Devotional Thought for the Day
“A Step of Faith”
2 Kings 5:8-14
“But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”
When I was 13 years old I went on my first short term mission trip to China and South Korea. Towards the end of our trip we visited a memorial for Reverend Son Yang-won. Rev. Son is remembered as a martyr of love who embraced the burden of colonial oppression and war. At his memorial, I saw a large painting of Rev. Son embracing the communist soldier who killed his two sons whom he later adopted. But the painting that really caught my attention was the one that showed Rev. Son removing blood from the infected wounds of lepers with his mouth. I had learned about leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, in Sunday school but it was my first time seeing how terrible the disease was. The paintings and the love of Christ that was practiced by Rev. Son would leave a lasting impression on my life.
In today’s passage, we read about Naaman, a great commander of the Syrian army, who had wealth, power, and popularity. But one day, a physician told him what no person would want to hear: “You have leprosy.” In those days, leprosy, a highly contagious disease, had no cure.
However, a little Israelite girl, who served his wife, tells Naaman about Elisha, a prophet in Samaria who could cure him. Entrusting her words, Naaman goes to Elisha’s house, but he is enraged when the prophet has his servant tell the general to wash himself in the river Jordan seven times. In response Naaman becomes resentful but why? Is he merely being prideful? Certainly so but have you considered this: The moment this proud general takes off his armor, everyone can see his disfigured flesh—the source of his deepest pain and shame. This is to say, everyone around Naaman who respected this mighty warrior would see him in his weakest state—naked and diseased.
Many of us can relate to Naaman because we, too, have deep pains we would rather keep hidden—the very wounds we have tried to mask with different remedies (e.g., success, accomplishment, relationships, etc.) so that others around us cannot see them. In light of this, let us hear the words of Christ, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” May we take a step of faith and ask the Great Physician to come into the deep crevices of our wounds—to bring healing, restoration, and renewal.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for always being patient with me even when I am stubborn in my own ways. May I humble myself today and come before You just as I am. I ask that You heal my pain and brokenness. Allow me to be sensitive to Your leading today and give me the strength and courage to uproot whatever is preventing me from experiencing Your peace and joy. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Job 24
Lunch Break Study
Read 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
Questions to Consider
- How is our inner self being renewed day by day?
- How can Paul say that his momentary affliction is light?
- What should we fix our eyes on?
Notes
- On a physical level, we are all moving toward death. As we wait for our physical existence to be renewed when Christ returns, Paul writes that day by day, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is renewing our inward self.
- Paul is writing that the difficulties of this life are minor when compared to the weight of our eternal salvation.
- Paul writes that we should focus our eyes on what is unseen—our future salvation in Christ.
Evening Reflection
Ask the Holy Spirit to renew your heart and spirit. The enemy will use fear and fatigue for us to lose heart. In Ephesians 6:10-11 says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”
The AMI QT Devotionals from September 9-15 are provided by Pastor David Yoon. David, a graduate of California Baptist University and Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div.), is serving at Tapestry LA Church as the college pastor.
Do you remember a time when we had to use a physical road map to find our way from one place to another? We would carry multiple foldout maps in our car’s glove compartment and could never fold it back the way it was when we purchased it. Today, with the advancement of technology, we use a navigation app on our smartphone or car’s GPS. When we miss or take a wrong turn the GPS notifies the driver, “recalculating” with an updated estimated time of arrival.
How many of us would be willing to endure persecution and suffering in order to proclaim and preserve God’s truth? If there was a law that was passed in our country that called for everyone to turn in their copy of the Bible, and it became punishable by death to possess the Scriptures, who among us would be willing to pay such a price? The answer to that question is something that I wrestled with as I read through a book entitled Wide as the Waters. The book chronicles the history of the English Bible and details the lives of the men who made it possible for every English speaker in the world to have copy of the Bible in their own vernacular.
I’m not proud of this, but when I was a youth pastor, I burned a few pages of the Bible as an object lesson to highlight how we often disregard and dismiss the commands of God. My hands were literally shaking as I tore out a few pages and lit a match to burn the paper. My intention was to make the point that our lives would be greatly diminished if the word of God was lost to us. Besides really scaring the students and making a few of them cry, I think I got the point across—maybe a little too well.
Foundational to the Christian faith is what we know and believe about the Scriptures. As we read and study our Bibles, there are some core values that must be taken into consideration if we are to get the most out of our time in God’s Word. These values will affect our attitude towards the subjects that we encounter, many of which are controversial in our society, and this in turn will affect our desire to read and obey the Word of God. Central to the correct handling of the Scriptures is understanding the inherent authority of God’s Word and approaching the text with the right attitude of the heart.
Many people wonder how the Bible came to be, and how we received what we now consider to be the Holy Scriptures. This chapter of Jeremiah gives us an inside view of how the revelations of God spoken to man became the written word of God that was later canonized and passed down from one generation to another. In fact, this is the only chapter in the entire Old Testament that reveals how the oral message of the prophets took on its written form. As such, this passage represents one of the keys to understanding why it was so important that God’s word be written down.
One of the most important Hebrew words for understanding our relationship with God is the word shema, which is the command to listen or to hear. The first few statements of the Bible remind us that all of creation came into existence as it listened to the voice of God. By the mere breath of His word, countless millions of galaxies were formed, an endless variety of life was created, and the vastness of the universe came into existence. All of creation heard His voice and obeyed. Therefore, it makes sense that a people set apart for Him would be identified by those same characteristics: created by His word, always attentive and ready to listen to that same voice. It also makes sense that the greatest failure of God’s people would be to ignore His voice and refuse to answer when He calls.
In contemporary western Christianity, obedience to God or our lack thereof is seldom addressed. Pastors and preachers make it seem like obedience is not required in a relationship with God, and they present God’s commands as a suggestion or something that only needs our consideration. The notion that we have to do something simply because God has commanded us to do those things seems archaic and legalistic. Everyone wants a reason to obey, but at the same time they reject the best reason for obedience—which is that God has commanded it.
The AMI QT Devotionals from September 3-9 are provided by Pastor Mark Chun of Radiance Christian Church in S. F. Mark, a graduate of University of California, San Diego, and Talbot School of Theology (M.Div.), has been married to Mira for 20 years; they have two children, Jeremiah and Carissa.
To drink or not to drink, that is the question! I recently read an article on the latest research on alcohol consumption, and the conclusion of the study was that any amount of alcohol is bad for your health. (If you are interested, the study can be found here: 
I don’t know about you, but I do enjoy a bit of humorous sarcasm with friends. So whenever I discover sarcasm in the Bible, it tends to grab my attention. As you know, sarcasm is a literary device in which the speaker actually means the opposite of what is being said.