The AMI QT Devotionals for January 8-14 are provided by Tina Hsu. Tina, a graduate of Biola University and Talbot School of Theology (M.Div.), currently serves as a staff at the Church of Southland, Anaheim, California.
Devotional Thoughts for Today
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
While serving in China, I was given the daunting—yet privileged—task of preaching on Sundays on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. Before going to China, I remember God telling me that His call for me to serve overseas is an invitation to serve Him in my weakness; and if I was willing to dive into this discomfort, then I could go ahead and commit to going. Though I didn’t know specifically what I would dive myself into, His voice gave me the strength to trust that He would be with me in my discomfort.
When I started to preach, I felt like all my weaknesses were on display, because my Mandarin level at that time was equivalent to an elementary school kid: I would repeat the same four phrases during prayer and ministry time because I was very limited in my vocabulary. But through this season of my life, I learned to battle against obsessing what others may think of me and to pray that I would simply speak what God wants to say.
On one Sunday afternoon, two members from the welcoming team shared that the message I spoke that morning was very helpful to the non-Christian newcomers who attended our church that day, and that it opened them up to conversations about faith. Among the two members who encouraged me was a brother who added, “It is because your Chinese is not that good, but your simplified language and phrasing seemed just right for hearers who are new to faith and the Bible.” For public speakers, it is never sweet to hear that our speech has deficiencies, but under God’s grace, I received the brother’s words as encouragement from God; and the three of us just enjoyed recapping how that Sunday’s ministry went. I knew I was exactly where God wanted me to be—in my weakness, and I was immensely blessed that He used me for His works. In light of Paul’s testimony in this morning’s passage, let us reflect what areas of “being used in our weakness” God is inviting us into, and ask the Lord to work mightily through our obedience.
Prayer: Dear Father, thank You for choosing a weak and ordinary vessel like me for Your kingdom work. I pray that You would continue to shine Your light and touch other people’s lives through me. Help me to remain in You and continue to cultivate a servant’s heart. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Romans 14-15
This past summer, I visited the elementary school in the countryside of Taiwan that my great-grandfather planted. The building is now a cafe restaurant but the owners kept the atmosphere and design to look like a school. I also learned he was a pianist by training, and he planted the school initially to provide music lessons for children. I loved learning about my family history and was so blessed to visit the historic place.
In my early 20’s, I naively believed that God placed me in positions because I had what it took to do it—and I took in people’s praises a little too much. Then, in the process of struggling through jobs, studies, and ministry, I began to swallow the fact that He chose me for certain roles so that He could reveal Himself to me, as well as to reveal more about myself —particularly, my weaknesses. Though learning more about myself isn’t fun sometimes, I’ve gained much freedom through it and have tasted more of God’s grace.
In today’s passage, there is a strong sense of intimacy and directness towards Jacob, and God brings Jacob to a deeper revelation of Himself by saying he is “God Almighty,” a name God used when he revealed Himself to Abraham (17:1), blessing him with the blessing that He first gave to Abraham and Isaac. This is the second time that God appears to Jacob and tells him of his new name, “Israel” (meaning “he struggles with God”) and says he is no longer called “Jacob” (meaning “he deceives”).
Whether it is looking at before and after photos of weight loss or listening to amazing testimonies of growth in people’s faith, we all love to record the positive changes in our lives. By reading Genesis 34-35 back to back, we see a great contrast in Jacob’s behavior. After his daughter was raped, Jacob responded silently: he didn’t go to rescue his daughter or confront Shechem—most likely because of fear. His lack of action opened the way for his sons to take the situation into their own hands through murder. But in the midst of this crisis and having an increasing terror of the Shechemites, Jacob clearly hears the Lord’s voice to go to Bethel and build an altar, “because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother,” So he actively leads his family to prepare for worship by telling them to purify themselves (Gen. 35:2). This time, Jacob responded with action instead of passivity.
Jacob and his family had settled in Shechem after purchasing some land from the sons of Hamor. As they dwelled inside the land of Canaan, they quickly become vulnerable to attack by the surrounding cities because Jacob’s sons deceitfully killed the men of Shechem and plundered their wealth as a revenge towards Shechem, who defiled their sister, Dinah (Gen. 34). Jacob needed to problem-solve and figure out a way of escape for his family.
The AMI QT Devotionals from January 1-7 are provided by Pastor Jason Sato of OTR in Cincinnati. Jason, a graduate of UC San Diego (B.S.) and Westminster Theological Seminary in California (M.Div.), is married to Jessica, and they have three young children: Jonah, Lily, and Ayla (three months old).
Hagiography is a form of biography that exaggerates the greatness of its subject. Ordinary people become saints, and saints become models of perfection. If someone wrote a hagiography about me, I would be 7 feet tall with the courage of Nelson Mandela and the compassion of Mother Theresa (i.e. I would not be myself).
In a famous film, a boy tragically drowns in a lake at a summer camp. His mother finds out his death could have been prevented if the camp counselors had been more responsible. The mother is completely devastated and does everything in her power to prevent the summer camp from re-opening, including…murdering all the new camp counselors?
Love at first sight seems like a dream come true. After seeing any Disney movie such as Snow White, Cinderella, or Aladdin, this kind of magical moment appears to be the key to a life of “Happily Ever After.”
When I was a college student, grades were not very important to me. My goal was to get the best grade possible for the least amount of work possible. My academic philosophy could have been called “good enough.”