The AMI QT Devotionals from May 8-14 are provided by Emerson Lin. Emerson, a graduate of University of California, San Diego, serves as a staff at Kairos Christian Church, while studying at Talbot School of Theology. He is married to Annie.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOR TODAY
2 Corinthians 9:14-15
And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
In my family, gifts have always been an essential part of a celebration; whether it be Christmas, birthdays, or anniversaries, my wife and I make sure to put lots of thought into what kind of gifts we get each other. However, between the two of us, my wife is much better at choosing gifts; she can figure out what I like and do not like, without making it very obvious that she is asking. Since we have been dating, I’ve never been disappointed in the gifts she has given me—I can’t say the same for her.
As we mentioned in yesterday’s devotion, the Corinthians were preparing a monetary gift for the Jerusalem Church. Paul uses different ways to exhort them to give generously, such as sharing the testimony of the Philippian church, using an illustration on sowing seeds, and teaching that it leads to worship. In the latter part of this passage, Paul finalizes his teaching on generosity with a reminder about God’s greatest gift to us—Jesus. In verse 15, Paul says, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
Like the Corinthians, we have many different reasons why we serve others. We serve because God has blessed us with much financial resources, or because we can spiritually grow in our righteousness. While all of these things are very important, the real reason we should bless people is because God has extended His grace to us through Jesus Christ—He is our indescribable gift! We serve and generously give because God has given us His greatest gift.
When you think of Jesus, do you see Him as an indescribable gift? Do you treasure Him? I want to encourage you to spend some time giving thanks to God for sending Jesus to redeem us. Without Him, we would be stuck in death, fear, and shame. But in Him we have life, joy, and peace!
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for giving me the greatest gift of all. Help me to treasure this gift in my heart and not be distracted by the busyness of ministry. I understand I have to be a good steward of the spiritual gifts You have given to me, but help me to treasure You above all things. Amen!
Bible Reading for Today: Deuteronomy 4
LUNCH BREAK STUDY
Read Ephesians 2:1-8: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Questions to Consider
- Why is it impossible to save ourselves (v. 3)?
- What is the purpose for the Ephesians to be seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (v.7)?
- Why are we not saved by our own works (v. 9)?
Notes
- We cannot save ourselves because we have an innate desire to gratify our own flesh—we are the problem. It is only through Christ’s work on the cross that we can be saved.
- It is important that the Ephesians be seated with Christ so that they can be testimony for future Christians. Their salvation will be a testimony of Christ’s grace and mercy.
- So that we cannot boast in our own strength.
EVENING REFLECTION
In light of today’s devotion on God’s gift to us, have you given thanks to Him? Are you more focused on the gifts you receive from Jesus, rather than the gift Himself? Please take some personal time to worship Jesus for who He is.
The AMI QT Devotionals from May 8-14 are provided by Emerson Lin. Emerson, a graduate of University of California, San Diego, serves as a staff at Kairos Christian Church, while studying at Talbot School of Theology. He is married to Annie.
In the 1984, my father immigrated to the United States from Taiwan with my mother, to study Computer Engineering at San Jose States University—he wanted a better life for his wife and his future children. So when my father became a United States citizen in 1985, he had to give up his Taiwanese citizenship. He explained to me that while becoming a citizen had its benefits, it was also very complicated: he had to learn everything that came with becoming a citizen such as jury duty, taxes, and different business policies. Additionally, he had to adhere to the laws and rules that came with becoming a new citizen.
Last week, a deacon and I went to East Asia to serve at a retreat. Since we arrived a few days earlier, we were able to spend time with the local church leaders. During lunch time, we met with a group of leaders to hear how God was working in the church—it was a time of laughter and encouragement. But once the bill arrived at our table, we started to bicker back and forth over the bill, and each time, the church leaders would tell me, “Just accept love.” While I was frustrated with not “winning,” I was incredibly encouraged to see how eagerly they wanted to bless us with their finances.
In science, there is a process called a positive feedback loop in which a change from the normal range of function elicits a response that amplifies or enhances that change. An example is a cattle stampede. Once panic causes some cattle to start running, other cattle will find this frightening and start to run, until the general level of panic and the number of cattle running reaches its peak.
A young man wrote a love letter that included these words: “I would cross the widest ocean for you; swim the deepest river for you; scale the highest mountain for you; and crawl across the burning sands of the desert –nothing is too much for you!” Then he added this postscript: “If it doesn’t rain, I’ll be over to see you on Tuesday night.”
When meeting new people, every now and then, I hear people say to me, “Your reputation precedes you.” My usual reply—which I assume is the same for many— is something in the same vein as, “I hope it’s not alI bad,” or, “Don’t believe everything people say.” I know that the speaker basically means that he or she has previously heard about me from other people, who have made a judgment about me and passed it along to others. Whether fair or not, what others have said about you has essentially defined you—at least up to that very moment.
As a father of three children, I am no stranger to my kids arguing and fighting over fairness. In fact, with the older two, there is no greater injustice than a smaller piece of cake, one less scoop of ice cream, or one of them going to sleep ten minutes later. It must be exactly the same— always even steven.
Many of us want to serve the Lord, but we don’t always know how. We want to do the work of God’s mission or be involved with our church in ministry, but we don’t always have the time. We are torn because we find it hard to extract ourselves from the responsibility of work and family duties. Fortunately, God is greater than our limitations and He has given us multiple platforms for us to help build his Kingdom.
The AMI QT Devotionals from May 1-6 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.
As a pastor who loves his church, I find that the most unpleasant thing about my job is having to rebuke a congregant who is in sin. I don’t like to do it, and trust me, no one likes to receive it. But as I have gotten more mature in my faith, I’ve come to realize that rebuking someone in sin—with the right motive and the right approach— is one of the most loving things anyone can do. It’s often our cowardice or fear that keeps us from pointing out the erroneous way of our brother or sister.
When I was in middle school, I was caught shoplifting some candy at a local grocery store. It was a random stranger who turned me in to the store manager. When I was confronted by the manager, I pleaded with him to let me go, that I was sorry and I would never do it again. The manager gave me a tongue lashing, but for some reason, he did not turn me over to the police. Maybe he thought it was not worth his time to report such a petty theft. But here’s the thing: I found myself shoplifting again, no more than a month after my sorrowful repentance.