The AMI QT Devotionals for July 31-August 6 are provided by Christine Li. Christine, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania, currently lives and works in New York City. She serves at Remnant Church in Manhattan.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOR TODAY
“Equipped for Battle”
Ephesians 6:13-17
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
A coworker and I were recently chatting about his summer, which was mostly spent following his son’s traveling lacrosse team. I asked him how he liked having his son play at a high level; he said that he was proud of his son, but he was always annoyed at how expensive the sport’s gear was. Helmets, pads, gloves, shoes, the stick, etc. – all of these things added up quickly! However, being protected was a non-negotiable part of the experience. And it would also be impossible for the parents to buy some gear and not others: if the son went in with shoulder pads but no helmet, he could be seriously injured!
We know that maintaining our Christian faith is often compared to war – the stakes and intensity of it is even greater than that of high school sports. But, so often, we begin our days completely unaware that we are going into battle and need to prepare. Paul’s exhortation here reminds us that there are many parts to the armor that we have to wear, and we also have to arm ourselves daily with it. If any part of our armor is weak or missing, then we must ask for it to be strengthened and become aware that we are vulnerable.
So, let’s take Paul’s armor as a guideline for how to equip ourselves to maintain our faith each day. For example, we can daily refresh ourselves with the truths of God’s character and goodness that we can trust in. We can also be assured that God has given us righteousness and fight accusations of shame and guilt that would derail us. Let’s be sure to not just take a defensive stance but also be ready to engage: Are we equipped with the Word of God, ready to wield it in offense against the enemy?
Today, as we come to God at church to worship, let’s ask Him to reveal to us where we need His strengthening. We can have faith that His power is already proved on this earth; we know that in the battles we face that we will be victorious in His power. Let’s not allow ourselves to go one more day without being strengthened by God.
Prayer: Father, thank You that You do not leave us defenseless and unprepared for this life of battle. Would You draw our minds to know where we are weak, and where we can be strengthened by Your truths and Your presence? Help us with this armor so that we can stand firm in this life and also continue to work on behalf of Your kingdom. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Isaiah 16
Last winter, I visited my family in Taiwan and finally met my first “nephew” (the son of my cousin). For the last five years, I had heard my cousins, aunts, and grandmother raving about him – he was clever, he was mischievous, he was extremely cute, etc. I had seen plenty of photos and heard many stories of his antics. One could say that I thought I knew what to expect upon meeting him. To my delight, he was all I had imagined and more. In the few short weeks, I got to know him better and was completely charmed by the end of my stay. It was one thing to have heard secondhand about him; it was quite different to see him in action, play with him, and build my own relationship with him.
The AMI QT Devotionals for August 24-25 are written by Jonathan Moon, who serves as a staff at Radiance Christian Church (S.F). Jonathan is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is married to Stephanie and they have a toddler named Elijah.
Last month, I went to Cuba with great excitement to see what God was doing and be trained under Dr. Ryun who went there to teach at a seminary. Cuba was what I had imagined: the cars were old, the infrastructure was outdated and in poor condition, technology was lacking, and the signs of poverty were very evident.
At the end of the youth camp in Vietnam, we took all of the children (the same ones from yesterday’s zombie apocalypse and more) to a large water park in a neighboring city of Ho Chi Minh City. The kids had been looking forward to it all week. As we rolled into the parking lot of the park that morning, we could see their cute faces brimming over with excitement.
This summer, I was part of a short-term mission’s team to Vietnam with AMI and served under Pastor Phi and his wife, Mai, for about two weeks. It was an incredible experience in which I witnessed God moving powerfully during times of worship and speak supernaturally through the prophetic prayers of those who were then strangers.
When facing a temptation—like looking at porn or spreading rumors—recognizing the choice between sinning and not sinning isn’t as hard as choosing not to sin. What’s difficult is having to choose between two seemingly valid options. Consider the following example which I wrote while attending seminary in Southern California.
On a recent flight, I watched a movie on the plane that began with a scene of a reporter asking “Miss Elliot, aren’t you scared? Given the history, given the dangers?” Elliot replied, “Of course. I’m scared that I might let the mission down in some way. . .. Courage is fear that has said its prayers.” Her answer caused me to think about the conflicts and fears that I had been holding onto rather than lifting up to the LORD in prayer. This of course seems like a normal reaction by most of us who “fix our eyes . . . on what is seen, [not] on what is unseen” (1 Cor. 4:18).
Summer is a prime time for weddings. This year we’ve received six wedding invitations and have been to three already. Over six years of shepherding the young adult congregation at GCC, we have walked many dating couples through dating and premarital counseling, and have ultimately been a part of their wedding date.I always cry tears of joy and celebration at these weddings, recalling each couples’ unique struggles and journeys that have brought them to this sacred moment of making a lifelong commitment to each other as husband and wife.
Today’s AMI Devotional is written by Pastor Joshua Kim who serves at the Church of Southland.
In an effort to live a healthier lifestyle, Christina and I recently subscribed to Blue Apron—a meal delivery service that provides all the ingredients you need to make several meals throughout the week, all shipped in this refrigerated box. The only issue is figuring out a way to preserve your ingredients, the trickiest ingredient in my recent order being basil. You can’t just stick basil in the fridge. What I learned online is that you have to put the stem of the basil leaves in a cup of water, cover the top with a plastic bag to sustain it. But even with this type of complex storage method, we noticed that some of the leaves started to brown before we could use it.