Devotional Time with God

Yesterday, I attended a National Day of Prayer mini-service at Saddleback Church.  Pastor Rick Warren gave us a message on what I must do to heal America.

1. Confess with humility.
2. Pray with tenacity.
3. Seek God with intensity.
4. Repent with sincerity.

It’s written in 2 Chronicles 7:14

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

Lord, I humble myself and earnestly seek you, God. I’m not strong enough to handle problems in this world, by myself.  I want to repent from my wicked thoughts and actions. Guide me in my every step, and forgive my every missteps. Thank you, Jesus!  Amen.

To get to where I want in life, there are a few more steps I have to do.

I have to identify the issues and barriers preventing me from reaching my potential or goal. I have to know what’s stopping me.  I have to ask why am I not there yet.  Who or what is holding me back.   I know family obligations are my anchor in proceeding with my ministry.  Dividing up the time between work and home is a challenge.

Then I’ll need to make a step by step plan on how to get where I want.  How do I intend to get there?  It’s no point for me to do everything all at once. I must do something first things first.  It’s a quite difficult thing to write down by step by step plan, as I’m unsure what to do in my case of the family holding me back.  First thing I have to do is definitely pray about it.

Going through my plan will require patience and persistence.  So with the family obligations, I believe I need to wait for my wife to grow in spiritual maturity. There are just so many trust and faith issues that I have to deal with.  It’s best that I let God work His grace on both of us.  Never give up on expecting God’s provisions on us.

I’m also not alone in this struggle.   I will need to get my friends involved.  Since I’m in a new city, it’s difficult to find a “best friend” I can confide with.  But I am in a small group bible study that can provide support. Even though they’re limited in what they can do, they can provide prayer and share their experience.

Finally, I need to pay the price.  This is the ultimate scary moment for me.  I need to know at what cost is God’s ministry?  What am I willing to give to others?  Will it be worth it?   It’s God’s commandment to help others so it will be worth it.  My most valuable resource is my time, so that will be my sacrifice in order to reach my goal.

Lord, thank you for making it clear that I have to help others and set it as my goal in life.  You expect me to do this, so I’m confident you will show me the way.  Open the path, God. Remove the barriers. I have my step by step list, but let your will be done first.  Let my faith grow as I wait for the answers.  Thank you for the small group support.  I’m willing to pay the price.  Please use me and give me the courage to say Yes to you, Lord.  In your name I pray.  Amen.

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.

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.

Mark 14:38

Jesus tells me to be watchful, and pray, on a daily basis, if I don’t want to fall back into my sinful nature.  I can prevent this relapse in poor judgment.  I can prevent this relapse into bad habits.  I have to ensure that I develop good habits.

First, I must always evaluate myself:

1. Physically
2. Emotionally
3. Relationally
4. Spiritually

If any of these don’t feel right, I must pray God reveal His will and steer me back into the right direction.

Then, I must meditate on God’s word on a daily basis.  It doesn’t take much.  Five minutes will work.  As long as I have that quiet time with Him, I’m moving a step closer to His perfection.  To meditate, I must:

1. Reverse worry:  Produce positive thoughts – think it, say it, over and over.
2. Listen: Slow down and hear God’s speaking to my heart.
3. Memorize: Know my bible verses so I can use them to fight sin. (Psalm 119:11)

Finally, I must pray about everything!  Nothing is too big or too small for God.  He’s creator of all things good.  I have to ask, then I shall receive.

Jesus, thank you for the strength you provided me today.  I fight off the temptation to sin.  I fight off my tendencies to do what’s wrong and lazy.  All because you’re in my heart.  I want your peace, God  I want to reach your perfection.  Lift up my spirits, Lord.  Lead the way so I shall not relapse.  Amen.

We are all selfish, by nature. It takes a lot discipline, love, and God’s grace to be kind, sharing, and helpful person.  I thank God every day I’m able to teach my daughter how to listen and share with her friends.  I try to teach her to have awareness of others around her, including towards the adults.  She needs to be aware of other people’s troubles and problems.

She’s a very strong willed child and have short attention span, so I struggle with teaching her to listen attentively.  I say my breath prayers all the time to keep me calm and patient.  Sometimes, I lose my temper, and it’s important I show her that I’m humble to ask for forgiveness.

But all in all, it’s worth the trouble.  I love my daughter so much that I’ll sacrifice my time and effort to teach her this virtue.  God wants to help me to build her up, just as He does to me.

Lord, it’s not easy, going against my nature, to think about other people.  We are all selfish, and always think about ourselves.  Help me deal with this daily struggle.  Help me to help others, especially my daughter, to become a builder of relationships, an instrument of kindness, and a foundation based on Jesus’ teachings and laws.  Thank you for the life you’ve given us.  Amen.

Who could I ask to be a spiritual partner to help me defeat a persistent temptation by praying for me?

The Purpose Driven Life, p. 216

My best friend is my wife. She prays for everything that involves the family. I’ve asked her to pray for my health, intercede for me, and keep me awake when I’m starting to fall asleep on the wheel (literally and figuratively). However, I do need another person to help pray for and disciple me, especially from a male perspective. I may ask one of the men in my small group (Jeff?). It is always helpful to have more people praying for my well being. I’m not trying to hog God’s blessings, but as God said, if two or more pray, He will be among us.

I love to have God’s presence in my life, all the time! When I focus on God’s will, there’s a way out of temptation.

What common task could I start doing as if I were doing it directly for Jesus?

The Purpose Driven Life, p. 68

I wake up earlier than Yantie, around 7:30am. This means from the time I open my eyes and arriving at work, I have no one to talk to. Sometimes I feel lonely. This is what I imagine God will feel if none of His creation wants to talk to Him. God wants me to talk Him, so I always try to say a little prayer after I opened my eyes. It’s not a long prayer, but it’s a way for me to connect with God and start off my “worship” session. Psalms 105:4 (NIV) said,

Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

He is the source of my strength when the world fails me. He is the comforter, through His grace and compassion. I love Jesus with all of my heart, for it gives Him pleasure.

This is something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. Part of growing up in Christ, I was taught to write down a journal or diary, to record what I’ve learned from God and what has Jesus done for me. I’ve seen testimonies from others in the church who shared how much this has helped them in their spiritual growth.

Traditionally, we would write on a journal book, but since this is Web 2.0, I’ve installed a new WordPress site to store my devotional blog! This will make it easier for me to record my thoughts — and search for specific topics/words too. I will start slow, with posts every week or so, and then build up to daily. With God’s inspiration, I will be able to communicate what I learned from my time with God.