The AMI QT Devotionals from April 17-20 are provided by Jabez Yeo. Jabez, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania, is currently working in NYC and serving at TRPC-E. He hopes to become a missionary. His devotionals are based off material from Serge’s Sonship program. You can click here for more information.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOR TODAY
“Repentance as God’s Children”
Hosea 14:1-7
Return, Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! 2 Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. 3 Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount warhorses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.” 4 “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. 5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots; 6 his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.7 People will dwell again in his shade; they will flourish like the grain, they will blossom like the vine—Israel’s fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.”
One movie that I was thoroughly surprised to enjoy was Zootopia, which centers around a world where predator and prey peacefully coexist. The protagonist, Judy, Zootopia’s first rabbit police officer, enlists the street smarts of a fox, Nick, to help her discover the cause of some predators returning to savagery. Unfortunately, Judy hurts Nick tremendously when she suspects a biological cause for the predators’ behavior, as Nick has fought prejudiced ideas about foxes his entire life. It is only when Judy tearfully admits her wrongdoing and helplessness without Nick that they reconcile and uncover Zootopia’s secret conspiracy.
Yesterday, we discussed Israel’s false repentance in Hosea 6, for they desired pain relief from sin’s suffering rather than restoration of relationship with God. Thankfully, in Hosea 14, we see a different repentance: Israel does not give a shallow confession but delves deep into their heart sin—faith in people rather than in God. The Israelites admit that they have trusted in human might—whether theirs or Assyria’s—to save them instead of God. They confess that they have committed idolatry by attributing divine qualities to what their hands have made. They not only focus on their sin but their motives behind it.
Oftentimes, we live a lifestyle of remorse and resolution when we sin. We feel exasperated that we fell and promise to do better next time. However, this approach ignores what the Bible says about our hearts: they are deceitful and beyond human fixing (Jer. 17:9). We falsely believe that we have the power to change ourselves through obeying the law, giving it power that only the Holy Spirit has.
The only alternative is to realize and repent. To realize is to correctly discern our true spiritual condition, that without the Holy Spirit in us we are capable of any atrocity. To repent is for us to admit to God that He is our only hope; that we are powerless over our sin and that our lives are unmanageable without His control over our lives. Let’s come to God in that way today.
Prayer: Father, it’s so easy for me to gloss over my heart motives and want false relief. Help me to realize right now that my sin indicates the reality that I am incapable of doing anything good without You. May the bad news in my life lead me to the Good News, that through faith in Christ, the same power that conquered the grave lives in me. Help me to fully depend on Your Spirit to live out the righteousness You have already given to me. In Your Name I pray, Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Leviticus 12
LUNCH BREAK STUDY
Read 1 Timothy 1:12-17: I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Questions to Consider
- How would you describe Paul’s demeanor in this passage?
- Why do you think Paul describes himself as the worst of sinners?
- Unlike Paul, you may not be a murderer, but how have you murdered people in your heart (Matt. 5:21-24)? How have you been a blasphemer and a violent person in your inner life?
Notes
- Paul is extremely grateful (v. 12), knowing that he has been shown incredible mercy, which he cannot repay (v.13 and v.16). He knows that his life is but an example of Christ’s faith and love (v.14), as well as His patience (v.16).
- While it is true that Paul was a blasphemer, persecutor and a violent man (v.13), it could be said that others in history have committed worse atrocities on a greater scale. Thus, a reason for this supposed hyperbole could be that Paul truly understands his spiritual condition, that for every wrong action he took, there were other instances where he may not have committed the action but the same sinful motives were acted on in his heart.
- Personal response.
EVENING REFLECTION
Has God revealed a “new” sinful habit of yours? Like strong medicine, such revelation can be really tough to swallow, but it is ultimately for our good, as there is no Good News without bad news. Ask God to help you understand the gospel in a new and different way as a result of this revelation—this is a prayer that He would never refuse!
My all-time favorite Disney movie is The Lion King, which centers around King Mufasa, his evil brother Scar, and his son Simba. In the opening scene, Scar pays lip service to Mufasa by acknowledging his kingship but plots behind closed doors to kill Mufasa in order to be king. When Scar is successful and becomes ruler, the kingdom of the Pride Lands turns into a wasteland. Thankfully, the exiled Simba returns to defeat Scar, and the Pride Lands are eventually restored.
In yesterday’s devotional, we talked briefly about George Muller, a great hero of the faith. Through fervent prayer and faith in God and His provision, Muller was able to care for over 10,000 orphans during his lifetime. When describing what had to happen to become effective in prayer, Mueller mentioned two things: Firstly, Muller had to die to what he thought about himself, as he wrote, “You really can’t live for God’s glory…if you are thinking about what you think about yourself.” Secondly, Mueller mentioned that he had to die to what others thought about him.
When thinking about great heroes of the faith, George Muller should be considered on anyone’s list. Born in 1805 in modern day Germany, Muller established several orphanages in England, which cared for over 10,000 orphans during his lifetime. Despite exorbitant costs, Muller never made requests for financial support to anyone except God. Yet time after time, God’s provision of financial support would come at exactly the right time. Muller’s incredible faith and prayer life inspired other “faith missionaries” such as Hudson Taylor, who would go on to establish China Inland Mission (now known as Overseas Missionary Fellowship).
In the summer of 2011, my dad and I were having a father-son lunch, when we ran into a couple of my dad’s friends. Father-son time turned into three old men talking, while I just sat silently and smiled. But I didn’t mind because of who showed up next. The fifth member of our lunch party appeared a few minutes late, but it was MC Hammer. Apparently, the other two men were scheduled to have lunch with him, and they all just decided to join us! I remember being so star-struck, I couldn’t believe I was sitting across from Mr. Hammer himself! In short, it was an exciting lunch for most of the people sitting at the table. The only person who had no clue what was going on was my dad. He had never seen nor even heard of MC Hammer. I was so embarrassed on behalf of my dad, who asked Hammer silly questions like, “So, what do you do?” After lunch, as we hopped into the car to go home, I had to give my dad a briefing on American pop culture, and who it was that we had just eaten lunch with. Only after seeing the numerous YouTube videos, and beholding the sheer fame of MC Hammer, did my dad realize that he had failed to recognize the presence of an iconic star.
During elementary school, my best friend’s mother passed away from leukemia. It was the first tragedy that I had encountered in my life, and also the first funeral I had ever attended. But as I made my way to pay my respects at the open casket, more than grief, I was overwhelmed with fear. I had known this woman; I loved her, but there she was, passed on. What was going to happen to my friend? I proceeded to greet the family, and I found him weeping intensely. I wasn’t prepared, I didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t know what to do with all the pain surrounding me. I gave him a quick hug and a muted smile, and ran away to hide in a different part of the building. I wish I could have done it differently. I wish I had stayed beside my friend, but the fear and discomfort of pain drove me to run away. It was the most uncomfortable day of my life.
The AMI QT Devotionals April 10-16 are written by David Son, who serves as the college pastor at Symphony Church in Boston. David, a graduate of UC Berkeley (B.S.) and Gordon-Conwell Seminary (M.Div.), is married to Grace who teaches at a public school.
Not only is the Bald Eagle the national animal for the United States, the majestic bird is also a cultural symbol representing freedom and strength. Where people from other nations/cultures might see a mere bird, Americans understand the special and profound effect that the bald eagle has in stirring up patriotic emotions.
To be completely honest, when I first started serving on staff at my church, I had a hard time submitting to my lead pastor. Of course, I never did let it show on the outside; I did every task I was asked to do. But as the months went on, a grumbling spirit was taking hold of my heart; and as I continued to serve, it gradually grew into a root of bitterness. Perhaps you have experienced a similar rebellion of the flesh against submission to authority, whether at church or in the workplace. I felt trapped in this position, feeling obligated to serve, while at the same time unable to articulate the growing vexation within. But then something happened.
Historians say the most expensive gift ever given in the history of mankind is the Taj Mahal. The Taj, located in India, was commissioned by Shah Jahan to be built in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It took 22 years, 20,000 laborers, and 32 million rupees (that’s around 1 billion US dollars if you convert and factor in inflation) to construct this monumental project. As beautiful and inspiring as the Taj Majal is, most of us would agree that the gesture was extremely wasteful. Think about how much you could do with 20,000 laborers in 22 years, with 1 billion dollars. And the Shah used all that to express his love for his deceased wife by constructing a building that has very little functional value. What a waste!
In 1996 Steve Jobs returned to Apple to serve as the interim CEO of the company. People were familiar with Jobs because he was the co-founder back in ‘76, but no one could have predicted what he did when he came back. At the time of his re-entry, Apple was a slowly dying company. But to be fair, they were working on roughly 350 different projects, with the hopes of making a comeback. But Steve Jobs came in and overthrew all of them! He cut every single project and forced the company to focus on just 10 projects. Some might have called him crazy, but everyone agrees that he was a radical. Nevertheless, out of this revolutionary overthrow was born the iMac, iTunes, the iPod and the iPhone! Since then, Apple has become the most successful tech company in the world.