Today’s AMI QT Devotional is written by Pastor Ryun Chang.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOR TODAY
“Delusional Christianity”
2 Corinthians 4:2
Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
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!
Chris, a tall and lanky American whom I befriended while attending the same seminary, had already spent eight years in Mozambique as a missionary, when he came to speak at my church’s summer retreat as the guest speaker. (This happened a while back.) In one presentation, he recounted how exceedingly difficult it had been to minister in this very poor country, but by God’s grace, he and his young family were determined to serve the people there. So moving was his heartfelt sharing that—especially how he almost died when the ship that was carrying him (to a ministry) was at the brink of shipwreck after getting caught in a hail storm—it was enough to make a grown man cry. That is why it was so incredulous to hear two young-adults, who said to me after the service, “Does that missionary think that he is the only one suffering; we suffer, too, at work!” What a nonsensical comparison; what a delusion!
Actually, suffering for Christ the way Chris experienced is a concept that is beyond us who live in the comforts of modernity. Most of us don’t really know experientially what Paul meant when he penned, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed. . . Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 5:8, 16). Its reverse is more like it: “Thanks to our cushy lifestyle, we are not pressed at all and certainly not crushed. . . Because outwardly we are getting ‘fatter’ and ‘softer,’ we are wasting away spiritually day by day.” “Too harsh,” you say?—only if we are measuring our faith to a new norm, that is, the watered-down version of what is passed off as optimal Christianity. Yes, I am opening myself to criticism (“You self-righteous judger”), but I always chuckle whenever I see this tract, produced by a well-known parachurch on campus, that suggests that our daily 7-minute with God should be spent this way: three minutes in prayer, and four minutes reading the Bible. Really? To believe that seven minutes a day is enough to cultivate an intimate relationship with God is both deceptive and delusional. The sad truth is that most Christians don’t even do that much. For instance, Christianity Today reports that “only 19% of churchgoers personally read the Bible every day.”
For the past six weeks, I have been in San Francisco to train several young pastors on the move. Each day begins with 6 AM prayer meeting. We keep the singing and sharing to its minimum (15 minutes), so that the next 75 minutes are spent praying individually. Our goal is to firmly establish this habit and exercise it for the rest of their lives. Why? Of course, it is to build our intimacy with God, but also that we might wake up from our delusion that we really are something before God when we aren’t much spiritually. (Yes, I know—positionally, we are always perfect in Christ.) If anything, dragging our body to church that early REALLY helps us to “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Let’s not be too impressed with ourselves with so little that we do for the Lord—that’s a delusion. Let’s extract ourselves from a life of comfort and frivolous luxury; reign over the desires and excesses of the flesh; and let us deny ourselves and take up his cross daily and follow Christ (Lk. 9:23).
Prayer: Lord, I am tired of just knowing that I need to read the Bible, but not acting upon it. So, speak loudly to my soul—“Read the Bible daily!” Lord, I am tired of just talking about the need to pray but not praying. So, speak even louder to my soul— “Pray always!” Help my laziness so that I can live a life that is worthy of Your calling. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Leviticus 14-15
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.
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 
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.
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.