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
The Team
1 Corinthians 5:4-7
When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
I’d say football is probably the ultimate team sport; and if you are an avid football fan like me, you might have noticed that Terrell Owens (T.O.), for the second year in a row, did not get voted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On paper, this is an outrage; T.O. ranks 2nd and 3rd in all-time yardage and touchdowns, respectively, by a receiver in football history. One could make an intelligent argument that T.O. is one of the five greatest receivers in football history. In the end, I have no doubt that he’ll eventually get into the Hall of Fame, but for now, voters are making a statement: you can’t act like a selfish, ornery child for most of your career and expect to be immediately granted football’s highest honor.
You see, for all of his talent and on-field accomplishments, T.O. was notorious for having problems in the locker room. He routinely demanded that his quarterbacks throw him the ball more often; he fought with coaches regarding game plans and other players about who knows what. There are even reports of him getting into physical altercations with team personnel. During his career, T.O. played for five different teams, because after a season or two, teams consistently didn’t think the on-field production outweighed the off-field drama. The “me first” attitude became too damaging to the team.
People are often shocked to hear that churches will discipline members, remove people out of leadership, or in very rare instances, excommunicate them. It feels ungracious. But if you read today’s passage you gain an understanding of why discipline is required. First, we hope that drastic measures will wake the person up so that they will eventually repent and come back and have their “souls saved” (v. 6). Second, and more to today’s point, is that sinfulness, like yeast in dough, has a way of spreading and spoiling the entire church. While it is important to be gracious (since we’re all sinners), no one individual is more important than the team. So, are you aspiring to be a prima donna, or a team player?
Prayer: Jesus, please remind me that the church as a whole is your beautiful spotless bride and You died for her. Please help me to play my part in the church well and faithfully, never putting my agenda ahead of Yours. Help me to love being on Your team. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 10
LUNCH BREAK STUDY
Read Matthew 18:15-20: If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[f] in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
Questions to Consider
This passage is obviously foundational to church disciple, but let’s glean more general lessons about church from it.
- What authority has Christ given to the church? How do you interpret v. 18?
- Based on vv. 19-20, what promises did Jesus give to the church?
- How does this information impact your view on the church?
Notes
- In this passage, the church was given power to declare who was genuinely part of it. And these decisions were not arbitrary or insignificant; they are bound in heaven. This is why when the entire church (more than one congregation) agrees to a set of doctrines or condemns one teaching as heretical, it is a serious matter.
- First, Jesus says that God promises to listen to the church’s prayer, and He promises His presence when they gather together.
- Personal application question.
EVENING REFLECTION
Today we talked about the importance of the church. When it comes to your faith, would you say that you are individualistic? Do you believe in the power and importance of community? Will you let the church speak into your life, or do you always have to push your agenda? Simply put, are you a team player?
Like many women who are approaching middle-age, my wife loves the movie Dirty Dancing (I don’t know if my wife will be too happy that I classified her as “approaching middle-age,” but I’m rolling with it). In fact, around my birthday she suggested that we go watch the 30th anniversary of the film as it was released in select theaters for one weekend only! Obviously, I was not too thrilled at the prospects of being trapped in a movie theater filled with middle-aged women watching Dirty Dancing on my birthday. Anyway, if you haven’t seen the movie, it’s got a pretty classic plot: idealistic, innocent, nice girl, nicknamed Baby (Jennifer Grey) falls for bad boy dance instructor Johnny (Patrick Swayze). Yes, I did just write “bad boy dance instructor”!
After my parents’ divorce when I was 9 years old, I quickly had to grow up and take on adult responsibilities, such as caring for my little brother, comforting my depressed mother, and figuring out ways to reduce the utility bills. With many years of carrying these burdens, I really enjoyed the freedom I experienced after graduating high school and leaving home. I would play and stay out late, but I also became very involved in church and ministry, investing a lot of time into my younger sisters. I enjoyed this lifestyle so much that the idea of marriage and having a man to take care of was not appealing to me. I wanted to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, with whomever I wanted. For the next 20 years, I went into and out of many relationships. And, in my explanation to others as to why I broke up with my boyfriend/fiancé, I used the noble excuse of, “Oh, I wanted to have more impact for the Kingdom of God. I need my freedom to give more time to the church and to my sisters. Marriage will reduce my impact because I would have to worry about my husband and domestic responsibilities.”
Today’s AMI Devotional is written by Jane Oak, who serves at Tapestry Church, Los Angeles. Jane, an immigration lawyer, and her husband Harry were married in 2015.
In the X-Men universe, one of the main protagonists, Professor Xavier, has telepathic powers through mutation and lives to help fellow mutants. By using his machine Cerebro, Xavier can enhance his telepathic powers to locate and communicate with mutants in distress. However, in the movie X2, both human and mutant antagonists, William Stryker and Magneto, attempt to use Cerebro to kill all mutants and humans respectively. Thankfully, the X-Men come to the rescue and the crisis is averted.
A huge benefit of living in New York is all the fantastic art museums. Van Gogh’s Starry Night at MoMA, Monet’s Water Lilies collection at the Met, all a stone’s throw away. My appreciation for art mostly stems from the truth that my artistic skills are non-existent, a fact which some of our church’s children love to remind me of during craft time at Sunday school. But all in all, I am thankful that I can spend hours in New York, appreciating the wonder of different paintings and have peace in my inability to replicate such beauty.
The AMI QT Devotionals from February 20-24 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 
A common struggle amongst graduates today is the fight to pay off their student debts. As some of us know, living with debts often limits our financial flexibility. Now, what if I were to tell you that upon graduation, not only would your student debt be paid for, you would also be credited with millions as your reward? It’s not a stretch to say that there would be significantly more freedom in your life.
Oftentimes, the greatest dangers appear to be innocent on the surface level. For example, suppose we were swimming in the ocean and saw a tiny black speck moving back and forth. From a distance, we may assume it to be harmless, perhaps a piece of driftwood. But if we were swimming right next to it, we would see that the black speck is really a fin, and what lies beneath is a gigantic killer shark.
If any group of sports fans understood the misery of losing, it was fans of the Chicago Cubs. Leading up to the 2016 season, the Cubs had not won the World Series—baseball’s ultimate prize—in 108 years. Furthermore, the Cubs would fall short in the most agonizing ways whenever they made the playoffs, leading some to believe that the team was cursed. Thankfully, on November 2nd 2016, the Cubs finally won the World Series—and Chicago exploded with joy. At the victory parade, there were over five million fans celebrating, the 7th largest gathering in human history.
Once, at a family gathering, my brother and I were telling a story, when suddenly our relatives burst out laughing. Since we hadn’t been saying anything particularly funny, they had to explain why they laughed: “Just now, both you talked just like your dad—you gestured wildly with your hands!” He wasn’t present, but unbeknownst to us, we channeled his mannerisms so strongly that, at least for the moment, we were carbon copies of him to our relatives.