Editor’s Note: The AMI QT Devotionals from May 23-29 are written by Andy Kim. Andy, a graduate of Northwestern University, is about to complete his M.Div. at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is currently serving as a staff at Radiance Christian Church in San Francisco, CA
Devotional Thoughts for Today
Acts 28:25-27
And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: 26 “‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 27 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.
One of the greatest privileges I’ve had in my Christian journey was to share the gospel with a friend. The conversation initially started philosophically, centering on the evil of mankind. We explored some of the worst events in history along with those happening today and found no hope for mankind. I don’t know how or why, but we changed topics to the Bible—thank You, Jesus! I conjured up as many Bible stories a churched kid could remember, starting from the Gospels, sharing the accounts of Jesus and the manner in which He loved people. He was in utter disbelief and his only response was, “Tell me more. Tell me more about this Jesus.” These were the same stories that I heard repeatedly growing up, yet his reaction amazed me—it was as if he found a new treasure. He expressed great interest in the person of Jesus, his culture, and how Jesus talked to certain people—everything. If only every member in church could listen as attentively as my friend did, the church would have revival! It was then I realized just how dull my heart had become to God’s truth.
My point is this: in Hebrews, we read that the Word of God is living and active. So when we read it, does God’s truth convict us, resulting in actual changes? It is not that we need to be on the edge of our seats as we read through the book of Numbers, but the question remains: are our hearts alive to his Word? In this passage, Apostle Paul shows us that the hearts of the Roman Jews were dull to the truth. Charles Spurgeon warns us that “if this hardening work goes on, the day comes at last to such a man that the Word of God loses all effect upon him—whether he reads it or hears it, it ceases to be an accusing voice any longer; he rather finds a song of lullaby in it, and rocked in the cradle of his sin, he sleeps on to his own eternal ruin.” Yet we have reversed this reality by placing blame on boring preaching or lack of creativity of the Word. We end up pushing preachers to become story-filled entertainers rather than spirit-filled shepherds. The truth is that the preaching has not become mundane, but our hearts have.
Reflect back to the first time you encountered God. Remember when the Word spoke to you as opposed to you merely reading words on a page. My conversation with my friend climaxed when I told him that Jesus was inviting him into a relationship. He couldn’t believe that a God so good could love someone so capable of evil. He was amazed that it wasn’t too late. In the same way, it is never too late for us to return to our first love. May the words we hear, read, and sing revive our souls once again.
Prayer:
Lord, we repent and confess that our hearts have become dull. We confess that Your truth has in many ways lost its power and conviction over our lives. Please soften our hearts so that Your truth may speak life to our deadened hearts and point us toward the cross. Father, we thank You that Your grace always brings us back to You.
Bible Reading for Today: Psalm 54-55
A while ago, I had the privilege of meeting a member of one of most notorious gangs in the US. At the age of 12, he walked the streets with his first assignment to shoot a rival member in order to prove his loyalty. His reason for joining was that it gave him a sense of purpose, belongingness, and value. He spent the next five years wasting his life, resulting in unforgettable memories that he now trembles at when recalling such experiences. By the end of those years, he was caught and said that at the time, it was the greatest disappointment for him and his gang, yet later, he realized it was the greatest appointment by a Savior who was calling him. What was ironic for him was that he began to learn what hope really meant behind bars in a dark, hopeless prison cell.
Cut loose the lifeboat. Imagine us being the men on the boat. We barely survived a storm and as we’re finally approaching land, the “godly man” says to stay on the boat. The crazier part is to see my fellow soldiers listening to Paul and cutting our only lifeboat and letting it go. At this point, I would’ve jumped off the boat and swam after the lifeboat. What got into the minds of these soldiers to do something so radical? Some might call it crazy, but I would call it faith.
Whenever I complained about school, my parents always told me the most extravagant stories: “When I was young I had to climb mountains, walk 5 miles each way, and hunt for my lunch just to go to school.” It was the go-to motivational speech in the Kim household, with the same message: “You have it good, so no complaints.” By no means do I undermine my parent’s past, because I fully acknowledge that I am blessed today because of their sufferings. Maybe some of us do not share the same story, but we can all agree that the life we live today is possible because someone in the past has paved the way. Even Isaac Newton acknowledges that all the things he had accomplished were made feasible by “standing upon the shoulders of giants.”
Editor’s Note: The AMI QT Devotionals from May 23-29 are written by Andy Kim. Andy, a graduate of Northwestern University, is about to complete his M.Div. at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is currently serving as a staff at Radiance Christian Church in San Francisco, CA
Car accidents scare me—especially ones that involve rain. My friend describes it as the most helpless moment in his life: He turned the wheel left and right, but the car refused to listen. After hitting a dry patch, the car flipped and rolled on a busy highway. Here’s the kicker: he came out with a small scratch on his head, while the car was completely totaled. In fact, the people that were behind him were a doctor and nurse –they stood watching in shock. Praise the Lord!
Apparently, according to this one article, through his endorsements and other sources, Michael Jordan makes over $150,000 a day working or not. That means in the time you spend reading this devotional, he’s already made over $500 by doing nothing. I mean he is the greatest basketball player to have ever lived. Yet, in the same article, it says that if Jordan were to save 100% of his income for the next 300 years, he’d still have less than Bill Gates today. The nerds have indeed won. Today, we value knowledge and expertise, over physical strength and dominance. Living in the tech world, we treat engineers like gods and everybody else as another headcount.
Our family was intrigued as we were looking at the pictures of a runaway sheep that came home to his shepherd—after six years of MIA. When he came home, he was buried under layers of thick and dirty fur, which made us wonder how the shepherd even recognized him in the first place. But after the shepherd sheered him, he looked like a different sheep all together. What a relief the sheep must have felt to be able to shed the extra built up weight off his little body. But what was comical to read was that he had run away in the first place because he disliked being sheered by the shepherd.
Editor’s Note: Today’s AMI QT devotional 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).
Recently, as I was preparing myself to go back to Taiwan, my “earthly home country,” I was overcome with a deep sense of overwhelming and paralyzing fear and anxiety. Yet I had to mentally, emotionally, and spiritually prepare myself to enter the mission field of my family. Past experiences have “trained” me to brace myself for the worst that maybe coming, and this time was no different. Without exaggeration, each time I prepare to make the long journey home, I literally have to pinch and talk myself into accepting the reality—it is what it is.
Editor’s Note: Today’s AMI QT devotional is provided by Joanna Tzen. Joanna graduated from U. Penn and currently works in Philadelphia. She and her husband Paul attend Grace Covenant Church.
My husband and I are hoping to be first-time home buyers. We have been looking for several months, but it sure does feel longer! We waited for a year to be sure our finances were in order, we went through the steps of securing financing and a real estate agent, and thought that we would come across our first home soon. Little did we know that we came to the real estate market at a time when prices are at an all-time high since the recession. We’ve been in several multiple-offer situations where our bid was not high enough and were turned away.
We all have done it: missing out on spiritual venues that could have sparked our waning faith because of work. And that’s likely the reason Governor Festus, while intently listening to Paul, failed to really hear what was being said. Not long after his first day on the job, Festus was trying to figure out why Paul, a Roman citizen whom he had inherited as a prisoner, had appealed to the emperor. The task would’ve been a cinch if Paul was a common criminal, but the charge against him was such that Festus had “nothing definite to write to His Majesty” (Acts 25:26a).