Note: The AMI QT Devotionals from December 5-11 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, who recently gave birth to their first baby Tyler.
Devotional Thought for Today
Philippians 2:12
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Christmas is coming soon—and many of us are thinking about gifts. Let’s say, on Christmas Day, someone very close to you gives you a wonderful gift that he/she thinks you’ll love, with beautiful wrapping paper and a pretty bow on top. What would you do with it? You would, of course, either gently unwrap the gift, or, tear up the wrap like an animal, open the box, and enjoy the great gift. But now that you’ve done the work of unwrapping this gift, have you now “worked” for this gift? Of course not! The “work” that you’ve done has only led you to enjoy this gift.
Philippians 2:12 is one of the most perplexing verses in the Bible for many Christians. All of our lives, we’ve been told that salvation is a free gift from God, that our salvation is by faith, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9); it’s not at all about what we do, but it’s about what Jesus has done. But here, Paul seems to contradict himself— and the whole gospel message—by commanding us to “work out your own salvation.” It’s as if Paul hadn’t read what he wrote in Ephesians!
Paul, of course, is not contradicting himself, and he’s not advocating a salvation based on good works. But the work that he calls us to do is a lot like the work we do in opening our Christmas gifts. There is effort required—but it’s still a gift. The work you do in opening a gift is inconsequential in comparison to the gift itself. As followers of Christ, we have been given salvation—the greatest gift imaginable— and we clearly have not earned it—it is by the grace of God. We do not work FOR our salvation, but still we work it out. Perhaps an easier way for us to think of it is that we make our salvation known or revealed; we unwrap this gift of salvation and make it known to us and to others. There is no point in having a gift that is unopened.
The theological term for this work is sanctification. We work to draw closer to God, to be set free from sin and temptation, and to be more and more like Jesus. Though sanctification is hard work, and it takes incredible amount of effort to live holy and righteous lives, our work is not the means of our salvation—rather, it reveals our salvation. At the same time, we have been given the Holy Spirit, our Counselor and Helper, through this sanctification process. And even though it takes endurance and diligence to be sanctified, it is inconsequential to the gift that we have been given. So let us rejoice in the gift of our salvation, and at the same time, unwrap the gift, as we work it out before the Lord!
Prayer: Jesus, I think You for this gift of salvation. I know I have not earned it and I do not deserve it, but it is a gift of grace. Help me, Jesus, to work out my salvation. Give me strength to seek sanctification and to be more like You. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 31-Jude
Whenever two people live together, they unknowingly split into two roles: the one who doesn’t do the dishes and the one who does them but resents his/her roommate for not doing the dishes. In my very unscientific research, whenever two or more people live together, there is an 85% chance that there will be an argument or passive-aggressive bitterness with regards to the washing of dishes. In my life, I’ve taken on both roles: When I’m the one who doesn’t do the dishes, I am thinking, Of course, I’ll do the dishes… eventually, but then, my roommate would end up doing them; and I would be happy as a clam since I didn’t have to do them. When I’ve played the other role, though, every time I did the dishes—with righteous anger in my heart—I thought about ways that my roommate could pay for his “transgressions.”
In basketball, I, as much as anyone, enjoy seeing highlights of windmill dunks, off balance three point shots with the shot clock running down, and plays where the defender jumps in from out of nowhere to block the shot. It’s in plays like these that the talents and the athleticism of basketball players are highlighted. To me though, the beauty of basketball really shines in teamwork. There is something special about watching five guys on the basketball working in concert, seeing the ball being passed around, players working in unison, screening, cutting, passing; when a player has a good shot but instead passes the ball to his teammate for a great shot.
If someone came to you today and said, “You can have either a brand new BMW or a brand new Mercedes Benz for free, as my gift to you. You just have to pick one.” You, in theory, would have a dilemma on your hands, trying to decide between the two cars; but either way, it’s a win-win situation, right? No matter what you choose, you get a free luxury car. It’s not often that we encounter a win-win situation. Most of the time, life can feel more like an endless stream of lose-lose situations: If we choose this particular career path, we make less money, but if we choose this other career path, we have less time with others. If we live in this city, we’re too far from home, but if we live in this other city, we have fewer opportunities. It can sometimes feel like no matter what we choose in life, we’re missing out on something.
Note: The AMI QT Devotionals from December 5-11 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, who recently gave birth to their first baby Tyler. 
In the movie Shawshank Redemption, the narrator describes the main character, Andy Dufresne, like this: “He strolled, like a man in a park without a care or a worry in the world, like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place.” Andy was convicted of a crime that he did not commit and sentenced to life in prison. He was a victim of injustice, and yet, while stuck in prison, he walked around without a care or worry—it was as if he were a free man.
Some of you may recall a wonderfully cheesy Christian song from the 1980s from Michael W. Smith called “Friends.” The first lines of the chorus are, “And friends are friends forever if the Lord’s the Lord of them.” While this song is cheesy, Smith, at least, hints at something that’s incredibly important for us to remember with regards to our spiritual friendships: For our friendships or partnerships in the gospel to last, the Lord must be the Lord of them.
Note: The AMI QT Devotionals for December 3-4 are provided by Joanna Tzen. Joanna graduated from U. Penn and currently works in Philadelphia. She married Paul in 2014 and they attend Grace Covenant Church.
Something else that has been making me long for my heavenly home is all of the recent election rhetoric. Political and government news is somewhat interesting for me, but I usually keep my opinions to myself. This is probably due to my confrontational-avoidant nature, but that’s for another day’s devotional.
Earlier this fall, my husband and I purchased our first house. People always ask how we feel about this, expecting joy and excitement, but I think our response leaves something to be desired. As thankful as we are for this gift and experience to be good stewards, maintaining a 100-year-old house is a lot of work! It’s not just keeping up with mortgage payments, but learning how old door knobs and locks work, along with a heating system, not to mention old windows and electrical systems. All that is to say, oddly enough, the experience makes me long for my heavenly home.
Note: Today’s AMI Devotional is provided by Emerson Lin. Emerson, a graduate of University of California, San Diego, serves as a staff at Kairos Christian Church, while studying at Talbot School of Theology. He and Annie got married earlier this year.
Growing up, I was a typical rebellious teenager in high school and would often fight with my parents. Thinking they were being too hard on me, I decided that I had enough of their “parenting.” One day, I told my parents I could not live with them anymore and made a decision to leave the house. I packed my bags and walked out the door and disappeared for a whole week, without any contact. After a week, my friend’s mom drove me home. Looking back, the whole ordeal was quite comical.
Note: Today’s AMI Devotional is 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 is a teacher. 
Last month, I visited an Islamic Jummah prayer meeting in one of the college campuses near our church. Of course I told them that I was a Christian, and my purpose for attending was merely to learn. As I was sitting in the back of the room, observing the prayer time, the imam (spiritual leader) began his sermon with these words: “Life and death. Why did Allah create these things? – To test us. Everything in this life is a test, to see which one of you is the best, and to see if you will fall away or obey….”