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.
Devotional Thoughts for This Morning
“Adjusting to Dark Places”
Jeremiah 16:10-12 (ESV)
“And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ 11 then you shall say to them: ‘Because your fathers have forsaken me, declares the Lord, and have gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law, 12 and because you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me.
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.
There is a painting in our bathroom that is slightly crooked. It’s not a hard fix, but I just never got around to adjusting it. It used to bother me a lot, and I would tell myself that the next time I get the chance to fix it, I would do it then. A week went by, a month, and now years later, it still is not fixed. I simply got used to the imperfection because my mind had somehow adjusted to it as normal. Chances are, even after writing this, I’m still going to leave the painting as it is because it just doesn’t bother me that much anymore.
In spiritual matters, we also have an uncanny ability to adjust, particularly in areas of sin and darkness. Isn’t that how we get stuck in habitual sins? The first time we speak a lie, we feel horrible about it and we vow to never lie again. But we do, and the second time we don’t feel as bad. The third, fourth, fifth time, it seems to flow right out of us. Pretty soon, it doesn’t bother us when we tell a white lie. It’s just part of our way of life. Gossip may seem like something we shouldn’t do, and we are convicted that we shouldn’t gossip – but over time, we actually come to enjoy gossiping. Pornography or sexual sin might be something we feel bad about longer than normal, but over time, we can adjust to it and it becomes normal. We end up justifying our sin. It’s the same pattern for so many areas of sin in our lives. Our lives are often so littered with sin, and if we are not careful, we end up becoming used to it. It becomes normal in our lives. It just doesn’t bother us that much anymore.
In today’s passage, we see the people of Israel responding to God’s indictment on them. They have the gall to ask Him, “What is the sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?” This goes to show that they are so steeped in their sin, so comfortable and adjusted to the ways they have turned from Him that they don’t even realize the sin they’ve committed against God. Their corporate sin has become such a norm in their lives that they don’t see any problem with it anymore. Idol worship doesn’t even bother them anymore as it is deeply embedded in their culture. Even though individuals may have a problem with it, it is such a norm in their culture and society that it doesn’t bother them that much anymore. What can they do after all? Can you imagine how spiritually destitute a nation must be to not even recognize what sins they’ve been committing against the Lord? Israel must have been so morally and spiritually bankrupt.
There are many areas in the communities we are part of that have been repeatedly sinning against God. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel so hopeless and so dejected that I come to a place where I throw my hands up, sighing, saying, “This is just how it is.” May it not be so. May we continue to ask God for conviction in our hearts and may we continue to be lights in our cities. God will use those who make themselves available, and rather than becoming comfortable with sin, let’s strive to contend with God for His revival, repentance, and restoration!
Prayer: Father God, I want to be a catalyst for revival. Even though I live in a time and in a place where sin runs rampant, I know that Your grace has not run out on me nor the communities that I am part of. Help me to see how I can be a mouthpiece, just like Jeremiah, to speak Your truth. Help me to see how I can be a part in awakening your people and seeking their restoration. Help me to persevere even in the difficult times. In my personal life, may I never grow comfortable with sin, but I ask that your Holy Spirit would bring heavy convictions in my life so that I may live a life that is right before You. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.
Bible Read for Today: Ezekiel 37-38
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.
One of the easiest ways to test the authenticity of gold jewelry is to burn it. Using a lighter, you can gently hold a small flame under your piece of jewelry. If your jewelry burns black, it is fake or at least partially so; but if your jewelry does not turn black but burns brightly, congratulations—it’s real, pure gold.
In my teenage years, I had a habit of saying “I hate” this or that. “I hate mayonnaise.” “Ugh, I hate this song.” Even if it only irked me a little bit, I would express that I hated it in front of others. Seeing this, my mom told me something in passing that stuck with me. She told that there was never really a good enough reason to say “I hate…” out loud. Her words made me re-assess how I speak. Even if I did hate something, I could choose to stay silent or say something more thoughtful and constructive, instead.