Devotional Time with God

Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth.  Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Ephesians 4:14-16

From Crosswalk.com website, I came across this acronym RISE that pretty much described what I need to do to grow up in Christ:

1. Reduce: There are just some stuff I don’t need in abundance, such as chocolates, sugar, beef steaks, baked goods, television, etc.
2. Increase: I need to exercise more. I got to move my muscles, get in shape. I need to wake up early enough to read my bible and talk to God more often.
3. Substitute: Instead of spending too much time in front of the computer or TV, I can go visit a friend, or volunteer at church.  Instead of going out to eat all the time, I cook at home most of the time.
4. Eliminate: Going to the movie theaters just sucked a lot of money and time. Need to stop going there and just enjoy a nice DVD at home with the family – and pause/stop the movie whenever I want.

The point is to get my into my devotional with God, more often.  I need to be less concern of this world’s issues and politics.  God has everything under control.  He’s got what I need.  I will grow when I depend on His power and focus on Him.

Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

He is able to do immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within me. (Ephesians 3:20)

I’ve always wondered where I get the strength to go on in this cruel world. There were days how I could ever survived school.  There were days how I could ever fix my failed relationships.  There were days when I thought about giving up.

I still think of what will happen to me when I die.

But, thank God almighty for saving my life in this world.  Thank God for the promise of heaven, the resurrection of the body, and eternal life with my beloved fellow Christians.

Jesus is where I draw my strength from.  I can go on with life because God gave me a reason to live!

I did wonder, why on earth am I here for?  Why does God create me and let me suffer through the pain in this world?  Why do I have to deal with all of the rude, back-stabbing, inconsiderate, unfriendly, or downright nasty people?

The answer is simple: God wants me to win them for Him!  By leading a Jesus-centric life and modeling His love, I’m to be of service to my fellow man/woman.  No matter who they are!

I need to fulfill my purpose in life by serving others. (Ephesians 4:4 -14; Romans 1:6-7; Romans 8:28-30; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 1 Corinthians 1:9;  1 Corinthians 1:26; 1 Corinthians 7:17; Philippians 3:14; 1 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 1:3)

The fruit of salvation is serving God, by serving others!

I’m not sure how often I should ask myself where I’m at with my spiritual life. I have a feeling I have to check every day – even every waking minute!  It’s important I’m always in step with God’s purpose for me.  It’s important that my walk is with Jesus (Ephesians 1:11-12).

It’s important that I show it!

In the morning, I wake up to a challenge with my family, constantly testing my patience.   I drive to work and constantly testing my ability to be kind and calm.  I get to work and constantly testing me holding together my Christ-like behavior.

And the recycle repeats every day.

It’s hard to compartmentalized my spiritual life.  I can’t just put it aside.  It IS my life.  I need to spend more time praying.  I need to spend most of my waking hour talking to God.

I can’t let go of Jesus because He’s the reason I have a spiritual life.

Being a parent is not easy for me.  I constantly have to keep up with my daughter in physical, mind, and spiritual development.  The physical part is easy, as I love to run around, dance, and give her hugs and kisses.  She’s now approaching kindergarten so I have to prepare for my mind to teach her the “intellectual” requirements to cope in this world.

Then I have to be her spiritual guidance.  And this is important, as it’s also to help me grow in the Lord.

For a long time, I’ve been spiritually young.  I always wanted to go beyond where I’m at right now.  I want to be close to God.  I want to know what he has to say to me.

This is where I draw my connection.  I want my Father in heaven to guide me, just as I’m guiding my child.

My expectations now are simple:  What God expects from me is almost exactly what I expect from my child.

God gave an example of love and sacrifice in Jesus Christ.  I have to do the same.

God gave me a purpose in life to promote reconciliation, disciple others, lead others to Him, and help others.  I have to do the same.

God loves me and gives me hope.  I have to do the same.

As I see my daughter constantly look up to me for guidance.  All I have to do is look up to God.   It’s the basic thing to do, as a parent.

Evangelism is not one of my strongest quality of being a Christian.  I struggle with it every day because I know I’m not a convincing person.  I can’t sell anything.  Sure, I can argue and I can present my case.  But at the end of the day, no one buys it.

But God’s salvation is not for sale.  It’s to be given away.  All it takes is faith.  I know God will give me strength to evangelize, if I do His work honestly and with due diligence.  All God wants is for me to deliver the Good News.  It’s up to God to change the other person’s mind.   It’s up to them if they want to be saved.

I need to take that step to evangelize, while focusing on Jesus as the Lord and Savior.   Christ’s love, grace, and good news have to be shared – no matter how cowardly I feel.

I read Demian Farnworth’s post on “Elevator Pitch Evangelism” with two verses that will come in handy the next time someone asked me what Christianity is about:

For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4-7

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

Grace is one of those concepts in the Bible that I’ve been struggling with.  How can God send Jesus to die without asking anything in return?  The grace of God, by His love to me, is freely given.  Freely given to set me free from the bondage of sin.  He doesn’t want anything in return.  It’s free! I just have to believe that I’ve received it so I may be saved.  He doesn’t require good works.  He doesn’t attach any strings.  Just have faith in Him and I shall experience the grace of God.  It’s that simple.  What a glorious concept!  It’s incomprehensible, mind boggling, and makes me feel small compared to God’s potential.  It’s the way it should be because I’m nothing without God.  I have no significance without God.  My pride and sin will be no more, thanks to Jesus who came to this earth and took my sins away.  Indeed, Jesus has given me everything for nothing.

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:1-2

In order to love, it takes more than work.  It takes sacrifice.  Love is everything, but me.  Love is not selfish.  In fact, to love, it takes the following sacrifices:

• My Time
• My Superficiality
• My Agenda
• My Pride

When I love someone, I have to ask myself, do I give them my full attention?  Do I carve out the best of my time for them?  Love means I have to make the quality time.  In order to love, I must also dig deep below the surface, not just the usual “How are you?” and move on.  Stop and listen, make the time to get to know others.  Listen to their worries, concerns, and stories.  It’s not about me and my agenda.  Most of all, I must let go of my pride by not being judgemental and full of criticsm.

Only I can determine the depth of my relationship with others.  With God’s help, He’ll give me the strength to love sacrificially.

This is going to be my first monday devotionals.  A collection of inspirational verses that put focus on what I have to do to start off the week.

John 11: 1-6 – Lazarus, Jesus’ best friend, was sick. However, Jesus stayed in Bethany for another 2 days. God works at His own time.  I must wait for God’s time.

Ephesians 5:15-20 – Be very careful on how I proceed with my daily routine.  Evil lurks in every corner of my life.  I get to stumble easily.  I need to focus on God’s will and always give glory to Him.

Philippians 3:12-21 -  Look out and Look Up!  Focus on heaven, a place where God wants me to belong.  I should not look at the earthly riches.  I must expect heavenly reward for it is more satisfying than worldly reward.

2 Corinthians 5:21 – Jesus saved me.  I am right with God if my life is with Jesus.

What now?  I must include God in my daily walk, keep looking for heavenly goals, and be careful doing my due diligence – not rushing God.

In what way can I see myself passionately serving others and loving it?

The Purpose Driven Life, p. 240

I love when I see others succeed, or accomplish their goals. When I can help, that is especially rewarding, because I have the chance to serve. Sometimes it’s no wonder I am always in a technical support role. My job has been described as a “Thankless Job” or a “Slave to the System”. If I love this job, all the thanks that I ever need is from God. When God uses me because I’ve been gifted by Him and I whole-heartedly like it, I am shaped to serve God.

A rather contextually appropriate verse comes from Ephesians 6:5-8 (NLT):

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.