Devotional Time with God

To be a Christian, I have to be like Jesus Christ.  To be like Jesus, I have to love like Him. He’s kind and gentle with others, believers and non-believers alike.  Even to those who mocked and beat Him!

It’s tough to love others, especially when they don’t love me back.  But it is commanded (Galatians 5:14).  It’s what God’s love is all about.  God uses others to mold my character and to test my faith.

How I behave around others is important too:

Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive  so that you will have the right response for everyone.

Colossians 4:5-6

It’s all about love – loving God, and loving others.

Back in the 80’s when I was growing up, there’s always a group of people who could influence my way of doing things.  They were, unfortunately, my high-school friends.  The Church didn’t have a strong influence.  In fact, it was quite passive.  In addition, the media on TV and radio has a strong influence, they were coolest thing to see and hear.  In today’s fast paced and Internet-connected society, it’s quick & easy to pass around information.  I obtained ideas, opinions, and commentaries faster today than I ever did back then.  Those are the strong influencers now.

My character was molded by someone else.

But it’s time to turn to creator, who molded me from his own image (Genesis 1:27), to set me back on track to the Heaven.  It’s time to develop convictions (Romans 12:2) that deeply motivates me to do the right thing for God and for love.  It’s time to develop Christ-like character, and develop habits that bring fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Beautiful Lord, Wonderful savior
I know for sure all of my days are held in your hands
Crafted into your perfect plans

You gently called me into your presence
Guiding me by Your Holy Spirit
Teach me dear Lord to live all of my life
Through your eyes

I’m captured by your holy calling
Set me apart. I know you’re drawing me to yourself
lead me, Lord. I pray

Oh Take me, mold me, use me, fill me
I give my life to the potter’s hand

Oh Call me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me
I give my life to the potter’s hand

You gently call me into your presence
Guiding me by your holy spirit
Teach me dear lord to live all of my life through your eyes

I’m captured by your holy calling
Set me apart. I know you’re drawing me to yourself
lead me, Lord. I pray

Oh Take me, mold me, use me, fill me
I give my life to the potter’s hand

Oh Call me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me
I give my life to the potter’s hand

Hillsong Australia, “Potter’s Hand”

Since this blog is devoted to God, the answer is pretty simple:

I must please God!

But more often, I struggle with that simple objective.  I struggle because I also live with thousands of other people in this world!   The truth of the matter is, those people have some influence over my life.  They can (and sometimes will) dictate what I do and say.

It doesn’t this way.  People matter, yes, but they must not be above God.  God’s approval must be above people’s opinions.  God is the ruler of my life.   He’s the provider and protector of me.

It doesn’t matter what people say.  It matters what God says.

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Galatians 1:10

Greg Laurie, one of my favorite Christian pastor and teacher, wrote a devotional about the fruit of the spirit.  It’s a well known passage among Christians.  The passage is in Galatians 5:22 and it’s one of verse that’s difficult to apply in my life.  Essentially, the fruit of the spirit ought to be automatic if I’m a true follower of Christ.  But sometimes, I fall short.  I quote Pastor Greg:

Instead of love, is there hatred, bitterness, or even prejudice in your life? Instead of joy, is there constant gloom? Instead of peace, is there turmoil? Instead of gentleness, is there a short temper? Instead of faith, is there endless worry? Instead of meekness, is there pride and arrogance? Instead of self-control, are you a victim of your own passions?

But here’s the kicker:

If so, then either you don’t know God at all or a recommitment to Christ would be in order.

If I fall short, I need to recommit to Jesus!  I thought once I’m saved, I’m done.  Apparently, it’s not enough!  My salvation must bear fruit.  Otherwise, I’m not truly saved.

I need to evaluate my heart.  Not just in the physical sense, but in an emotional sense.  I have to do this daily to make it effective.  Here are my confession:

Am I Hurting?

I sometimes think about the past, and wondered what if I should have done things differently.  I should have taken better care of my body so I don’t feel so frail in this old age.  I should have studied more, so I could get better grades and not disappoint my parents.

Am I Exhausted?

I thought about my past mistakes that led me into sleepless nights worrying.  I’d wake up tired in the morning.  When I just didn’t take care of myself, my mind started to entertain the thought that this life is just hopeless and pointless.  Low energy = Low self-esteem.

Am I Angry?

Commuting to work an hour each weekday is enough to give myself a chance to get angry on a daily basis.  Interaction with friends, family, and co-workers is enough to make me mad (and go mad).  There are situations that I’m just helpless, like the politics in this country (and my workplace too)!  Those things make me angry.

Do I Resent Anybody?

I sometimes wonder about the friends I made, and how they don’t want to be in touch anymore.  I sometimes wonder why family behaves badly.  When people takes me for granted, I’m just full of resentment.

Am I Tense?

The thoughts of not being in control will cause me to stress.  When I’m stressed, I get tense.  I’d repeat the negative thoughts, over and over, until it becomes a full blown worry.

When my heart is showing the full ugliness of my feelings, this is when I need to the H.E.A.R.T check. I ask myself those questions and do something to remove the bad elements in my heart.

When I can answer the above questions, my burdens will be lifted.

…Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23

I’ve made progress before in getting my spiritual life fixed up (with God’s help), and resisted temptations to revert back to my old selfish and angry self.  But sometimes, the devil got a hold of me.  Sometimes I’m vulnerable.  Sometimes I relapse.

The reasons I relapse are due to the following:

I revert back to my own willpower.  God is in control of my life, but sometimes I want to take the wheel back and steer my life in the direction I want.  Bad Idea.  If it’s not His will, I won’t.  I can’t be so foolish to go at it with my own power. (Galatians 3:3)

I ignore the need the exercises for recovery.  That includes:

1. Admitting I need Good
2. Acknowledging God has the power to change me
3. Making commitment to let Christ control and care for me
4. Examining myself openly and honestly and then confessing my faults,
5. Submitting to the changes God wants to make in me.
6. Repairing relationships.

I don’t use my support.  The bible says, in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, I need others to help me.  I need that special someone to help me go through my issues.  I need him (or them) there to listen and counsel me.

I became prideful.  For me, this is a difficult urge to fight.  After years of bad habit, I couldn’t just throw it out overnight.  It’ll take a lot of effort on my part to get over this weakness.  Being prideful will prevent me from seeking help. As the song said,

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will life you up.

James 4:10

I’ve recently started to ride my bicycle, every other day, to stay fit and build up my endurance.  I realize my body’s endurance is not going to be strengthen in a matter of days, or even weeks.  It’s going to take months of constant trying!

I feel the same way about my spiritual endurance.  There are days when I’ve felt the growth in my walk with God.  But what I really should be doing is to step it up, and run with God!  Increase the intensity, once in a while.

Growth comes in spurts.

Nevertheless, it’s still a long run.  God promised me the prize of eternal salvation, and perfection in heaven.  To get there, I must persist.  I must not be discouraged, nor be put off.

God’s marathon is worth living!

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philippians 3:12-14

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:9

We are all selfish, by nature. It takes a lot discipline, love, and God’s grace to be kind, sharing, and helpful person.  I thank God every day I’m able to teach my daughter how to listen and share with her friends.  I try to teach her to have awareness of others around her, including towards the adults.  She needs to be aware of other people’s troubles and problems.

She’s a very strong willed child and have short attention span, so I struggle with teaching her to listen attentively.  I say my breath prayers all the time to keep me calm and patient.  Sometimes, I lose my temper, and it’s important I show her that I’m humble to ask for forgiveness.

But all in all, it’s worth the trouble.  I love my daughter so much that I’ll sacrifice my time and effort to teach her this virtue.  God wants to help me to build her up, just as He does to me.

Lord, it’s not easy, going against my nature, to think about other people.  We are all selfish, and always think about ourselves.  Help me deal with this daily struggle.  Help me to help others, especially my daughter, to become a builder of relationships, an instrument of kindness, and a foundation based on Jesus’ teachings and laws.  Thank you for the life you’ve given us.  Amen.

There are many motivations when it comes to “serve” someone.  There’s the obvious one: money – straight up give me dollar bills for the value I gave you.  There’s to impress another person/people – I want to be known and famous.

And then there’s serving because of genuine love.

The bible says:

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Romans 12:9

The sincerity of love will bring out the need to serve others.  That’s what God wired us to do.  That’s my purpose.  As a father, I’m here to serve the needs of my wife and kid.  In my small group, I’m here to serve my fellow Christians.  In my community, I’m here to help my neighbors.  In this world, I’m here to be a good citizen.

I must serve another with LOVE!

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

Galatians 5:13

One of my worse personality flaw is my quickness to anger.  I was brought up in a realtively dysfunctional family, and my parents are not readily there to guide me in the ways of patience and humility.  They were not Christians back when I was growing up.   We are Christians now and we’ve been taught many times to keep our angry words and thoughts at bay.  The bible says:

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

James 1:19-20

God certainly doesn’t want me to be angry at another, let alone antagonize others.  I must first listen to God, listen to others, and listen to my own heart.  I need to let the spirit of God guide me.  The fruits of the spirit is love, gentleness, patience, and self-control.  It’s what I have to attain to deal with my anger issues.

Thank you, Lord, for filling my heart and mind with your holy spirit.  You know how many times I had burst in anger, being disrepectful, and hurtful to others.  Please forgive me, Lord.  Your kindness and patience towards me exemplifies what I have to do to others.  Guide me, as always.  Fill my heart with gentleness.  Give me the strength to gain self-control.  Provide me the gift of discernment and quick thinking to know the difference between right and wrong.  Let your words flow in me, and in all of us.  Amen.