Devotional Time with God

In my life, I’ve seen my fair share of the “wilderness”.  It’s not always easy living.  The elements are not always hospitable.  Like the Israelites, I’m wandering around the desert, searching for the promise land.  Like them, I don’t always like it.  I grumble.  I veer off course once in a while, thinking I know what I’m doing.  I let my misguided judgment take over the decisions in life.  I don’t always consult God first.

This has some profound effect on how I deal with my family.  My attitude in the workplace can be self-centered.  Sometimes, I can forget that I’m in this world to spread the Good News and be God’s witness (Acts 1:8).  I’m not here for myself – I’m here for others, as well.

But I know God’s character:  He’s faithful.  God provides for me.  He wants me to put my trust in Him that everything shall pass.  It may take a while to mold my character.  It may take a while for me to realize that my pain is to be used for God’s glory.

God has a plan for me.   He wants me out of the wilderness.

Today I am giving you the laws and teachings of the LORD your God. Always obey them, and the LORD will make Israel the most famous and important nation on earth, and he will bless you in many ways. The LORD will make your businesses and your farms successful. You will have many children. You will harvest large crops, and your herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats will produce many young. You will have plenty of bread to eat. The LORD will make you successful in your daily work. The LORD will help you defeat your enemies and make them scatter in all directions. The LORD your God is giving you the land, and he will make sure you are successful in everything you do. Your harvests will be so large that your storehouses will be full. If you follow and obey the LORD, he will make you his own special people, just as he promised.

Deuteronomy 28:1-9

I know it takes faith to believe in God.  However, it takes more faith not to believe because what if I’m wrong?  I’m not perfect.  I’m not always right.  If there’s a higher power, wouldn’t I want to be on His side?

As a child, I was jaded.  I was invincible.  I felt I could do it all, in good health (even though not in perfect shape), and had a lot of years ahead of me.

Upon reflection, I was relying too much on myself.  I know now that God was looking after me.

I know God:

1. Exists
2. Cares about me.
3. Has the power to help me.

God has answered my prayers multiple times.  He knows my needs and have provided.  He will always provide because He has an infinite power.

Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

Luke 18:27

When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.

Isaiah 43:2

I see that bumper sticker graphics a lot: “NOTW”. It’s a clever graphics design that points out a cross in the middle of NOW – meaning “Christ NOW”.

I like it. It’s meaningful and relevant nowadays.

I know I live in a broken world.  I was born selfish and I need to grow up.  So now I know of the ways of this world.  I know of the evil characters and personalities that shaped this world.  God’s intention is to change all that, through me.

My life’s purpose is to serve others, that is my ministry – to use my God given talent.  What He shaped me to do, I must be willing to follow God’s directions.

But first I must change my conduct and character.  I must ask for God’s presence in me.  To keep me in check and in the right direction:

God has given us his Spirit. That’s why we don’t think the same way that the people of this world think.

1 Corinthians 2:12

I don’t want to have the destructive characters of this world. I want God’s that centers around love and patience.

When will I take the time to write down my answers to life’s five great questions? When will I put my purpose on paper?

The Purpose Driven Life, p. 319

I will write down my purpose on “paper” now in this blog.

1. What will be the center of my life?
   I thought about my family, then my career. But they are actually my secondary reasons, because Jesus must be first in my life since he is the alpha and omega – the beginning and the end. I started in this world by God’s creation. At the end, He wants me to fulfill His purpose. God is the one I turn to when I have troubles with my family and career. I report to a higher authority.
2. What will be the character of my life?
   The ultimate Jesus-like characters are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I must strive to be all of those and maintain those characteristics at all time. Not an easy task. I struggle with every single one of those, every day. I will have to get these characters carved out on a plaque and display them prominently in my house to remind myself daily.
3. What will be the contribution of my life?
   I must also be a helping hand to my community and my workplace. Helping others is one of my purpose. God gave my abilities to be used to help others.
4. What will be the communication of my life?
   I have my testimonies. I must share them with everyone and lead them to Jesus. I must remember the experiences when I depend on God for resolution. God is good, and people must know that.
5. What will be the community of my life?
   I must be involved in the church and my small group. It’s my fellowship with them. I must seek discipleship and accountability. I can not be a bench warmer at church to merely just simmer, sit, and sour. I must be a functioning member of the body of Christ.

This is my list of things to do. My first draft of my mission statement:

My life purpose is to use my abilities to serve others, be a functioning body of Christ, share my testimonies, develop Jesus’ character quality, and have God as the center of my life!

This statement will be my purpose statement, as I lead my generation for the glory of God.

What problem in my life has caused the greatest growth in me?

The Purpose Driven Life, p. 200

Searching through my memories, I can only come up with the unemployment experience as the defining moment of my life. But one incident is not enough to keep me growing. I know God has let many of life problems happen to me so that he may test my patience. I know this because the bible said in Romans 5:3-4 (NIV)

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

I recalled what happened in Feb 2005 when we tried to move to Orange County from San Diego. We had difficulties with the title companies, not responding quick enough to close escrow. Yantie was pregnant and very irritable. My real estate agent had his hands tied. We were at the mercy of the people who process the escrow paperwork. I remembered going to one of the title company in Aliso Viejo and my car’s MP3 player it was playing Jars of Clay‘s song “I’m in the Way“:

you sit and stare out at the sky
and think of ways to fake a smile
but life is never what it seems
sometimes it only takes a while

i’m in the way of fallin’ down
i won’t let you go that far now
i’m in the way of fallin’ down
i won’t let you go that far now

i won’t let you go

you think that hope was left behind
i picked it up a mile ago
i am running close behind
so don’t give up and don’t let go

God always catches me when I’m falling down. He’s always there when I’m trouble. The song lifted my spirits and reminded me that God would never let me down.

I managed to close escrow on both houses at the same time. My realtor said this was a very rare occasion that I could sell and buy at the same time. It was a timing that could only be achieved by God’s grace.

Now I look forward to my next problem, as it will serve a purpose. God’s will be done on me.

How can I help cultivate today the characteristics of real community in my small group and my church?

The Purpose Driven Life, p. 151

Developing a fellowship does take a whole lot of time and effort. Two people, or a group, do not know each other if they hardly spend any time together. I certainly can see this clearly as I have all sorts of shallow relationships with my co-workers, extended family, distant friends, and sometimes other church members. I need to be in constant touch with each other to get anywhere close. One of the goal of writing my blogs is to let everyone know how I am doing. But my blog is limited since it is a one-way street. I need to know what others are doing, by either comments or reading their own blogs. That’s not easy to encourage. It’s difficult enough to get them to read their emails, let alone blog!

Online relationship is a tough one to establish. I have to reach out in other ways, and mostly it means by physically meeting them. Face to face conversation is almost a lost skill these days, especially for a shy person like me. With God’s help, I will overcome this. I will focus on God to love my neighbours.

The 9 characteristics that I must follow are outlined in the book by Pastor Rick:

• Authenticity: I will share my true feelings
• Mutuality: I will encourage each other
• Sympathy: I will support each other
• Mercy: I will forgive
• Honesty: I will speak the truth in love
• Humility: I will admit my weakness
• Courtesy: I will respect my differences with others
• Confidentiality: I will not gossip
• Frequency: I will make the group as a priority

Verse to remember 1 John 3:16 (NIV)

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.