Note: The AMI QT Devotionals for November 21-26 are provided by Pastor Yohan Lee of Radiance Christian Church in San Francisco, CA.
Devotional Thought for Today
Hebrews 10:26-31
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
My old youth pastor told a great story of how once, when he was jogging around the track at his local high school, some big guy jumped him from behind, put him in full-nelson, and began questioning/berating him about his ethnicity. Apparently, this person had lost a member of his family in the Vietnam War, and because he thought that my youth pastor was Vietnamese, he assumed that somehow my pastor was responsible for the tragedy (which happened over 30 years ago). After diffusing the situation by convincing him that there was a difference between Vietnam and Korea, my youth pastor, who was understandably very upset, went home and grabbed a wheat sickle from his garage and started to leave the house, determined to do something bad to his attacker. Thankfully, his mother cut him off (get it?) and was able to calm him down. At one point, his mom—trying to reason with him—asked him directly, “What about your Christianity? What would Jesus think?” to which he replied, “I don’t care!” His point in telling this story was that he was so angry and humiliated by what had just happened, he didn’t care about his actions, his faith, or anything else. I know the way the story reads, it sounds really intense and scary, but the story was meant to be comical, and all of us were laughing as he told it.
Hopefully, you’ve never been so angry that you didn’t care if you committed murder, but have you ever been in a situation where you just did not care about your actions or its outcomes? Perhaps the situation did not rise out of anger; maybe you were having so much fun that you didn’t care where the night would end, or you were in a business venture and the rewards seemed so great that you didn’t care what you had to do to make it happen. Here is the point: as believers, you never want to look at sin and say, “I don’t care what God thinks” or even, “God will forgive me later.” Look how today’s passage describes the one who deliberately sins; it is akin to “trampling the Son underfoot, profaning the blood of the covenant, and outraging the Spirit” (v. 29). Without trying to sound too condemning, we need to remember that sin is serious— it is a serious affront on the character of God, and it is the reason why Christ died on the cross. Because we are loved by God as His children, let’s do our best to “care.”
Note: Please remember that this passage talks about those who “deliberately” sin. If you are struggling with an issue or addiction, keep fighting—there is grace for you.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to truly love the things You love and to truly hate the things You hate. Help me to walk in holiness to honor You, and because I know it is good for me. Allow me the strength to resist sin and run toward righteousness. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 11
Lunch Break Study
Philippians 4:4-9
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Questions to Consider
- According to this passage, what can we do when we are full of anxiety?
- Why is it beneficial to think about whatever is true, honorable, just, etc.?
- What are some other ways you can strive for righteousness?
Notes
- Instead of being anxious, Paul instructs us to pray (vv. 6-7). In the process of prayer, God will give us His peace. Have you experienced God’s peace when you prayed?
- It’s been said that in order to drop bad habits, you need to replace them with good habits. Training or renewing your mind (Romans 12:2) to honor God is similar to this: we need to replace thoughts of anger, bitterness, jealousy, lust, etc. with truth, love, and God. This is one reason why memorizing Scripture is so powerful.
- Application question.
Evening Reflection
Today’s theme was about avoiding sin and striving for righteousness. Are there some good habits that you’d like to pick up? Are there things you need to avoid altogether. Have you thanked Jesus for taking the punishment of sin in His body, so that you don’t have to?
I never understood the fascination with gangster movies. Sure, movies like The Godfather or Goodfellas are entertaining, but I know people who think these are two of the greatest films ever made and just flock to the genre in general—maybe you are one of them or have friends who are. But I have a theory that explains some of the appeal of gangster movies: it has to do with this concept of loyalty. In every gangster movie there is a collection, group, or family to which all must pledge their loyalties. The expectation is that everyone must be willing to do or sacrifice any price for the “family,” and betraying it is the unpardonable sin. Of course, in the context of these movies, these loyalties are stretched to criminal levels; yet people are attracted to outrageous displays of loyalty—even if it is exhibited in a twisted manner. Deep down we all want to be a part of a group that is utterly loyal to one another; we want to be around people who would do anything for us; and we want to have friends for whom we would do anything. We are both fascinated and attracted to great loyalty.
Note: The AMI QT Devotionals for November 21-26 are provided by Pastor Yohan Lee of Radiance Christian Church in San Francisco, CA.
How does the phrase “fantasy football” make you feel? For the men (sorry to stereotype) who play it, you probably got a little giddy, because to you, FF represents your last bastion of childish fun in your otherwise mature, pressure-packed, overworked, and utterly responsible existence. For the wives, girlfriends, children, or people who like to have normal conversations with the men in their lives (again, I know women play FF), the term “fantasy football” makes you roll your eyes (or convulse violently), because you know that from mid-August to late-December, your men will be engulfed by this nerdy addiction (think of it like the 21st century’s version of “Magic, The Gathering”).
In college, after late nights of studying (or, according to our pastors, just hanging out), our church brothers would walk the sisters home to ensure that we made it home safely. I lived less than two blocks away from where we used to study; there probably would have been very little danger going home alone, but it was still a very nice favor. Now, as a more-grown person living far from my friends, getting home in the evenings can feel a lot less safe. I appreciate those memories more than ever – what a difference an extra presence can make in a dark situation!
Note: The AMI QT devotionals for November 19-20 are provided by Christine Li. Christine graduated from University of Pennsylvania and currently lives and works in New York City. She attends Remnant Church in Manhattan. 
In middle school, I gained a pen pal when one of my closest friends moved to Japan. For two years, we kept in touch by sending snail mail to each other. It was exciting to send a letter or a package to her, but the anticipation of waiting for a response was a nightmare for my insecure, teenage self. With each passing day of nothing in the mail for me, I would worry: What if she didn’t like what I had sent or shared? What if her letter to me got lost? What if she got tired of corresponding and didn’t want to continue?
When I first became a Christian in college, I had a faulty understanding of forgiveness. I thought it was conditional—meaning, I thought if I missed a sin to repent of, I would not be forgiven of that sin. So I lived in fear, thinking I had to repent from each sin I committed. This was quite a burden I carried! But then, God showed me just how deep His grace is. It took two years, but eventually I understood that I was eternally forgiven and justified before God; and even more, I was now called righteous! If only I had grasped that earlier.
Note: The AMI QT Devotionals for November 17-18 are provided by Doug Tritton, who is now a full-time staff at Symphony Church in Boston. Doug, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania, is currently pursuing a M.Div. at Gordon Conwell Seminary. He is married to Cindy; in fact, they just became parents! 
Now that we have a daughter, my wife Cindy and I were thinking recently: Do we need to make a will? It felt a bit weird (the prospect of your own death!), but then I got to thinking that this probably does not matter too much – we don’t have that much anyway! If I were a millionaire or had lots or property or possessions that would be one thing, but nope, my will would be quite small!
I grew up always loving the game of tennis that I probably spent more time on the tennis court than I did anywhere else. Every day I would train with my coach three to four hours—hitting ball after ball. If there were any issues with my strokes or footwork, my coach would correct me, and we would work on one motion for an hour straight. The goal for all of this training, conditioning, and lifting wasn’t so that I could be healthy, but so I could optimally perform in my tennis tournaments.
When I was little, my mother would ask me to wash the dishes after dinner. I remember dreading the number of plates I would have to wash each time. So, out of laziness, I would take a sponge without dish soap and just wipe the excess food off the plate—as long as it looked clean, no one would know that it was dirty. My mother soon found out, and she made me wash the dishes for an entire month– with soap.
In modern times, art is often seen as a form of self-expression. The most important thing is to be “authentic” and to express oneself earnestly. Worship is often seen the same way. As long as we sing or serve with good intentions and genuine emotion, God should accept it happily. How we feel and what we desire to do for God becomes the primary focus.