March 11, Saturday

The AMI QT Devotionals from March 6-12 are provided by Pastor Mark Chun of Radiance Christian Church in S. F. Mark, a graduate of University of California, San Diego, and Talbot School of Theology (M.Div.), has been married to Mira for 20 years; they have two children, Jeremiah and Carissa.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Genesis 3:14-19

¹⁴The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. ¹⁵ I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” ¹⁶To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” ¹⁷And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; ¹⁸thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. ¹⁹By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

In our day and age, it has become increasingly unpopular to talk about sin and its consequences. But because we tend not to identify sin, it festers and grows unchecked and ignored. In the early 70’s, the influential American psychiatrist Karl Menninger wrote a book entitled Whatever Became of Sin? From his vantage point in the field of mental health (he began as a professor at Harvard Medical school in the 1920’s to the writing of this book in the 70s), he witnessed a dramatic change in the average American’s attitude towards sin. In the opening of his book, he makes this observation:

“In all of the laments and reproaches made by our seers and prophets, one misses any mention of ‘sin,’ a word which used to be a veritable watchword of prophets. It was a word once in everyone’s mind but now rarely if ever heard. Does that mean that no sin is involved in all our troubles—sin with an ‘I’ in the middle? Is no one any longer guilty of anything? Guilty perhaps of a sin that could be repented of or atoned for?… Anxiety and depression we all acknowledge, and even vague guilt feelings; but has no one committed any sins? Where, indeed, did sin go? What became of it?”

What the author is referring to is the fact that we have gone from one extreme, where we blamed everything on sin, and have swung to the other side of the pendulum, where nothing is a result of sin. We are simply victims of circumstances, chemical imbalance, and bad parenting. The truth most likely is found somewhere in the middle.

Like many things in life, harmful actions tend to lead to over-reactions that often times are equally damaging, if not even more so. The over-reaction against religious judgment, feelings of condemnation, and the legalistic culture of many churches has been the wholesale rejection of the idea of sin. However, from the outset of the Scriptures, God has a clear plan of redemption for the problem of sin. That is the good news of Christ, who would be born of a woman, born to bruise the head of our enemy, and to set us free from the bitter consequence of sin.

Prayer: Father, we often underestimate the power of sin in our lives. You tell us that we are slaves to sin, that our sin has separated us from You, and that it is the reason for death. Clearly, this is a bigger problem than we recognize, and it is for this problem that you gave Your only beloved Son. And for that great sacrifice of love, we thank You and praise You. In His precious name, Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 22

March 10, Friday

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT FOR TODAY

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. 4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

One excuse that people make to avoid obeying the commands of God is the right for believers to exercise their Christian liberty. However, we need to understand that Christian freedom is not a license to do whatever we want to do. You cannot make the Bible a book of mere suggestions when in fact, these are the very commands of God. Therefore, the Scriptures give us wisdom on how to exercise our Christian liberties and outlines the limits of our freedom.

The important point that we need to know is that Christian freedom can only be exercised in matters that are non-ethical in nature. Here, in this passage, we have the question of whether to eat food offered to idols. There were some dietary and religious limitations that particular Jewish Christians held onto. Clearly, some old practices are hard to break. In addition, there were other debates that the early Christians struggled with, such as the question of whether to mark off certain days as holy in terms of the traditional Jewish calendar (e.g. Yom Kippur and the feast of Purim). And so along these non-ethical issues, where the Bible is largely silent, the Word teaches us to do as we are fully convinced in our minds (Romans 14:5). The key word here is fully. In order to be thoroughly convinced, it means having studied the Bible on the subject and taking it up to the Lord in prayer before deciding to exercise your Christian freedom. These decisions of liberty and conscience should not be made flippantly for the following two reasons:

First, in the case where Christian freedoms are debated, both parties share the blame. Those of us who can exercise our freedom with a clear conscience often judge those who might have doubts and questions. Those of us who feel more comfortable in limiting Christian freedom often hold in contempt those who exercise their freedom. No party is right here, and we will be held accountable to God for the attitudes that we hold against our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Second, in applying our Christian freedom, we must follow the law of love. Paul places greater responsibility on the person who wants to exercise their freedom over the person who wants to limit freedom, because it is much easier to change one’s own behavior rather than asking someone else to change their attitudes and thoughts. If you stumble another Christian while exercising your freedom, you can possibly damage the faith of someone who Christ died for; and to do so over a trivial matter, such as the use of alcohol and food, is both unloving and unthinkable. To show love for others is the highest Christian ethic, and this law of Christ mandates that love restrict even our freedom.

Prayer: Lord, it is so easy to just think about myself and my own personal needs. Yet You remind us that our highest calling is to love others as ourselves. If this means sacrificing some of my rights as a Christian, help me to make those necessary changes in my life. In all things, I pray that love would be the final standard for every decision that I make. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 21

LUNCH BREAK STUDY

Read Romans 14:13-23: Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. 20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

Questions to Consider

Instead of judging each other, what should Christians resolve to do?
How should my personal Christian freedom be exercised?
What are the more important matters that need to be considered when deciding on debatable issues of Christian conduct?

Notes

Instead of judging one another, it is important that everyone resolves not to be a hindrance or to place a stumbling block to someone’s faith.
Personal Christian freedom should not be an on-going source of tension in the church. Debatable matters should be resolved in such a way that peace is preserved and there is mutual edification. I believe the one who is called to limit his Christian liberty is actually built up the most because he/she can grow in the areas of self-control, sacrifice, and humble submission.
Christians have incredible degrees of freedom in the Lord, unlike many of the other world religions. But ultimately, our liberties are subordinate to the kingdom of God, which is characterized by joy and peace in the Holy Spirit. Any Christian behavior that does not add to this is probably not beneficial in the long run.

EVENING REFLECTION

As you may know, Pastor Jack Hayford has a certain way with words. As he prayed in front of the million men gathered in the National Mall in Washington DC, he said these words that have stayed with me all these years: “For 200 years we have come here to declare our rights, today we come to confess our wrongs.” It ushered in an atmosphere of repentance that was palpable. We have many rights as Christians, rights that we vigorously defend, but we have forgotten how to confess our wrongs to God and one another. Spend some time tonight confessing your sins and allowing the grace of God to cleanse and heal you.

March 9, Thursday

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT FOR TODAY

1 Corinthians 7:29-40 (NIV)

What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away. 32 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife—34 and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. 36 If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. 37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better. 39 A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 40 In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

It is the wise person who asks the question, “What makes my life significant in the eyes of God, and what will I ultimately be rewarded for when I stand before the Lord?” We live in an area that is driven by metrics and analytics, and everyone in our church seems to be consumed by measurable results. But what does God consider a win? Unfortunately, it’s difficult to quantify spiritual success, because God’s scoreboard is different than ours.

There are many things that God will evaluate as a measure of our significance. He will look at the health of our marriages, how we raise our children, and how we conduct our friendships. He will even consider our career success, and how we earn and spend our money. But all of these things will pale in comparison to our impact on the lives of the lost and hurting. Proverbs 11:30 teaches us that “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he who is wise wins souls.”

In the past year, if you have not touched the life of another person who is in need of the gospel, you have not fulfilled one of your primary duties as a follower of Christ. We all have a number of callings in our lives. We are called to be husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, teachers, doctors, employees; but all of these callings are subordinate to our primary call to follow Christ and to be engaged in His mission to share His gospel to the world. Unfortunately, we often invert our priorities and live with divided devotions to God. For some, we will be limited by our responsibilities to our family, but we must still make God’s kingdom our priority. God’s desire for all of us is that we would live fully devoted lives for Him, whether we are married or single.

Prayer: Father, I confess that my devotion can be divided by many things. Some of these responsibilities are necessary and part of Your will for my life. Help me to be the best spouse or parent that I possibly can be, but in seasons give me the faith to live with single-minded devotion, entrusting the welfare of our loved ones to you, so that I can serve You without reservation. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 20

LUNCH BREAK STUDY

Read Matthew 6:25-34: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Questions to Consider:

Why does Jesus tell us not to worry?
What does it mean to seek God’s kingdom first?
How does seeking God’s kingdom help with the problem of worry?

Notes:

Jesus tells us not to worry, based on the fact that His Father takes cares of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. If He would take care of His lesser creations, how much more would He take care of us.
The true people of God understand the innate beauty of God’s glory and know that their well-being is secondary in terms of its importance. There are too many Christians who do not live a God entranced life, but they live a self-absorbed life. The question on their heart isn’t what can I do to please God and how can I better glorify Him, but rather they are consumed by how God can please them and make their lives more enjoyable. In making this critical mistake, these people never find the pleasure and enjoyment of life that they are looking for, because pleasure and joy come when God is pleased with us and when we seek His kingdom
The command to seek the kingdom is found in the greater context of Jesus’ command for us not to worry. Jesus teaches us not to worry about the food that we will eat, the clothes that we will wear, the graduate school that we will get into, or the success of our career. These needs are secondary in terms of their importance, and they will be given to us when we attend to the greater priority of God’s kingdom. The Scriptures are absolutely clear on the importance of the Kingdom of God, and every Christian needs to know the infinite value of God’s kingdom and the necessity of buying completely into it.

EVENING REFLECTION

Think about the ways in which you worry and allow anxiety to fill your heart. Is this because you are not seeking God’s purpose and plan? Pray to the Lord that He would calm your anxious heart and fill you with the peace that surpasses all understanding.

March 8, Wednesday

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT FOR TODAY

1 Corinthians 7:17, 24-8 (NIV)

Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. . . . ²⁴Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them. ²⁵Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. ²⁶Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. ²⁷Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. ²⁸But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.

I know that the main point of this passage isn’t about maintaining one’s virginity but being content in one’s current situation. However, in today’s over sexualized society, being content in one’s relational status is clearly connected to keeping proper sexual boundaries until marriage. In her book Sex and the Soul, Donna Freitas captures the essence of the modern struggle on the issue of sex from one of the women she interviewed for her book. She quotes her as saying:

“Until recently my faith has been completely absent from my dating life…So I decided to give up sex and dating because I don’t know how to date without sex anymore. There are virgins, born again virgins, and then there is me, a thinking it through virgin. I feel that I have no right to apply the word “virgin” to myself but there is a kinship somewhere between my recent decision and a kind of virginity.”

I believe this is the proper application of grace for single adults who are trying to live out their faith in the context of dating. You have to make a commitment to date without sex and to resolve to remain a virgin. If you cannot date without being physically involved, then you are still not mature enough to date seriously. If you have past sexual history, this type of resolution is what allows you to reclaim a sense of your purity that you feel has been lost and to prepare yourself for future marriage.

I know that preaching sexual abstinence in the modern world seems crazy, but Christians need to overcome this sinful trend and to remain set apart. Here are three practical steps to maintaining your sexual purity until you the day of your marriage:

Understand the difference between a consumer and covenant relationship. In a consumer relationship, you test the waters and make sure that everything is to your liking before you make the commitment. A covenant relationship says I will make the commitment, no matter the flaws and problems that I find.
Develop a biblical theology of sex. A famous Jewish rabbi once said, “When a man unites with his wife in holiness, the Shekinah is between them in the mystery of man and woman.” The breadth of this statement is sobering when you consider that this Shekinah glory is the same presence experienced by Moses when God met with him face-to-face (see Exodus 24: 15– 18).
Realize the limitations of sex and marriage. Neither sex nor marriage was meant to completely satisfy and fulfill our deepest longings. To believe that someone else can fulfill you completely is to put an unfair expectation on yourself and the person you love.

Ultimately, the purpose of sex and marriage is to point us to the perfect spousal love of Christ. It is common these days for Christians to talk about intimacy with Christ. This has its roots in Christian mystics who understood intimacy with Christ as the idea that the passion and yearning that you have for your spouse is but a small taste of what you can experience with God. They believed that the most effective way to break the power of sexual sin and temptation was to lose yourself completely in God’s love, to surrender yourself to Him, and live a life completely devoted to serving Him.

Prayer: Lord, help me to be satisfied with my marital status at this moment. If I am married, provide me with the love to make this relationship happy and lasting. If I am single, provide me with the grace to keep my sexual desires under control and to remain pure until the day of marriage. If I have failed, help me to receive Your forgiveness as I resolve to live for You. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 19

LUNCH BREAK STUDY

Read Matthew 5:27-30: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Questions to Consider

Why does Jesus place such a high standard on sexual purity?
How can we apply the extreme measures that Jesus commands us to take against lust?
Why is the punishment so severe for the sin of lust?

Notes

At the bottom line, Jesus is most interested in the purity of our hearts. The Pharisees in their quest for holiness had narrowed down the definition of sexual purity as simply being free of an adulterous relationship. But Jesus, as He did with the sin of murder, takes the issue of sexual sin into the depths of the human heart.
Most people don’t take time to reflect on the self-destructive nature of sex driven by our lust and broken sexuality. Jesus has done that reflection for us, and His bottom line is that lust is so dangerous that it is better for you to pluck out your right eye and cut off your right hand before you fall under it’s control. This is a figurative way of Jesus telling us to do whatever is needed, go to whatever extremes necessary in order to deal with the problem of lust.
For the modern person, Jesus’ warning that uncontrolled lust can bring a person to the doors of hell go largely unheeded as being old-fashioned or intolerant. But the Hebrew word that is translated as “hell” in your Bibles is the word Gehenna, which actually is a reference to a literal place outside of the walls of Jerusalem where historically, Israelites who had turned against God went to worship the idols of Baal and Molech. And the literal warning that Jesus is giving us is that the same judgment reserved for idol-worshippers is the same fate reserved for those who cannot find a way to get their lust under control.

EVENING REFLECTION

Reflect on your thought life today. Were you filled with negative thoughts like anger, jealously, or lust? Consider what Paul tells us in Philippians 4:8, and end the day meditating on these things: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”

March 7, Tuesday

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT FOR TODAY

1 Corinthians 7:10-16 (ESV):

To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband 11 (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife. 12 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. 16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

Surprisingly, surveys reveal that the divorce rate for Christian marriages is comparable to that of non-believers, approximately 50%. I believe that the reason for these high numbers is two-fold: First, some Christians don’t understand the importance of marriage and don’t give it the proper honor, and so they marry unwisely. Second, we don’t take seriously the commands regarding divorce and don’t realize that most cases of divorce are prohibited by the Scriptures. Outside of sexual immorality and unfaithfulness to the marriage covenant, there are no other grounds for divorce. Irreconcilable differences, incompatibility, falling out of love cannot be used before God as an excuse for divorce. Even Christians who are married to non-believers are commanded to stay in their marriages.

Jesus lived in a male dominated society, and so the right to divorce was given only to men. This is why there is no discussion regarding the rights of women to start the divorce process. In our culture, however, women can initiate divorce, and so we need to look at what valid reasons there are for Christian women to divorce. In my understanding, there are two reasons for women to dissolve their marriages: The first obviously is sexual unfaithfulness, but the second is abuse at the hands of their husbands. Abuse is a clear violation of the marriage covenant because the husband is no longer protecting the weaker vessel. According to 1 Peter 3:7, the duty of every husband is to honor woman as the weaker partner. And before our women get overly sensitive or offended, this passage is alluding to weakness in the physical sense. It’s clear that Peter isn’t talking about spiritual or intellectual superiority, because he mentions women as co-heirs with men in the grace of life. Peter’s main focus is for men to treat their wives with respect, which would include protecting them physically. To abuse one’s wife is a clear violation against the marriage covenant, and it is biblical grounds for divorce. Beyond these two circumstances, there are no other valid reasons for divorce.

Now why does God have such stringent requirements for marriage? Doesn’t God want us to be happy? And if I’m not happy, why can’t I just leave? It’s here that we have to realize that marriage is not only for the benefit of man and woman but also for the glory of God. I know that it is difficult to see that connection in our day-to-day lives, but the Christian marriage is meant to be a picture of Christ’s love for the Church. Therefore, our witness to the world is dependant on the health of our marriages. In a world that is questioning the very institution of marriage and redefining its limits, the Christian commitment to marriage as a life-long covenant between one man and one woman is needed more than ever.

Prayer: Lord, help us to honor the institution of marriage as a gift of common grace from Your hand. If we are unmarried, give us the strength to remain sexually pure until the day of our marriage. If we are married, help us to honor the vows that we have made before You and before one another. If by circumstance we are divorced, help us to find healing and restoration through the love of Christ. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 18

LUNCH BREAK STUDY

Read Malachi 2:13-16(ESV): And this second thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. ¹⁴But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. ¹⁵Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. ¹⁶“For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”

Questions to Consider

Why does God sometimes reject the offerings of his people?
Why is Christian marriage so important in the eyes of God?
What does God want for our marriages?

Notes

God desires obedience over sacrifice; and in this case, many of the Israelites had divorced their wives in order to marry other women who were leading them towards the worship of foreign gods.
Christian marriage is important because God gives a portion of His Spirit to bless each union between a man and a woman.
Unless you are physically unable, God desires godly offspring from our marriages. God’s desire is that we honor Him with the raising of children who would be taught in the ways of the Lord.

EVENING REFLECTION

Spend some time praying for the marriages and families that you know, in and outside of your church. Perhaps, there is a couple going through difficult times in their marriage or dealing with a wayward child. If you are going through a hard season in your marriage, pray and reach out to a friend or a pastor for counsel.

March 6, Monday

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT FOR TODAY

1 Corinthians 7:1-9 (ESV)

Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. 7 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. 8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. 9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. ^[1]

Most cultures and people have a very high view of marriage. In the movie Jerry McGuire, Tom Cruise who plays the main character tells Renee Zellweger, “You complete me.” I’ve come to realize that this is not just romantic sentiment, but it is something that is believed by many people: life is not complete and you are not a complete person until you have found a person for marriage. In our generation of postponed marriage, divorce, and singleness, this societal expectation has become a great point of pain and anxiety. Yet in this passage, Paul reminds us that the relationship between a man and a woman does not make a person complete. I want you to consider these following points from Rediscovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood:

Jesus, who was the most fully human person to have ever lived, never got married and He advocated the single life by teaching us marriage, as we know it in this age, is not the final destiny of any human (Mark 12:25).
The apostle Paul was one these men who was chosen to renounce marriage for the sake of the gospel, and there have been many other great men and women who have taken this path.

And there are several reasons why singleness is a celebrated status in the Scriptures. The Bible celebrates celibacy because it offers opportunities for single-minded devotion to the ministry of Christ. In addition, singleness is considered a gift from the Lord and marriage viewed as something of a concession for those who do not have the gift of singleness.

I believe that the renouncing of the right to marry is one of the greatest sacrifices that a Christian can make. Coming from the married perspective, I would say that it ranks a close second to sacrificing your physical life for the gospel. And for me personally, I think I would rather give up my rights to live than give up my rights to have a wife and a family—clearly, I don’t have the gift of celibacy! However, the benefits of singleness are not just for those called to a life of celibacy. Everyone has periods of singleness in life and in those seasons, it’s important to give single-minded devotion and our full effort to serving the Lord.

Prayer: Lord, whether we are married or single, we know that we have been called to serve You. We recognize the benefits of marriage but also realize its limitations. In the same way, we recognize that singleness affords us an opportunity to serve You without the constraints of family responsibilities. Either way, help us to make the most of our relational status, married or single, and to serve you accordingly. Amen.

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Co 7:1–9). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 17

LUNCH BREAK STUDY

Read Mark 12:18-27(ESV): And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. 21 And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

Questions to Consider

Why did the Sadducees propose such an outlandish scenario?
What will be our marital status in heaven?
What are the practical implications of our marriage status in heaven?

Notes

The Sadducees were the liberal wing of Judaism and did not believe in the resurrection. As an argument against the Pharisees, who did believe in the resurrection, they commonly used arguments like this because the Pharisees believed that earthly relationships were binding in heaven. Under Levitical law, brothers were held responsible for taking care of one another wives in the case of death before they could bear children. This obviously would cause a huge problem in heaven if the same women was married to multiple brothers on earth!
Jesus takes the Pharisee’s understanding of resurrection to a much higher level by teaching us that our earthly relationships are no longer binding in heaven, and there will be no marriage in the life to come.
The practical implications of this doctrine is that everyone who is redeemed will only have a singular focus to their devotion and will fulfill their role as the bride of Christ for all eternity.

EVENING REFLECTION

Whether you are married or single, all people go through times of isolation and loneliness. In the midst of those times, our future fellowship with Jesus can be a great source of hope and encouragement. Pray that the Holy Spirit would be your constant companion and fill you with the assurance of God’s love.

March 5, Sunday

The AMI QT Devotionals from February 27-March 5 are provided by Pastor Yohan Lee who serves at Radiance Christian Church in San Francisco.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Presentation Matters

1 Cor. 6:19-20:

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

I am generally not strong with presentation, nor do I much care about it. So when I give presents, they will often come in the retailer’s bag where I purchased it (sometimes with the receipt still in it). When I cook dinner, it will generally have a bachelor’s meal look to it (think Denny’s, not fine dining). As a practical person, I’ll give myself the excuse that I’m more concerned with the quality of the gift, taste of the meal, or heart of the man than I am with the externals.

That being said, sometimes presentation makes a difference, doesn’t it? I have heard rumors that there’s a magic turquoise-colored box that can make women euphoric: It doesn’t even matter if the jewelry inside is of any quality whatsoever, you could put a rock in this box, but the simple sight of it will make the woman in your life weep, laugh, blush, and sing, all at the same.

Now, in all seriousness, I didn’t get my wife’s engagement ring at Tiffany’s, but I got it online. But, from the moment I clicked “purchase,” I was so worried that I had either been ripped off or that whatever I just bought was going to look horrible. But when it came after two agonizing weeks, I cannot express how relieved I was, simply because it came in this fancy cherry box. Maybe I thought that if the manufacturer went through the trouble of packaging it well, something even more valuable must be inside. It makes little sense I know, but the presentation made all the difference in this case.

In the Christian life, we emphasize the heart of a person above the externals (e.g. jars of clay in 1 Cor. 4 or cleaning the inside of the cup in Matt. 23); however, as I read today’s passage, I realize sometimes the external presentation is important as well. Believers have the Holy Spirit living inside of them, and our bodies are called the external “temple” (v.19), so we see that to mean that in some sense, external presentation is also important. Question: What kind of package are you presenting for the world to see? Do people get a sense that because your manufacturer spent so much time on presentation that something of immeasurable value must be on the inside? Or to put it another way, “a good tree bears good fruit” (Matt 7:17). What type of fruit are you bearing in your life?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You first and foremost that of all the places in the universe You could dwell in, You have chosen to dwell in my heart. Help my external behavior to start to match the internal truth of my being. I surrender my body to be Your temple. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 16

March 4, Saturday

The AMI QT Devotionals from February 27-March 5 are provided by Pastor Yohan Lee who serves at Radiance Christian Church in San Francisco.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Freedom

1 Corinthians 6:12

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything.

My oldest son has a unique gift: he can watch anything—and I mean anything—on television. Obviously, he has his favorites—like cartoons and all things related to Star Wars—but I could be watching a home improvement show, nature show, sitcom, drama, he’ll come, sit on the couch, and watch attentatively with me. I kid you not, after the election, I watched lots of news, and he was all over that as well. You know where he gets this gift? From his old man. You see, I understand my son because he is just like me—I too can watch anything on TV. The other day I was watching Avatar, and my wife looked at me, laughed and asked, “Why are you watching that stupid movie? You hate it.” (Sorry, if you liked that movie, but she’s right, I do hate it.) I had no good explanation, so I think I said, “Because it’s on.” Perhaps there is something in our DNA that is attracted to the movements, flickering lights and sounds of the TV, but we are like moths drawn to the flame.

So when it comes to TV, I have to be very careful, because I know myself, and I can get hooked into a show very quickly. And if that show is on Netflix, I have to be especially careful because I know I’m going to binge watch until I’ve completed it. My addictive personality is why I won’t even start an episode of Breaking Bad because if I start watching it, just like Walter White, I’ll get lost in this world I don’t want to be in.

So is there anything sinful about television? Generally speaking, no. Television is just another form of entertainment. But am I in danger of becoming “dominated” or “mastered” by it? Yes. So I choose to stay away from highly addictive shows. Is there anything unlawful about television? No, but is watching that much TV “helpful”? Probably not, I could be using all those hours to love my kids, talk to my wife, serve in some ministry, or simply pray or read the Bible.

When it comes to how we spend our time or money, how we entertain ourselves, or how we exercise our Christian liberties, let’s stop simply asking whether it is “lawful” or not, but let’s begin by asking, “Is it helpful to my life in Christ?” Let’s also ask, “Will I be able to control myself or master this?” If the answer to either of those questions is no, then let’s examine why we want to do them in the first place.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, let my heart’s desire be to honor You. Please help me to overcome the temptation to make faith about the “minimum things I need to do to keep You happy.” Also, keep me from legalism and grant me wisdom in all things. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 14-15

March 3, Friday

The AMI QT Devotionals from February 27-March 5 are provided by Pastor Yohan Lee who serves at Radiance Christian Church in San Francisco.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT FOR TODAY

For All Have Sinned

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

When I was living in Philadelphia, to save money on rent, let’s just say that I didn’t live in the cleanest of places—that is, I’ve had my share of cockroaches. Now, if you’ve ever had roaches in your place, then you’ve probably learned the phenomenon of being “afraid of the lights”: it’s when you enter a room and turn on the lights and see several cockroaches scurry away to hide, you become a little disturbed and you almost don’t want to turn on the lights again. You’ve become afraid of the lights. Many will overcome this by turning on the lights before physically entering the room. Almost everyone I know thinks that roaches are disgusting, ugly, vile creatures, and when we see one, our instinct is to kill it immediately.

Now let’s imagine a scene where two cockroaches are talking to each other about which one is better looking. So one roach says to the other, “I’m way better looking than you; my antennas are so much longer and fuller than yours.” The other responds, “Well, my back and wings (yes, I’ve seen roaches with wings) are more shiny than yours.” Now imagine that instead of scurrying away when I turn the lights on, these two roaches are too engaged in their argument to run away. Do you think that I, as a human, care about the minute differences between roaches and decide to spare the better looking one? Of course not! I crush them both because they are both vile, even if one thinks he is slightly less vile than the other. So while in the roach world, one might be “better” than another, in the human world, it doesn’t make an iota of a difference.

When I look at today’s passage, my first instinct is to think that this doesn’t apply to me—I’m good: I’m not sexually immoral, or an idolater, or adulterer, or homosexual, or a thief, or greedy, etc. So when Paul says, “And such were some of you” (v. 11), I want to respond, “You mean ‘you’ as in ‘them’, right?” But perhaps I’m thinking about sin like a roach thinks about their beauty. Sure, I may not be as “bad” as others, but the truth is, the difference between me and God is infinitely greater than the difference between roaches and people. So maybe we should expand this list to include the ill-tempered, the proud, the white-liars, etc., so that when Paul says, “That is what you were,” we can all say, “Amen. I’ve offended our Holy God.”

Of course, we are not going to stay there, but no matter our grievances, “we have been washed, we have been sanctified, we have been justified in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.” God doesn’t see us a roaches; He sees us as His children.

* In full disclosure, the roach illustration is not mine, it was taken from Pastor Young at GCC (who borrowed it from someone else). I repurposed it and told it in the first person. So maybe I am a “thief” after all!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, Your Son. Thank You that His blood washes away all my guilt, shame, and sin. Help me never to see myself as okay but to live thankfully that I am genuinely a redeemed sinner. Help me to love others as You have loved me. Keep my heart from being like that of a Pharisee’s heart. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 13

LUNCH BREAK STUDY

Read Roman 7:14-8:4: For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Questions to Consider

What was Paul describing in 7:14-25? Have you ever felt this dynamic in your life?
What can we specifically be thankful for?
Are you generally disposed to being thankful and full of grace?

Notes

Paul was describing the dynamic between living, but at the same time, slowly dying to the sinful nature and being alive in Christ. There will always be times when the Holy Spirit living in us desires to do good, while our flesh will fight that desire.
In chapter 8, we are told there is no condemnation for the believer. Praise God! We have been freed from the law of sin and death! Christ’s flesh condemned the sin of flesh and fulfilled the requirements of the law. In other words, it’s not just Christ’s death that is atoned for us, but the rewards of His righteous obedient life become our righteousness.
Personal application, but you should get the point.

EVENING REFLECTION

Are you genuinely thankful for the life you have in Christ? And that you were infinitely far from God because of sin, but now you are closer to God than you realize? Does your life reflect the joy that such a pardoned sinner should feel? Take a few minutes this evening to truly reflect on what this salvation means.

March 2, Thursday

The AMI QT Devotionals from February 27-March 5 are provided by Pastor Yohan Lee who serves at Radiance Christian Church in San Francisco.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Fooled for Christ

1 Corinthians 6:6-8

But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!

I didn’t realize it until this winter that I don’t like travelling to other countries—especially if I can’t speak the language. Don’t get me wrong, I like visiting new places and experiencing new cultures, but what I hate is not knowing if I’m have been taken advantage of when it comes to money. I always feel like the souvenir vendor is overcharging me, the cab driver got me for like five times what he charges locals, or that I paid for beef but what I really got was squirrel—basically, I hate getting taken advantage of. Now my wife, who has to deal with my poutiness after I make a bad deal, will often try to cheer me up with things like, “You would’ve paid more for that in the States,” or “Think of that guy, he probably has a family, and you just made his week.” That silly talk never brings me any comfort since money is only about 25% of the issue. The rest of the issue is that when I have been taken advantage of—I feel powerless and stupid. I imagine the guy who just ripped me off bragging to his friend, “See that chump over there? I just traded him these five ‘magic’ beans for his last cow and he gave me $100. Americans are so stupid! Hahaha.”

Look, when it comes to being wronged or defrauded, nobody likes it. But there’s more to it than money: it’s often an issue of feeling powerless, or when the crook is a friend, it’s a matter of broken trust or betrayal. When such things happen to you, what do you do? Do you plan your revenge? Do you intend to fight fire with fire? Or in very rare cases, do you trust God to set things straight.

Now, today’s passage is interesting, because in its context, Paul was addressing two believers who were bringing their dispute to civil court and thus ruining their witness to the outside world. So you could make the case that the weight of the chapter is on being an effective witness, which I wouldn’t argue. But might I suggest that the issue of faith undergirds this passage? Meaning, we need faith that the name and witness of Jesus is far more important than our rights, even for civil justice. And we need faith to forgive another person (especially another believer) who cheats us or pulls one over on us, making us feel powerless or stupid, because we have a God who not only judges all wrongs but rewards all good actions, like forgiving. Ultimately, we need to have faith that we can follow the example of Christ who was wronged to the utmost degree but had the grace to forgive.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, give me the grace to forgive when I am wronged so that You would be honored. Help me to be less concerned about my rights than I am about Your name and reputation. Help me to lay down my feelings of embarrassment and helplessness and to trust in You, not only as the justifier but the rewarder. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 12

LUNCH BREAK STUDY

Read Matt. 6:9-15: This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. 14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Questions to Consider

In the Lord’s Prayer, what is the first request Jesus makes? What is the first thing you say to God in prayer?
What are some observations we can make about forgiveness from this passage?
Is there someone who you need to forgive?

Notes

Christ’s first request is for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done. Continuing on this morning’s theme, ideally, it’s the Lord’s purpose and renown that should have priority in our hearts and prayers.
In verse 12, our forgiveness is assumed before we ask for forgiveness from the Lord. We also see this idea furthered in vv. 14-15, as Jesus says we should not expect the Lord’s grace if we are unwilling to show the same.
Personal response.

EVENING REFLECTION

Today’s main theme was about forgiveness and trusting/honoring Christ. How are you when it comes to forgiving people when you have been wronged? Are you generally gracious? Are you willing to endure ill treatment if it honors Christ? Are there habits that you need to cut out to represent Christ well in the world? How important is it for you to represent Him well?