Devotional Time with God

The bible do taught me a radical idea: Love my enemies (Luke 6:35).  I often ask myself, how can God ask me to do that? I’ve been hurt. I’ve been mocked. I’ve been cast out.  I’ve been trampled upon.

How can I not seek revenge? How can I just sit here and take it – and worse, forgive and love them back?

First of all, God does bless the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9), so I shouldn’t have enemies in the first place if I focus on making peace – with anyone.  Does it mean I don’t fight back when I’m being persecuted? Of course not – I have to defend myself because God has plans for me and He will rescue me in times of trouble, if it so fit His will.

I’m not the judge or executioner. I’m just in a journey to be more like Jesus – and He’s the ultimate peace maker, walking among sinners and enemies.

Jesus is love – and all I need is Jesus. He forgives my sin and wipe away my tears and hopelessness. Thus, all I need is love!

Most important of all, you must sincerely love each other, because love wipes away many sins.

1 Peter 4:8

There is one thing that keeps me awake at night:  Unfinished business.  Things I have not wrapped up. Problems I have not solved. People I have not reconciled. Or tasks I have not completed.  It doesn’t have to be multiple issues either – one problem is enough to keep me awake at night.

I do this because I have a sense of responsibility. I have a standard to keep.  I try not to procrastinate.  I genuinely care what happens tomorrow, so I have to clean up what I did today.  There are certain things that’s beyond my control, I get that, but those that are in my grasp, I have to get a handle of it and resolve it before the night’s end.

I imagine myself, although not as bold, as Jesus praying at the garden of Gethsemane, until He sweats of blood (Luke 22:44). That must’ve been one agonizing prayer, and why not – it’s the salvation of all human kind!  Then when Jesus was at the cross, His last words were “It is finished!” (John 19:30) For Jesus, it was death as the final rest, for all of His tasks on earth. Of course, my end of day’s rest is not as dramatic, but I can symbolize my sleep as a point when I can say it is finished – no more probem, no more conflict, no more things to do.  Tomorrow will be a good day!

There is one universal need for all humanity: A need to worship.  It can be anything, or anyone.  Unfortunately, most people choose anything other than the one true God, Jesus Christ.  It’s a pity, because I’ve experienced the life changing effect of God’s word and grace. He’s there when I talk to Him. He gives me strength when I need Him. His word, the Bible, tells me a lot of about myself and how I should behave.

The fruit of my spirit is patience and self-control.  I don’t know how many times I’ve managed my anger issues, and my impulsiveness, through God’s guidance.  I wouldn’t be able to do it – as my youthful years were proof of it.

Now that I’m fully committed to following God’s word, I’m fully enveloped in His glory and safety. My faith is strengthen by each passing moment. I’m reaching my goal – my heavenly goal, sooner than I think.  Life is fleeting and I want to spend it in God’s presence.  For I need a stable life. I need a changed life, away from this world.

Nothing is impossible with God! (Luke 1:37)

Josh Etter quoted D. A. Carson about us mistaking we can “drift” towards holiness.

We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.

It’s easy to be on the sidelines and watching other Christians do God’s work.  I need to get involved. I need to take a bigger role. I need to spend more time.

I need to try harder!

God’s grace is a given.  But to gain His rewards, I must run to get them!

Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’
“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

Luke 12:18-21

Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and favor with men.

Luke 2:52

Jesus led with the example. As a man, He’s telling me, to grow mentally and intellectually. I must have learning goals. I must know what I need to do to increase my knowledge. Not just for myself, but for the good of the Lord.

Then physically I need to grow in physical health.  As the old saying goes, Men sana in corpore sano: In a healthy body there can be a healthy mind. I must take care of my body. Lose weight, lower blood pressure, avoid diabetes, avoid having a stroke. I must get in shape.

Also, I need to take care of my finances. This goes on without saying, as we need money to survive in this world. However, money doesn’t have to be the master of my life.  The bible said in Matthew 6:24, I can’t serve two masters.  Also in 1 Chronicles 29:9, I give my offering willingly to the Lord, when the leaders asked for the rebuilding of the house of the Lord.  Money is a tool to be used.  But first I need to create wealth – not take wealth.

Last, but not least, I must have a healthy relationship with others. Building a strong character means getting along with people. Being a leader means having a follower and be liked & loved. I must be kind to others and help whoever I can.

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

To get where I’m going, I need to know what is it, exactly, that I want.  I must ask:

1. What do I want to be?
2. What do I want to do?
3. What do I want to have?
4. Why do I want it?

I can’t be asking God for anything and everything.  Even though God knows what I need or want, He wants to know if I know what I want.  I need to keep my motivation in check.  God will provide the way.

I want to be a father who can provide for my family for the next 30 years to come, until I retire.  I want to provide wise advice in terms of finance, education, and life experiences.  I want to have an abundant life, so I may share with or help others.  I want all of this so I can be a good example to other people what a Christ-centered family look like.

The reward is in heaven (Luke 6:23). This world is a temporary. My reward here is nothing compared what’s waiting for me in heaven.  I must keep my eye on the heavenly prize.

Many times when I pray, I always wander off and talk to God about “world peace”, “healing”, and “forgiveness”.  Another words, I always talk in generality.  God knows exactly what I need or want, so I really don’t have hide around those vague words.  I should just come out and say exactly what I want!

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

Luke 18:40-41

“Lord, I want to see.”  Right to the point!  Expect a miracle.  Have faith!

Lord, I want a baby boy!  Lord, I want my parents to live another 30 years!  Lord, I want this bad back to heal!

Romans 8:32 said, there’s nothing God won’t do for me.  He already gave His only Son for me!

Living in Southern California, it’s easy to get caught up in a self-worth race.  Looking around, people have bigger houses, bigger yards, bigger cars – and undoubtedly, bigger bank accounts.  Looking rich is looking good.  Even a dish washer in a restaurant drives a Lexus!

This obsession to have more is unhealthy.  All of this “stuff” that I have is merely on loan.  My God, the master of the universe, is the owner (Luke 16:12).  I don’t take my possessions to heaven.

I need to be different from this world.  I need to be transformed (Romans 12:2).  My thinking about money is to be directed towards bringing people to God.  It’s the way to store up my “treasures” in heaven (Matthew 6:20-21).

I need to be investing for eternity.

All of my life, I see my parents try hard to accumulate wealth.  They became wealthy, but had no time for family.  We were taken care of financially, but we were emotionally empty.  Now that I have my own family, I vowed not to fall into that trap.  I may be financially OK, but at least I can come home every night and weekends with my wife and kid.  We can still go vacation together and feel very close to each other.

The bible tells me that my “life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15). This world is fleeting.  It will come to pass and I’ll be with God after all of my days here.  Accumulation of possessions will be meaningless in heaven.

I need to accumulate love.  Love for my family, others, and that of the Father in heaven.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If you love the world, love for the Father  is not in you.   For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful people, the lust of their eyes and their boasting about what they have and do—comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

1 John 2:15-17

When my toddler got her first illustrated bible from the church, I thought it would make a good introduction for her.  I would read chapter by chapter each day (short ones), and she would get excited about looking at the pictures of Moses, Noah’s Ark, Jesus and His disciples.

When I get to the section called “The True King”, it illustrated a donkey and Jesus riding it during Passover Feast.  It’s outlined in the books of Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:29-42, and John 12:12-19.  The picture of the donkey is cute and we got a kick out of looking at it.  I said to myself, that’s odd why they would focus on this donkey.

As it turns out, the donkey (and the subsequent Jesus arrival to Jerusalem on it) was prophesied earlier in Isaiah 21:7.  Jesus had fulfilled that prophecy.

The Bible confirmed Jesus is the one true king, as shown by God’s vision.