The AMI QT Blogs from June 5-11 are provided by Tina Hsu. Tina, a graduate of Talbot School of Theology (M.Div.) has just returned from E. Asia, where she served as a missionary for two years. Currently, she serves at Church of Southland and Kairos International University.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOR TODAY
Spiritual Sleep in Sardis
Revelation 3:1-3
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore, if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.’”
There is a well-known saying, “It’s not about how you start, it’s all about how you finish.” The Lord gave the church at Sardis a spiritual diagnosis of their church body. He gave them the frightening truth that they have a reputation of being a lively church, but they are actually a dying church. They started with fervor and passion for the Lord, but they fell into a deep spiritual slumber, no longer awake to God’s voice. For this reason, God specifically said to them, “…for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.” Those who study this passage will naturally ask, “What did these believers not complete?” One possibility is that it wasn’t like they did not fulfill a ministry or calling that the Lord specifically gave this church, but a more likely situation is that they “backslid” and became secular again in their beliefs and lifestyle. In this way, they did not finish the course of living holy to the Lord until His second coming. They were no longer living as the “pure bride” that Jesus Christ shed His blood for. This is not a church dwindling in number or failing at sustaining the “programs” of a church—from the outside they are “alive.” Yet this is a church dying in their spiritual fervor and walk with the Lord.
The voice of God came to them to awaken them, and to save them from their false illusion that they are doing well. The Spirit is calling them to once again remember what they have received freely by God’s grace, to keep walking in God’s plans, and to repent of their slumber. Most of all, He is telling them to be faithful to Him, knowing that He will return to reward them according to their faithfulness.
This morning, let’s boldly look into our hearts. Are there areas in us that are no longer awake to God’s voice? In what area is Jesus no longer the center (marriage, work, relationships, or even ministry)? In what areas of your life have you turned to look to yourself and your ambitions, instead of to God?
Prayer: Dear Jesus, I confess today that I need You to spiritually awaken me, that I may be in tune with You again and be sensitive to Your leading in my life. Help me to be aware of my weaknesses and sins, so that I may overcome them with humility and faith. Help me to be fully alive in You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Deuteronomy 33
LUNCH BREAK STUDY
Read 2 Timothy 4:6-8: “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
Questions to Consider
- What do you notice about Paul’s statement about himself, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith”?
- Paul says the Lord will award the crown to “all who have loved His appearing.” How does this impact how you should live today?
- What has encouraged you to persevere in your faith and what hinders you personally from being faithful to God?
Notes
- Serving Jesus is not necessarily about how many things you have built for the Lord and how much you have accomplished. Rather, it is about how well we have fought the spiritual battles as we did God’s work. It’s about being faithful to God through the whole course and keeping our faith. It’s about remaining steadfast and abiding in Christ.
- A key mark of a faithful Christian is someone who adores and longs for the appearing of Jesus Christ above other sources of satisfaction and joy.
- Personal reflection.
EVENING REFLECTION
The greatest example of someone who finished well is Jesus Christ. He completed the work that God the Father gave Him, and we are all beneficiaries of His faithfulness to the Father. Reflect on the goodness of Jesus Christ and dwell on how He is the perfector of your faith. Through Him, you can finish well.
John 19:30: Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”
Hebrews 12:1b-2a: Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith…
In today’s passage we come across a Roman centurion who pleads to Jesus to heal his servant. While there are dozens of stories in the New Testament of Jesus healing the sick, this story comes as a bit of a shock due to Jesus’s reaction. As Jesus begins to walk to the servant’s home, the centurion stops Jesus and says that he is not worthy of the Lord to come to his house, but by His words alone Jesus can heal his servant (v.8). It states that Jesus marveled at this response and proceeds to declare that there is no man in Israel with greater faith than the centurion.
Several years ago, while I was serving a one-year internship in Shanghai, I met a young college student who was enamored at the idea of living in America. She believed that the US had everything that China could not offer her, and her ultimate goal was to live and work in “the land of opportunity.” At the time, I let her know that America was not the perfect nation she imagined it to be, and that her hope should not be in this American ideal. Although nothing I said seemed to change her mind, in hindsight, I realized I couldn’t blame her for having such thoughts. This idea was precisely what brought America to be the nation that it is today—an immigrant nation filled with individuals who believed that the United States would provide the economic stability and educational resources they desired. This is precisely why my parents moved to the US as well. Despite the language barrier and their economic situation, their belief in a better life propelled them to leave everything they knew and everything that was comfortable in order to move to the land of opportunity.
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 .
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.
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.