Devotional Time with God

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.

I get a lot of grief and pain – all sorts of shapes and sizes.  My past relationships have given me grief, by thinking about what I coulda and shoulda done.  I get pain from dealing with my so-called friends and family, which I would harbor to distance myself from a lot of potentially good people in my life.

God works with grief and pain to send wake up calls to me.   I did and said a lot of stupid things.  The grief would surface to remind me that I didn’t have to think about the past.  I just need to learn from it, and not make the same mistake again.   God would let pain happen, but physically and emotionally, to help me understand consequences of my actions.

Inevitably, I’m not in control.  There were times when I took the wheel and be the driver of my life.  I crashed and burned!  Then I would blame God for letting it happen.  Then I realized, it was my fault in the first place.  I didn’t let God control me. Only bad things happen when it was just about me, myself, and I.

Only God has the power to help me change.

I must mourn for my loss of control.  I must mourn for my grief and pain – and let them go.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Matthew 5:4

As Obama is about to take office as President of the United States, I’m concerned about the future of this nation.  As a young President who is bent on using “change” as the platform of his administration, I can’t help but wonder if it’ll be a change for the better?  Is it a change to remove Christian values out of the government?  Is it a change to give entitlement to everyone without the need of hard work or sacrifice?  Is it a change to say and do whatever we like, as long as it pleases everybody?

My prayer for this nation is the people must turn their attention to God.  Under God, this nation is indeed indivisible and strong.  God instills values that have far reaching implications to everyone’s lives.  God provides guidance that are far more valuable than a human being can ever do.  In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God said:

If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.

Turn to Him and change.  It’s that simple.  How can I change?  The verse said:

1. We must confess with humility.
2. We must pray with tenacity.
3. We must seek God with intensity.
4. We must repent with sincerity.

God, you are the master of this universe.  You are the ruler of this nation.  You are the head of my family.  You are everything to me.  I thank you that we have freedom of choice in this country.  I thank you that we have peace and prosperity.   I complain too much about our “hardship” and not put my trust on you.  For that I’m sorry and ask for your forgiveness.  I’m nothing without you.  I turn to you, God, for my troubles and I seek the change that can only come from you.  Only you can change me for the better.  Here I am, use me.  In Jesus name, I pray.  Amen.

Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today?

The Purpose Driven Life, p. 40

There two things certain on this earth: taxes and death. There is nothing I can do to avoid them. But there is something I can do with the life that I have now. God put me here to lead others to Christ, to love one another, and to continually worship Him. I don’t have to stress over petty things, such as caring too much about my retirement money, or whether I’ll ever visit Australia. The eternal life in heaven has to be the focus of my life, as I prepare for it on earth. In Philippians 3:7 (NLT), Paul said:

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.

Jesus has shown the way to live on this earth, so I may copy His wonderful life. Jesus has died for me, so I may live forever in heaven. I just have to follow Jesus! That’s what I’ll do.