The AMI QT Devotionals from April 9-15 are provided by Emerson Lin. Emerson, a graduate of University of California, San Diego, serves as a missionary in E. Asia. He is married to Annie.
Devotional Thoughts for Today
“Confirmed”
Mark 9:2-8
After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
Kobe Beef is known all around the world as a very expensive type of beef. It is valued for its fatty flavor, tenderness, and marbled texture. People from all over the world travel to Hyōgo to taste this delicacy. Because Japan takes their Kobe Beef very seriously, each meat has a certificate indicating that it is certified Kobe Beef. Not only do they provide a certificate, but also a cow genealogy to ensure people that the meat they are eating is authentic.
Like the certified delicacy, Jesus’ deity is confirmed twice, not only to His closest disciples, but to us. In this passage, Peter, James, and John climb up a mountain with Jesus. All of a sudden, they stand in awe of Jesus’ transfiguration. Mark describes that Jesus’ clothes became dazzling white—whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. For a short time, the disciples saw a small glimpse of Jesus’ true nature as the Son of God. Their teacher was not simply a prophet that God used, but He was God himself. If that confirmation was not enough, the disciples heard the audible voice of God saying, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
Jesus’ confirmations as the Son of God not only reminded me of His power and authority, but also of His humility. Jesus willingly let go of His glory and perfect intimacy with our Father, so that we may have the opportunity to experience the same glory! This morning, if you have not done so already, let’s give thanks for Jesus’ sacrificial love for us. It is through His sacrifice that we may have this relationship with our Father.
Prayer: Father, thank You so much that you confirmed Jesus’ identity through His transfiguration. Not only did you reveal Jesus’ glory, but You also remind us of His sacrifice for all of humanity. Like the disciples, may we continue to be in awe of you! Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Phil. 1
Lunch Break Study
Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-21: So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Questions to Consider:
- According to this passage, what do we become when we become “in Christ?”
- How is that people’s sin would not be counted against them?
- What do we become, now that we have been committed to the message of reconciliation?
Notes:
- We become a new creation once we are in Christ!
- Jesus gave us the ministry of reconciliation so that people’s sins would not be counted against them.
- When we commit to the message of reconciliation, we become Christ’s ambassadors. According to the passage, through us, God is making His appeal of grace to humanity.
Evening Reflection
In light of today’s sharing, what are some practical ways that you can imitate Christ’s humility? What are some obstacles in your life that prevent you from sacrificing for others? Write down a list of these obstacles and ask the Holy Spirit to help you overcome them.
In my college years, I was incredibly anxious about the idea of marriage. Even though I knew I wanted to get married, eventually, so many things about marriage scared me. Perhaps the scariest thing for me was the proposal. For some reason, whether through movies or people telling me grandiose stories about the proposal of a friend of a friend, I had gotten it in my mind that my proposal had to be this epic, historic event… otherwise my fiancée wouldn’t be happy. In college, I wasn’t even dating yet, but the thought of having to put together such a monumental feat made my palms sweat just thinking about it. There’s something about making a public declaration that makes most people at least a little bit nervous.
“I do, we do, you do.” My wife is a teacher in Boston, and this is one of the phrases I hear her use all the time. If I were a teacher, the idea is that in order for me to teach something, an effective strategy is for me to first demonstrate the action while the students observe (I do). Then, I repeat the action, but this time I incorporate the participation of the students, while still being involved in the step-by-step process (we do). Finally, I pull my hands out of the process and let the students do it a third time, on their own (you do).
There are several members of our church who study or work in the field of Occupational Therapy. From my limited understanding, the job of an occupational therapist (OT) is to evaluate a person’s physical/mental disability, and use individualized intervention strategies to help people do meaningful daily activities. For example, if someone has suffered a stroke and has lost motor control of their right arm, an OT would help this person figure out a strategy to rehabilitate their arm and/or help them relearn how to do their daily tasks such as typing, putting on clothes, eating, etc. What I found remarkable is that an OT’s work is extremely specific to the person(s) they are treating. In other words, their method of healing is constantly shifting, based on each individual and their specific situation/need.
As a child, I grew up under the notion that one must never question God. I believed that doing so would not only be a show of irreverence to Him, but also signaled a lack of faith. And while I still certainly believe that we ought to be reverent to the Lord, when I look at Scripture, I see many men and women of faith asking questions and making requests to the Lord: In Genesis 18, Abraham is, in a sense, bargaining with God to spare the city of Sodom. In Judges 6, Gideon asks God for multiple signs. In 1 Samuel 1, Hannah pleads with God, that He would give her a child. The Psalms are full of questions being raised up to God: “How long, O Lord? Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?” These are just a few examples of Scripture that lead me to believe that our Heavenly Father is not only willing to hear our questions/requests, but He desires to respond to us!
Several years ago, I was driving back to Boston from the New Jersey area. It was late at night and I was surprised at the number of cars that were on the highway with me. Even more unusual was the number of cars that were honking and high-beaming. A car would swerve in front of me, and honk obnoxiously, and then speed ahead. I thought to myself “Yup, Massachusetts drivers… rude!” Another car kept high-beaming me from behind, for 5 straight minutes, before swerving around me and speeding off. My frustration with these terrible drivers was coming to a boiling point. It was in this moment that I looked down at my dashboard and realized that my headlights had been off during my entire drive. I had been driving 80mph, lightless, in the dead of the night, putting myself and everyone in my vicinity in danger. No one was around to see, but my face turned bright red in embarrassment as I realized, the problem was me.
The AMI QT Devotionals April 2-8 are written by David Son, who serves as the college pastor at Symphony Church in Boston. David, a graduate of UC Berkeley (B.S.) and Gordon-Conwell Seminary (M.Div.), is married to Grace who teaches at a public school. (Two more news about them: first, they just had their first baby (Eli); second, they will be going to Taiwan as church planters later in the year.)
The dawning of the first day of this particular week was a spectacular day, because it followed the death of Jesus. The old things have passed and new has come (1 Cor. 5:17), as Jesus’ body was not in the tomb. When Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James, arrived at the tomb to endow spices upon the Lord’s body, an angel tells them, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said…” (v.6). Then he instructs them to go quickly to tell the disciples that He is risen! Jesus had resurrected as promised.
Joseph of Arimathea was a righteous man, who appears to have had a private allegiance to Jesus. He was most likely a seeker, being that it is noted of him as “…waiting for the kingdom of God” (v.51). Joseph was also a wealthy, respected person in society who was a notable member of the Sanhedrin, a local court. Upon Jesus’ death, he requests for the Messiah’s body and carefully prepares it for burial. It is believed that he used his personal money to purchase a weighty amount of myrrh and aloe to properly prepare the wrappings on Jesus’ body. He, along with the help of another man named Nicodemus, carefully laid our Savior’s body in a brand new tomb located in a garden. Interestingly, garden tombs were often used for the burial of kings. Criminals would never be given such a tomb or such an intentional burial. Clearly, Jesus was not to be remembered as a condemned criminal; rather, His royal essence was being honored.