Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals for July 30 and 31 are written by pastor-intern David Son at Symphony Church.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

2 Kings 3:16-18

And he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will make this dry streambed full of pools. ’ For thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not see wind or rain, but that streambed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your livestock, and your animals. ’ This is a light thing in the sight of the Lord. He will also give the Moabites into your hand.”

The first miracle I ever experienced was when I was 7 years old. I used to be a coin collector when I was in elementary school, and although most of my collection comprised of pennies and nickels, my prized possession was an old silver dollar coin. At least once a week, I’d open my little coin box and just gaze at each coin, especially at the silver dollar. But one evening, I took my coin box to church to show off to my friends, and as I was going through each of the coins, to my horror, the silver dollar was missing! I looked everywhere for it; I emptied the box, searched under the seat… nothing. It was gone! So, I got down on my knees and prayed the most sincere prayer I had ever prayed until that point in my life, “God, please help me find my coin!” And when I opened my eyes, I looked back into my box, and there it was—  shining like it had never left the box. I had never felt so much excitement and relief! That was my first taste of the power of God.

In 2 Kings 3, three kings are asking for God’s help in defeating the Moabites in battle. Although this is a much weightier prayer request than my plea for help in finding my lost coin, what God says in verse 18 gives us God’s perspective: “This is a light thing in the sight of the Lord.” A light thing! I wonder how many of our dire requests to God are actually light things to Him! Have you considered the incredible power of our God as you face today?

Prayer

Lord, You are above all things, and nothing is too difficult for You. Heaven is your throne and earth is your footstool, yet you hear even the lightest of our pleas. Increase our faith today as we take on the various challenges ahead of us.

Bible Reading for Today: Jonah 3

Lunch Break Study

Read 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Questions to Consider:

1. How does Paul describe our afflictions (hardships)?
2. Do you see your hardships in this way?
3. Why is Paul able to call our hardships “light and momentary”?

Notes:

1. Paul describes our affliction as “light and momentary.” In other words, he is saying that our hardships are easy and short.
2. Most people do not see their hardships this way… otherwise they wouldn’t be hardships, right?
3. Paul went through more affliction than most of us will ever go through in our lifetime. Yet he is able to call it “light and momentary” because he is looking at the eternal glory of being with Jesus. In light of that, every hard thing on this earth seems light in comparison, and short in comparison!

 Evening Reflection

An old hymnal goes like this:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face!

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.

May we look upon Jesus each day and find that our affliction is but light and momentary in comparison to His glory and grace!

Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals for July 30 and 31 are written by pastor-intern David Son at Symphony Church.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

2 Kings 3:9-12a

So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the animals that followed them. Then the king of Israel said, “Alas! The Lord has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?”

Wars require water. Especially in ancient times, having enough water for your army could be the determining factor in the outcome of a battle. In fact, water was so important to maintaining an army that poisoning enemy water sources was a common practice of ancient warfare. In this chapter, three armies (Israel, Judah, and Edom) join together to fight against the enemy Moabites. An incredible force! But they seem to have run into a major problem… they had no water. Hundreds of thousands of thirsty soldiers and many more animals are all but useless without water. In this dire situation, we see two distinct responses from two different kings: Jehoram, the king of Israel, said, “Alas! The Lord has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab,” while Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?”

Interestingly, both kings referred to the name of the Lord. The king of Israel used the name of the Lord to pronounce blame for the impending doom. On the other hand, in a seemingly hopeless situation, the king of Judah sought the word of the Lord. When we are in tough situations, how do we approach the Lord?

Prayer

Lord, You are greater and bigger than any obstacle or problem that we can face in our lives. We seek You, and we ask to hear from You as we go through this day. Help us to meditate on Your Scripture; build up our faith as we meditate on it.

Bible Reading for Today: Jonah 2

Lunch Break Study

Read John 5:39-40

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

Questions to Consider:

1. Who is Jesus talking to here? (You may have to refer to the entire chapter.)
2. What was wrong with the way these Jewish leaders were reading Scripture?
3. According to this passage, how should we be reading Scripture?

Notes:

1. Jesus is talking to the Jews—more specifically, the Jews who set out to kill him, which were the Jewish religious leaders.
2. It seems as though these Jews had significant knowledge of Scripture but could not make the connection to Jesus Christ. In other words, their knowledge of Scripture was solely informational.
3. Jesus does not ever deny the importance or the authority of Scripture, but He says here that Scripture bears witness to Jesus. When we read Scripture, we ought to be thinking of how its words, stories, and commands reveal to us the person and nature of God! A great question to ask while reading any Bible passage is, “What does this reveal about our God?”

 Evening Reflection

As the day draws to an end, reflect on the different ways you interacted with the Lord today. Have you sought His voice? Have you read His Word? Especially if you are in a difficult season right now, take some time to quiet your heart and inquire of the Lord.

Editor’s Note:  AMI devotionals from July 27-29 are provided by Ulysses Wang of TRPC.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

2 Kings 2:15-18

The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 “Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”  “No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.” 17 But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. 18 When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”

Have you ever longed to be one of Jesus’ twelve disciples?  To have walked, talked and eaten with Him?  I am sure that most Christians have, and who could blame them?  The idea of seeing Christ in the flesh, witnessing His miracles, hearing all of His teachings firsthand – these are the things that dreams are made of.  I bet that’s similar to how the “company of the prophets” felt after Elijah was taken up to heaven.  Yes, they recognized that “the Spirit of Elijah [was now] resting on Elisha,” but there was something within them that still longed for Elijah – his ministry, his power, and maybe even just for the man himself.  Therefore they insisted on organizing a search party to recover their spiritual icon.  There efforts, however, would be in vain, as God had another plan – His work would be continued and would lack nothing through Elijah’s successor Elisha.

We have much to learn from this story, for it is our story.  Jesus said in John 16:7, “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away.”  How in the world could Jesus’ leaving ever be a good thing?  Because, as He continues on, “Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”  The Advocate is none other than the Holy Spirit.  If Jesus didn’t leave, the Holy Spirit never would have come, and if the Spirit never came, He could not dwell in the hearts of all believers (1 Cor 3:16; Rom 8:11).  But because He came and dwells in our hearts, God’s ministry to this world continues through us, broken vessels though we are, yet filled with the power of God.  In fact, it was not hyperbole when Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).  Just as Elisha’s ministry did indeed reflect the fullness of Elijah’s, so does ours reflect the power of a Christ-inaugurated kingdom.

Because “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3), we do not need to envy the past, but can be excited about what God will do through us in this generation.  God the Spirit walks and talks with us.  Through communion we enjoy table fellowship with Christ.  We have everything we need.  Let’s do this.

Prayer

God, give me the faith to believe that the story continues with me.  Help me to be more aware of Your presence, with me in the Person of God the Spirit, so that I can believe for great things and seek them out.  Fill me with the power of the Spirit to overcome the temptations that may come my way and to enable me to shine Your light wherever I am.  Amen!

Bible Reading for Today: Jonah 2

Lunch Break Study

Read Acts 6:8-15:

Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. 11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” 15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Questions to Consider

1. How would you describe the manner in which witnesses against Stephen were produced as well as the nature of the accusations?
2. How might you have felt or reacted if you were in Stephen’s shoes?
3. According to v.15, how did Stephen react? What can we learn from him?

Notes

1. The witnesses were “false” and the accusations egregious distortions of Jesus’ teachings, abused to the benefit of Stephan’s accusers.
2. A sense of anger, indignation, or injustice?
3. No matter how we are wronged, no matter the injustice we experience, can we face it with “the face of an angel”? This doesn’t necessarily mean succumbing to whatever evil befalls us, but it does mean approaching every situation with love, forgiveness and blamelessness.

 Evening Reflection

“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.” – Psalm 4:8

Editor’s Note:  AMI devotionals from July 27-29 are provided by Ulysses Wang of TRPC.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

2 Kings 2:9-14

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied. 10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.” 11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two. 13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

“Carpe diem. Seize the day. Make your lives extraordinary”: In Dead Poets Society, John Keating (played by Robin Williams) used these words to inspire a group of young English students to aspire to live lives of significance. He reminded them that in just a few short years, they would be dead and fertilizing the flowers of the field. Much of our millennial generation would agree with Keating – that life is short and therefore should be lived to its fullest. How this plays out, however, varies greatly by individual. Some throw themselves into making the next hot app, dreaming of millions (if not billions) as they program away into the night. Others look for meaning in experiences, whether through travel or thrills or drugs. Still for others, romantic love is the answer. Whatever the path, meaning is the goal.

Elisha was no slouch himself. When his master Elijah was about to be taken up to heaven, he asked for a “double portion of [his] spirit.” In other words, he wanted everything that Elijah had – the prophetic ministry, the power and the miracles. He wanted to be great in the kingdom of God. The fact that this was “a difficult thing” did not discourage him. Someone once said that if something isn’t difficult to do, then it probably isn’t worth doing. Elijah assented to his request, but not without condition – Elisha would have to witness Elijah’s ascension in order to receive such power. In other words, such power must be actively appropriated, not passively received.

In Acts 1:6-11, we witness a strikingly similar event. Jesus is taken up into heaven before the disciples’ eyes, and a few days later on the day of Pentecost, the disciples are filled with incredible power (as evidenced in Peter’s sermon as well as the ensuing miracles throughout the book of Acts). What cannot be missed, however, is what took place between these events— “They all joined together constantly in prayer…” The power of the Holy Spirit did not come upon casual observers or slack disciples – it came upon a people actively seeking the promise of the Father through prayer.

God wants us to live lives that count, and He provides the means to do so – the power of His Spirit. We can be great in the kingdom of God. But we have to go after it. What kind of life do you want to live? There is nothing stopping you from living it, no matter what your life circumstances. God’s grace is sufficient for you. But you have to take hold of it through radical, believing, faith-filled prayer. Carpe diem!

Prayer

God, I don’t want to live a lukewarm, defeated, mediocre Christian life. I want to live a radical, power-filled, miracle-witnessing, sin-overcoming life! Forgive me if I’ve settled for anything less. Give me the faith to believe that no matter how difficult, it can be achieved through Your Spirit. Give me a heart to pray. Give me a passion to pursue. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Obadiah 1

Lunch Break Study

Read 1 Chronicles 4:9-10: Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” 10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

Questions to Consider

1. How would you describe Jabez’s background/past experiences? What does this teach us about how our past should affect our future?
2. What did Jabez ask of God? Do you think this was easy for him?
3. What kind of change or freedom do you need to ask of God and to believe in Him for?

Notes

1. In spite of the fact that his identity was so caught up his mother’s negative experience, he cried out to God that his life wouldn’t be bound or limited by the past.  No matter what you’ve experienced in the past, through Christ’s power you can have a different future.
2. What Jabez asked for took faith.  Oftentimes, even though we may wish for freedom from the past, we fail to seek it aggressively because we just don’t believe it could ever happen.  We become prisoners of the past.  Jabez, however, in asking God took a step of faith.
3. Be bold!  There is nothing in your life that God cannot change.

 Evening Reflection

“Every man dies. Not every man really lives.” – William Wallace.

Editor’s Note:  AMI devotionals from July 27-29 are provided by Ulysses Wang of TRPC.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

2 Kings 1:1-4:

After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, “Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.” 3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’” So Elijah went.

It’s obvious that in this passage God is upset at King Ahaziah because he didn’t inquire of Him as to how his illness would turn out.  What is interesting, however, is the king’s reaction to the news from his messengers regarding the “stranger” that they had met on the road.  Through nothing more than a description of his outfit, Ahaziah knew that it was the prophet Elijah (v.8).  What we can see from this is that Ahaziah was very much aware that there was a prophet of the Lord in his land, yet he had no interest in inquiring of the Lord through him.  For this, he was condemned to die from his wounds.

We take encouragement from this passage that we serve a God who wants us to inquire of Him.  Imagine that!—being invited to ask for wisdom and knowledge from the source of all wisdom and knowledge!  Our struggle, however, is that too often we don’t take God up on His generous offer.  We’ve replaced God with Google or friends or medical professionals.  Not that any of these things are wrong—these things can all be a blessing—but the problem comes when these things effectively replace God in our lives.  Inquiring of God through prayer is considered impractical.  Like Ahaziah, we know that He’s there and He’s real, but in times of trouble, we go elsewhere for answers.

Prayer

What do you need to ask God about today?  James reminds us that, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (1:5).  Spend time inquiring of the Lord.

Bible Reading for Today: Amos 9

Lunch Break Study

Read Hebrews 4:14-16: Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Questions to Consider

1. How does Jesus’ ability to “empathize with our weaknesses” encourage you?
2. If Jesus never sinned, can He truly empathize? Why is it important that “he did not sin”?
3. Where do you turn to in your “time of need”? What does this say about where you place your trust?

Notes

1. It gives me confidence that he genuinely understands what I am going through. He is a God of Immanuel—one who is with us and among us.
2. Since He is God, he doesn’t need to do anything in particular to learn what we are going through. But since he went through temptations without succumbing to them, it does give us more confidence in approaching Him.
3. Personal response.

 Evening Reflection

How much did you interact with God today?  How much time did you spend talking to Him?  Was He an active part of your day?  Spend some time talking to Him about your day—the victories and defeats, the exciting things as well as the mundane.  Give Him an opportunity to speak to you.

Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals for July 25-26 are provided by Mei Lan Thallman of GCC.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

2Corinthian 10:17:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

For our first home, we bought a foreclosed house in South Carolina.  But it took some time to make it our home, for there were many necessary constructions—replacing carpets, water heater, windows, garage door, paint, etc.  It was a long process where we had to prioritize and pace ourselves by focusing on one project at a time so that we would not feel overwhelmed.  We, however, learned a lot about patience and perseverance through the inconveniences of the process, and we had to trust and depend on God’s timing and His provision.  But through it all, it was worth all the hard work, time, and energy to finally make this house our home; for to this day, our kids still talk about how much they miss our home in South Carolina.

A believer’s salvation and growth in Christ is also like the process of a house makeover.  The moment we ask Jesus into our heart to be our Savior and Lord, there is an exchange of ownership and a beginning of a lifelong makeover of becoming more like Christ.  Of course our salvation is secure, like the deed of the ownership by Christ himself, but the process of taking on and living out our identity as God’s new creation will take time to cultivate and develop.

God will take His ownership of our lives seriously and begin a reconstruction process through our belief system which is made up of our thoughts and attitudes; and from this belief system, our behavior and habits are formed.  He will not overwhelm us by doing it all at once, but through a process He will begin to renew our mind, thoughts and attitudes by His Word and by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Our cooperation with Him through our trusting obedience and willingness to change are both important and key to our growth.

Taking captive of our worldly/fleshly thoughts and attitudes, ungodly defense mechanisms and destructive habits, and realigning them under Christ’s truth and character is an absolute must  and fundamental spiritual discipline in living the daily Christian walk.  It can be painful to confront and struggle with our old self, but the end result of making our lives a home where Christ feels welcomed to abide permanently is worth it.  Without His complete ownership/Lordship in every area of our lives, we simply cannot bear fruit for Him.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for being the Author and Perfecter of my faith.  Please continue to teach me to a deeper surrender and cooperation to Your reconstruction in my life.  Please forgive me and cleanse me of pride, stubbornness and resistance to the conviction of Your Word and to the voice of Holy Spirit.  Help me to make my life a home that You would feel welcomed to dwell within.  Thank You that through Your work on the Cross, I can be a new creation in Christ.

Bible Reading for Today: Amos 8

Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals for July 25-26 are provided by Mei Lan Thallman of GCC.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

Luke 18:18-32: A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”  21 “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?” 27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 28 Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!” 29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”

The contemporary thinking tells us: “If you set your mind to it and are willing to work hard enough, you can achieve anything and have everything—the sky is the limit.  Your self-effort is the only thing that is in the way of the goals you want to achieve in life.” The temptation that all of us face, like this rich young ruler, is to bring this kind of thinking into our view of God and our relationship with Him.  This young ruler appears to be a sincere, intelligent, disciplined and religious person.  Having heard Jesus’ message about the kingdom of God, he wanted to know what he needed do to secure his salvation.  To that, Jesus replied, “Keep the commandments.”  The young man pressed Jesus with more specific questions like which one of the commandments must he keep, and what else needed to be done.

The mindset of the rich young man is, How can I have it all—to keep my perfect life plus Jesus? as if God exists solely to meet all of his needs and wants and to fulfill his dreams.  In response, Jesus goes straight to the heart of the matter—He invites the affluent young man to exchange his temporal wealth for the heavenly treasure, and then follow Him.

Christianity is so much more than going to church, keeping rules, and living a religious life.  It is possible for a person to have a religious upbringing or a religious life style without having a personal relationship with Jesus and the assurance of salvation (e.g., the Pharisees, like Nicodemus and Paul before his conversion).  When we have a personal encounter with the living Christ, the right response is that of surrendering one’s life completely to the full reign of His Lordship and making necessary adjustments to fulfill His call. Our lives should no longer be about me but about Him.  Apostle Paul declared in Philippians 3:7-8, “Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”

If we claim to know and love Jesus, we must know that Jesus demands nothing less than our reckless abandonment to ourselves—our wealth, education, career, family, etc.— in order to follow wholeheartedly after Him.

So, we ask the Holy Spirit to empower us to choose wisely when we are confronted with Jesus’ personal invitation to “come and follow me”. When the rich young ruler chose to hold on to his worldly riches, he missed out on the heavenly riches/eternal riches.  In contrast, the disciples made the decision to leave everything to follow Jesus Christ, and as a result, they gained much more than salvation—their lives were eternally transformed by Christ who used these ordinary men extraordinarily.   Let us choose wisely our path.

Prayer:

Lord, by Your grace and empowerment, may we choose wisely when we hear Your call to lay down our own riches to follow You.  May we not choose a religious, moral and safe life over an intimate, spiritual and dedicated relationship with Jesus.  Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Amos 6-7

Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals for July 20-24 are provided by Pastor Ryun Chang.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

1 King 20:20-8: Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. 21 Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. 22 And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. 23 And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ 24 Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.”

25 (There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. 26 He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.) 27 And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. 28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”

Can we really grasp the following saying of Jesus, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mk. 2:17)? Condemning the Pharisees comes easy to us, but wouldn’t we have joined their railing against Jesus for “eating with ‘sinners’ (read, prostitutes) and tax collectors” (v.16)?

Undoubtedly, once we arrive in heaven, we’ll be shocked to see those who made it there—such as Karla Faye Tucker, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Ted Bundy. Tucker, a convicted murderer, was the first woman to be executed in Texas (1998) since 1863; and of course, Dahmer and Bundy were notorious serial killers—the latter was executed (1989) while the former was killed in prison (1994). Now, these dubious characters might have lied about their conversions, but if they had trusted Jesus as the One who died to pay for all our sins, then they would’ve already joined the criminal hung next to Jesus to whom He said, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk. 23:43).

Today’s account certainly lends credence to that assertion. After all, “there was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD” (NIV). For instance, just prior to this pronouncement against Ahab, he had taken, with the help of Jezebel, a vineyard belonging to Naboth through a devious plot that resulted in his murder (1 King 21:1-11). Yet, it took a simple contrition by Ahab for an elated God to declare, “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me?” And for that, Ahab was spared of having to experience the destruction of Israel during his lifetime.

Of course this is unfair in the courts of man but not in God’s, because He had “made [Christ] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21); that is, the finished work of Christ is infinitively weightier than any sins humans have committed, including the heinous kinds that the aforementioned three committed.

Are you still not sure whether you have eternal life? Believe in Jesus and His work already completed on the Cross for the salvation of your soul. Then live a life worthy of His grace and mercy. For starters, forgive those who wronged you.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I often take my salvation for granted, but today I must confess how grateful I am to You for allowing me to be part of the redeemed family of God. Help me to live a life that is truly reflective of God’s grace and mercy toward those who don’t deserve any of it—like me. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Amos 5

Lunch Break Study

Read Matt. 23:39-43: One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” 

2 Pet. 3:9: The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Ezek. 18:23: Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?

1 Jn. 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

Question to Consider

1. What does the Gospel account involving the penitent criminal truly reveal?
2. Describe God’s heart.
3. Pastor Joseph Prince of Singapore teaches that since all our sins—past, present and future—are already forgiven in the finished work of Christ, we no longer need to confess our daily sins to be forgiven. What is both true and false about that assertion?

Notes

1. No account in the four Gospels clarifies the gospel better than this one: this forlorn man had done nothing meritorious to deserve salvation. But it was his faith in Christ, expressed in his rebuke of the impenitent criminal and pleading for Christ to remember him, that saved him: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith . . .—not by works” (Eph. 2:8-9).
2. He yearns for all sinners to “not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16). He rejoices over “one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Lk. 15:7).
3. Prince is right in that all sins are already forgiven in Christ, but there is a condition attached to it: we must confess our sins for the finished work of Christ to be efficacious in our lives. Isn’t that how we became believers in the first place? Didn’t we have to believe and then confess (Rom. 10:9) that belief to be saved at the outset? So, why would that change for the sins that we commit thereafter? Prince’s assertion regarding 1 Jn. 1:9, that it was written to unbelieving Gnostics who needed to confess their sins to be saved, is false. 1 John was written to the believers (note the pronoun “we” that includes John), among other reasons, to warn against the false teachings of the Docetics, the precursor to the Gnostics (4:1-3).

 Evening Reflection

The truth is that we make our lives too busy, along with being distracted and addicted to entertainment, to be in touch with the abiding presence of God in our daily lives. Perhaps today, you experienced at least one moment in which you truly sensed His gracious and merciful presence. Reflect on that as you thank the Lord for His unceasing love towards you.

Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals for July 20-24 are provided by Pastor Ryun Chang.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

1 King 20:1-6, 29-30: Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together. Thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and closed in on Samaria and fought against it. 2 And he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad: 3 ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your best wives and children also are mine.’” 4 And the king of Israel answered, “As you say, my lord, O king, I am yours, and all that I have.” 5 The messengers came again and said, “Thus says Ben-hadad: ‘I sent to you, saying, “Deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children.” 6 Nevertheless I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants and lay hands on whatever pleases you and take it away.’

. . . And they encamped opposite one another seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle was joined. And the people of Israel struck down of the Syrians 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. ³⁰ And the rest fled into the city of Aphek, and the wall fell upon 27,000 men who were left.  Ben-hadad also fled . . .

Human history is littered with ill-advised sayings of men.  For instance, at the launch of the Titanic (1911), an employee of the White Star Line quipped, “Not even God himself could sink this ship”—but a mere iceberg proved him wrong.  Charles Holland Duell, as the United States Commissioner of Patents at the end of 19^th century, allegedly said, “Everything that can be invented has been invented.”  Say what?  And during this year’s NCAA basketball tournament, we were once again reminded of the truth of Proverbs 17:28, “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise.”  A West Virginia freshman player, before facing the undefeated Kentucky squad, cracked, “Tomorrow they’re gonna be 36-1.”  Oops, Kentucky won by 39 points!

Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, was no different from the aforementioned clerk, commissioner or hoopster—full of hubris (extreme pride) and so confident of the unknown.  The victory was already his even before the first blowing of the trumpet: “May gods deal with me, be it ever severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful” (v.10). He felt so   entitled to everything that Israel owned: “Your silver and gold . . . wives and children are mine” (v.3). Little did he realize that God had Israel’s back, as a prophet informed the king of Israel: “Do you see this vast army?  I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know that I am the Lord” (v.13).

Keep this in mind the next time you feel invincible and invulnerable about yourself because of your possession, ability (knowledge) or accomplishment:  “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18).  Stay low, heads bowed, and think carefully, in light of who you are (a creature) before your Maker, before opening your mouth.  Remember, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5).

Perhaps, even more important lesson is this: If you ever feel like you can’t reach your goal that is good and noble because no one believes in you, remember this: “I can do all this through [Christ Jesus] who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13).  Work hard (Prov. 14:23) and prayer harder.

Prayer

Dear God, I must confess many foolish things I’ve said about myself, thinking only of my strength in light of other people’s weaknesses.  How comical it must be to You and how tragic for me!  Thanks for your forgiveness and “forgetfulness.”  Remind me to watch what I say so that I may not be a fool.  Help me to say only those things that would edify others.  Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Amos 4

Lunch Break Study

Read Luke 14:7-13: Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

James 4:13-7: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Question to Consider

1. One chose the place of honor while the other confidently planned for his future.  In what sense are they cut out from the same rock?
2. What perspective or attitude is needed to avoid seeking the place of honor and planning our future with self-assuredness?
3. How is your heart? Are you making any statements about your ability and future that may place you in the Hall of Shame of all the ill-advised things men have said about themselves?

Notes

1. These were men of presumption: the former thought of himself as superior to everyone else, which led him to think that he deserved better, while the latter thought that he, not God, was sovereign. Both of them badly miscalculated by overestimating their status and ability.
2. To avoid falling into the pitfall of presumption, we must cultivate the mind of Christ, which is, “in humility count[ing] others more significant than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3). Subsequently, we are to “look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (v.4).  We must also always remember how fragile we are and how unpredictable life can be, which leaves no recourse but to depend and rely absolutely on God (2 Cor. 1:9).
3. Personal response.

 Evening Reflection

If someone had observed you throughout the day, would that person conclude that you were trusting in yourself or God?  Be reflective and critical about yourself.  Make changes, if necessary, so that you won’t be embarrassed, or worse –be destroyed.  This is a serious matter.  Pray.

Editor’s Note:  The AMI devotionals for July 20-24 are provided by Pastor Ryun Chang.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

1 King 19:19-21: So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. ²⁰ And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” ²¹ And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.

Jimmy Johnson is the first coach to win both the Super Bowl and a college football championship. On the surface, he and Elisha shared much in common: both severed ties to their former life in pursuit of a newer challenge in life. Johnson, before joining the Dallas Cowboys, divorced his wife (his word) in order to totally dedicate himself to build a winner. As for Elisha, he got rid of everything that once meant something to him in order to follow and be mentored by the Prophet Elijah.

And it wouldn’t be too farfetched to imagine Jesus, who once commended a dishonest manager for his shrewdness in preparing for his jobless future (Lk. 16:1-13), lauding Johnson for his “reckless abandonment” to pursue a goal. Christ certainly would’ve backed Elisha’s decision, for He said, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold . . .” (Matt. 19:29).

Ultimately, however, Jesus wouldn’t use Johnson as a poster child to show “what commitment to God” looks like since breaking one commandment (“I hate divorce” [Mal. 2:16]) to keep another is never acceptable to Him (Mk. 7:9-13). And to Elisha, Jesus would say what He told Apostle John while He hung on the cross: “‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home” (Jn. 19:27). Huh? Certainly, we must always follow God’s call in our lives even if it conflicts with our family obligations; that, however, does not release us from fulfilling them. Paul writes, “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tim. 5:8). We “should . . . “practice[] the latter, without neglecting the former” (Matt. 23:23).

Johnson came to see the importance of family later on while coaching another NFL team when he couldn’t attend the wake of his mother in order to prepare for a playoff game; and his father had been diagnosed with cancer as well. Johnson said, “It opened up my eyes. . . . There are times when you pull back and say, ‘Be with the people that you care about. Don’t shortchange them.'” Well, don’t shortchange God either.

Prayer

God, I marvel at Your goodness, especially in light of my heart’s inclination toward always doing what pleases and satisfies me. For my precious Lord of grace and mercy, I ought to follow You with “reckless abandonment.” But why am I so hesitant to follow You? Please allow events to occur in my life so that I will always keep You as my top priority in all things. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Amos 2

Lunch Break Study

Read Acts 2:46-7: And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Acts 12:12-3: When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” 12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

Question to Consider

1. In what sense did these gatherings constitute a Church?
2. Note where these believers met: What does that say about what constitutes the Church?
3. How can we incorporate Barna’s comments in our walk with God without giving up on the Church? How is your commitment to your local church?

Notes

1. A collective group of believers was gathered to praise God, pray together and break bread (i.e., sharing sacraments and a meal afterwards).
2. They met at homes as well as at the temple. Either way, it was a place where a group of believers gathered to worship and pray together—that’s the Church.
3. While we meet as a corporate body at a designated time and place, individually we should seek God and do good deeds on our own—it doesn’t have to be an either/or.

 Evening Reflection

Reflecting back to today, what tough choices did you face that pitted your family obligations “against” your obligations to God and His cause? How did you handle it? This isn’t an easy issue for all of us. Unless we cultivate an intimate relationship with God, we will continue to prioritize our earthly interests, however legitimate, over God’s. Pray. Ask God for discernment, encouragement and even creativity to fulfill both obligations.