The AMI QT Devotionals for July 2-3 are written by Esther Chailim. Esther, a graduate of University of California, San Diego, is currently serving as the Director of Ministries at Kairos Christian Church (San Diego) and pursuing a Masters in Christian Ministry and Leadership at Talbot School of Theology.
Devotional Thoughts for This Morning
“Let’s make a change!”
Jeremiah 17:1-2
“Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool, inscribed with a flint point, on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars. Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles beside the spreading trees and on the high hills.”
The recently released film “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” highlights the life and legacy of Fred Rodgers. His start into the television business came about after seeing a man getting pied in the face on TV as a form of comical relief. To most people, these slapstick shows were entertaining and appeared to be harmless jesters. But Mr. Rogers saw things differently. To him, using humor to avoid life’s most difficult realities was an extreme disservice to children. Knowing how impressionable children were, Mr. Rogers, therefore, devoted the next three decades of his life teaching children how to deal with life’s weightiest issues through the lens of mass media.
In Jeremiah 17:1-4, we read about how Judah’s sin caused God’s anger to burn forever. Their sin was so deeply engrained in them that Jeremiah describes the permanency as being engraved “on the tablet of their hearts, and on the horns of their altars.” In other words, their sin was a mark of history, negatively affecting and influencing the generations to come. Jeremiah proceeds to warn the nation about how God will punish them because of their rebellion. The similarity between those broadcasting slapstick shows, and the rebellious nation of Judah, is that they were both only interested in instant gratification. They were in it for themselves and did not care about the consequences that would later harm them or others. Thank goodness for Mr. Rogers, who constantly fought to challenge those norms!
Every day, we are faced with the same dilemma of choosing to live our lives in line with God, or to turn from Him. It is impossible for us to do it on our own, so that is why we need the help of the Holy Spirit. As we reflect on our lives, here are some good questions to ask ourselves: Am I seeking out instant gratification or am I seeking the eternal rewards? Am I self-seeking, or am I seeking Christ? Am I being a positive influence to others, or a negative one? I think what is most powerful about this film is that it brings to light a desperate need for more people like Mr. Rogers. An ordinary, imperfect man, centered on Christ, called to minister to others (particularly children) through love and kindness. A man who challenged cultural norms and fought for the dignity of all children. Because of this, his ministry and legacy continues to live even beyond his years. What once was a humble television show intended to change the way children deal with the difficulties of life has now become a film inspiring adults in the present day to continue that work and make a change in this world. Now, before you think, I am no Mr. Rogers, remember that no matter who you are, you are a teacher to someone.
So whether that person is a child, a sibling, a co-worker, a friend, or even a stranger, know that God gives us amazing opportunities to make a positive influence in other people’s life. Speak truth, show kindness, and share the love of Christ!
Prayer: God, help me to live a life that influences others in a positive way. I know that how I choose to live my life matters to You, so Holy Spirit, help me not to fall into temptation and continue walking in rebellion towards You. Root me in Your truths and cover me in Your grace so that I am firmly grounded and able to minister to others with love and compassion. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Ezekiel 40
Lunch Break Study
Read Colossians 3:12-17: Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Questions to Consider
- As God’s chosen people, what character traits does He call us to strive for?
- How can we have the peace of Christ rule our hearts?
- Think about someone in your life whom God is calling you to extend a little more compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and/or patience towards. Pray for that person and ask the Holy Spirit to give you an opportunity to minister to them.
Note
- God calls His people to have compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. He also calls us to forgive and to put on love.
- We can have the peace of Christ by allowing the Word of God to dwell among us. As we read and meditate on the Word of God, as we sing praises with a grateful heart, the peace of God will be upon us.
- Personal response.
Evening Reflection
Read over Ephesians 4:29-32. Spend some time meditating on these verses and consider areas in your life where you may be tempted to fall into sin. Does your speech corrupt others, or does it build them up? Are you quick to become angry or bitter, or are you able to forgive and show kindness? If there are sins that you need to surrender to God, take this time to do so now. Acts 3:19 tells us to, “Repent, then, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
I am dreading the day that I will have to discipline my daughter. When my parents used to say, “This hurts me more than it hurts you” before spanking me, I would mouth back, “Yeah, right.” I didn’t understand how it could hurt them more than me when they were the ones who were punishing me; but I suppose I can say that I understand them now. In the end, the discipline of a loving parent always hurts the parent more than the child. The parents know that the discipline is good for the children, but it’s not an enjoyable experience.
When the lights are suddenly shut off in a room that we are in, we become a little bit disoriented because we are unable to see anything. However, our eyes slowly start to adjust, and we are able to start seeing things in the dark even though the degree of darkness hasn’t necessarily changed. Our eyes are able to adjust to the darkness so that we can still function, however limited. This shows that we have an uncanny ability to adjust to our physical surroundings.
Ocean’s 11 is a classic movie where the lead character, Danny Ocean (George Clooney), plans out an incredible and elaborate plan to rob three different casinos in Las Vegas that share the same vault. It’s not an easy task, and he assembles a team to do so. What’s interesting is that the movie makes these characters such likeable characters that we end up rooting for them. Even though they are committing what we all believe to be a huge crime, we still want them to win in the end—that is, sympathizing for the people who are actually in the wrong. I think it’s a scary thing that filmmakers are able to manipulate our emotions to celebrate what they want us to celebrate: in this case, they want us to celebrate this heist, because the casino owner “deserves it.” Although our feelings are definitely important, they may distort our perceptions of things.
“Do as I say, not as I do.” How many times do we see this happen in our own lives? I would propose to you that we do this more than we think: we are quick to point out what others need to do; we are experts when it comes to what others need to repent of, or what others need to be more disciplined in. But when we turn the magnifying lens back on our own lives, we don’t see our own weaknesses. Parents are even more likely to fall into this category, as well as leaders. The higher up the leader becomes, the less people there are to point out their faults or their weaknesses. Yet Scriptures remind us to be careful to take care of our own hearts in regards to repentance and restoration.
I strongly dislike confrontation; not only that, I’m just not good at it. Sometimes when I need to rebuke someone or point out an area that they need to improve on, I stress out while planning out what I’m going to say. Of course it may sound good in my head—until, the actual confrontation happens. Then, for some reason, all of the things I’ve prepared escape my mind, and I talk about everything but what I need to say, until I’ve thoroughly confused the person. I definitely have to grow in this area. Yet some people are naturally good at it: for example, my wife can rebuke people with a smile on her face, and they actually leave feeling convicted and loved.
The birth of my daughter was an incredibly joyous season, and yet it was also an incredibly tiring season. A new semester of seminary had just begun, and through the midst of classes I had to learn how to be a dad. I have to admit that it was not easy for me to wake up late at night to hear my daughter crying and try to put her back to sleep. She has a pretty loud cry too, so listening to non-stop screaming even as I was holding her was torturous for me. When I reflected upon it later on, I realized how much it weighed on me because it was something that I couldn’t fix right away. She was a real human being and not some robot or machine in which I could find an error and correct it. My patience over the course of weeks and months wore thin. Her cries wore me out. I thought I was a patient man, willing to forgive her for keeping me up at night, but I realized I am definitely not as patient as I thought.
The AMI Devotional Blogs from June 25-July 1 are written by Phillip Chen, college pastor at Church of Southland. Philip, a graduate of University of California, San Diego, is currently studying at Talbot School of Theology. He is married to Esther.
Hollywood movies are typically characterized by a happy ending, where all loose ends are tied up, the villains are destroyed, and the hero or heroine of the film is victorious—usually, life is good again after a season of conflict. We are used to the harmonious and joyful end. This passage in Jeremiah 15 can be hard to read if we treat it as a stand alone text, because it is a clear description of the coming destruction of Judah. There is no happy end here. However, if we read this with the understanding that this is not the ending, but rather a chapter in the ongoing saga of Israel’s covenant relationship with the Lord, then we can understand the nature of God.
During orientation week of my last job, I was given the opportunity to take a work-personality test. Through the results of this test, I was able to better understand how I tend to work, collaborate with others, lead, follow, etc. It was informative. I appreciated how the test recognized the complexity of our personalities, but it also made me think how differently we can think and behave in different departments of our lives. Depending on our position, seniority, comfort level, etc. it is not difficult to adjust to how we put ourselves forward and interact with others.
Summer is finally here, and there are probably some of us who are hoping to shed some winter weight and become more healthy and fit. There are many ways to get there. One option is to go on a crash diet, where we restrict ourselves of food, and exercise without proper nutrition. But most of us may already know this option is neither sustainable nor even healthy. The other option is to start a lifestyle change and adopt better eating and exercise habits. This results in improved health and fitness. The resolve to become healthier, or grow in any aspect of our lives, is great. However, we see here that it’s important not only to want to grow, but also to know the right way to do it.