Editor’s Note: Today’s Quiet Time is provided by Mei Lan Thallman. Mei Lan Thallman is originally from Taiwan and a graduate of Asbury College and Asbury Theological Seminary (M.A.) in Kentucky. She is the wife of Pastor Kirt, who serves at Grace Covenant Church (Philadelphia). They have two children, Nate (13) and Naomi (11).
Devotional Thought for Today
1 Corinthians 3:5-11
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
This spring, I had the blessing to go back to Taipei, Taiwan and visit the House of Praise—the first church we loved and served for seven years. I was deeply moved during worship, as I watched many of the old faces who were stepping up in their places to serve God as elders, deacons, worship leaders, greeters, etc. I remembered how hard it was to leave them nine years ago, when we felt God leading us elsewhere.
But now I rejoice over how much the church family has grown as a whole, and how well they are doing under the care of the current pastor and his family. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for God’s great faithfulness–truly God was and is the ultimate and rightful Shepherd of HOP. Though we were blessed and privileged to be entrusted by God to care for HOP, I was also glad that we trusted and obeyed God when it was His time for us to move on. If we didn’t, things would look very different for all of us.
The following week, I shared a meal with a family who joyfully informed me that the husband has come to faith in Christ Jesus after 15 years of witnessing and praying for him; now they are planning to be baptized as a family. Their first exposure to Christianity was attending their sister’s baptism at HOP fifteen years ago. But during the course of 15 years, God was using the church to lead them one by one to Himself; first, the wife, WiWi, through her sister Kathy; then the kids, Stanely and Chi Chi; and lastly the husband, Grant.
We serve a great God who is constantly at work to draw the world unto Himself through his bride, the church. We, the church, are the living and thriving hands and feet of Christ. God not only wants to save and sanctify us, but He longs to enthrone and reign as the cornerstone of our heart and lives. Then, and only then, can He use us freely to build the same foundation into other people’s hearts and lives. Let us not grow weary to keep pursuing Jesus wholeheartedly, to steadfastly and faithfully keep planting seeds, and watering into the lives of people that God brings into our path.
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for being the author and perfector of our faith. Thank You that You desire not only to save us but to entrust us with the responsibility of being a thriving and active member of your church family. Please forgive us of our tendencies to be a spectator, consumer, critic and competitor. Fill us with more of You and Your heart for the world. Teach us to freely, unconditionally, and boldly give away the love and grace that You so lavishly bestow upon us always.
Bible Reading for Today: Psalm 110-111
After growing up as a privileged prince in the Egyptian palace, Moses started to sense a calling or an urgency to save his Hebrew people from slavery. Sadly, Moses took things into his own hands and tried to act on behalf of the Israelite slaves by his own strength. Even worse, he did it through murder. When he could no longer watch his Hebrew brothers be so powerless, he killed an Egyptian slave master when he thought no one was looking.
God shapes us uniquely for His purpose from the very beginning of our lives. We can certainly see a glimpse of God’s purpose for Moses from his birth. He was born during Pharaoh’s population control program. In order to control Israel’s population growth and potential to rise in power, he made the Israelites serve as slaves and formed an edict for all newborn Hebrew boys to be thrown into the Nile River.
One of the easiest words to resist, or even despise, is when our parents or a person in authority sets up rules and says, “I tell you this for your good” or “I tell you this because I care for you.” Naturally, in our sinful nature, we want to be autonomous, independent, and the judge of right and wrong. Similarly, our hearts, when ignorant of God says, “I know the best for myself.” Scripture helps us to see that God’s commands are not burdensome or joy-killers. They don’t rob us of freedom. They are actually for our good. God’s Word helps us to live in our new freedom in Christ and to walk into His blessings and promises.
I grew up with a pretty good record of being an obedient daughter towards my earthly father. I obeyed and listened to him, but I didn’t obey because I loved him. I obeyed primarily because I was afraid of him—his temper and the idea of disappointing him. God has held my hand to overcome fear and to begin obeying my father because I love him. Even though my dad’s response is not in my control, this change in my heart has helped me to overcome fear. This has also revealed to me how God wants me to relate to Him. He desires that I obey His word because I love and adore Him. God calls us to obey Him because we love Him, for love is the channel through which He relates to us and desires us to relate to Him. He loved us first by sending His beloved Son to defeat sin and death, so that we could be reconciled to Him. He whole-heartedly loved us and calls us to whole-heartedly love Him in a relationship.
In the latest Disney Pixar movie Finding Dory, Dory journeys to find her parents. Due to her memory loss condition as a young fish, she frequently lost sight of her parents and would go off on her own, which is why she became lost and separated from her parents for this long duration. Dory’s search seems like an impossible task given the vast nature of the ocean. Despite her memory loss condition, Dory’s memory of her mom’s favorite item remained: seashells, particularly purple seashells. Swimming towards areas known for seashells became her clue that drew her closer to a reunion with her parents.
As Paul began his letter, so he ends—with a blessing of grace. It is the most important thing he has to offer; it is the most important thing any of us have been given. Grace. This grace underlies, overflows, and seeps through Paul’s entire letter.
Sometimes when we hear a sermon or read the Bible, the knowledge we gain is left theoretical or conceptual. When Tychicus delivered this letter to the church in Colossae, the Colossians might reasonably have thought they’d have time to reflect upon these words and consider their implications. However, they wouldn’t have this luxury. They would be tested right away.
There is a popular saying often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel daily; Use words if necessary.” One problem with this is that there is no record of St. Francis ever saying it. In fact, St. Francis was quite the preacher. While there is truth that our deeds must match the words that we speak, the gospel, by definition, is good news—not good living.
I remember Richard Mouw, former president of Fuller Theological Seminary, talking about when he was a seminary student. He spent many late nights in the library and got to know the custodian, an older gentleman who would engage Richard Mouw in conversations every so often.