November 2, Thursday

The AMI QT Devotionals from October 30-November 5 are provided by Emerson Lin. Emerson, a graduate of University of California, San Diego, serves as staff at Kairos Christian Church, while studying at Talbot School of Theology. He is married to Annie. They will soon leave for E. Asia to serve as missionaries.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

“Love is spelled O-B-E-Y”

Genesis 17:23-27

On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. 27 And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

Arabian horses go through rigorous training in the deserts of the Middle East where the trainers require absolute obedience from the horses. As a final test of their obedience, the trainers deprive the horses of water for a week; afterwards, the trainers release the horses so they can run toward the water. However, as they get close to the trough, the trainers blow their whistle. The horses who have been completely trained and who have learned perfect obedience stop in their tracks; in fact, they turn around and gallop to their trainer. Then they stand in front of the trainer, desperate for a drink of water. Once the trainers blow their whistles again, the horses return to the water to drink.

In this passage, God calls Abraham to circumcise every male in his camp. As we learned in a previous devotion, circumcision was a sign of God’s faithfulness to the Abraham’s descendants. While circumcision is a painful process, we see that Abraham was not slow to respond to the Lord. The Scripture uses the phrase “On that very day” twice, to capture Abraham’s radical obedience to God. Through this act of quick obedience, Abraham displays his love for the Lord.

We live in a world where information is power. A person is deemed powerful and intelligent by the amount of information they know. In the same way, we may equate those who have great Bible knowledge as deeply loving the Lord.

However, Scripture defines loving the Lord in a different way. It is not defined by how much a person knows, but by a person’s active obedience to the Word of God. The Bible often correlates loving the Lord with obeying His commandments. In John 14:15, Jesus says to His disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” James 1:22 says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” Let’s become believers who quickly obey God’s commands instead of passively waiting. It is through our obedience that we love the Lord!

What are some areas of your life that you can better follow the Lord? What prevents you from actively obeying His commandments? Take some time to reflect on these questions.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for choosing me first before I chose You. As Scriptures equates love with obedience, I want to follow You whole-heartedly. If there is any area of my life that lacks obedience, please help me to change. I want to love You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Acts 26

Lunch Break Study

Read Psalm 1: Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Questions to Consider

What is required of living the blessed life? (v.1)
What imagery does the author use to describe a person who meditates on the Word of God? (v.3)
What imagery does the author use to describe wicked men? (v.4)

Notes

Living a blessed life requires a person to avoid walking in sin as well as delighting in God’s word.
The author uses an imagery of a tree planted by a stream of water. To make this imagery more powerful, imagine a single, lush tree in the middle of a barren desert. In order to thrive, that tree must be connected to a water source. That is what it’s like to be connected to the Word of God.
Wicked men are described as chaff that are blown in the wind. In ancient times, farmers would separate chaff and seed by tossing both in the air. Because chaff is light, it is easily blown away by the wind.

Evening Reflection

“Our obedience is God’s pleasure when it proves that God is our treasure. This is good news, because it means very simply that the command to obey is the command to be happy in God. The commandments of God are only as hard to obey as the promises of God are hard to believe. The Word of God is only as hard to obey as the beauty of God is hard to cherish.”

John Piper

November 1, Wednesday

Devotional Thoughts for Today

“Mission Impossible”

Genesis 17:17-21

Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” 19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.

When I was in 5th grade, I attended a Chinese Vineyard Conference in Los Angeles that opened my eyes to the reality of God’s power. During the last session, the speaker preached on Mark 11:23: “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” I was so inspired by this message that when I went home, I faced the Santa Cruz Mountains and screamed, “Move, in Jesus name!” Unfortunately, nothing happened.

Whenever I tell this story, many people chuckle to themselves at the absurdity of a child telling mountains to move. In this passage, Abraham has a similar reaction when God promises a child for him and Sarah in their old age. Can you imagine a 100-year old and a 90-year old having a child together? It defies all logic and science! Even Abraham doubts and asks the Lord to make Ishmael his heir. Yet, God is determined to give Abraham a son, and he is to be called Isaac.

Our God specializes in the impossible and the supernatural. He operates within as well as outside of our understanding. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”

Because this world is dominated by science and logic, we forget that our God can operate outside of the natural. Unfortunately, even as believers, we slowly begin to lose that child-like wonder, and we stop trusting in Him.

Of course, we are not to disregard reason. As believers, we need to use sound reason to properly study God’s word and defend our faith. Yet, we need to acknowledge that our God can operate outside of our natural thoughts. Let’s continue to pursue both, so that we can become more faithful and effective Christians!

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for being a God that specializes in the impossible. It brings me tremendous comfort that I can trust You in all things, no matter how small or big. Lord, please restore my child-like wonder in You again. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Acts 25

Lunch Break Study

Read Mark 9:14-29: When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. 16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. 17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” 19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” 20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. 28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

Questions to consider

In this passage, why couldn’t the evil spirit be driven out by the disciples?
There seems to be a paradox in verse 24. What do you think the man meant by, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief”?

Notes

The disciples could not cast out the boy’s evil spirit because the people lacked belief. In this context, we learn that faith is a catalyst that allows us to witness miracles in our lives.
The paradox is a sign of humility before Jesus. Although he wants to believe, he knows that there are parts of him that do not believe. Only when the man is honest with himself, does Jesus heal his son.

Evening Reflection

In light of today’s passage, what are some things that hinder you from believing in God’s power in your life? As you meditate on these obstacles, ask the Lord to help you with your unbelief!

October 31, Tuesday

Devotional Thoughts for Today

“A Covenant to Remember”

Genesis 17:9-14

Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

In elementary school, my friend and I would make pacts with each other. We promised to be best friends forever and to write letters if one of us moved away. To seal the pact, we drew a picture of our favorite superhero and gave it to each another. Unfortunately, both of these promises were broken by the time we moved onto middle school.

In this passage, God makes a covenant with Abraham and his descendants. The covenant entails that if Abraham and his descendants follow the Lord, He will flourish them as a people group: “The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you: and I will be their God” (v. 8).

Why did God heavily emphasize circumcision to Abraham in regard to the covenant? Like my friend and I, humanity is prone to break covenants with the Lord. In Scripture, there is a cycle of the Israelites disobeying the law of God and God restoring them. Therefore, to make things clear for the Israelites, God commands Abraham to circumcise males, so that it will be a constant reminder to follow the Lord.

As believers, we constantly forget our covenant with the Lord. We understand that we are saved, yet we are quick to disobey and follow our own ways. However, the Lord helps us remember our covenant with Him through His sacraments. As we take the bread and the wine, we are reminded of the covenant God established with us through the blood of Jesus. This is God’s grace to us!

Prayer: Lord, help me to remember Your faithfulness in my life. I know that I am prone to forget, yet Your grace reminds me that Your ways are always better than mine. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Acts 24

Lunch Break Study

Read Joshua 4:4-7: So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

Questions to Consider

What do the stones serve as? (v. 7)
Apart from the current Israelites, who else was the memorial for? Why is this important? (v.6)

Notes

The stones serve as a reminder for the people that God stopped the flow of the Jordan.
Apart from the current Israelites, this memorial was intended for the Israelite children. It was expected for the parents to re-visit this memorial and teach their children about the faithfulness of God. As future descendants become more distant from this great miracle, they are more likely to forget. Therefore, it is the responsibility of past generations to remind them of God’s faithfulness.

Evening Reflection

In light of today’s sharing, what are some ways that you help remind yourself of the Lord’s covenant with you? If you are prone to forget, how can you better remember His faithfulness in your life?

October 30, Monday

Devotional Thoughts for Today

It’s all in the name

Genesis 17:3-8

Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

Growing up, I disliked my name Emerson because it was so different. I wished that my parents named me John, Kevin, or even Michael, like my other friends. In elementary school, I convinced my entire class to call me “Em,” because I was so embarrassed by my full name. One day after school, I asked my mom why she named me Emerson. She took out a baby name book and explained that Emerson meant courageous and strong. When I was in her womb, God told her that her son would walk in courage. After hearing her story, I slowly began to appreciate my name.

Names are an important part of our society: they help us address our friends as well as identify people. However, names carried much more meaning in the Old Testament. More than just for addressing, names determined the identity, status in society, and their relationship with God.

In this passage, Abraham’s name was changed from Abram, “Exalted Father,” to Abraham, “Father of Many Nations.” This name change was a turning point for Abraham, because it altered his destiny from a prince of Ur to a patriarch of God’s redemptive plan.

Our destinies, too, have been changed and altered through a name—the name of Jesus Christ. Romans 10:12-13 says, “For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Because of the name of Jesus, we are set free from the bondages of sin and are able to walk in complete freedom.

There will be times where we will feel discouraged, depressed, and hopeless. However, the Scripture reminds us that when we go through these difficult seasons, all we need to do is cry out to the Lord. He shows up in different ways: through His Spirit, His word, or His Church. Let’s continue to call upon the name of the Lord.

When you go through tough seasons, is your first instinct to call upon the name of the Lord? If not, what hinders you from crying out to Him? If so, reflect on those incidences. As believers, let’s continue to call upon the name of the Lord.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You that Your name has power and authority. Help us to remember this so that when we go through hard seasons we can cry out to You. Only You can deliver and save us! Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Acts 23

Lunch Break Study

Read Psalm 8: Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. 2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? 5 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them[f] with glory and honor. 6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, 8 the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Questions to Consider

Name three reasons why the psalmist praises the name of God? (v. 2, 3, 4-9)
What literary device points to the psalmist’s love for the name of God?

Notes

First, God humbles the proud and gives grace to the humble. Infants and children are considered weak, yet God uses them to be victorious over His enemies. Second, the psalmist is in awe of the nature that God created. The beauty of the moon starts to point to the glory of God. Third, God has given man the authority and dominion to govern over all creation.
We see that the psalmist repeats, “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Repetition promotes the purpose why this Psalm was written.

Evening Reflection

In light of today’s sharing, were there any situations when you needed to cry out to the Lord? If not, please take a moment to reflect on the past incidences where you cried out to the Lord and He saved you. Take some time to thank the Lord for His faithfulness in your life.

October 29, Sunday

The AMI QT Devotionals from October 23-29 are provided by Pastor Charles Choe of Tapestry Church, Los Angeles. Charles, a graduate of UC Riverside and Fuller Theological Seminary (M.Div.), is married to Grace, and they have three children: Chloe, Noah, and Camden.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Genesis 16:12-16

He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” 13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered. 15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

I pastor a church in Los Angeles, and we recently had the privilege of moving into a larger building just a couple months ago. But with a new and bigger building, we’ve come to see unexpected needs rise, including the need to install a vastly improved and expensive surveillance system to monitor the spacious structure. We are hoping to have it up and running soon, because we’ve already had a few things go missing. At those very moments, I wish I was able to see what happened or who may have taken it.

Sometimes we forget that God sees and knows everything. He is not blind or unknowing; but if He was, I wonder how we would conduct ourselves. Would it make a difference in the way we talk or behave, especially those moments when no one is looking? Often when we don’t give too much thought to God, it’s because we fail to treat Him as God. So when Hagar has been mistreated and abused, she recognizes that God does see all (Genesis 16:13).

Do you know that God sees you? It is one thing to know that He loves you and hears your prayers, but it is quite another to know that His eyes are upon you—He is watching you. But don’t compare His eyes to a surveillance camera, as though He is spying on you to chastise you when you fail. No, the concept of God seeing us is a loving concept. He watches us because He is concerned about us and loves to see us, similar to a parent who loves to watch his children sleep and play. It gives God joy to see us go through life and learn about Him and interact with other people. And He also keeps His eyes on us to shield us from harm.

God watches you. Why? Because God loves you. This is what Hagar knew about her God. So she is able to return to Abram and Sarai, and she is received back into the home where Abram does better to take responsibility for his actions. It’s knowing that God was with her that gave her the confidence to come back to the father of her child.

Today, be certain that God has not abandoned you. He watches over you. He can even look into your heart and know things that you don’t even understand about yourself. Allow God to search your heart and let Him refine you from the inside out. Trust that you are not alone—He is with you when you are awake, and He is with you when you are asleep. Take comfort and lift up your eyes and meet the eyes of God in Christ Jesus.

Prayer: God, help me to know that You are with me. You have not forsaken me. Even when I feel utterly alone and abandoned, You have not left me. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Acts 22

October 28, Saturday

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Genesis 16:5-11

Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.” 6 “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. 7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. 9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” 11 The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.

In one of his books, author Gary Smalley says, “If a couple has been married for more than five years, any persistent disharmony in their marriage is usually attributable to the husband’s lack of understanding and applying genuine love.” He adds, “After five years of marriage if a husband has failed to understand or seek help for the major causes of disharmony, either he doesn’t understand what genuine love is, or has chosen to ignore God’s command to shepherd his family wisely.” In other words, initially, the wife can be responding and acting out of the way she was raised, but after some period of time, she is responding to how her husband treats her.

Abram and Sarai have been married a long time by now. After Hagar conceives, Sarai says, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me” (Genesis 16:5). She is essentially saying, “Why did you listen to me? Why didn’t you stop me?” In some respects, she is right. Abram should have known better. He is the leader in the home. He is the one who is hearing from God and following him. He knew deep down that God intended to bear a child through Sarai, not Hagar. But he didn’t stop his wife from making a horrible mistake.

This is strangely reminiscent of Adam and Eve: Eve may have eaten of the forbidden fruit first, but Adam was not helplessly standing by, unable to lead Eve. Likewise, Sarai did tempt Abram to this sin, but it was Abram who failed to lead his wife. Both are at fault, of course, but Abram’s failure to lead his wife prove to be disastrous, one in which humanity would have a difficult time recovering from, even now.

When sin comes knocking on our doors, we are capable of not opening that door. The Holy Spirit who lives in us gives us power to overcome sin. We are told by the apostle Paul, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

And when we give into sin—whether it be lust, anger, or greed—we must not blame the tempter or the situation. Rather, we must own up to the sins we commit. We must stop blaming our bosses, our parents, our colleagues, our spouses, our kids, our roommates, and everyone else for the sins that we commit. Let us own up to our failures and turn them into acts of repentance. The Good News of Jesus Christ is that, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). This is the path of freedom the Lord intends for us.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for your Son’s blood. By His blood, and not by my deeds or misdeeds, I am made righteous this day! Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Acts 20-21

October 27, Friday

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Genesis 16:3-4

So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.

In a Saturday Night Live commercial spoof, a woman discusses taking Chantix to end her smoking addiction. While the benefits of the drug may have helped her to quit smoking, the unintended side effects— which is listed between nausea and her desire to kill her own husband— is rather comical. The spoof seems to be saying, “The goal to quit smoking is met, but at what price?”

Sin is not that different from these drug commercials you see on television. The thirty second commercial spends five seconds telling you what benefit this new wonder drug will have for you, and then the next twenty-five seconds explaining all the adverse side effects—including nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, heart attack, and even bugs nesting in your ears. The only difference between these commercials and sin is that sin never tells you what the negative side effects are until after you’ve committed the sin. Then it says, “Oh yeah, here’s the fine print I forgot to tell you about. You got what you wanted, but your life is now going to be miserable. Enjoy!”

At first, things seem to work out just fine for Abram and Sarai. It looked as though everything was going according to plan. Hagar conceived their long-awaited child, and now Sarai and Abram had the baby they were so desperate for. But, as with all sin, there were unexpected, negative consequences. Sarai was not any happier than when she was without a child; having exactly what she thought she wanted did nothing for her—it only brought her even more discontent.

And we see this in the way Sarai despises Hagar. Perhaps Sarai is reminded of the feeling of being “cursed” (not to be able to herself bear a child), or maybe Abram had surprised her with affections for Hagar—as it would not be unimaginable for a father and mother of the same child to share. Whatever may have been the case, things became increasingly difficult in Abram’s household. This didn’t feel like a blessing at all, but more like a curse, as envy, anger and mistreatment was the new norm for Sarai and Abram.

This is what sin does to us. It promises so much, but it never tells us about the problems that is sure to follow. Sin will never make us happy. It will only lead to heartache and disappointment. The momentary pleasure is fleeting, but the assurance of God’s presence is satisfying for all times. Let us strive to be holy and without sin. When we fail, let us trust God to forgive us through His Son Jesus Christ.

Prayer: God, help me to take sin seriously. Help me to hate it and not believe in the promises it makes to me. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Acts 15 (skipped on Monday, resume with Acts 20-21 on Saturday)

Lunch Break Study

Read Isaiah 40:28-31: Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Questions to Consider

When waiting on the Lord, we may grow weary and be tempted to go our own way. Why does Isaiah insist we remain?
Compared to an older person, youth is seen as a symbol of strength and virility. When we feel weak and unable, what is a clear way of being replenished?
What mistakes and sins have you committed because you are not waiting on the Lord?

Notes

The Lord, by the strength of His character, will keep us from growing weary and exhausted. We can trust Him for sustaining strength.
We are replenished in strength by waiting on the Lord.
Personal reflection.

Evening Reflection

We began the day thinking about the deceptive nature of sin: it seems and feels so promising at first, but before we know it we find ourselves in “hell” on earth. There are stages to the progression of sin. James put it like this: When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (1:14-15). Before going to sleep tonight, examine yourself whether you are caught in the web of deception of sin. If so, consider what stage you are in based on James’ word; but, regardless of where you are at, know that the best measure is to turn away from it: consider repenting.

October 26, Thursday

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Genesis 16:2:

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”

Sometimes we can be become obsessive over something: Maybe it’s something that happened at work, or it’s something someone said that kind of irked you—you keep replaying the scene in your mind over and over again. You’re thinking about the perfect comeback you wish you had, or what you need to do next. Why do we sometimes let things bother us long after they happen, and why is it so difficult to stop the cycle of stressing, obsessing, and stressing and obsessing? Why is it so easy to fall into this negative cycle?

Psychologists call this “rumination,” and it happens to be a source of stress for many people. It starts out innocently enough—you’re attempting to make sense and move on from a frustrating situation—but rumination can catch you in a circular, self-perpetuating loop of frustration and stress. When you’re dealing with chronic conflicts in your relationships, you may experience stress from too much rumination.

This is essentially what Abram and Sarai are doing. They have been promised by God that they would father many children and become a great nation (Genesis 12:1-3). Unfortunately, he and his wife were getting old with no signs of this promise coming to pass. Instead of trusting in God and His promise, they grew impatient and begin to ruminate on what they can do about it. Out of these negative thoughts came a horrible consequence. The decision to rectify this obsessive feeling would cause much pain and hurt in their family, and really, for the story of humanity. Of course, God does eventually and miraculously fulfill His promise, and they have a child. But not before the damage is done.

Have you become so obsessed with a thought or an idea that you forget to actually trust God for it? Instead of relying on God, are your thoughts and time so consumed with chasing this promise that you forget everything else around you, even God? Consider what you are struggling with today, whether it be negative thoughts that you are bringing into reality. Surrender them to the Lord and ask God to make His promises anew today.

Prayer: God, help me to trust You. Keep me from making decisions out of my impatience. Let me give You all my anxieties, trusting that in Your perfect time, You will fulfill Your promises. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Acts 19

Lunch Break Study

Read Romans 8:18-24: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Questions to Consider

What is all of creation waiting for (verse 19)?
What is all of creation groaning for?
In light of where we are ultimately destined for, how can you practice hope today?

Notes

Creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
To be set free from decay and to be redeemed in glory.
Personal reflection.

Evening Reflection

We win at the end. How do you know that? “I’ve read the last page of the Bible. It’s all going to turn out all right” (Billy Graham); so, live like a victor, in Christ. Pray that tomorrow will be an incredible day in the Lord in experiencing His resurrection power (Eph. 1:19).

October 25, Wednesday

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Genesis 15:9-21

He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”

An early crush I had in the seventh grade was a young blond name Tammy. She, to my shock, reciprocated my feelings. So we started passing notes between classes and eventually started “dating.” (I had no idea what that meant; I just knew it meant we had feelings for each other.) Things were going well, until one day after school—on a public bus no less— I heard the crushing news that she was beginning to develop feelings for one of my closest friends. It was devastating; I had never felt so much heartache before. It wouldn’t be the last time I would be disappointed with unrequited “love,”— but this first one really stung.

In our story today, we find God is prepared to show the extent of His love. It starts with Abraham carrying animals to be sacrificed. In verse 10, Abraham—with a sharp blade—carves the animals in half. I can just imagine the smell, the sight of the warm blood soaking the soil, and the sound of groaning from the dying animals. All the work must have made him tired, as Abraham falls into deep sleep. Then the next event takes us to the whole point of this ceremony: “When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates’” (verses 17-18).

This is so understated, but in some cryptic way, the smoking pot and the blazing torch represents God—His visible manifestation passing between the pieces. To appreciate this, we have to know how covenants were sealed. Today, we use lawyers and legal documents, but back then, they would cut animals in half, and the two parties would walk through it—essentially saying, “Let it be done to me as it has been done to these animals if I break my oath.” And here, God condescends to reassure questioning man with a smoking fire pot and a blazing torch; God cuts a covenant with Abraham.

Here is what this is saying to us: The promise is that God loves us with a steadfast love. This is anchored in His own character—not in what we do or don’t do. His love is steadfast, unchanging, and reliable. This is the key to His covenant. This is why God’s covenant with us is not bilateral. Only God pledges and walks through—Abraham is utterly passive. God assumes full responsibility for the covenant. And do you know what this is called? Grace. One way love. So here’s the promise: God loves you and He always will.

Do you see what this is foreshadowing? Jesus. The Son of God’s flesh was torn like those animals. That was God fulfilling His promise: “I will be your God and you will be my people. I will rescue you, I will pour out my Spirit.” Every promise uttered was fulfilled in Christ. And we know this to be true by faith. Faith is God’s benevolence towards us; it’s founded on His promises and sealed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. And that’s the place where we have to go every day and let it capture our imagination, until more and more, it becomes our story.

Prayer: God, help me to see the many ways You are faithful to me today. In every moment of fear, help me to my knees so that I can surrender all of my fears and worries to you. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Acts 18

Lunch Break Study

Read Galatians 3:13-20: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. 15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. 19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

Questions to Consider

In verse 15, Paul first establishes the principle that even with a covenant among men, the covenant stands firm once it is made—no one annuls or adds to it. Why does Paul use this as an example?
What purpose, then, does the law serve?
What promise do you sense the Lord is telling you to hang on to?

Notes

Paul’s point isn’t really about covenants among men, but he uses it as an example to say, “How much more will God keep His promises.”
Part of the reason the law was given was to restrain the transgression of men through clearly revealing God’s holy standard. It was to keep us from destroying ourselves before the Messiah came. The law also clearly shows our rebellion against God’s holy standard, showing us more clearly our need for salvation in Jesus.
Personal reflection.

Evening Reflection

“God’s plan is not to abandon this world, the world which he said was “very good.” Rather, he intends to remake it. And when he does he will raise all his people to new bodily life to live in it. That is the promise of the Christian gospel.” –N.T. Wright

October 24, Tuesday

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Genesis 15:7-8

And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

Not too long ago, I thought we—as a family— would do something fun and healthy by taking a hike at a local park. I had visions of having so much fun climbing up to the peak, enjoying the view, talking and spending time as a family, while getting some much-needed exercise. And then, we started our climb—and everything was just about downhill from there. The weather was hotter than I had anticipated, and we were quickly running out of water. The kids were complaining no more than fifteen minutes into our ascent. It was clear to me that we were not going to make it to our destination—we didn’t even make it to the half way mark.

Maybe this is why I love what Abram is going through; this is where I often find myself living. I would say this is us! I mean, God has given us every assurance, but this is where we live—between the promise and the fulfillment, between the great promises of God and our actual lives.

Now there might be a few of us who say, “I never question God. In all my trials and difficulties, my faith is rock solid.” Sure, I can believe that. There are people out there with a gift of faith and have faith in great measures, but that is not Abram and Sarai. Nor is it most of us.

We are learning from Abram’s story that faith is not a stoic acceptance of the sovereignty of God—it can be, but not always. And sometimes, it’s not polite. Faith can often sound like Abram, who says, “What will you give me? How can I know?” It’s comforting to me because it shows that real faith is faith that is lived; and faith that is lived is faith that dares to treat God as if God is involved in the details of our lives.

For most of us, when we refuse to contend with God, it’s not out of piety but out of fear. It’s out of a deeper doubt which we don’t want to name—that should we need God that much, God might not come through, so we refuse to contend with God. But faith is about contending, arguing, asking, pleading, “Oh Lord, how am I to know?” Do you know this about your faith? We are to go to God and wrestle with Him, and that is why Jesus calls His people “Israel”—which means “the one who has wrestled with God.” And that is literally what it means to be God’s people.

Prayer: God, help me to see the many ways You are faithful to me today. In every moment of fear, help me to be on my knees, so that I can surrender all of my fears and worries to You. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Acts 17

Lunch Break Study

Read Genesis 32:22-32: The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.

Questions to Consider

Who is the man that wrestled with Jacob until the break of dawn?
What was the result of Jacob wrestling with the man all night?
What do you feel like you have to wrestle with today? Are you prepared for Him to bless you in ways that might surprise you, that might even have you “limping” for your blessing?

Notes

The man turns out to be God Himself.
Jacob was blessed, he met God “face to face,” and there was a mark (limp) left by the encounter.
Personal reflection.

Evening Reflection

“Biblically, waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be.” – John Ortberg