Editor’s Note: The AMI QT devotionals for October 8-9 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.
Devotional Thought for Today
Luke 15:14-17[1]
“After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!’”
I knew college was supposed to be challenging, but one trouble I did not anticipate was that I would go broke one semester. It was my own foolishness– I had relinquished a work-study job, but I kept spending money. I knew this was a bad idea, yet I hoped I could scrape by and never tell my parents. Finally, one day when I had less than $20 left for weeks of school, I reached a crisis.
Completely distraught, I called home and admitted what situation I was in. While my parents made it clear that they found this completely irresponsible, what they were more concerned about was that I had felt the need to hide from them. “You shouldn’t have pretended everything was fine. You should have come to us sooner,” they rebuked me.
A couple things prevented me from openly going to my parents. I feared the humiliation of being known as irresponsible. I feared they would be angry, and I was too prideful to admit that I needed help. So, I tried to handle the difficulty by myself until I reached a point of desperation. Looking back, if I had had the sense to admit my troubles sooner, I could have received help and avoided all the angst.
Just like the prodigal son, don’t we also avoid going to God the Father at the first sign of trouble? Though the prodigal lacked no shame in asking for his inheritance, he kept himself from returning when he was in need, struggling on his own until he was completely stuck. We might feel ashamed for what we did, fearful that He will be angry, or stubbornly hope that we can handle it on our own. But, our delay only puts us in a worse-off condition than if we turned home sooner.
We all know the happy ending of this parable: the Father was quick to forgive and restore the son. Even if others have responded to our failings in negative ways, we can be encouraged that this will not be the Father’s response. He will eagerly respond to us with help, healing, and restoration. So, let’s not keep ourselves from Him. We do not have to needlessly struggle on our own when He is ready to restore us.
Prayer: Father, You are so gracious and gentle! But I always seem to forget, and that is why I do not go to You sooner. Help me to remember Your loving-kindness and that You are slow to anger and quick to forgive. Teach me to come to You eagerly and receive Your grace that heals and restores me.
[1] We are taking a break from the study of John (October 8-9).
Editor’s Note: The AMI QT devotionals for October 8-9 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. 
08Have you ever noticed a difference in behavior between first-time guests and frequent visitors to your home? In my own experience, I’ve seen a marked difference in my own behavior over the years of visiting an older sister. I went from politely asking to sit on her sofa the first time to, years later, sprawling over her living room, helping myself to what’s in her pantry, and occasionally even showing up late at night to stay over. By making her home my own many times, I clearly demonstrate how secure and assured I’ve become of our close relationship (and also, that she is very patient with me).
In Korea, the stork does not bring babies to their parents—that’s the job of trash cans. For those of you who are scratching your heads, for whatever reason, Korean parents will jokingly tell their kids that they were found in trash cans, under bridges, or several other ridiculous places. It’s like when older siblings torment younger siblings by telling them they were adopted—except the parents do this. Even though I’ve lived in America all my life, I realize I still harass my kids in this manner. So yes, I’ve told them they were found in trash cans. And once in a while, when my youngest son Jon cries for mommy, I will ask him, “Do you really think she is your mommy?” And my wife looks at me like I’m a three-headed monster every time I do this.
I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of waking up from a really pleasant dream. When that happens, what is the first thing you want to do? I don’t know what you were thinking but the correct answer is, go back to sleep. You want to go back to sleep, hoping you can go back into that happy fantasy world for a few more minutes.
Just about every day, my wife and I lament at the rate our children are growing. Truthfully, I wouldn’t want to keep them at seven, five, and three years of age forever, but I would like to freeze them like this for another five years or so. One of the things I find most cute about them is their voices—little kids have really high pitched voices. But what’s interesting is that even after countless conversations and spending almost every day of their lives with them, I often find it difficult to distinguish their voices. So when I am away, and I call home, I generally have to ask who I’m speaking with (don’t tell my 7-year old son this; he’d be crushed to know that his voice is just as high and girly sounding as his 5-year old sister’s).
Editor’s Note: The AMI QT Devotionals from October 3-7 are provided by Pastor Yohan of Radiance Christian Church, San Francisco. Yohan graduated from University of Pennsylvania and Cairn University, where he studied theology. He is married to Mandie, and they have four small children.
I am, by nature, a pessimistic person. My theology about humans can be summed up by two truths: First, we are all tainted by a sinful nature, which will generally cause us to act selfishly; and second, we are all made in the image of God, who is love. Unfortunately, I think the first truth wins out more often than the second. When it comes to life and ministry, pessimism can be very damaging. For example, when I look at this upcoming election, I am tempted to think, Clinton, Trump, why does it matter? Regarding racial tension in our country, it’s tempting to lose hope because overcoming hatred in the human heart seems insurmountable. And even on a smaller scale, when people struggle in a particular area, it’s tempting to wonder how much change and victory is possible.
Several years ago, when I was working as an engineer, one of my co-workers opened up about his then two-year old son’s hearing difficulties. As he shared about potential treatment options and possible surgery, I could see deep concern coming through his usual jovial demeanor. As the conversation progressed, I felt the Lord telling me to pray for him and his son. We were in the middle of the office floor, and I didn’t want to make a scene, so I am ashamed to admit that I ignored this prompting. Obviously, I don’t know what would have happened if I had just listened, but I could not help but to feel that I had lost an opportunity to at least share a little about Jesus and His goodness.
As a child, I loved LEGO toys. I had chests full of legos, and the shelves and windowsills of my room were always decorated with my latest lego creations. But legos hold an even more precious place in my heart because, believe it or not, it was through legos that I had my first revelation about the cross of Jesus Christ.
There is a man living in Brazil who calls himself Inri Christo. Taking his first name from the acronym written on the cross of Jesus, “INRI,” and his last name, meaning “Christ,” he believes himself to be the second coming of Jesus Christ. While fasting in Santiago, Chile, in 1979, Inri claims to have heard a voice, saying, “I am your father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” It was at this moment that he realized his divinity. Subsequently, Inri has acquired somewhat of a following, and continues to make appearances around Brazil as a spiritual leader.
In the ancient Roman military, crowns were a symbol of honor. There were various crowns, symbolizing various feats and achievements of valor. Crowns were always given by someone of a higher-ranking office, to a lower-ranking one. For example, the Caesar might bestow a crown upon one of the generals in his army. Or a commander might place a crown on one of his subservient soldiers. However, there was one scenario when common soldiers would place a crown atop a higher-ranking officer. When the actions of a commander/general had saved an entire army, a “grass crown” was twisted together and presented to him by the very army he had saved. It was considered the highest honor in the Roman military.