Devotional Time with God

I have this bad habit of losing my focus.  My thoughts constantly wander around from one idea to another.  I suppose it’s a product of my wild imagination, but it’s also a lack of discipline and meditation.

Luckily, the bible has some encouragement for me:

Fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.

Philippians 4:8

Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.

Proverbs 4:23

Fix your thoughts on Jesus.

Hebrews 3:1

It’s so easy to stray from the Lord.  This world facilitates the way to hell.  People tend to sin, and most of the time, they want to take me with them!

In dark times like this is when I really need to guard my heart.  Only Jesus can give me that peace of mind (Philippians 4:7).  Only God can protect me from the dangers that my dark heart desires.  I need the Lord to cleanse my heart and let Him be the ruler of my life (1 Peter 3:15).

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Philippians 4:8

Lord, I give thanks to you.   I lift my praise to you.  In my time of trouble, in my time of darkness, in my time of sin – I want  you to get me out of there!  Help me, God.  I can’t do this on my own.  Cleanse me.  Fill me with your spirit.  Make me be right again in your eyes.  Give me the strength to go on.  Amen.

I’ve seen (and felt) what my bad habits can do to my spiritual, mental, and physical health.  I got too much stress, too much resentment, too much doubts that led me to be distant from family, friends, and God.  It doesn’t have to be this way.  There are better ways to get better.

Focus on changing my character defect, one at a time.

There are many areas I have to tackle, but I can’t change them all at the same time.  I have to pick one, perhaps the easiest one, like eating too much junk food.  Then I’ll get into the tougher ones, like looking at questionable material on the internet.  Eventually I’ll overcome the big one: my hot temper.

Focus on success, one day at a time.

I can’t forsee the future.  I don’t know what’s going to happen.  That’s up to God’s will.  But what I can control is my actions today.  The Lord’s prayer says, “Give us our daily bread.”  One day, today, I can make it happen for the better.

Focus on God’s power.

He’s the source of my strength.  God’s character is my goal and model.  My strength is insufficient.  I need God’s power to add to my willpower.  If I need change, I need God to steer me to the right direction.

Focus on the good things.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Phillipians 4:8

The good things are the only thing worthwhile doing.  I only have so much time and energy.  Staying positive will only bring joy and happiness.

Focus on doing good.

What good have I done for you lately?  That’s the question I should be asking everyone.  Today I have to continue to build relationships, continue to be a peace maker, and continue to be helpful.  My tendency is to make myself feel good.  I must stop being selfish.  I must continue to do the right thing.

Focus on people who help.

People can hinder my progress.  They can be critical, judgmental, and down right unhelpful.  These are the ones I want to be associated with.  They’ll just slow me down, and will one day take me down completely!  I have to surround myself with kind, compassionate, and Godly people, for they’ll help me change and grow for the better.

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

1 Corinthians 15:33

Focus on progress.

I’m not a perfectionist.  Sometimes I say “Good enough is good enough.”  I’m taking this step to keep myself sane and not stress over the little things.  I can imagine the amounts of energy and time required to be “perfect” in everything.  I know God loves me for who I am.  I don’t have to be perfect in His eyes.  I just have to be believe and be willing to change.  When God is shaping me, that’s progress for me.

Being a parent is full of life’s trials.  I just don’t know what to expect from my child. As a toddler, she’s adventurous, curious, and brave.  She’ll try to explore everything and do anything, on her own!  When she discovered she could run, she ran – a lot!  As a 40-year old, it’s tough for me to keep up!  One thing I observed she likes to do is to let go of my hand when crossing the street, or walking on the parking lot.  Both my wife and I have this huge fear of her being struck by a car.  It was a common occurrence, we heard so many stories about accidents with children and cars.  I’m so worried, I’ll raise my voice, and sometimes spank my child, so that she’ll listen and hold on to my hand while crossing the street.

Then I realized, God is doing the same to me!  He would tell me with a “loud voice” and “spanking” to get my attention that danger is ahead.  He’ll tell me through grief and pain.  They’re the loudest signal God can ever send to me.  He wants to hold on to my hands while I cross that busy street, or unpredictable parking lot.  He knows what’s ahead because He’s bigger, and I’m not.

Once He gets a hold of me, I don’t have to worry any more!  I have to let God hold me.

He’s in control.  Always will be!

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Phillipians 1:4-6

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

Also known as self-discipline, it’s an aspect of life that I’ve always struggled with.  By nature, I’m selfish, emotional, and reckless.  Those bad traits have driven me to look for things that offered instant gratification, such as buy useless gadgets, watch pornography, eat junk food, etc.  I used to think it was a struggle that no one could understand.  The bible proves that it’s a very common problem:

But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions).

James 1:14

This world is inherently evil.  Sin lurks in every corner.  Satan has dominion over this earth and it shows by the kinds of temptations available everywhere.

But God is good.  He gives me the strength to bear these temptations.  He gives me the wisdom to know when to say NO to evil.  He gives me grace to forgive me when I fall flat on my face after tripping from sin.  God knows how weak I am.  I’m holding on to His promise of hope that I can handle this:

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

If I had to look back in my teenage and college years, I could use a lot of self-control and discipline.  I wouldn’t have wasted a lot of my life on stupid decisions.  However, God calls me and constant me reminds me to keep my eye on Jesus.  He is my prize, my end-game, my eternal salvation.

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14

At Saddleback Church, we’re starting a new series called 40 Days of Love.  It’s a study of how we, as Christians, must learn to love, in any situation, at any time.  Key verse is:

Let everything you do, be done in love.

1 Corinthians 16:14

The bible says, EVERYTHING.  In any event.  With anyone.  Even when I don’t feel like it.   In fact, when I’m not feeling particularly loving is when I’m suppose to ask God for guidance and correction.  God loves me for who I am.  He loves everybody, even the ones who have gone astray.  God is love and He makes me as His image, so it’s only natural that I’m also loving.  The practice of love is to prepare for heaven.

So why is it sometimes difficult for me to love others?  My ego and pride have a lot to do with it.  People have a tendency to be un-loving.  That’s the problem.  What must I do to overcome this?  First I have to know what love is.

1. Love is a choice and commitment.
2. Love is action, not just emotion.
3. Love is a skill I can learn.

Knowing this, then I must become good with love and improve my relationship with others.  It can be done.

1. I must commit to growing spiritually.  Maturity is key.
2. I can learn from how Jesus loves.  He’s the perfect role model for love.
3. I must practice the skill.   It’s not easy, but I can try, daily.
4. I have to develop the habit.   In this 40 days study, I can learn to be good in love.
5. I must trust God to help.  God’s love is abundant and everlasting, and I must let His love flow through me.

I’m ready, God, to love this world and all of its shortcomings.   Please help me!

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation – the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ, for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

Phillipians 1:9-11

This week is a special week.  It is Easter and it’s the time to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection.  He has conquered death and took away our sins, so we can all have the promises of heaven.  This is the time to believe in Jesus.  For me, this is the time to reinforce my faith by doing these:

• Follow His example
• Accept His grace
• Invest my life for Him
• Trust His wisdom and strength
• Hold on to His promises

When I follow Jesus, I’m given the clarity for my future and He’ll provide the stability when storms happen in my life.  I must also cry out to God whenever I need help, and without fail, He’ll provide His grace because it’s what I need.  I don’t deserve God’s grace but He gives it no matter what.  With His grace I must then give my life to serve God and others.  It’s an investment with high returns.  Believing in God means trusting Him with everything.  Not just try to believe… I must wholeheartedly trust Him.  When I trust Him, I’ll have no worries.  I love that God has given me a promise of eternal life, and it gives me hope and purpose to live in this broken world.

Dear Jesus, I want to have a real faith in you, not a fake faith.  Thank you for dying for my sins and showing me the way to live.  Today I want to become a true believer in you.  I want to follow your example.  I want to accept your gift of grace.  I need your forgiveness and mercy.  You made me for a purpose and I want to invest my life in serving you.  I want to trust your wisdom and strength.  And I want to hold on to your promises when times are tough.   Amen. 

In the lowest times of my life, I had felt very isolated and lonely. I had been through fights with my wife, siblings, and friends. The feeling was just awful. I felt no one understands me; no one cared how I feel. This is the time when I feel very distant from God, as if He doesn’t care about me. As God has pointed out to me, the reason I get into these conflicts is because I feel I don’t have my needs (and wants) taken care of. I’m always thinking about me. I’m prideful and sinful. So what if I can’t get that expensive gadget I’ve been wanting? So what if I’m feeling ill, my wife is not able to attend to my every need? So what if my co-workers do not cut me any slack? The world doesn’t revolve around me. I must not grumble! In fact, I must seek God and cry out to him, “What do you want me to do, Lord? What are your plans for me? What are you trying to teach me?”

As long as I rest my troubles with God, I’m comforted by the fact that He will take care of them for me.

How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
…
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.

Psalm 13:1-6

This weekend’s sermon by Pastor Rick and Tom Holladay is a very important one to me. It deals with money. It’s always been a problem in our family when it comes to dealing with the issues relating to money. It’s a cause for division, cause for arguments, cause for insecurities, cause of pain. In the message, the lack of money, or being in debt, is the focus of his sermon. God has a lot to say about managing my money. First and foremost, I must look to God when I have issues with money. I must trust God to provide for my needs. He gave me everything, in the first place, to glorify His name, as written in Romans 11:36

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever!

Then Paul wrote in Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

God will meet all of my needs! Not wants, not desires, not indulgence. Needs! He never lets me astray. He never lets me down. If He does take things away from me, it’s because He’s testing my character.

I have to ask myself: who should I look for to get more money? Everything on this earth belongs to God. It’s not by my own talent or luck that I get more money. It all comes from God because it’s His to give in the first place. He is trusting His riches on earth to me so I may use it to help others. Money is a tool to do good.  As long as I use money to do God’s work, He will always provide for me.