Devotional Time with God

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.

What is one area where I need to stop thinking my way and start thinking God’s way?

The Purpose Driven Life, p. 184

My relationship with others is my biggest struggle in life. I had failed relationships before, and it hurt. I had others betray me before, and it hurt. So many hurts, yet I still don’t know how to make it better. I feel I have this autopilot engaged in my mind when it comes to dealing with other people. First, I’m always skeptical of other people’s intention; I’m just not the trusting kind. Second, I’m selective on who I talk to; I’m perhaps judgmental. Third, I’m a real bad judge of character; The people who I thought are my enemies are actually beneficial to me, and my friends can become my worse enemy.

With this self-examination, I can already see why I should ask God to change my ways of thinking. I have to do a complete 180° turn and become the better person that God intended me to be. The verse for me to remember is in Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV):

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

I must repent from my old ways. I must ask God to renew my mind. I must persist on growing up in the spirit.

What am I personally doing to protect unity in my church family right now?

The Purpose Driven Life, p. 167

I am in a warm and loving church because everyone cares about Christ, the community, and others. Saddleback Church has been the forefront in caring for the homeless in Orange County, honours the civil servants such as fire fighters and police force, and preach the word of God actively to the world. The church also takes care of its congregation by providing me with convenient time to attend a service, over 500 ministries to try, over 5000 small groups to join up, and many support groups to help anyone in trouble. Pastor Rick and his pastoral staff teach practical bible-based ways to equip my life.

However, I belong to an imperfect church. Why? Because I am not perfect. I had been to churches where gossip was rampant. I was in a church where the pastoral staff was removed because “he sinned”, but the congregation never knew about it directly (too many secrets). I had been to a church that was too methodic and strict. I had also been to a church where the leaders worry about how the church would look from the outside, and everyone acted superficial. No church is perfect because the people are not perfect.

But, I must try to get along. I must try to give my best effort to help my brothers and sisters. I must give my time to nurture relationship and fellowship. I must try to be like Jesus, because Jesus loves His church. I must love other believers, as Jesus has paid with His blood to save us.

So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.

Romans 14:19 (NLT)