  We are people who are undeserving of someone dying for us.
2. We are justified by His blood.  We were enemies before, but now we are reconciled with Him.  
3. Very simply, Jesus died for us because of His love for us.  

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Evening Reflection

Take some time to remember what Jesus has done for you.  What does the cross of Jesus mean to you?  How has it changed your life?  Take some time tonight to pray and thank Jesus for His sacrifice for you.

REPOST Today’s AMI Devotional, provided by Pastor Peter Yoon of Kairos Christian Church in San Diego, was first posted on April 12, 2015.  Peter is a graduate of University of California, Riverside (BA) and Talbot School of Theology (M.Div.). 

Devotional Thought for this Morning

“Godly Wisdom”

1 Sam. 25:32-33a; 39b 

And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you . . .” 39 . . . Then David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife.

Interestingly, during the years that David spent fleeing from Saul, he meets a wonderful woman named Abigail and eventually marries her.  I know that 1 Samuel 25 was not written to provide the readers with advice on relationships or marriage; rather, it shows the bigger picture of how God is building up David’s family, military forces, and political alliances. Political marriages were common at the time, and by his marriage to Abigail, David was making important ties with influential families in Judah. And David’s kingship would be attributed to the support of the tribe of Judah, not from the existing royal court. The writer does not say so, but he plainly saw David’s marriage to Abigail as part of God’s plan for him. (Carson, D.A, New Bible Commentary) 

Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that the writer takes time to develop a narrative of how David and Abigail end up getting married. And in the narrative, it’s hard to overlook the quality that is highlighted in Abigail: her sense of “discretion”—this Hebrew word טַ֫עַם (ṭǎʹ·ʿǎm) means “judgment,discretion, discernment.” Concerning the quick thinking actions of Abigail in preventing disaster to her family, commentators of 1 Samuel describe Abigail using words such as: full of wisdom, sensible, prudent, and perceptive. Personally, having been married for 15 years now, I can testify that my wife has often practiced good sensibility in situations and with people, which has helped us in avoiding some negative circumstances in life.

But in contrast, Nabal, Abigail’s husband, behaved as a fool and almost brought about disaster to his family, had it not been for Abigail’s incredible discretion. We all know that we ought to choose the path of Abigail, but if we are honest with ourselves, more often than we’d like we show ourselves to be a Nabal. Due to our sinfulness, we choose anger over patience; slander over silence; lying over truth-telling; and bitterness over forgiveness. No wonder some of our relationships end up in disaster. It can make any of us cynical to relationships. 

The good news is that we don’t have to swim in that cynicism, for Jesus offers us both hope and grace. He gets to the root of all relationship disasters, which stems from our hearts, not so much our foolish behaviors. Jesus works in our hearts to make changes that help us display more of Abigail’s “discretion.”Eventually, practicing that godly wisdom helps us bear fruit in our relationships. Ask the Lord for His wisdom because He promises to give it generously to those who ask (James 1:5). 

Prayer: Lord, give me godly wisdom because I live more like Nabal than Abigail.  Help me to discern how to apply the knowledge I have in ways that will glorify your name. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 15

REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, provided by Pastor Ryun Chang (AMI Teaching Pastor), was first posted on February 2, 2014.  

Devotional Thought for This Morning

“Figuring out Why Bad Things Happen in Life”

Job 1:21

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,and naked I will depart.[c]The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;may the name of the Lord be praised.

Debi Lane was 41-year-old when she went for a routine thyroid test at a hospital in Arizona.  But instead of a small dose of mildly radioactive iodine, the doctors unwittingly injected a mega dose of radiation normally given to thyroid cancer patients.  As a result, her chance of developing cancer increased more than four percent every year.  Petrified, this mother of four children said, “What about my children’s college?  It looks like I’m not going to be here for them.”

So, was she so bad that something like this was bound to happen?  One of Job’s comforters who said (4:8), “Those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it,” certainly would agree; so would Christ’s disciples.  One day, upon seeing a blind man, they asked Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (Jn. 9:2).   

Which side would Christ choose?  Neither.  Perhaps, he might first say to his men, Stop thinking like children but in your thinking be adults (1 Cor. 14:20), and then add, “The reason  good or bad things happen in life is complex; therefore, avoid a simplistic explanation that may make sense to you but will not help anyone, particularly the ones suffering.  

In truth, the Bible does not offer “one-size fits all” type of explanation.   Some sicknesses indeed are divinely permitted due to specific sins (James 5:16; Jn. 5:14).  Mothers who consume drugs or alcohol run the risk of affecting the health of their unborn.  When and if that happens, parental culpability cannot easily be dismissed.  But Christ’s response to his men wasn’t that: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (Jn. 9:3).  

Even so, they did sin, for all sin and that’s how death and sickness entered the world.  No one is born blind without the Fall, but here, the blindness wasn’t caused by any specific sin committed by him or his parents.  And God allows this as an occasion to demonstrate His power so that people are led to trust Him.  The story of Job also teaches that painful circumstances may be allowed to test our faith in order that we may become mature and complete (James 1:4).

There is one more:  It’s called “Life.”  Lane’s story reminds me of thousands of German children born with severe physical deformities in the 1950s because of the over the counter drug their mothers took to alleviate morning sickness.  What can we say to them?  

Everyone will die one day of something, whether body malfunction or accident.  So when we encounter friends and relatives inflicted with a serious illness, instead of praying only for their healing, why not also pray that they will long to be with Christ in heaven? (Phil 1:23).  Cheer up!  God is good.

Prayer: Lord, remind me to always appreciate every moment of my life.  Always remind me that one day this life will come to its end and I will face eternity.  Thank you that you have led me to place my trust in you.  Amen. 

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 13-14

REPOSTToday’s AMI QT Devotional, first posted on September 24, 2015, is written by Tina Hsu who serves as AMI missions coordinator.  Tina, a graduate of Biola University (BA) and Talbot School of Theology (M.Div.) and is married to Anthony.  

Devotional Thought for This Morning 

“His Mercy”

2 Kings 23:21-23 (NASB)

Then the king commanded all the people saying, “Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God as it is written in this book of the covenant.” ²² Surely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah. ²³ But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was observed to the Lord in Jerusalem. 

How amazing is it that we effortlessly fill our brain with trivial stuff (e.g., batting average of your favorite player) while neglecting the important matters, which, in the end, will cost us dearly.  2 Kings 23 shows us that when God’s people disregard God’s Word (in Israel’s case, she didn’t even know where the “Bible” was), not only their hearts turn away from God, but they end up doing the unthinkable.

When the Passover was observed during the reign of King Josiah, it was the first time observed since the days of the Judges (v. 22).  It is absolutely mind-boggling that in a span of nearly 500 years, the Israelites neglected the Passover because they were busy turning away from the Lord and serving other gods. 

The purpose of the Passover was to remember and honor God, who brought them out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery (Ex. 12:42), and made them His treasured possession (Ex. 19:5). By observing the Passover regularly, they would remember, among many attributes of God, His mercy. Could their spiritual decline be related to their neglect of the Passover, to their neglect of remembering God’s mercy? By forgetting to remember God’s mercy, their hearts became less and less devoted to God. 

So what is the outcome of reflecting on God’s mercy? The outcome is that we are moved to obey and worship God. God’s mercy is the reason and the power behind a steadfast devotion to God and to His commandments. Out of the riches of His mercy, God delivered us out of darkness and from our bondage to sin. His mercy enables us to obey His commands. Works righteousness or legalism doesn’t lead us to delight in obedience, but God’s mercy, forgiveness, and love move us to obedience. So what happens if we regularly reflect on God’s mercy? His mercy compels us to obey and worship Him. Take some time this morning to sit and to receive God’s abundant mercy. May He empower you to love and obey Him today. 

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I praise you because Your mercies are new every morning!  In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Bible Reading: Revelation 12

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Lunch Break Study

Read Romans 12:1-2 (NASB): Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Questions to Consider

1. What does Paul mean by “the mercies of God”?

2. What are we called to because of the mercies of God?

3. In what ways do you see or sense transformation in your life lately?

Notes

1. In Romans, “the mercies of God” sum up all that God has done in and through Jesus Christ to save us from the eternal consequence of sin and to give us eternal life on the basis of His death and resurrection. 

2. We are called to offer our entire person, or life, to serve and worship God. We are called to be holy, which means to be set apart as God’s people. By the power of God’s mercy, we are called to be changed from the inside out. 

3. Personal Response

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Evening Reflection

Take five minutes to reflect on God’s mercy today. How did God show you His mercy today? How did God’s mercy impact you? 

REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, provided by Pastor Ryun Chang (AMI Teaching Pastor), was first posted on October 1, 2014.  

Devotional Thought for This Morning

“God’s Timing”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (ESV)

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted . . .”

When I found out that the mother of Pastor Yohan (formerly with GCC, now at RCC) had passed and that his wife, after months of searching, had just received a job offer in California, I was reminded of God’s timing in my own life.   

In 1999, a few days before my last Sunday at the church where I had pastored for almost 10 years,  my mother-in-law, who had been connected to a tracheotomy and feeding tube for 6 years, died at home where my wife took care of her.  Beside sadness, everyone was relieved that she, now pain free, went to a better place.  I also sensed that we could now go wherever God would lead us because my wife was free from her filial responsibility.

In speaking of God’s timing, consider the story of Mordecai, a 4^th generation Jew living in exile in the Persian Empire.  Even though his cousin Queen Esther rose to great fame due to her heroics, without Mordecai, the insidious plan of Haman (responsible for legalizing the holocaust of the Jews [Esther 3:8-15]) would have succeeded.  It all began when Mordecai happened to be at the king’s gate where he heard two officers plotting to kill the king.   It was thwarted after Mordecai relayed the information to Esther who then told the king.  The event was forgotten until about 5 years later, when the king, who, unable to sleep, had an attendant read the book of chronicles (6:1); the portion he happened to read was about Mordecai.  The king honored him the next day, which began a chain of events that led to the demise of Haman and his plan. What perfect timing!

Regarding Pastor Yohan, although God had already called him to a new ministry in San Francisco, a job for his wife was pivotal for their relocation, some 3,000 miles away from his mother’s home.  But God’s timing was perfect, once again: his mother, who longed for heaven, is now there—pain free; and this young pastor and his beautiful family have already begun a new journey of serving the Lord at RCC (Yohan’s account of their journey in the Sept. 9^th QT).  

My friends, be faithful in little things and patiently expect for God’s time to arrive. 

Prayer: Oh Lord, how I praise Your Name this morning.  I thank You that in Your perfect time, You make everything beautiful.  How often I impatiently move out, without faith and trust in You, thinking that what I do can make a difference. Lord, I entrust myself to You and hide under Your mighty wings.  Amen.   

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 11

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Lunch Break Study

Read Ps. 37:5-7 (NIV): Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.7 Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”

Matt. 24:45-50 (NIV): Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.  He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Questions to Consider

1 What is “waiting for God’s time”?

2. What makes waiting for God’s time so difficult? What do we tend to do when the waiting is prolonged?

3. What should we be focused on while waiting for God’s time to arrive?

Notes

1. The meaning of “waiting for God’s time” is avoiding doing things according to the ways that make sense to our reasoning, and just because it is convenient and advantageous to us.  It is doing it according to God’s principles at a time when it may not be very convenient or beneficial to us. 

2. It looks like others who do things according to their own ways are getting ahead of us.   It makes us feel like we are losing out.  So we tend to drop the original plan; that is, waiting patiently for God to move, and start imitating the ways of the world.

3. The psalmist says, “Do not fret when people succeed in their ways.”  Among other things, consistently and meaningfully reading of God’s word and praying will help us to maintain our focus.  In addition, Jesus reminds us to be faithful in whatever responsibility God has given us while we wait for the return of the King.

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Evening Reflection

Before turning in, ask the Lord for strength to wait on Him and for His time.  Remember that our lives are unfolding under His watchful eyes.  Trust Him, especially when it seems to make little or no sense. 

REPOSTToday’s AMI QT Devotional, provided by Pastor Barry Kang who heads Symphony Church in Boston, was first posted on October 7, 2015.  He is a graduate of Stanford University (BA), Fuller Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (D.Min.). 

Devotional Thought for This Morning

“Always Enough”

Ezra 1:5-10

Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem. 6 And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered. 7 Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. 8 Cyrus king of Persia brought these out in the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. 9 And this was the number of them: 30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers, 10 30 bowls of gold, 410 bowls of silver, and 1,000 other vessels; 11 all the vessels of gold and of silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.

It had been almost 50 years since the exile; enough time for two whole generations to be born in foreign lands; enough time that life within the Babylonian empire was all that many Jews knew about.  Cyrus’s proclamation must have come like a bolt of lightning for the Jewish people.  Jerusalem?  Rebuild the temple?  Walk hundreds of miles through possibly dangerous territory?  Leave the life that they had built?  Understandably, not everyone RSVP-ed.

But some rose up—heads of houses, priests, Levites and others “whose spirits God had stirred up.”  Not everyone—but  enough.  The number that God calls is always enough for the task.  And for those called to return, God provided what was necessary to finance the trip to their ancestral home, to rebuild the temple, and to replenish the temple with its implements of worship.  

When God calls us to a task, He always provides what is necessary for carrying out that task—whether human resources, money, materials or power.  As a church planter, I have seen God provide over and over again the past five years.  Has your spirit been stirred by God for some great (or small) endeavor?  Trust in God to provide!

Prayer: Father, I thank you for Your gracious and sovereign provision!  I thank You that even beyond people, money or materials, You provide me with salvation and grace.  I want to trust that You will always be enough.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 10

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Lunch Break Study

Read 2 Kings 4:1-7: Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2 And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. 4 Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. 6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”

Questions to Consider

1. What was the widow’s situation?  What options were available to her?
2. Why do you think Elisha asked the widow what she had in her house?
3. What specific steps of faith were required for the widow to experience God’s provision?
4. How much did God provide?

Notes

1. The widow was in debt and owed her sons as slaves to a creditor.  At this point, her only option, other than surrendering her sons, was to ask for help.
2. I am sure that the widow did not consider her present resources as sufficient in any way to overcome her circumstances.  But Elisha directs her attention to what she does have.  Just as Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, God can use what we already have.
3. The widow had to show faith in a number of ways: (1) she had to decide to obey Elisha’s instructions; (2) she had to instruct her sons to ask her neighbors for many empty vessels (which must have seemed like a strange and potentially humbling request); and (3) she had to pour out the one jar of oil that she had into another vessel (if this didn’t work, presumably some of the oil would be wasted in the transfer).
4. The jar of oil did not stop flowing until the last vessel was filled.  God provided in exact proportion to the widow’s lived out faith!  This was enough to pay off the widow’s debts and enough to live on afterwards.

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Evening Reflection

How has God provided for you?  As we journal, let us gladden our hearts by remembering instances of God’s provision for us.

REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, first posted on April 21, 2015, is provided by Pastor Jason Sato who, along with his wife Jessica and three young children, serves in Japan as an AMI missionary.  Jason, a graduate of UC San Diego (BS) and Westminster Theological Seminary (M.Div.), recently planted an English-speaking church in Tokyo. 

Devotional Thought for This Morning

“Fast or Slow: Which Do You Prefer?”

2 Samuel 2:1-4 (ESV)

After this David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the LORD said to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which shall I go up?” And he said, “To Hebron.” [2] So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. [3] And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. [4] And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.

In an AT&T commercial, a group of kids is asked, “Is it better to be fast or slow?”  A little girl proceeds to explain how it’s better to be fast so you can outrun a werewolf and avoid being bitten and turned into a werewolf yourself.  It’s hard to disagree with that logic.  

We too prefer “fast.”  We want our promotions fast.  We want our kids to become perfect fast.  We want our dreams fast.  And if we were faced with a werewolf, we also would want to run fast.

After years of waiting to become king, David should have been rearing to go.  Saul had finally passed away and so now was the opportune time for David to take his rightful place.  Instead we find David patiently waiting on the will of God.  He asks whether he should go into Judah and if so to which city.  Once there, David simply waits.  It’s the men of Judah who come to him, not the other way around.

Now David is not lazily waiting for God to do everything for him.  In regards to obeying God and following His will, David is very active.  But in terms of securing his own future and blessings, David is surprisingly passive.  David is content to move at God’s pace.

When something is important to us, we often do our best to rush God.  Whether we’re looking forward to a dream job, getting married, or having good health, “wait’ is not what we want to hear.

How did David have such patience?  I believe that it was through all those years on the run.  In those bleak times, David had learned to trust God.  Take a moment to remember God’s faithfulness to you.  Is there a time when his sovereign goodness to you was on full display?  How can your history with God encourage you to trust Him now?

Prayer: Father, I come to You full of trust but also full of doubts and fears.  I thank You that You have proven Yourself faithful over the years.  Help me to entrust myself to You and Your sovereignty.  Let me not give in to fear or discouragement, but grant me great hope in Your goodness that I might follow and obey You with all that I am.  Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 9

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Lunch Break Study

Read 1 Samuel 13:8-12 (ESV): He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. [9] So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. [10] As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. [11] Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, [12] I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.”

Question to Consider

1. Why did Saul grow impatient?

2. In his impatience, what did Saul do?

3. How should Saul have sought the favor of the Lord?

Notes

1. Samuel had not come by the appointed time, the people were scattering from him, and the Philistines were preparing to attack.

2. Saul offered the burnt offering even though it was unlawful for him to do so.  Saul essentially tried to take matters into his own hands.

3. Saul sought God’s favor by unlawfully offering the sacrifices.  He should have sought God’s favor by obediently waiting and trusting Him.

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Evening Reflection

Reflect on your day.  When was your patience tested?  In those moments of testing, were you tempted to sin?  How can you seek the favor of the Lord in similar situations?

REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, provided by Pastor Ryun Chang (AMI Teaching Pastor), was first posted on August 25, 2014.  

Devotional Thought for This Morning

“Yes, God is Faithful”

2 Tim. 2:13 

“If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” 

Dressed in a white officer’s uniform, my nephew looked great in his Navy ROTC Commissioning Service held at his university a day before the graduation.   His dad flew in all the way from Hawaii to witness this proud moment.  While there, my thought took me back to that moment when my 4 -year old nephew was placing a stem of flower inside the coffin of his mother.  We were all so worried back then as to how he would turn out in life without his mother.  As I heard my nephew briefly share with the audience during this commissioning ceremony, thanking God for giving him strength, a strong sense of gratitude to the Lord filled my heart for his faithfulness toward my nephew.

One character in the Bible who experienced God’s faithfulness in a similar life context as that of my brother was Mary, whose husband Joseph had likely died some time after Jesus had reached the age of 12:  His conspicuous absence from the Gospel narratives thereafter suggests this.  This meant that Mary was a single mother of at least seven children (Mk. 6:3), and that was a lot of mouths to feed.  How did she manage it?  Did her oldest child turn stones into bread?  Well, Jesus didn’t do that when tempted by the devil (Matt. 4:4), so I don’t think he did that while growing up.  

For Mary, meeting the needs of her children meant long hours of working, disciplining her children to contribute, and much time spent on her knees, desperately asking God to take care of their needs, including spiritual.  And God did.  For instance, James, who neither believed nor approved of his brother Jesus (Mk. 3:21), eventually changed and became a pillar of the early church.  Mary certainly was grateful for the Lord’s faithfulness.  

“God is faithful,” said Paul (1 Cor. 10:12).  What is worrying you today?  Trust him by giving your worries to him in prayer, and then have the best day today by working hard and loving people.          

Prayer: Heavenly Father, as trials and difficulties inundate my life, remind me to look to your faithfulness instead of my own circumstances.  Lord, help me to worry less and trust you more and in your wonderful promises.  Thank you for being a faithful God who will not disown the unfaithful.  Amen. 

Bible Reading for Today:  Revelation 8

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Lunch Break Study

Read 1 Cor. 10:12-3 (ESV): “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Ezra 8:21-3 (regarding Ezra’s return to Jerusalem from Persia): Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. ²² For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” ²³ So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Questions to Consider

1. According to Paul, what is one area where we can certainly expect God to be faithful?  What does that mean?

2. In the case of Ezra, how did God manifest his faithfulness?  Have you ever experienced anything similar?

3. What should be our response to the Lord when He continues to be faithful to us even when we are not?

Note

1. When facing temptations, expect God to provide a way out so that we don’t have to fall.  This may manifest in various ways, including this: something you heard in a sermon or a Bible verse suddenly pops up in your mind, reminding you not to do what you are about to do.  That’s the Holy Spirit. 

2.    God answered Ezra’s prayers.  When we are facing a crisis and God rescues us, it certainly intensifies our sense of gratitude toward God’s faithfulness.   Once, my car (with my family) stopped in the middle of nowhere in the late evening.  That we were able to tow the car that night, repair it by the next day, and then be on our way to our next destination once again demonstrated God’s faithfulness toward us.      

3. Romans 2:4 says, “His kindness leads us to repentance.” When we continue to be the recipients of God’s faithful provision, we really have only one response: desiring to change through the help of the Holy Spirit; that is, to be more like Jesus in our character and faith.  

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Evening Reflection

In what ways did you sense God’s faithfulness today?  Were you too busy or distracted to notice it?  Spend a moment recounting the Lord’s faithfulness in taking care of your needs.  Thank Him. 

Today’s devotional, first posted on July 26, 2015, is provided by Mei Lan Thallmam.

Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend

“Fixing It One ‘Room’ at a Time”

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

For our first home, we bought a foreclosed house in South Carolina.  But it took some time to make it our home, for there were many necessary constructions—replacing carpets, water heater, windows, garage door, paint, etc.  It was a long process where we had to prioritize and pace ourselves by focusing on one project at a time so that we would not feel overwhelmed.  We, however, learned a lot about patience and perseverance through the inconveniences of the process, and we had to trust and depend on God’s timing and His provision.  But through it all, it was worth all the hard work, time, and energy to finally make this house our home; for to this day, our kids still talk about how much they miss our home in South Carolina.

A believer’s salvation and growth in Christ is also like the process of a house makeover.  The moment we ask Jesus into our heart to be our Savior and Lord, there is an exchange of ownership and a beginning of a lifelong makeover of becoming more like Christ.  Of course our salvation is secure, like the deed of the ownership by Christ himself, but the process of taking on and living out our identity as God’s new creation will take time to cultivate and develop.

God will take His ownership of our lives seriously and begin a reconstruction process through our belief system which is made up of our thoughts and attitudes; and from this belief system, our behavior and habits are formed.  He will not overwhelm us by doing it all at once, but through a process He will begin to renew our mind, thoughts and attitudes by His Word and by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Our cooperation with Him through our trusting obedience and willingness to change are both important and key to our growth.

Taking captive of our worldly/fleshly thoughts and attitudes, ungodly defense mechanisms and destructive habits, and realigning them under Christ’s truth and character is an absolute must  and fundamental spiritual discipline in living the daily Christian walk.  It can be painful to confront and struggle with our old self, but the end result of making our lives a home where Christ feels welcomed to abide permanently is worth it.  Without His complete ownership/Lordship in every area of our lives, we simply cannot bear fruit for Him.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for being the Author and Perfecter of my faith.  Please continue to teach me to a deeper surrender and cooperation to Your reconstruction in my life.  Please forgive me and cleanse me of pride, stubbornness and resistance to the conviction of Your Word and to the voice of Holy Spirit.  Help me to make my life a home that You would feel welcomed to dwell within.  Thank You that through Your work on the Cross, I can be a new creation in Christ. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 7

Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend

“Giving and Receiving Compliments While Maintaining Vigilance”

1 Cor. 16:17-18

“I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. 18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.” 

While I was pastoring many years ago, a young woman attending my church sent me this email: “Please don’t compliment me anymore . . . What you said was nice, but compliments are best served to your family.”  Puzzled, I wrote back: “Why do you take such a hard stance?  Isn’t compliment giving recognition for a job well done?  What about people without any family?  Your view seems unnatural to me.”  After all, the Lord once told a gentile woman seeking help for her demonized daughter, “Woman, you have great faith!” (Matt. 15:28).  Paul, in speaking about three persons who “refreshed [his] spirit,” said, “such men deserve recognition” (1 Cor. 16:18).

Curious as to how she arrived at her view, I soon learned that it came from a book about marriage that illustrated how people, whose needs are unmet by their spouse, may find it outside of marriage with disastrous results.  The author noted that it often starts out with compliments and being nice.  Startled by her discovery, this single woman took exception to her pastor‘s kind words for a job well-done.  

Obviously, what the book cautions makes sense.  The man who doesn’t feel very valued by his wife may feel validated by a woman who keeps complimenting him.  A young woman whose hair and scent are constantly praised by her male boss may feel special.  And that’s when things can happen.  But my congregant’s departure from this sensible warning reminded me of what Jesus said will happen at the end of time: “the love of many will grow cold” (Matt. 24:12).   Wouldn’t a categorical rejection of giving compliments to the members of the opposite sex or nonfamily member make our world rather an unfriendly place?

Actually, giving compliments is not the problem but bad marriage or relationship is.  Husband and wife in a healthy relationship will appreciate someone of the opposite sex praising positive changes or good work. But they will feel uncomfortable and alarmed, not flattered, if this person continues to make admiring comments on everything they do or their appearances.

Paul said, “In your thinking be adults.”  In our complex world, a childish way of thinking is to see everything in terms of either/or: either you compliment only your own family or don’t praise anyone else since it may lead to an illicit relationship.  But what the Lord said in a different context may also apply here: “You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former” (Matt. 23:24).  So, we ought to recognize those who have earned our praise while appreciating the compliments that others give us (Prov. 27:21).  At the same time, we should avoid giving empty flattery or being swayed by dubious compliments with ulterior motives.   

But today, recognize those who have refreshed your spirit. Don’t let them guess.  Call or text them.  Better yet, how about a lunch, on you. 

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for giving me the ability to serve You and, at times, do it well.  Thank You for those who, upon noticing it, complimented me.  May that not go to my head but to my heart so that I will always remain grateful to You for saving me and then using me in Your kingdom work.  Amen. 

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 5-6