Editor’s Note: The AMI QT devotionals from Feb. 1-7 are provided by Cami King. Cami, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania, is about to complete her M.Div. at Gordon Conwell Seminary. She is currently serving as a staff at Journey Community Church in Raleigh.
Devotional Thoughts for Today
Acts 2:37-41
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
The late great preacher S.M. Lockridge once said, “A sermon should do at least four things for you. One, a sermon should stretch your mind… You ought to be able to learn something from a sermon. Two, a sermon should tan your hide. A sermon should correct you. Three, a sermon should warm your heart. It should inspire you. Four, a sermon should provoke the will. It should challenge you to do what the Lord would have you do.”
Whenever we receive God’s word, be it preached from a pulpit or studied in the privacy of our homes, there are a few things that happen. In our post-enlightenment, post-modern world, many approach God’s word expecting primarily to learn something. Be it learning something new, being reminded of something old, or gaining deeper insight into something familiar, we are ready and willing to engage our minds. With the dawn of the modern-worship movement, Western Christianity has begun anew to engage the heart. As a result, we also expect to feel – usually to feel encouraged and uplifted. For many of us, God’s word functions like a motivational speaker or a morning cup of coffee, preparing us to face a new day. And with the basic formula of the expository sermon now-a-days, which always ends in application (“how do I apply what I learned”), most of us are trained to draw from God’s word practical life applications. All of these are immensely important, but one thing is missing.
When the word of God goes forth, there should be repentance – this is the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts. When truly understood and received by a broken and sinful people (which all of us are), God’s word convicts and the only proper response is to repent and surrender to Him. May we seek God in His word, not only to strengthen our minds, or to comfort our hearts, or even to guide us in a specific situation, but may it transform us as we turn from our ways and yield to His.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, please “search me and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24) In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Genesis 30
Lunch Break Study
Read 2 Timothy 3:14-17
But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Questions to Consider:
- Why is it important for Timothy to remember from whom he learned God’s word? How are Paul’s words to him relevant for us today?
- According to this passage, why is knowledge of God’s word so important?
- What are the reasons Paul says God’s word is useful? Why is this the case? How have you experienced the profitability of God’s word in your life?
Notes:
- The truth of God is demonstrated in the lives of the people who follow Him. It’s important for Timothy to remember what He learned, not only from childhood, but from Paul, because he’s seen God’s truth at work in Paul’s life (a testament to the truth of the message). In a similar way, our lives should bear witness to the truth of God’s word and we should serve as witnesses or proofs to its genuineness to an on-looking world.
- It is important to know God’s word because it is “able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” It is through the Scripture that we come to know God and gain wisdom. And, ultimately, the Scriptures are our avenue to salvation in Christ as we come to know the Gospel and put our trust in God’s salvation.
- Paul gives a list – doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness. Through knowing and yielding to God’s word, we are equipped to do good works in the world. Scripture has this effect because, although written by human agents, it is inspired by God and is ultimately a revelation of God Himself to us – and He is what we need to be complete.
Evening Reflection
What are some ways God has called you to repentance through His word recently? Think back to Sunday’s sermon, small group Bible study, or your personal time in the word. Spend some time in repentance. Offer those areas to God, acknowledging your error, receiving His forgiveness, and surrendering your ways to His ways.
My journey into Christian faith consisted largely of wrestling with the truth and trustworthiness of Scripture. One of my dearest resources during that time was my dad who graciously spent inordinate amounts of time answering my questions and helping me process my thoughts. One phrase I’d constantly repeat in our conversations was, “Yes, but how do you know that?” I wanted to understand how he had become so persuaded that what Scripture was saying was true. How could he be certain? Among the slew of things that bolstered his assurance were the prophesies. I remember reading a compilation of promises and prophesies of God from the Old Testament listed beside accounts of their fulfillment (both in Scripture and in the life of the Church). It didn’t convince me at the time, but I remember one day when it clicked. I was amazed. One prophesy come true I could chalk up to coincidence, maybe even two or three. But after a while, it would have taken more blind faith to believe it was mere coincidence that aligned so many Old Testament prophesies with New Testament realities.
Editor’s Note: The AMI QT devotionals for today are 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).
War Room is one of my favorite movies of 2015. What I love the most is its portrayal to the audience of this essential, foundational truth that: prayer is the battleground on which we wage and win wars. If you have not seen it, please make a point to watch it with your family, friends and small group. It will open your eyes to see prayer in a new way.
Several years ago, while we were serving in South Carolina, we took the kids on a family vacation to Disney World in Florida. We thought we were making Nathan and Naomi’s childhood dreams become a reality—they would remember Disney as the magical place. But we were shocked to hear Naomi make the declaration upon arriving home, “It’s so good to be home; I love my home better than Disney.” In our sincere effort to give them a magical experience, we had pushed ourselves over the limit by doing too much with too little time.
What’s the point of the virgin birth? Some say that since the original sin is transmitted through the father, if Jesus had been conceived in a natural manner, He could’ve been neither perfect nor sinless. Paul probably would have disagreed since he wrote, “Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner” (1 Tim. 2:14). While we can debate this point to no end, there is another compelling reason why the virgin birth was absolutely necessary.
Perhaps no one ever feared death quite like Thomas Donaldson, then 46, who was afflicted with brain cancer in 1990. Hoping that someday science would provide a cure for cancer, he sought for cryogenic (science of the effects of low temperature) specialists to freeze him, and then sever his frozen head to store it for the future. At $35,000, freezing a head was cheaper than the cost of freezing an entire body for $100,000. Wishing also for the development of brain transplantation, the plan called for his head to be implanted to another body. “I am dying,” Donaldson said, adding, “I might later be revived and continue to live.” Ironically, he beat the disease until finally succumbing to it in 2006.
I disagree with most of what Richard Dawkins wrote in The God Delusion but not the following story. He cites a clergy who told his dying colleague, “Congratulations! I wish I was coming with you.” Noting that this clergy seemed like a sincere believer, the famed atheist says, “It is precisely because it’s so rare that his story catches our attention. Could it be that [religious people] don’t believe all that stuff they pretend to believe?” To some extent, this is true. One reason is that believers are more enamored by the men of this world who are getting all their “rewards” now, than the rewards of being with God.
Which animal you see in the picture depends on where your focus is: a gaze to the left will show a duck, to the right, a rabbit; but as whole, this image contains both a duck and a rabbit. I first saw this image in a book extolling postmodernism that, to ensure that Eurocentric thoughts no longer dominate the rest, has relativized all truth claims. This is why religious pluralism— belief that all religions lead to the same God—emerges as a child of postmodernism.
Now, in church history, one of the fiercest theological battles has been fought between the Calvinists and the Arminians. Regarding God’s election (that God predestines some to be saved), whereas the Calvinists posit that its basis is His deliberative plan (Eph. 1:11) that has nothing to do men’s merit, the Arminians say that the basis is God’s foreknowledge (1 Pet. 1:2). That is, God, “having foreseen men’s potential faith” chose “those who would turn to Him when they heard the gospel” (Hammond). But they do agree on one thing: this is a matter of either/or, and that both positions cannot be right at the same time. But Peter’s sermon suggests otherwise. Talking about those who played a critical part in crucifying Jesus, he says that it was done based on God’s “predetermined plan” as well as His “foreknowledge” of men’s future action.
When my kids were little, I would remind them how it was going to ruin their vision whenever they would read in a moving vehicle. It worked for awhile—until my oldest son showed me a research that disapproved it. Similarly, some things told from the pulpit may just be urban theological legends. Before proceeding, remember this: in order for the teachings in Acts to be deemed as valid for today, they need to be confirmed by the Epistles that delineate doctrines and practices normative for the church.
The word “formalism” conjures up images of liturgical church (e.g., Lutheran, Episcopalian); but it can also be found in emotion-filled Pentecostal churches. Once, as my wife and I were returning home from a Charismatic meeting where I spoke, she told me that someone had asked her whether she was a Christian. During the prayer time when everyone prayed out really loud, the sight of my wife praying quietly was a dead giveaway to this person that she wasn’t saved: that’s formalism, which is a strict adherence to some behavior arbitrarily selected as most pleasing to God and then judging those who fall short.
Editor’s Note: The AMI QT devotionals for January 23-4 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.
I am sure all of us have been delivered from trouble unexpectedly before. Maybe you forget your calculator for an exam but someone shows up with an extra one. Or maybe you are running late to the train station and a friend happens to drive by and gets you there speedily. Just as glad as you are that someone saved, it’s likely that the other person is even happier to have been in the right place at the right time.