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
“Scars of Remembrance”
Jeremiah 15:19 (ESV)
Therefore thus says the Lord: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them.”
“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.
The irony of this passage is that Jeremiah has been telling Judah to turn back to the Lord. He is telling them to repent so that God would restore them, and that God is merciful and will forgive them (although God tells him repeatedly to stop interceding for them). Yet we see the Lord reply to Jeremiah, urging him to repent and turn back to Him so that He can restore him. What did Jeremiah need to repent from? It seems as if he was starting to harbor bitterness towards God, that God would turn the entire nation against him even though he was only trying to be faithful to God. He was starting to think that God was out to harm him. Whatever Jeremiah was going through and thinking, God was asking him to return and repent so that God could restore him and continue to use him as a prophet.
We may not be in as dire of a situation as Jeremiah, but the Lord reminds us to turn to Him and seek His restoration, because we are all in need of it! Whether you are a teacher, a parent, a spiritual leader, a mentor, or anyone who speaks into other’s lives, we are all responsible for keeping our hearts tender so that we may continually repent and seek restoration. Leaders, let’s not get caught up with simply telling others what to do and forget to turn to the Lord yourself! We’ve seen too many leaders fall because they were not careful in taking care of their own hearts. God wants to use His people, and He wants to use you as a leader—provided that you turn to Him in repentance on a regular basis.
Prayer: Father God, help my heart to stay tender and pure before You. I desire to be used by You. As I examine my own heart, I pray that You would highlight things in my life that I need to repent of – that I would be restored and to continually be used by You in a powerful way. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Ezekiel 35
Lunch Break Study
Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (ESV): Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Question to Consider
- How should we live this life, according to this passage?
- What is Paul afraid of in verse 27?
- Especially as it is the middle of summer, what are some spiritual disciplines that you have become lax about? What are things you need to be mindful of as you run this race?
Notes
- Corinth was home of the Isthmian games, which was a festival of athletic and musical competitions. The Corinthians would have seen firsthand the intensity of the training and the tenacity needed by these athletes. So Paul is comparing how the believer’s life should be like those of these athletes. If these athletes train so hard for a perishable medal, how much harder should we train for imperishable rewards?
- One commentary says that the preaching refers to the “office of the herald”—meaning, that he would be the one telling the guidelines of the games, displaying the rewards, and encouraging the participants. As the herald, he must remember that he is part of this as well and should be careful lest after it all, he is disqualified from the reward that he is talking about.
- Personal response.
Evening Reflection
Tonight, spend some time in reflection on ways that you need to “return to Him,” and believe in your heart that He restores those who turn to Him. May His loving kindness draw you into a place of intimacy and may you experience His grace and mercy in the process.
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.
In a 2015 Ted Talk called “A Simple Way to Break a Bad Habit,” psychiatrist Judson Brewer talks about the relationship between mindfulness and habit. Research shows that a habit is formed when a specific behavior makes us feel good and so our brains remember it. A habit, such as snacking or smoking, is reinforced when our brains realize we are feeling bad, so we use the behavior to feel good again. Think about the way we flip open our laptops as soon as we get home or eat junk food when we’re stressed. It isn’t surprising that research supports that we aren’t very mindful or aware of what we do, better yet, why we do them.
Last November, I ran a half-marathon for the first (and probably last) time in my life. For training, I ran at least three times a week for about two months; so by the time the race came around, I felt confident enough—even excited. I’m an idealist at heart, so although my practice runs were never fun, I thought the actual race would be exhilarating. After running the 13.2 miles, I can safely say that long-distance runs are physically strenuous every time you do them.