The AMI QT Devotionals for April 23-25 are provided by Myra Huang. Myra, a graduate of Juilliard School (BA) and The Manhattan School of Music (M.A.), lives in NYC with her husband Ed Huang and two lovely daughters: Elie (9) and Abby (7). She has been a member of The Remnant Church since its inception in 1995. Myra travels the world performing concerts with opera singers.
Devotional Thoughts for Today
James 1:17-8 (NLT)
“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.”
Last November, I found out that my last album with my colleague Nick was nominated for a Grammy Award in the “Best Classical Vocal Solo” category. I am a classical pianist, and I concertize and record albums with opera singers.
When I was young, I grew up winning every competition I ever entered and being the star pianist in my hometown. However, around the time of college, for the first time, I wasn’t winning everything and doors were closing on me. I thought to myself, Ah, now that I’m growing as a Christian, God must want to humble me, so He doesn’t want me to win anymore. So when this Grammy nomination presented itself, I thought, How lovely! But God probably doesn’t want me to become arrogant, so we probably won’t win.
I spent a few weeks losing sleep because of my anxiety about losing—I knew it was going to hurt. But then one day, a couple weeks before the actual Grammys Award Ceremony, God met me during worship. He simply said, “You are not a loser.” Those words, coming directly from the Lord of my life, exposed that I had almost made a career of learning to be humbled by God. I thought He would never entrust winning to me again because it was my lot in my life to be humbled. But with the words “You are not a loser,” I understood in an instant with beautiful clarity that behind God’s sovereign directing of my life was His deep, vast, all-encompassing love.
Yes, He wanted to work in me so that I would not base my identity on winning or success … because He LOVED me. He loved me so much that He wanted to give me a security not based on such fleeting things. God’s timing was so loving to heal me right before the Grammys, so that I could actually enjoy the moment rather than fearing losing. Also for the first time, I was able to begin imagining all the good things that the Lord had in store for me, rather than just the slice of plain bread I would be rationed every day to survive. I was able to grasp how lavish was the love my God had for me, and hope began to flood my thoughts as I thought about the future. I was transformed from a servant who was allowed to be in God’s family, to a prized daughter who was dressed with her Father’s favor.
So, remember that you are a winner in God’s eyes, apart from anything you do or fail to do, and live a stress and anxiety free day today.
Prayer: Jesus, thank You for Your death and resurrection. The hope of eternal life with You gives meaning to my existence, apart from anything I do or fail to do, and brings joy to the things that I get to do here on earth. Help me to live in light of the joy of eternal life today. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: 1 Timothy 2
Lunch Break Study (Pastor Ryun)
Read Luke 19:1-6 (NIV): “Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Questions to Consider
- Given the category of being a winner or a loser, where would the Israelites place Zacchaeus and why?
- Where would Jesus place Zacchaeus in this category? Winner or loser? Why do you think so?
- Are you a winner or a loser in God’s eyes? Justify your choice.
Notes
- The Israelites considered Zacchaeus a profound loser for using performance enhancing drugs (something illegal) to get ahead in his career (“chief tax collector”): he betrayed his people by working for the Romans, and he cheated and lied to collect more than what was required to pocket the excess.
- Jesus would consider Zacchaeus a profound winner, because he recognized that no title or money could satisfy his sense of inadequacy and emptiness, so he sought Jesus—even though he must have looked like a fool climbing a tree to see Jesus. Anyone who seeks Jesus and His approval above all else is a winner.
- Personal response. Quiet your soul and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart (Rom. 8:16).
Evening Reflection
This morning, the issue was how God ministers to us personally and intimately. Without being ministered that way, we cannot hear anything from the Lord. God may very well be saying, “You are not a loser,” but what good is it if we aren’t hearing it. So try this before going to sleep tonight and allow yourself to hear God’s voice through the Spirt in your heart: “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (Ps 37:7a).
There are so many things we all fear: fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of loneliness, fear of uselessness, fear of not being smart. In my mind, so many of our fears point to one underlying predominant fear: the fear of not being loved.
I remember going bouldering for the first time with a group of friends. It was fun learning the basics and trying to figure out how to climb the different parts of the wall. As we were resting, my friends shared funny stories of experienced climbers who loved to show off their skills by climbing the part of the wall that others failed to do. It would be in such a way to make sure everyone saw that they could do something no one else could. For them, it was not enough to be good at something; they had to make sure others recognized their abilities. It was not enough to climb the wall, but they had to look good doing it for others.
Today’s passage is a well-known story that most of us are familiar with, and it serves as a helpful reminder of what is central to our lives as Christians. Jesus is once again tested by the scribes and religious leaders about the Torah. They are desperate to ruin Jesus’ reputation among the Jewish community in order to put a halt to His ever growing movement. This time they ask Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” to which Jesus rightly answers, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” However, it is interesting that Jesus also tells them what is the second greatest commandment, which is to “love your neighbor as yourself.” The common thread to each commandment is love: love of God and love of neighbor.
Ernest Becker, a Jewish-American cultural-anthropologist in the 60’s and 70’s, is famous for writing The Denial of Death. Its thesis states that human civilization is essentially a complex defense mechanism in the face of its own mortality. In other words, humanity is terrified of its inevitable death and attempts to structure life in such a way as to find meaning, in spite of our inescapable mortality. Becker wrote this Pulitzer-winning book while battling colon cancer and facing his own imminent death. And the book was praised for its insight as many related to his conclusion.
The Enlightenment marked a profound change in human history. No longer was God central to the grand narrative of culture; that place was now taken by men and their optimism for humanity’s potential and ability to create meaning apart from God. People began to invest into the sciences and philosophies not as a way of discovering the wonders of God but to gain autonomy apart from Him. This began the secularization of the world in which we find ourselves today; where society has sought to maximize individual freedom and to write its own narrative script. In some sense, it has attempted to kill off God and take over the course of history – seeing it as its own project.
Recently, I had dinner with a missionary who I’ve known for a very long time. And one of my favorite things about meeting with him has always been the stories he would share about how God has been moving in his ministry. Although each story is different, the underlying thread is the faith that the missionary has in God to do the impossible—whether it’s reaching out to someone who seems hopelessly lost or the huge financial deficit that needs to be resolved by a certain deadline. Each challenge isn’t met with anxiety, fear or trying to work harder to overcome the roadblocks; instead, he chooses to go to God and ask for mountains to be moved.
The story of Jesus cleansing the temple has always been one of my favorite stories in the Gospels. It’s a picture of Jesus unlike any other. Oftentimes, we imagine Jesus to be someone who is always peaceful and calm, and yet, here, in Mark we see a display of Jesus’ anger—not only communicated through words, but by the overturning of tables and physically driving people out of the temple! I remember being shocked when I first read about the temple cleansing. Was Jesus even allowed to react this way? Why is this story in the Gospel accounts?
The AMI QT Devotionals from April 16-22 are written by Pastor Andrew Kim at Tapestry Church. Andrew, a graduate of Eternity Bible College, is currently attending Fuller Theological Seminary. He and Jessie were married in 2014
Growing up, I was the type of kid who would try anything. And I would always begin with much enthusiasm and excitement, whether it be learning a new sport or instrument. However, as time passed on, my commitment and passion for my new endeavors would quickly wane. It was because I began to realize what it actually meant to acquire these new skills—the hours of practice needed and the amount of focus necessary for improvement. I wanted fast results and it was not going to come easy, so I quit. And this happened over and over again. Looking back it is easy to see that initial excitement for something does not necessarily lead to a lifetime of commitment, nor is it a sign of real passion or love.
Growing up, I used to love going over to my best friend’s house to play. However, I wasn’t allowed to go over to his house until his parents came home. Being an impatient child, I would call his house up to 10 times a day to see if they were home. While most parents would probably be annoyed by my constant calling, my friend’s parents found it endearing that I wanted to play with their son so desperately.