Devotional Time with God

The greatest way to show love for friends is to die for them.

John 15:13

I am a friend of God.  God is my friend. He longs for that relationship, that fellowship with me.

And He also gives His life to me, so I can be free.

It’s the ultimate sacrifice.  The price of love, Jesus’ way.  What a friendship.  I have a place in heaven because He gave His life for me.

For this, I’m extremely grateful and content.

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Titus 3:3–7

I see a lot of hate in this world. I see people are just simply unkind to another. I see people reject each other. It happens to me. I’ve committed the same sins, also, to others.

However, all I have to do is look at Jesus. Focus my eyes on Him. I’m so valuable to Him, that He died for me. That’s not hate on the cross – that’s the greatest love of all!  He gave me everything.

That’s grace.

God is good – all the time! He does all things with a purpose. I’ll let His will be done.

Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good. How I long for your precepts! In your righteousness preserve my life. May your unfailing love come to me, LORD, your salvation, according to your promise; then I can answer anyone who taunts me, for I trust in your word.

Psalm 119:39-42

I praise God that I have Him to love me, abundantly.  He’s the only one who can do it. I can’t rely on other people, but they have limited love to give. I have to put God first because He’ll always be there for me.

I hold on to God’s promise for my salvation. Nothing can be more gratifying and comforting! Anyone can insult me. Anyone can hate me. Anyone can ignore me. But God will never do those things. He will always be with me and love me.  I thank God for that promise.

Thank you, Lord, for your grace and love. I can’t begin to imagine what happened if I don’t have you. My life would be unstable. I would get angry way too often. I would have given up way too soon. Thank you for the patience you’ve shown me. And thank you for the good people you’ve surrounded me with.  Pour your love to me, Lord. Fill me with your love. Amen.

An interesting thing happens today: I was actually enjoying my day at work, talking with and helping my co-workers.  I’m usually an introvert, like to keep things to myself, but for some reason, I just felt like I needed to be more friendly.

Maybe, hopefully, to a point that I love them enough that I care about how they feel.

Perhaps it’s too much, but it is the most satisfying feeling. The day passed by without me having a heavy heart. I come home feeling refresh than ever.  I don’t raise my voice and I feel confident.

Perhaps that’s what Jesus meant when He said to attain a greater goal by:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22:37-39

I must first love God, then love others.  Good advice. And the reward is immense!

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Philippians 1:27a

Everyday, I need to conduct myself in a manner that is consistent and worth of Jesus. When Jesus said, love others, I must do that to all of my co-workers, neighbors, and even my so-called enemies!  When Jesus said “follow me”, I must put Him as a priority in my life above all others, including my own family!

Lord, please help me be do’er of your word. Let me be the light that shines for you. I’m building this lighthouse on a solid foundation of Jesus Christ, the maker of all things right. Thank you for your guidance and strength. Amen.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

James 3:13

Does knowing God’s word and understanding what He wants is all I need to know?  Of course not.  Firstly, God has a much better purpose for me. The only way I can fulfill this purpose is by doing His will. I do the work, not to get as much credit for myself.  The work needs to be done with God’s love, not mean spirited, nor with complaints. The work needs to be done with the knowledge that it’s God’s command, not my selfish desire to be seen as wise.

In Mark 9:33-35, Jesus was asked who, among the disciples, were the greatest. His answer was simply whoever is last and servant of all, is the best.

It’s quintessential Jesus. I have a pride to want to be the best in everything. I want to be recognized as someone who leads the way. I want to be first in line.  But Jesus is always humble. He never wanted to be famous. He only wanted to serve humanity. He only wants us to serve each other.

God’s promise is to make me better if I serve others and be humble.

I can’t be better in God’s eye if I only serve myself. I have to change my attitude and be humble, and serve others.  It’s also His command, indirectly.  It is also Jesus’ great example, as He’s the one who’s willing to sacrifice himself to save humanity.

I pray that God gives me strength to be able to resist the temptation of pride. The temptation to be above everyone else and not be sympathetic to others. I pray that God gives me an overwhelming love so I may see others without contempt.

I am thankful God is with me. I am thankful for Jesus.  I am last, so Jesus can be first in my life.

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

Psalm 119:18

When I hear the word “law”, I recall other words like, strict, constrained, abuse, captivity – basically, the opposite of freedom.  It’s refreshing to see how the Bible calls God’s law as wonderful. God’s law is here to protect me. It gives me comfort in knowing that I’ll be doing the right thing. It gives me guidance that I’m heading in the right direction.

So how do I follow God’s law? Just open my eyes. Open my eyes so I can see God’s miracles. Open my eyes so I can see God’s here to help us.  Open my eyes so I can see God’s purpose for my life.

Like Jesus’ parable of the leper, Mark 1:40-45, I probably would not be able to contain my joy and happiness when Jesus heal my sickness.  I would shout it out to the world. Tell everyone. God’s miracle has to be shared. God needs to be known.

When my eyes are open, my heart is open. When I receive God in my heart, I’ll have no trouble sharing Him to the world.

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.

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