The AMI QT Devotionals for November 27 to December 3 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.
Devotional Thoughts for Today
“The Power of Words”
Genesis 24:5-8
The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.”
Since the age of four, Cheryl Pruitt used to hang around her father’s country store; and each day, the milkman would arrive at the store and would greet Cheryl the same way: “How’s my little Miss America?” Many years later, Cheryl Pruitt went on to actually become the 1980 Miss America. The power that words can have is profound—even simple words from a neighborhood milkman! How much more powerful are the words of God in transforming our lives?
Around age 80 was when Abraham received the word from God, “To your offspring I will give this land,” in Genesis 15. Here in our passage (Gen 24), Abraham is around 140 years old; and we see that he is still clinging faithfully to this promise! In fact, not only does Abraham remember the promise from 60 years ago, it seems that his entire life had been lived out through the lens of that promise. When it came time for his son, Isaac, to find a wife, Abraham gave his servant clear instructions to go back to Abraham’s home country to find a woman. But there was one command that Abraham gave that was even more important than finding a wife for his son: it was that Isaac would remain in the Promised Land—no matter what.
For Abraham, the promises of God had effectively shaped his entire life. His decision to leave Ur of Chaldeans, his decision to live in Canaan as a sojourner, his willingness to offer up his son as a sacrifice, his command for his posterity to remain in Canaan—all of these hinged upon Abraham’s faith in the promises of God.
Oftentimes, our decisions are fueled by logic (what makes the most sense?), or by self-interest (what creates the most ideal situation for me?), or by convenience (what is the least complicated thing to do?). What would it look like if we started living one day at a time, with a decision-making process that hinges completely on God’s Word?
Prayer: God, help us to be shaped by Your Word. May we not simply be hearers, but rather doers of it. As we go through this day, open our eyes to see the opportunities to walk according to Your promises. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Jeremiah 32
Lunch Break Study
Read Psalm 119:9-16: How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes!
With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
Questions to Consider
- What topic does the psalmist address in every sentence of this Psalm?
- According to the psalmist, what can we do to protect the purity of our ways?
- According to the psalmist, who is responsible for our reading/understanding of the Word?
Notes
- In every line of this Psalm, the psalmist talks about God’s Word (commandments, statutes, rules of your mouth, your testimonies, etc.).
- The psalmist says, twice, that the way to walk in purity involves storing God’s word in our hearts. On first thought, there may not seem to be a direct connection between reading the Bible and not sinning, but the truth is, what we fill ourselves with is what comes out, and what we find delight in will shape our character.
- This Psalm mostly says, “I will…” but it also says, “let me not wander…” and “teach me your statutes”—which means that reading and understanding Scripture takes both our personal effort AND the divine help of God. So, let us not grow lazy in pursuing Him in Scripture, and let us also not grow complacent in thinking we can read the Word without the help of the Holy Spirit.
Evening Reflection
In our world, every subsequent generation has gotten faster and more efficient in all that we do. To slow a task down when we can do it fast is unthinkable. Yet, reading God’s Word is often neither fast nor efficient. Like all relationships, the quality of our intimacy depends on whether we are able to slow down and communicate with each other. This evening, spend some time slowing down your mind and heart for the sake of spending quality time with the Lord.
The city of Shanghai has a peculiar event called the “Shanghai Marriage Market.” Think local farmer’s market meets eHarmony. At this meet and greet, parents write the basic information of their child on a slip of paper, and it gets put on display on a wall, along with hundreds of other “advertisements.” Pertinent information includes age, height, job, income, zodiac sign, etc. The hope for parents is that they would meet another parent whose child is a suitable match for their own child. As you might expect, the children mostly despise their parents’ participation in the Shanghai Marriage Market. But it continues to take place on a weekly basis because of the strong desire of parents to preserve their cultural traditions for the next generation.
Vincent van Gogh is one of the most influential painters in the Western history of art. But during his life, he was never a successful artist and never made it big. His paintings were never highly regarded. He struggled with depression and psychosis. In fact, most people thought of Van Gogh as a miserable failure. It was only until after his tragic death that people began to take note of his mastery in painting. Generations later, Van Gogh’s masterpieces have become some of the most iconic and inspiring works known to man. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of Van Gogh’s life was that he had no idea of the impact he would have on future generations to come.
Most American retail stores don’t operate on a system where prices are negotiable. But in many parts of the world, negotiating prices is a normal part of the business culture. If you’ve ever sold or purchased anything through Craigslist, you may have an idea of how temperamental and even volatile these transactions can be. In our passage today, Abraham enters into a negotiation with Ephron the Hittite for a plot of land. If there is anything we can learn from this passage, it’s the exemplary integrity of Abraham in a business setting.
In 2010, Lebron James made a shocking announcement to the NBA world: he would be taking his talents to South Beach, Miami. For the next four years, Lebron made his home in Miami and thrived during his time there. He won two NBA championship titles for the city of Miami, became one of its most beloved citizens, and he was even called “King James.” But Lebron (and most discerning fans) knew that Lebron’s home wasn’t really in Miami. He was a sojourner there. Lebron was always destined to return to his true home. Sure enough, in 2014, Lebron made his way back home to Cleveland. But his time in Miami will always be one for the (NBA) history books.
My honest confession is that one of the hardest parts of ministry is that there are often no tangible measurements for success. Is a successful ministry measured by how many people come on Sundays? How much tithing and offering a church brings in? Is it by the number of baptisms or how many are in attendance in your small groups? Perhaps to some extent, but none of these are perfect measurements. But you can see why in such a context, it can become a temptation to rely on these things to get some level of measuring how well things are going. But what could follow, if not carefully checked and brought before the Lord, is a culture within the church where performance is always measured. And this can happen in our individual spiritual lives as well.
At the heart of the gospel message is a decision. A decision by an infinite God who chose to love a people so undeserved, unmerited, and utterly sinful. A decision made without any obligation but to Himself.
The AMI QT Devotionals from November 20-26 are provided by Pastor Joshua Kim of Church of Southland. Joshua, a graduate of Emory University and Columbia Theological Seminary (M.Div.), serves as the pastor of Access group (singles). He is married to Christina.
There is a particular moment that has defined the faith of my family. To condense it for the sake of time, my life changed dramatically at the age of thirteen. My parents had gone through a lot of transition in ministry that year where we witnessed how broken people can be even in the church. In this season of desperation, my parents sought the Lord. And through revelation and divine appointments, my parents believed that the Lord was calling them back to a church in Korea. What this meant was that they would leave my 16-year-old sister and me to live on our own in an apartment in Utah.
Happy Thanksgiving to all our AMI family! I pray that wherever you are, your heart is full of gratitude because of God’s faithfulness in your life. It was almost 400 years ago when the first US Thanksgiving was celebrated by a fraction of the surviving pilgrims who came to the New World. It had been the first successful harvest after much suffering and loss. And on this day, alongside Native American friends who had greatly assisted the Pilgrims in settling in their new homes, they got together for three days of feasting and fellowship. Literary Critic Kathleen Donegan in a 
Someone once told me marriage is hard because it is the first time that you are forced to truly live with yourself. And this realization of who we truly are is not always a fun experience. For me, I didn’t realize how much I had tailored my life to fit my needs and desires until this “customized” life began conflicting with my wife’s way of doing things. My preferences on where shoes are stored to how certain chores are done were different from my wife’s. And through this conflict of preferences, I came to realize how particular I could be and how deep my selfishness goes.