Devotional Thoughts for Today
Jeremiah 10:5-7
“Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good. 6 There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might. 7 Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you.”
In Your God is too Small, J.B. Philips describes the inadequate conceptions Christians have of God. Here are a few that he mentions: resident policeman—God has simply become a moral conscience that tells us what’s good and bad for us; parental hangover—God is a projection of our relationship with our parents; and grand old man—God is an old man much like our grandpa who is irrelevant and distant to us. Philips notes how these misconceptions unconsciously affect not only the way we see God, but also how we respond to Him. In summary, these misconceptions have made our God too small.
And so what’s at stake here? When our conception of God becomes too small, our naturally prone-to-wander hearts begin to make other gods bigger than they really are. This was the case of the Israelites in our passage today. They began turning to the idols of other nations. Idols, in which Jeremiah compares to that of a scarecrow—lifeless and powerless, always promise more than they can offer. Such lifeless idols produce lifeless faith. Timothy Keller describes idols as “anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.” And to this, Jeremiah points our attention to the true nature of who God is: incomparable, great and mighty, feared among the nations, living and everlasting, the only true God for eternity.
King David probably held the title as the most successful king conquering nation after nation and leading the Israelites into prosperity and power. Yet even in the midst of all these accomplishments, Psalm 27:4 shows that his greatest desire was to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. It was God’s surpassing greatness that captured David’s heart to worship and be a man after God’s own heart. It was what prevented him from turning to such lifeless idols and kept his gazed fixed upon the Lord. Start this morning reflecting on how great our God is. Before our requests for the day or even our confessions, start with adoring Him. There is none like our God!
Prayer: Father, there is none like You. Reveal the idols in my heart; forgive me that I have made them more important than You. More than anything in this world, help me to gaze upon Your beauty. I pray that You would take all of me and use it for Your glory. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading: Ezekiel 13
Lunch Break Study
Read John 4:21-26 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
Questions to Consider:
- How does Jesus redefine worship?
- What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth?
- How should this change the way we worship Him?
Notes:
- Contextually, both the Samaritans and Jews placed a high emphasis on the place of worship: the Jews concluded Jerusalem was the place, while the Samaritans believed the place to be Mount Gerizim. But Jesus redefines worship to be less about the where, but more importantly about the who; in other words, worship is less about the external factors influenced by customs and traditions, but more about the heart.
- First, this is the type of worship the Father is looking for. Matt Chandler describes spirit and truth as worship coming from inflamed hearts and informed minds: our minds are informed and set on the revealed Word of God and the Spirit’s presence inflames our hearts. John Piper says this: “The fuel of worship is the grand truth of a gracious and sovereign God; the fire that makes the fuel burn white hot is the quickening of the Holy Spirit; the furnace made alive and warm by the flame of truth is our renewed spirit; and the resulting heat of our affections is worship, pushing its way out in tears, confessions, prayers, praises, acclamations, lifting of hands, bowing low, and obedient lives.”
- Personal response. Worship is not a one-time event, but a lifelong journey.
Evening Reflection
Spend a few moments meditating on the following verses:
“ Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” – Isaiah 40:26
“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” – Jeremiah 32:17
“In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.” – Psalm 95:4
“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.” – 1 Chronicles 29:11
When we see something great, we can’t help but be in utter awe of it, whether it’s a person or a part of nature. It affects us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Sometimes, there is even a physical response that occurs. In the same way our worship is always a response to His greatness. As we meditate on these verses, allow worship to flow from our hearts.
Science writer Robert Lee Hotz found that “talking about ourselves—whether in a personal conversation or social media— triggers the same sensation of pleasure in the brain as food or money.” In fact research showed how self-disclosure could in some cases be even be more rewarding than the latter two. In other words, even science shows how much we love talking about ourselves because we want to be known. It is no wonder that social media platforms, such as Instagram, have become so successful, because they serve as personalized galleries of our accomplishments for others to see.
No parent wishes to see their children suffer. But every parent knows that there are moments in which suffering is necessary for growing—especially when it comes to disobedience. As parents, it takes a great amount of patience and love to allow children to face the consequences of their actions. It seems even after many warnings, children always want to learn the hard way. And as children we hate our parents because of this, but we learn to appreciate these moments later in life as growth lessons for us.
Growing up, our schools taught us the dangers of peer pressure, often in the context of substance abuse and other unwanted behaviors. Sigmund Freud studied how an individual succumbs to the peer pressure of a group: his research showed that as individuals feel a sense of worth and belonging to the larger group entity, they will forego their own conscious personalities for the sake of the group. Surprisingly, much of this happens at the sub-conscious level, which makes it difficult to realize the influences of peer pressure; and so this is why peer pressure can be so dangerous—who you surround yourself with is who you will become.
The AMI QT Devotionals from June 4-10 are written by Andy Kim. Andy, a graduate of Northwestern University and Fuller Theological Seminary (M.Div.) currently serves as a staff at Radiance Christian Church in San Francisco. And this past November, Andy got married to Jane.
In an interview with Christian missionaries, Mahatma Gandhi expressed his affections toward Christ, but also his dislike of Christians. From this interview we may have heard the phrase, “I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians for your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Sadly, there are moments where I see fellow believers and I too have the same judgments of their lack of Christ-likeness. And for Jeremiah, this was the context in which he was ministering to the people of God.
I think one of the hardest things in ministry (not just as a full-time pastor but in any aspect of relational ministry), is when you know through prayer and discernment that someone is not walking in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, and yet this person is either unwilling or oblivious to see their errors. Especially in sensitive situations, it’s often difficult to come right out and speak the truth to them, let alone have them listen to you in the first place. It’s almost as if you are stuck in the middle between God and the individual.
As my wife and I prepare for our first child, I have noticed how much more attentive I am of how other people interact with their own kids—how they speak to the child, what they let their kids get away with or what they don’t, or the countenance of the parent when interacting with their child. If you were to ask me how I feel about preparing for our first child, I’d confess that I’m honestly not sure, because the thought of raising a child—let alone raising a child well—is so beyond my understanding that I am not sure what to think.
The past couple of weeks, my wife’s nephew and her family were in town. He’s only 4 years old and still trying to wrap his mind around what it means that I am his aunt’s husband. First he had to understand my wife’s relationship to his grandmother, and then from there, my wife’s relationship to me. He then turned to my father in-law and asked him who his mother was, to which he responded,
It seems as if we can’t go very long without hearing about another shooting at a school. It seems like everyday we turn on the news, we hear about tragedies overseas as well as right here in our own backyards. Every time I see a new headline, a heaviness comes upon me, wondering how much longer such things will continue.
At our last Encounter (a weekend retreat for men and women separately, which presents the foundational truths of the gospel through a series of talks given by a fellow brother/sister) this past March, I was again reminded of the importance of forgiveness in our lives. Our speakers often emphasized that unforgiveness is like drinking poison in the hope of hurting the other person. We think that by withholding forgiveness from others, we have some kind of power over them; in reality, we poison our own souls as we are separated from the presence of God.