The AMI QT blogs for June 1 and 2 are provided by Mei Lan Thallman. Mei Lan is originally from Taiwan and a graduate of Asbury College and Asbury Theological Seminary (M.A.) in Kentucky. She is the wife of Pastor Kirt, who serves at Grace Covenant Church (Philadelphia). They have two children, Nate and Naomi .
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOR TODAY
“Legacy of Faith”
2 Timothy 1:3-7
I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
After becoming a Christian at age 17, the foundation of my faith was built through my college years at Asbury University. As important as the sound doctrine of faith I learned through chapel and Bible classes was, the life witnesses of countless Christian professors and missionaries, along with their wives and families, have left a profound influence upon my life. The longer I live, the deeper I treasure the legacy of faith I have received through the authenticity of their vibrant faith and faithfulness.
Although I did not grow up in a Christian home like Timothy did, with a godly grandmother and mother, God blessed me with many spiritual fathers and mothers who loved me like Paul loved Timothy. I experienced powerful love from my spiritual family and inherited a rich spiritual heritage through their lives. Tuck and Cathy, my spiritual parents who drove an hour to take me to church, discipled me in God’s word and prayer; to this day they continue to pray for me and my family on a daily basis. Dr. Gray, my Accounting Professor, exemplified an intimacy with Christ and a grace filled life; she prayed with me for years for the salvation of my family and discerning God’s will for my life. Mrs. Coppedge impacted me through her contagious and passionate desire to live wholeheartedly for Jesus. She tenderly followed the Spirit’s leading and tirelessly testified His workings in her life as a wife, mother, and women’s Bible teacher. My family strives to live by a motto we heard from her: “All of me for all of Jesus.”
Who I have become today is the result of God graciously using faithful people like them throughout my spiritual development. What I have witnessed and received from them have become my life’s passion to pass it on with the same diligence and faithfulness. That is the beauty of God’s love. Whom has God used in your faith journey thus far to encourage your walk with Christ? Let’s take some time to thank God for them. Write them a text or an email to encourage them today, by sharing with them how God has used them to spur your faith.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for the wonderful people of God whom You placed in my life to mold and shape to be more like Christ. Help me to be like such people, so that I could also help those who are looking for spiritual mentors. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Deuteronomy 29
LUNCH BREAK STUDY
Read Hebrews 10:23-25: Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Questions to consider
- What is the hope we profess?
- How can believers spur one another toward love and good deeds?
- Who can I encourage today?
Notes
- Our hope is in the person of Christ Jesus (v.21), our High Priest, based on the unfailing promise of God.
- Believers hope in Christ is maintained and renewed through regular fellowship (v.23), as well as mutual encouragement through words of affirmation and love prompted by acts of service for one another.
- Personal response.
EVENING REFLECTION
God desires to use your life to draw others unto Himself, just as He has used His many children in your life to point you towards Him thus far. Will you cooperate with Him by making yourself available to be used by Him in your family, school, work place, church, and neighborhood? Let us say: “Here I am, Lord Jesus, send me.”
At our former church in Taiwan, Kathy, an oncology nurse, was trying to live out her new-found faith in her work place; she joined her hospital’s Christian fellowship and prayed before her meals. One day a co-worker doctor approached her with this question: “I know you became a Christian recently. I like Christians, but I have a difficult time accepting the teachings of your God. Why does your God ask Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, just to prove his allegiance to God? What kind of God does that?” As a new believer, my friend Kathy didn’t know how to answer this question, so she came to my husband and me for an answer.
Small children always seem to want to do what their parents are doing, following them into the kitchen or the yard; that’s why toy manufacturers make kitchen and tool play sets. My friends tell me that their toddlers will mimic cleaning up or beg to help out mom and dad in the kitchen counter—even if they’re not all that helpful.
My husband and I purchased a home about six months ago and, as it is about a hundred years old, there are certain quirks about it. Doors don’t always line up and close, floors are not quite level, corners are not quite right angles. That being said, there is a certain craftsmanship to it that doesn’t exist in newly built homes. Even when we wanted to replace the floor, we were told that it would be extremely difficult to match as they don’t make flooring of that size anymore. The walls are made of plaster and lathe, not drywall—a labor-intensive method to build homes that is not employed anymore. All that is to say, the credit does not belong to the house itself, but to the craftsmanship of the builders and the methods they used.
Today’s AMI QT Blog is written by Pastor David Son of Symphony Church, Boston.
When I was in college, I had a friend named Moe (not his real name). Moe was a large man: 6’3” and roughly 250 lbs. Although Moe was a member at my church, I didn’t like him very much. For one, he had a hot temper, which had gotten him into trouble at home and with the law several times in his past. But moreover, he always had too much to say. In my flesh, I was extremely annoyed by Moe because I saw in him these two glaring flaws, yet he continued to hang around the church (and me) so faithfully.
The AMI QT Devotionals from May 22-28 are written by Phillip Chen, college pastor intern at Church of Southland. Philip, a graduate of University of California, San Diego, is currently studying at Talbot School of Theology. He is married to Esther. 
One of the highest virtues of society these days is tolerance. A popular phrase “You do you” perpetuates this line of thinking: basically, this phrase means that you should do whatever you want to do, think however you want to think, and be whoever you want to be without fear of judgment. While I get the sentiment of this phrase, I also feel that it has spiraled out of control, particularly in our social landscape where tolerance is highly prized. Several months ago, a famous NBA player Kyrie Irving came out to say that he believed the earth was flat—what a shocking statement! The more shocking fact was that many came to his defense and said that if he believed it were true, then no one should be able to discredit his beliefs. Absolute truth has been discarded as something in the past, and relativism seems to be the popular belief that society holds to now.
Richard Neibuhr, in his book Christ and Culture, outlines the several different approaches people have taken to reconcile how Christians ought to interact with their culture: views range from “culture is evil” to “culture is ultimately good.” It a difficult challenge, as many of these views have been regarded as insufficient; and this has been a hot topic for the church for many generations. We definitely face this same challenge today. In today’s passage, Jesus speaks to the church in Pergamum, which was a place riddled with immorality and idolatry.
The church in Smyrna was going through tribulation and poverty, yet God recognized how spiritually rich this church was—in fact, no indictment was given towards this church. The Greek word Smyrna can be derived from the Hebrew word marar, which means “to be bitter.” One commentator writes that “the trials in life can make one bitter or better.” Oftentimes, persecution and poverty act as the tipping point for us, causing us to become bitter at God or to better appreciate God. As this church went through trials and tribulations, Jesus’ encouragement to them is this: “Be faithful unto death.”
John was writing this to the church of Ephesus that was planted out of an awesome fear of the Lord. There was a great display of God’s greatness and power and might, which led to true repentance. Acts 19 tells us that the Holy Spirit moved so mightily in their midst that even handkerchiefs that Paul touched were used for the healing of people—these were people of incredible faith and incredible expectation. The accounts go on that the seven sons of Sceva tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus as some sort of ritual or sorcery. Basically, they were trying to copycat what Paul was doing but to no avail. It says that they were overcome by evil spirits, and most importantly, when people saw this and heard of this occurrence, there was a great fear that fell upon them. People repented to the degree that they came and confessed their sins; not only that, they brought their books of sorcery and occult, and burned it.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see Jesus face to face? There was a popular song in the early 2000’s by MercyMe called “I Can Only Imagine” that poses this very question. What would it be like to see Jesus face to face? What would we do in His presence? In today’s passage, we see that John is terrified and falls at His feet as though dead. This is not a unique reaction, as many others who saw Jesus face to face on this earth fell down in fear and trembling. Take a moment to re-read the description that John gives Jesus. Imagine if you were in John’s shoes: how would you react? I believe the sheer vastness and awesomeness of our Lord would compel us to also fall down in fear.