The AMI QT Devotionals from December 17 to 24 are provided by Pastor Yohan Lee of Remnant Church, New York City. Yohan graduated from University of Pennsylvania and Cairn University, where he studied theology. He is married to Mandie, and they have four adorable children.
Devotional Thoughts for Today
“God Remembers”
Genesis 30: 22
Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.
Christmas, which is, of course, the day we celebrate the incarnation of our Lord and Savior, is only two days away. For most families, this is a time to enjoy one another, and for most children, it’s a day when many wishes become reality. In our household—at least for one four-year-old— Christmas is going to be a day of reckoning, and perhaps utter disappointment. You see, about six months ago, whenever we’d go out on errands to places like Target, my youngest son Jon would find junk that interested him and would ask us to buy it for him. Now a good parent would simply say no, and deal with the ensuing tantrum until the child has learned not to react so childishly. However, my wife and I aren’t always good parents, so instead of just saying no, we’ve developed the habit of saying, “Maybe we’ll get that for your birthday or Christmas.” After a few times, Jon’s picked up on this and just asks at stores, “Can we get this for my next birthday or Christmas?”
As Christmas approaches, a small part of me is a little nervous that after all the presents are opened, Jon will look at me and my wife and say something like, “Dude, you forgot the battery-operated Captain America fan that comes with a tube of M&Ms that we saw at Cracker Barrel! Remember, you said you were gonna get that for me for Christmas!” You see, we were kind of banking that Jon wouldn’t remember all or any of his inane requests over the last six months. But what if he does? Christmas would be ruined!!! (Are you sensing my sarcasm?)
For people, memory can be a funny and torturous thing: Things we want to forget are often blazed into the center of our psyche, while things we desperately want to remember, we can’t help but to forget. Sometimes memory can be used to hold us hostage (like if Jon remembers anything) or bring relief (like if he forgets). Then there is God, who only chooses to “forget” things like our transgressions, and remembers everything—from our fleeting whims to our deepest desires. Do you think Rachel, after watching 10 sons be born to her husband by three different women, had lost all hope for having her own children? Do you think she felt forgotten by God? What happened? God remembered her deepest longing, and when the time was right, gave her Joseph. Are there times you feel forgotten by God? Don’t fret—God always remembers. Have the courage to hope in your compassionate and loving Heavenly Father!
Prayer: Lord, I’ve been praying for ________ for ______ years. Remind me that You are a God who never forgets. You have numbered every hair on my head. Help me this day to trust in Your goodness, love, and compassion again. Give me courage to wait on Your plan and serenity to accept it, no matter what. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: 1 Corinthians 5-6
I live in a town where high school sports are pretty huge; and as a trickle down effect, youth sports seem to be more important than they should be. So in my son’s and daughter’s 1st and 2nd grade teams, we have our fair share of crazy dads (as well as some coaches) who takes their children’s games a little too seriously. As I’ve gotten a chance to know a few of these overly enthusiastic parents, a fairly common back story has emerged: for many of these parents, high school sports were a highlight of their life. I don’t mean to make these people sound sad—this is generally not the case—but I do think that they would like to relive the “glory days” through their children’s accomplishments on the athletic field.
One of my favorite social games is Scattergories. If you’ve never played, the premise is that at random, all players will get a category and a letter of the alphabet; and you have to come up with items that fit the category that starts with the letter. For example, if the category is “comic characters” and the letter is B, Batman would be an easy answer. But here’s the catch: you only get points for unique answers, so if other contestants used Batman, too, no one would get points from that answer. What makes the game fun is that if you come up with an “out of the box” type answer, you have to convince other players of its validity, and by “convince,” I mean argue. My wife hates playing Scattergories with me—she says that I cheat. Case in point: the last time we played, the category was “type of footwear” and the letter was F. I gave the answer, “Famous Footwear” (you get double points for double alliteration), which is footwear store vs. a specific footwear brand. Anyway, I argued passionately for that one, but ultimately got overruled by my collaborating, narrow-minded co-contestants. If you are the type of person who is good at grasping at straws and twisting reality, then this is your type of game.
My wife and I recently purchased our first home. I don’t know if it’s always like this, but I feel like our home buying process was not the most civil affair—the seller and I fought over everything, from the price of the house, to repairs, to appliances, etc. To make matters worse, during the final walk through on the day of closing, we noticed that this guy switched out the washing machine, claiming that the one that was supposed to come with the house broke. Who does this?!?! What a childishly crooked thing to do!!! I didn’t believe it then—and I still don’t— but in the end, I wasn’t going to let my family go homeless over a washing machine. So I just kind of seethed internally for a while.
I’m going to break one of the fundamental principles of hermeneutics for this morning’s devotional—the principle that if it’s not in the text, don’t make stuff up! That being said, am I the only one who has a hard time believing that Jacob didn’t realize that Laban had pulled the old bait and switch on him during his wedding night? Yes, I know they didn’t have electricity back then, but how dark was it in their tent? Pitch black—like 100 feet deep in a cave kind of darkness? I know times were different then, so I don’t expect Jacob to get all Song of Songs romantic, but didn’t he even say “Hi” to her that night or any kind of conversation beforehand? What kind of a “pig” doesn’t even talk to his wife on their wedding night? Without getting too graphic, wouldn’t you expect a bride who was about to consummate her wedding to at least take off her veil, and even if she didn’t, wouldn’t Jacob have been able to tell that this woman did not have strong eyes, that she clearly had “weak eyes”? What’s the point of mentioning her eyes (v. 17), if they don’t help you tell the difference between Leah and her sister?
When it comes to time, I think we all understand that old saying, “The days are long but the years are short.” When we look back, doesn’t it seem like your time in school, dating your wife, your kid’s childhood, your 20’s (30’s or 40’s), time you had with your parents, etc., just whizzed by? But when you look ahead, don’t things like finishing school, getting married, raising kids, retirement, seem like a never ending series of never ending days? This is why I don’t get how in v. 20, it says that Jacob’s love for Rachel made seven long years (2,555 days, not counting leap year) of labor feel like just a “few days.” When I was waiting to get married, there was only about a six month gap between my engagement and wedding—that time felt like forever to me! But perhaps Jacob—that heel-grasping deceiver—was more patient and more loving than I?
Today’s AMI Devotional QT is provided by Jasmin Izumikawa. She is a member of the Church of Southland and is currently a high school teacher. She has lived the miracle of healing through the prayers of her AMI church family through her battle with lymphoma.
There are times when everything looks very grim to me—so withered and dead that I have to remind myself what the garden looked like during the peak seasons. In the winter, we see very little growth, but to have a thriving garden in the spring and summer, it is necessary to wait with hope. When we see no bud of growth, we trust knowing what it will become, for a garden is built from hope. This empty lot of soil will be full of blue Hyacinth and yellow Ranunculus in the Spring, and in the warm summer, full of heirloom tomatoes and crisp cucumbers. In my waiting, that is what I hope for.
We are still facing the old power structures of the past—of powerful men using their positions to manipulate those who are vulnerable to do their bidding. This has been a story that has been perpetuated from generation to generation. It is the story of sin.
If you rushed through the verses above, take a moment to go back and read them once more (consider reading them aloud). What an amazing promise! We serve an awesome God who makes incredible promises to His people—promises of provision, prosperity, posterity, protection, and presence (His very presence with His people). What more could we ask for?
Today’s AMI QT Devotional is written by Jonathan Cho. Jonathan recently graduated from Emory University in 2017. He currently serves as an intern at Journey Church of Atlanta and specifically works with the college leaders of the church.
A friend once asked me, “Who did you make happy today? Why did you make them happy?” As I attempted a response, I realized it quickly became a list of who I want to please. When I got to the second question, I realized just how much their opinion of me shaped and defined my principles and values. I found myself stuck in the same cycle of the family in this passage.