The AMI QT Devotionals from April 24-30 are provided by Pastor Shan Gian, who serves as the Fenway site pastor of Symphony Church in Boston. Shan, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania and Gordon Conwell Seminary (M.Div.), is married to Jenny; and they are the proud parents of their first baby Tyler.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOR TODAY
“Church Isn’t a Building”
2 Corinthians 6:16-18
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
It may sound weird, but, for me, it always feels special to enter an actual church building, especially cathedrals. There’s a certain sense of reverence and awe that I feel when I’m in a beautiful sanctuary with long pews, stained glassed windows and a big pipe organ to boot. Having been a part of mobile churches like GCC and of Symphony Church since my college days, I’m very much accustomed to having worship services in all sorts of locations: lecture halls, banquet halls, rock clubs, retreat centers, hotels, schools, living rooms, basements, giant tents, outdoor parks, beaches, etc. That is probably why I feel the way I do whenever I get to worship in a “real” church building.
Yes, I am mindful of the saying, “Church isn’t a building,” which is important to note, especially for those who are overly impressed by the outward appearance of a church. The disciples were like that:
upon seeing the temple, they said, “Look, . . . What massive stones! What magnificent building!” (Mk. 13:1). Now, think about how we might evaluate whether a church is good or so-so. We may not verbalize it but many of us want the ambience to be right: the lighting must be good; the band needs to play cool songs at the right tempo, pace and volume; and of course, the sermon needs to be rich in biblical content, intellectually stimulating and applicable. When these elements are present and there’s a community of people who are to our liking, many would consider that a good church. No, not really because these elements are not what the church is about either.
Actually, the church is still about a building but in a different sense. Paul says here in 2 Corinthians that “We are the temple of the living God.” Think about what an amazing statement that is coming from a man of Jewish background. As hinted earlier, the temple, like cathedrals of our time, was indeed ornate, large and beautiful; however, what made it significant was what was inside: it was a holy place because of the indwelling presence and the glory of God. The Jews went to the temple with a sense of reverence because that’s where God was.
And ever since Jesus died on the cross for us and rose from the dead, WE are the temple of the living God, now; the glory and presence of God dwells within us. God himself says in this passage quoted from Leviticus 26, that “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them.” Just think about how amazing this truth is. God isn’t contained to a church building or a temple, but now He dwells within and among His people.
Church isn’t a building, but it’s about a people among whom God dwells. As we gather with our local church bodies this Lord ’s Day, as we walk into an auditorium, lecture hall, rock club, school, hotel, tent, whatever the venue, let us remind ourselves that WE are the temple, the dwelling place of the living God. As we gather as the body of Christ, God’s glory is among us. Let us come together and approach Him with joy and reverence because He is in our midst.
Prayer: Jesus, we are your temple. Remind me on this Lord’s Day to be in awe of your presence with me and with us as a body of Christ. Bless us as we worship you this day. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Leviticus 23-24
As a pastor and probably also as an Asian, I feel somewhat awkward when I receive a compliment about a sermon I preached or some other ministry responsibilities that I carried out. The Asian side of me simply isn’t used to receiving compliments, but the Christian/pastor side of me feels awkward about them because I’m supposed to strive for humility and not let myself get “proud” about what I have done. Because of this, I find it interesting that Paul is willing to say in 2 Corinthians that “as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way.”
When I was a junior in college, I became a Christian while attending Grace Covenant Church (Philadelphia). One of the important factors that led me to Christ was the community—especially the family group that I was a part of that year. For the first time in my life, I was surrounded by people my age, who were passionately pursuing growth in their relationship with God—and that was inspiring to me. I saw brothers and sisters praying with fervor, reading the Bible, and attending church in various forms—three times a week—because they wanted to encounter God. Not only that, they were meeting with me and investing into my life so that I could grow too. I really thought that I had found a church “full of angels.”
The AMI QT Devotionals from April 24-30 are provided by Pastor Shan Gian, who serves as the Fenway site pastor of Symphony Church in Boston. Shan, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania and Gordon Conwell Seminary (M.Div.), is married to Jenny; and they are the proud parents of their first baby Tyler. 
One of the biggest pitfalls of the social media is that we see pictures of people on vacation. We’ll go into Facebook and see that friend from college having an amazing time, swimming with dolphins in the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. Or on Instagram, we may see a neighbor on a rustic European vacation, surveying the beautiful Roman architecture, hiking through the Alps, and eating exquisite European cuisine.
Rightly or wrongly, in any news story in the United States, it is incredibly easy for people to point their fingers and claim that race was a major factor. We see this in major issues like elections, laws, and systems of government, as well as in minor issues, such as the skin color of the actors cast in a movie or TV show. A couple of weeks ago, there was a shocking video of a man being dragged off of an airplane, and it took no time for people to wonder if the fact that the man was Asian had anything to do with it.
Once in a while, when I’m walking alone with just a few people around, I will try to walk with my eyes closed. Inspired by comic book characters and blind kung fu masters, I like to imagine that I could walk ahead, relying only on my hearing and my imaginary, nonexistent radar senses. Not surprisingly though, I don’t get very far before I remember that don’t have superpowers, and chicken out because I don’t want to run into an oncoming traffic. After all, when we walk, we always walk by sight.
We are always longing for something greater or better. When we’re kids, we long to grow up, be bigger and taller. When we’re in school, we long to finish and graduate so that we can do something meaningful (or at least get a real job). When we’re working, we long for a better job or better pay, or if nothing else, a great vacation. Even in the mundane things of life, we long for something better. Smartphones are even designed to make us long and wait for a new next text or notification and, of course— the next smartphone. You could say that we are created with this longing for something greater.
Today’s AMI Quiet Time Devotional is written by Andy Kim. Andy, a graduate of Northwestern University and Fuller Theological Seminary (M.Div.), currently serves as a staff at Radiance Christian Church in San Francisco, CA. 
You may recall a time when you either asked or were asked for a letter of recommendation or reference. In most cases, we ask people who know us well, who know our work ethic, and can ultimately vouch for us. It might start off like this: “It is my greatest pleasure and honor to recommend <name> to your program/institution/company….” After that, the letter will also include their relationship to you, your strengths, with possibly an area of improvement, and their thoughts on how you could contribute to the company. And as important as the content of the letter is, the credibility of the writer matters as well. Now imagine a letter about your life. What would it say and who would you choose to write it?
Taking liberty of what the apostle Paul says here, I am going to set forth the truth of what we (Western Christians) are really like before God—our secret, shameful and deceptive ways!
Today’s AMI QT Devotional is written by Doug Tritton. Doug, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania, is currently serving as a staff at Symphony Church (Boston) while pursuing a M.Div. at Gordon Conwell Seminary. He is married to Cindy and they are proud parents of Audrey. 
I recall a few months ago, shortly after my daughter Audrey was born, there were some nights where nothing would comfort her: Try to get her to sleep? Didn’t work. Try to put her in the baby swing? Didn’t work. Bouncer? Again, nope. She kept crying and crying. The only thing that kept her from crying was holding her and pacing around the floor. In those moments, I felt defeated, like I was unable to comfort my own daughter.