Friday, February 26, 2010

We Belong to God

Read 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

When people look at us, do they see a glimpse of God? Think about it for a bit. Do they see that as we call ourselves Christian by name that we are living the Christian life? Now it is easy to think of all the hypocrites that we see at school or even at church. But STOP! What did the passage say? It said “do not pass judgment before the appointed time...” Alright, so don't judge right? But what does that even sound like in your head? We shouldn't be saying, “I'mnotgonnajudgeyou, I'mnotgonnajudgeyou, I'mnotgonnajudgeyou...” Instead we should be going to each other, “Hey brother (or sister), I see your struggle. And even though you sin, I'm also a sinner. But the great thing is that God loves you no matter what, so I'm going to love you no matter what.” But that doesn't mean we should ignore the sins in our lives. Don't forget we are serving The Most High God. Yes, God loves us no matter what. But as Christians, we are advocates for Christ. So just take a few moments and reflect upon what would Jesus do? (WWJD)

Read 1 Corinthians 4:6-7

When we read this passage, it should immediately humble us! Not only that, but we should be thankful for what God has given us! In all the hustle and bustle of doing things for youth group, for school, for our sports, and for each other we forget one very important thing. It somehow slips our mind that everything we have is from God. The clothes on our backs (and in our closets), our smarts, our families, our ability to play an instrument, to sing, to play sports. What do you have that you did not receive? What Paul writes is so very true! We have nothing without the grace of God! Every breath we take is a gift from God! The first question was like a front-hand slap to our face, but the second question is like the back-hand slap after the first slap. He asks, “If then you received it (I think all of us received everything from God), why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” This should shift the focus off of ourselves, and zoom in on what God did for us. Just think about the two questions that Paul asks us.

Read 1 Corinthians 4:8-13

I believe this section speaks to all of us living in the suburban area. Physically, we are provided for. We have clothes, we have food, we have shelters, we have water. We have those, and we have an upgraded living style. We have [stylish] clothes, we have[fast] food, we have [heated and air conditioned] shelters, we have [flavored] water, and on top of that we have cell phones and the Internet. Look how privileged we are! Look how comfortable we are! We live in contentment! But remember, we are servants of Christ. What we hold dear should be in God. Everything else in this world is worthless and we should not keep it close to us. And for that, people will be looking at us like we're crazy. After all, what we have is nice. But I think what all of us have in Heaven is far greater than anything we have in this world and far beyond what we have in our imaginations.

End with reading 1 Corinthians 4:14-21 and prayer.


Friday: Pray for the Church (Big C)
Pray for the Church to be bold and speak God’s truth with gentleness

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Can’t We All Get Along

Well, this week, I don’t really have a story for you guys…sorry! We’re studying the church of Corinth today and personally I really like this book in the Bible. So strap yourselves in because we’re gonna dive right into it.

Read 1 Corinthians 3

As many of you already know, the Corinthian church was infamous for its disunity. They were suffering divisions, as people chose which leader they wanted to follow; there were lawsuits (yeah they existed back then) and quarrels and a lot of immorality. The thing is though, that the Corinthian church was really doing a lot of things right. They were well known for being astute Bible scholars, with a deep understanding of the then blossoming New Testament. They even had all of the spiritual gifts present in their church. Gift of miracles, healing, speaking in tongues, leadership, etc. were all seen in the Corinthian church! Nobody wanted to miss the meetings and sermons because each time something amazing would happen in the name of the Lord. Also, more than anything, they understood the concept of Jesus Christ. They knew that when Jesus returned the world would be set right again, and the Corinthians did not delude themselves into thinking that they could fix the world by their own efforts. They knew that it was only through Jesus that salvation was attained and that they had been saved and justified by Jesus’ blood. Unfortunately, though, that knowledge proved to be their number one problem. The Corinthian church struggled with license. That means that they thought that because Jesus had saved them, they could do whatever they want. This is what caused the divisions, and whenever there are divisions in a church, no matter how good they are doing, they are pulled away from Jesus Christ.

These Corinthians followed men, not Christ, and this is what Paul is calling them out on in this passage. He basically says, sure you are saved, but when you are to be judged, the things that you had stored up on Earth, the temples you had built will be tested with fire. If it does not last, then you will only be someone barely pulled out of the flames, but saved nonetheless. Sure you are saved, but is that what you want, to be bereft of everything when you go to Christ, to have absolutely nothing to offer Him in return for your own salvation at the cost of His blood? Would you be able to face Him? What could you possibly say? This passage tells us something very important: we can either follow the world, or follow Christ. Neither can happen at the same time. Sure, God gives us license to choose and still end up in the same place, but one path is basically taking everything Jesus did for you and throwing back into his face, while the other path is an immersion with the one who gave everything so that one day He may party with you in Heaven. No, I shouldn’t even say “paths”, one is a road, and the other is a ravine. As a Christian, you should want to go down the road to Jesus. You are not obligated to, because that is meaningless to God. Let’s pray

Devotional Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, we pray that you light in us the fire to follow not the world or men, but Jesus. God, we thank you for the license that you have given us through Christ, but we beg that you keep us accountable so that we may not abuse it. Lord, fortify us, as we find ourselves once again at the crossroads between the flames and the Kingdom of Heaven. We love you and thank you once again. In your precious son’s name we pray. Amen.


Thursday: Pray for the church (small c)
God for your Sunday school teachers

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The Holy... What?

Read: 1 Corinthians 2

My most aggravated worship experience in a non-prosperity-gospel church involved the Holy Spirit. The praise team sang Give Thanks. Now, the refrain/ending of the song was: Give thanks (x3). After the first “give thanks”, the praise leader said, “to God the Father.” After the second “give thanks”, the praise leader said, “to Christ the Son.” After the third “give thanks”, the praise leader said... “for God’s blessings.” I know what you were thinking: what happened to the Holy Spirit? I seems to me that in Protestant circles, most Christians have a poor understanding of who the Holy Spirit is.

But the Holy Spirit is extremely important (and I’m understating it) for knowing God. In fact, God can be knowable only through Christ and the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, Jesus makes no sense. That’s why, after Pentecost, you notice that the 12 disciples were different. By the Holy Spirit, things finally “clicked” and now, empowered by the Spirit, they began the ministry of the Church.

The Holy Spirit enables us to understand God, because God makes no sense to a godless world. To a godless world, living for Jesus is incomprehensible. If you’re at school, living for Jesus means being a good student. Being a good student does NOT always mean getting good grades. It means being a good member of the academic community. You help others become better students. You help others want to learn. The teachers like you not because you’re smart, but because without you, class is just not the same.

Later on, when you all will enter the “real world”, living for Jesus means doing well the job God has called you to have. Godly structural engineers ensure their buildings don’t collapse. Godly financial economists... well, if there were more of those, we might’ve not be talking about the Financial Crisis. Godly teachers impart their knowledge with enthusiasm and love for their students. I know a lot of people would say that living for Jesus is “unrealistic” or too idealistic. But isn’t Christianity somehow otherworldly in a sense? No wonder the world sees Christianity as “old-fashioned”. In Paul’s time, however, Christianity is seen as “liberal”, “revolutionary”, and even a cult.

But, as we’ve said before, Christianity is not about being “conservative”, “old-fashioned”, “liberal”, or “revolutionary”, but is about Jesus. Following Jesus, however, is difficult because we humans are limited in so many ways. Only through the Holy Spirit can we truly live as members of Christ’s church. So, instead of living as Christians on our own strength, let us live as Christians empowered by the Holy Spirit. Only then can we truly be united in Christ and walk together to do the impossible for Jesus.

Wednesday: Pray for friends (inside and outside church)
Pray for your prayer partner…if you don’t have one, sign up for next week! =)

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

God Stronger than Chuck Norris

It’s a shame that Paul isn’t around now a days to give us some of the best “Chuck Norris” or “Jack Bauer” metaphors and comparisons ever. I mean there are some good ones, “Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.” So when you read something like that, you know that it is a metaphor on how strong, great and mighty is Chuck Norris. The apostle Paul gives us something that would be the equivalent but so much better because he is talking about the strength, greatness and mightiness of our God.

Read I Corinthians 1:18-31

I think Paul should have added something to verse 25 for us to totally understand in our day and context. Paul could have added the phrase, “too bad there is no foolishness in God or too bad there is not an iota of weakness.” I think that is how the originally readers read this. I mean they understood that Paul isn’t pointing to the fact that there is foolishness in God or that there is weakness, but that we can see the magnitude of God’s greatness compared to us.

Now it is one thing to understand these metaphors and make jokes, but it is another thing to truly understand that we have a God that is so amazing HUGE and GREAT that we are nothing compared to this God. We need to understand that as humans, we try our best to achieve and learn and become “better” people. We strive to get the most education because we believe that will translate to success. However, we have to see that God will destroy the wisdom of the worldly wise and the intelligence of the world will be frustrated by God. So as much as we want to put God in a box and understand Him, He is too infinite and great to fit in that box.

So what God wants is for us to understand the power of God. The message of the cross is foolishness to those that are perishing, I mean the cross makes no sense to someone that doesn’t understand God’s power and someone that is trying to live for themselves. But God uses us that are broken to deliver the true message that God is the one that does it all for us because He is all powerful.
Take some time now to reflect if you are truly living that out in your life. Do you believe in a God that is so magnificient and wonderful? If you do believe in that
God, how does that effect your living – are you living fully for Him who is worthy of your whole being?

Tuesday: Pray for your family
Pray that you will be able to spend more quality time with your family

Monday, February 22, 2010

To the Church (in Corinth)

Imagine a church where everyone argued all the time, people were sleeping around, the wealthy were ignoring the needs of the poor, and everybody was so full of themselves all they could do was talk about how they were more gifted or talented then others. Doesn’t sound like a place where Christians would really want to be. But this was exactly what the church in Corinth was like. They struggled with all of these things and more. They were the epitome of a dysfunctional church.

Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-3

As we enter into our study of the first letter to the Corinthians, we’re going to see that Paul wrote to this church to address specific issues that were causing this church to fall way short of what God wanted them to be. Now it’d be quick to condemn Corinth and say, “1 Corinthians is for Corinth, it doesn’t apply to me.” But Paul writes in verse 2 that what he was writing to the church wasn’t only for them but for all the churches that claimed to follow Jesus. “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul wasn’t just writing to a specific church. He was writing to a church as they existed within the framework of the Church.

Read 1 Corinthians 1:4-6

What are your thoughts about this church in Corinth? Write them down.



Despite all the struggles and problems this church has that Paul is going to address later on in his letter, he reminds the church of how they began. How God had been and continued to work in them.

Read 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Paul begins with this issue of divisions in the church. Greek culture held in high esteem those who were eloquent and persuasive. Debates were a form of entertainment in a sense. This was especially true in Corinth. Unfortunately, what had happened in the church was that this sense of esteem for those who were eloquent was causing factions to form. They were allowing the world’s system creep into their midst when they were supposed to remain unstained from it. Paul immediately reminds the believers that he didn’t come with words of wisdom or eloquence but rather he came preaching the truth of the Gospel. He’s saying, stop making church about me or you and make it about Jesus.

Are there any areas in your life or at yg or church where you feel like divisions are creeping in because you’ve allowed yourselves to fall in the trap of making things about you and not about Jesus?

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Monday: Pray for your relationship with God
Confess your sins to Jesus and pray for forgiveness and a changed heart

Friday, February 19, 2010

He's Never Going to Let Go

Taken from Extreme Teen Bible

“All that the father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” John 6:37

Some people think that they have to have their lives totally together before they turn to God. They think they need to make themselves worthy of Jesus' friendship. This is a lie that Satan tries to tell us. The problem is that nobody will ever be worthy of what God is offering him or her. That's a part of God's truth that's hard to comprehend. And if Satan can keep people believing that they have to somehow earn God's favor – if that's even possible – he can keep them from taking the first step toward God's kingdom.

But here's the truth. The truth is that God doesn't ask anyone to be worthy of Him. If you come to Him – without excuses, without trying to justify yourself, just putting your complete trust in Him – then Jesus promises not to turn you away. He accepts you because He loves you, not because you've earned His friendship. Isn't that amazing?

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” John 10:27-28


Pray and reflect. Humble yourself before the Holy Lord.

Praise God for the gift he gave us, Jesus Christ.

Pray that the Spirit may instill in you a passion for God.


Friday: Pray for the Church (Big C)
Pray for God’s guidance and unity especially because there is a lot of friction between different denominations.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Being a Christian in a Teenage World - Steven's Special Devo

Today I get free reign to write on whatever I please, so this week I want to talk about being a Christian in the teenage world. Is it truly uncool and awkward to talk about Jesus among your non-Christian friends? How do teenagers broadcast Jesus? I am going to touch on both these subjects, and be warned; I might get a bit offensive.
Whenever I talk about the Bible, or God, or Jesus when I'm with my non-Christian friends, they tend to get a bit uncomfortable. When teenagers get uncomfortable, it's not because they are offended by Christianity, it's because we are actually talking about serious things. Serious, personal, and deep subjects often hit teenagers' off-switch like none other. Why, you ask? Because whenever my non-Christians hear about God or Jesus or the Bible, it evokes images of prim and proper, boring, and sterile lives. It evokes images of fire and brimstone, of Puritanism, of judgment and hypocrisy. Worst of all, it evokes images of change. Yeah, I said it. Whenever a teenager thinks of change, they start to squirm. This is because if we need to change, then there is something in our lives that is not right, and we do not want to admit that.

My non-Christian friends do not want to admit that something in their lives is not right, that their fun is the wrong type of fun, that many of the words that come out of their mouths are wrong, that the things that they do are wrong. It takes humility and open-mindedness to see that, and let's all face it: teenagers are probably among the most prideful and sometimes narrow-minded people in humanity, right up there with the dictators. This begs the question, how do we get through to our peers? Well the obvious answer is to live like Jesus, but the challenge is how? How do people know that it we are living Jesus or that we are merely nice people? I believe that there must be a bit of vocalization (or proclamation as Jon put it) on our parts. That does not mean standing on your table in the cafeteria and holding a sermon; what I mean is, do not focus so much on other people's lives when talking about Jesus, but rather your own. Your testimony cannot be questioned or shot down as false. Your testimony is probably the most important tool in your evangelical arsenal besides the Bible. Use it when the moment is right, and you can plant seeds in the hearts of your peers. You are all smart kids, so I'm positive that you guys will find the right moment, but I want to be positive that when that moment comes, you would take it and try to extend our family of Christ.
Now then, we know how to vocalize Jesus, but how do we live like Jesus as teenagers? The mark of the teen spirit is raging hormones, wild parties, conformity, rebellion, and the desire to be noticed and accepted. This seems to be a stark contradiction to what Christ stood for. We are all very performance-oriented. What that means is almost every action or thought we make is based off of the question, “will this get people to notice/like/respect me?” Don't deny it. I accept it, because I know that I also want people to like and respect me. But the difference is, I want to do that through being a follower of Jesus. And if people like and respect me because I am living out Jesus, then I am planting seeds of Christ in my peers' hearts. Yeah, it's a bit twisted, but tell me this, how can we beat the very tendencies that make us human? We can't, so we have to work with what we got. This means that whenever I go to a party, I refuse to drink and smoke and lust, and if any of that is there, then I would either leave or stubbornly hold my ground. Both of those actions proclaim Christ. I try my best never to swear, I try to not gossip, and I try to be accepting and loving. Sure I fail at times, but when I get back on my feet and try again, that proclaims Christ too. Thus, I have a challenge for you, instead of basing your actions off of “will this get people to notice/like/respect me?”, base it off of “will this help people see the greatness of Jesus?” I dare you.

Thursday: Pray for the church (small c)
Praise God for baby Emmaus, he will turn 1 month old on Sunday.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The Golden City of the Gospel

Read: John 3: 1-21

The Gospel is the proclamation of a new age begun through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That Gospel, moreover, has a form, a political form. It is embodied in a church that is required to be always ready to give hospitality to the stranger. The Gospel is a society in which difference is not denied but used for the discovery of goods in common. It is… a society called into being by Jesus who gave them a new way to live. –Stanley Hauerwas

If there’s one thing I’ve learned quite a bit in Singapore, I’ve learned about the depth and complexity of the Gospel. I know – many of you might be surprised. After all, shouldn’t a guy who taught Sunday school a few times know the Gospel pat-out? The problem, I think, is that we’re used to thinking the Gospel like 9/11. It’s some life-changing news that forever changed the trajectory of history. We see the Gospel from some source, become caught up in the “fullness of the event”, and then we react somehow. And that’s why we emphasize “spreading the Gospel” as a telling it to someone. We “share” the Gospel, as if it were some news that caught our attention, and should catch another person’s attention.

What Hauerwas warns us in the quote above is that such a view is not the Gospel in its entirety. Of course, when the opportunity presents itself, we should share the Gospel. But the Gospel is much greater than that. In the passage above, Nicodemus sneaks out to meet Jesus, who tells him that he must be “born again”, continuing that “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus was confuzzled. What’s that supposed to mean?

The Jews of Jesus’ time had only one conception of the Messiah. He was to come in glory to lead an uprising. Picture the final battle between good and evil in front of the walls of Gondor in The Return of the King. That was what the Jews were thinking of Jesus. Jesus was Aragorn, who will destroy the Romans, and kick them out of the Holy Land! But Nicodemus was further confused with the idea of “born again”. After all, he was a Jew by birth. That’s not enough? What is Jesus trying to get at?

Jesus was issuing forth something revolutionary – an alternative Kingdom, so to speak. This is not a Kingdom that’s identifiable with a flag with a parliament of sorts. This is a Kingdom of people who have a new identity. You can’t put a finger on it, aside from the fact that this Kingdom’s people call themselves Christians and follow Jesus. Christianity is not just about “God so loved the world.” It’s not about a “relationship”, or even a world order. Christianity is about a Christ who died to conquer sin instead of exterminating the sinners. It is about a Christ who died a servant instead of a master. It is about a Christ who died to save.

And when Christ died to ransom many from their sins, His people will organize themselves differently, because we would see others differently than the world does. That’s why the Gospel is also political, because politics is fundamentally about how people organize themselves. And the church, ideally, offers a pleasing alternative to the workings of the world. The question is, is the Church a place where people know to come for a crazy love that the world doesn’t even comprehend; a shelter in a violent storm; a resting place for the weary? Or are we only making the world worse?

Wednesday: Pray for friends (inside and outside church)
Lift up a person that you want to start a conversation with this week. Pray that God will give you an opportunity to be intentional

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Don’t Neglect the Urgency to Proclaim and Testify Christ

I told a friend that I have been having some interesting dreams lately. I have been dreaming about being rejected. The rejection has been from many different places, from people outside the church, inside the church, from those that are my friends, to those that are considered my enemies, from the regular church member and all the way to the church leadership. I wake up thanking God that it is just a dream. But after reflection, why am I so scared of rejection and ways that people are going to respond to me if I am declaring God’s Word and truth. I should never fear rejection and also suffering.

Read Colossians 1:24-29

Paul says he works endlessly to bring people to the full understand of the gospel. He desires to teach and guide people to understand Christ and the hope that we can have in Him. We must be carefully in understanding Paul’s opening argument in this section. He doesn’t think that Christ’s afflictions are incomplete and that he will now be the fulfillment of what is lacking. This is important because Christ’s sacrifice for us was complete and is able to do everything in us to allow us access and relationship with God. However, now Paul is saying that Christ did his work and now we (all of us) including Paul continue the work that needs to be done to bring what Christ did that work for to completion. Christ did that work to bring a lost world to himself and Christ did not complete during his time on earth, but He will return again. As we wait for His return, Christ has given to us the opportunity and ability to continue that work. How amazingly awesome is that, an all-mighty, magnificent God gives us the ability to do His Work and complete what He wants to be done. He uses broken people that have no busy doing his work. Paul knew this as we examine his life, he use to kill Christians and persecuted them. He knew that it was only by God’s grace that he was saved and transformed. Now he can’t help proclaiming Christ. That is what I want us to focus on. Proclaiming, declaring, testifying Christ and allow people to know the Truth and ask them if they want to have that Jesus in their lives. We get so scared now a days and we lack the urgency of sharing that gospel. I absolutely believe in building relationship and trust in order to have credibility to share the gospel, but sometimes we use that as an excuse and never get to the point of sharing the gospel with people we know. Pray, Pray, PRAY that God gives you the passion and confidence to PROCLAIM Christ to those that you have built relationship, credibility and trust with. Take the next steps in those relationships and confidently share Christ and the Truth.

Tuesday: Pray for your family
Pray that God will provide for your family’s daily needs

Monday, February 15, 2010

Take it to the Lord in Prayer

As we’ve read through James, it has been so apparent that James has been focused on the practical side of following Jesus, what it means to actually live out what we believe. Not to neglect faith or works but to see how they are both necessary for our daily lives. As we close up this letter, its fitting that the final bit of practical exhortation that James has for the believers is to pray.

Read James 5:13-20

James’ understanding of prayer is that it is a necessary part of following Jesus. This means going to God and having a conversation with Him. If things are rough, letting Him know that and then trusting Him in the midst of the storms in life. But God isn’t just a complaint box that we drop off our frustrations in. We have the opportunity to have a real conversation with Him. When talk with our friends, yes, at times we talk about the things that are bugging us or the things that hurt or make us angry. But we also tell them about the good things, the blessings and praises. And while he begins with an exhortation to the individual to pray in both good times and bad, James expands this to a call to pray for one another.
James goes on to address one of the issues that believers struggle with when it comes to prayer. “Does my prayer really matter?” Very clearly in vs 17-18 he says, “Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.” The problem with our lack of prayer, I believe, partly lies in the fact that we don’t believe in what prayer can do. We think we’re not strong enough Christians for our prayers to matter. But that’s the problem with our thinking, and what James says so clearly. Elijah, a prophet of God, was a man JUST LIKE US. It wasn’t about Elijah’s ability, but about the ability of the one to whom he was praying. If our understanding of who God is isn’t putting him into a man made box, then we’ve the freedom to pray BIG prayers.
So that’s the question for us today. Do we go to God in prayer? Do we pray for one another? And do we pray from our own strength or pray to the One who spoke the world into existence by the word of His power? James doesn’t beat around the bush, and I don’t think we should either. James 5:13, “Is any one of you in trouble? HE SHOULD PRAY.”

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.


Monday: Pray for your relationship with God
Ask God to show you how he wants to use you in furthering His kingdom.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Have you no faith?

Read James 5:7-11

All of us wait on something. We worry about applications to colleges, our GPA's, our future's, the third world countries, or whatever. We want God to basically right all the wrongs at this moment. That would be nice wouldn't it? We are anxious people. Answers are always needed fast. But where is your faith? Have you no faith in God the All-Powerful? Do you not know that the Lord will make everything right in perfect timing? We can see in the old testament how God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. He fed them with manna. And though He made them wander around the wilderness for 40 years, God was still faithful to His promise by leading them into the Promised Land. It doesn't stop there! We saw that God delivered Daniel from the lion's den. We saw Job painfully, yet patiently, waiting on God to save him. And what did He do? God restored Job and rewarded him for his faithfulness. Just even throughout the Bible! Remember how the Israelites were waiting on the Messiah? God sent the Messiah by sending Jesus! Is this not enough proof that God is faithful to all of us? God will restore us. Don't fret! Don't worry! Because we know that God loves us and He is true to His promises.

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.”

Also read Luke 12:22-34


Lift up your anxieties to God.

Pray for patience to wait for His perfect timing.

May God assure that you will be provided for.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to be with you and that He will change your mindset to be more like Christ's.


Friday: Pray for the Church (Big C)
Pray that we are constantly reminded of what we are to be like as the children of God. A Holy, Generous, Spirit-filled, Strong, and Humble people!

You are the Culprit

Every morning we wake up in a warm bed, with a roof over our heads inside a two-story house. We get up, stretch, and take a shower with hot water. Next, we go and pick out our clothes. Maybe a T-shirt from Aeropostale with some jeans from Abercrombie and Fitch. After that, we go downstairs and get some breakfast. Some Frosted Flakes with milk, bacon and eggs, orange juice, the works. At school, we text our friends (even though we’re not supposed to), we plug into our iPods, eat our hot lunches, chill with friends, all the while receiving top-notch education. After school we come home, watch some TV, talk to friends on Facebook on our computers, eat dinner, play PS3. Then we go back to the warm bed, thanking God for another normal day, certain about the comforts of tomorrow. Some of us drive cars, some of us get allowances; we have hobbies, laptops, snacks, sidewalk, TV’s, leather-bound Bibles, debit cards, toilets, you name it. In America the word “rich” has been augmented to connotate Bill Gates wealth or Warren Buffet or the MegaMillions Lottery. In reality, however, what we have is beyond rich in James’ eyes. And boy, does he have something to say to us.

Read James 5:1-6

Scared yet? Don’t worry, I am too. We cannot worship God and wealth at the same time. In other words, we cannot worship God and our very lifestyle at the same time. Something has to give. Personally I find this a very daunting prospect. Ideally, we should give up everything we have and live with what God provides for us. But we can’t do that, because we are Americans and we are humans. So what do we do? Well, don’t get too comfortable because everything we store on Earth will not only be lost in the next life, but will “testify against [us] and eat [our] flesh like fire.” I’d like you to spend some time with God, and ask Him to keep your heart away from the things of this world. Pray that you would not get attached to the comforts of our American lifestyles, and that you will trust in Him to provide for you, because if God provides for the birds of the air and the fish in the sea, then He sure as shooting can provide for you too. The hardest thing to do in life is to let go of what makes us comfortable. But these things are holding us down, when we are looking upwards. Cast away your unnecessary comforts and care for those who are naked and need clothing, for those who are thirsty and need drink, for those who have Jesus knocking on their doors and need someone, anyone, to tell them that it’s the real deal standing out in the cold rain, and it’s time to let Him in.

Thursday: Pray for the church (small c)
Pray for WCAC’s Board of Elders and Board of Ministries as they continue to serve the church

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

A Candle in the Wind

Read: James 4: 13-17 and Luke 12: 13-21 and Daniel 5. Or both :)

We all live in such an affluent and safe world that we assume we will graduate from college, build up an illustrious career, get married to an amazing spouse, live up to 70+, have grandchildren, and die peacefully of old age. How safe is your assumption?

Many years ago King Bel’shazzar ruled over the powerful Babylonian empire. At the time, the empire was already at war with the Medan Empire, whose people come from Pakistan/Northwestern India. The Medan army were outside the walls of Babylon in all their terrifying power.

But why was King Bel’shazzar just getting drunk in his palace? He thought he was safe! The walls of Babylon were big, huge, and impenetrable. The Medan army can’t break through, so Bel’shazzar thought that tonight, he would celebrate and toast to a likely victory tomorrow against the Medes. As if to prove his point, he brought out gold goblets from the Temple of Jerusalem and praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, titanium, platinum, helium, hydrogen... and a bunch of stuff.
God, as an act of grace, personally sent a message to Bel’shazzar: MENE MENE TEKEL PARSIN. Later, Daniel would come to interpret what those words mean. Basically: you, Bel’shazzar, are royally screwed. Later that night, the Medan army found a way to get into Babylon (by draining a river that runs underneath the wall). Bel’shazzar was assassinated that same night and the next day, Darius was king over Babylon.

Okay, maybe we don’t have empires to rule and stuff, but what about personal wealth, credentials, etc.? As an act of grace to us, Jesus gave us a parable of a rich fat man, who got tons of wealth. What will I do, asked the man to himself? Well, myself, I will build a bigger barn to store the wealth, and will live my life happily ever after. To which God sent a message personally. In summary: You, rich man, are royally screwed. You will die the next day. What now, huh?

Both stories have a common parallel, which is that we need to live our lives in worship of God. Sometimes, our wealth, our power, our life consumes us to the point where we think we forget that everything we have has been entrusted to us by God. We forget that the fact that you’re breathing right now is due to God’s sovereign grace alone!

When I was a senior in high school there was a classmate who passed away in her sleep. There was nothing medically or emotionally, or anything wrong with her - she just went to bed one night and never woke up again. My dad’s passing away was unexpected. He left for Taiwan for cancer treatment one day, and the next day, we were on our way there to be with him before he passed into the heavenly world. A few days ago, the sultan of the Malaysian state of Johor passed away. He was fine until the night before, when he had a slight fever. In a few hours, he passed away. I would love for all of you to live for many, many decades, but I must be honest with you, your life could be gone in a second too. You might be driving lawfully and carefully, but all it takes is one silly and grossly irresponsible teenage driver, talking passionately on his(her) cell phone with his(her) significant other, listening to Black Eyed Peas at 120 decibels, and driving 50+ above the speed limit, and that’s it.
I say this to you not because I want to make you all depressed. I want to warn you that our lives are like candles in the wind. All it takes is for God’s breath to blow you out, and the next thing you know, you’re in front of Him. My question is this: when He does blow your candle out, what will you leave in this world? And will you leave this world in joy or with regrets?

Wednesday: Pray for friends (inside and outside church)
Pray for the your non-Christian friends that God will be softening their hearts

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Stop Laughing and Mourn Over Sin

A couple of years ago we made a Doulos Intro-Video called “Eric Yiulander”. In this video, we had the debut of Mamagatu (played by Henry Kuo). The reason I bring this up is because through the video, Mamagatu encourages his followers to bury their true feelings and emotions with a superficial smile and laughter. It is interesting because I think we tell people in the church that they should always be joyful, always be laughing, always be happy. But how can we laugh and be joyful over sin in our lives. We avoid dealing with the deep roots and the dirtiness of sin. We want to gloss over it with a sweet worship song or a happy face. How many times have you heard someone tell you turn your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom at church? Well, I am glad you are doing this devo because the Word is going to tell you just that.

Please read and reread James 4:1-12

We see here in James 4 that it can be broken down into three sections. The first two show us the problems that are out of control in the church, while the third proposes a solution. In the first three verses we see how James rebukes believers for their prayers for they are marked by anger and selfishness, not an attitude of trust in God. Verses 4-6 shows there are differences in living in this world (for the readers it would be the Roman world, for us it would be in the US society) and life lived according to God’s desires. A choice must be made and we must be aware that no one can satisfy the demands of both. Then verses 7-10 give us the solution to various problems and that solution is a call to repentance.

From NIV Application commentary – “In urging grief and a shift from laughter to mourning and joy to gloom, James reminds his readers that the false paths they thought would lead to true laughter and joy are dead ends and need to be abandoned. This abandonment must carry with it a recognition that the pursuit of these old false paths has not only grieved God, but endangered the Christian community and harmed many of their sisters and brothers. The recognition of such hurt carries with it an awareness of guilt and responsibility that are not appropriately mixed with laughter and joy.”
So spend some time in reflection. Turn your laughter into mourning – what are things that we have falsely headed towards and thought would bring us happiness? Ask God for forgiveness and turn now towards God’s ways.

Tuesday: Pray for your family
Praise God for parents because they love you and take care of you.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Wisdom from Above

When I was in high school, I remember one of the biggest controversies at our school my senior year was between the valedictorian and the salutatorian. At a highly academic competitive school, there was constant jostling among the top 10 students to be ranked higher and higher. This desire to be the top ranked student got so bad that the salutatorian falsely accused the valedictorian of cheating. The school, eventually got to the truth, but the valedictorian was so offended by what had happened that he eventually skipped the graduation ceremony to protest. I think its interesting that in our culture (and maybe even more so in Asian culture) there is a struggle and push for academic success, for wisdom. So much that it can be quite cutthroat when it comes to academics. This exists not only in high school but in college, grad school, all the way through the upper echelon of academia. James in his letter to the church spends a lot of time talking about wisdom and how the desire for wisdom fits into our lives as the people of God.

Read James 3:13-18

James talks here about the pursuit of true wisdom. It’s the complete opposite of earthly wisdom. Earthly wisdom would tell you to pursue the elevation of self and leaves you with bitter jealousy and selfish ambition (3:14) But true wisdom isn’t demonstrated with head knowledge but rather in how you live that wisdom out. (3:13) “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.”

In verses 13-14, there is such a clear contrast between meekness and bitter jealousy selfish ambition. What is meekness? Not to be confused with weakness, being meek, can be defined as “trusting God and therefore being set free from anxious self-promotion”1 It’s the ability to allow God to define who we are rather than us defining who we are. The opposite of that, jealousy and selfish ambition is not from God. James uses some powerful terminology here calling it “earthly, unspiritual, and demonic” and it leads to disorder and all kinds of sin. So then how do we know that what we’re pursuing is true wisdom from God rather than something from the world? By the fruit it produces. James 3:17-18, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” That’s quite a list. The challenge for us is to examine our own lives and see if we are living these qualities out. Are we gentle to others, open to reason. Are we impartial and sincere. God desires that we seek the wisdom that comes from Him so that we can live out these characteristics with the rest of the household of God. Notice that the character God calls us to pursue always works itself out within the context of community.

Spend sometime asking God to show you areas in your life where you lack in wisdom from above. Examine your own hearts and see if you are truly bearing fruit that comes from having wisdom from above. Spend time asking God to give you wisdom, “who gives generously to all without reproach” (James 1:5)

Friday, February 5, 2010

Quit Your Jibber-Jabber!

Read and Reread James 3:1-12

Hey, shout out to all those leaders out there! Yeah, you're going to be judged with higher standards than those who aren't. I know we ain't perfect. We're going to trip and fall. And if anyone doesn't mess up what they say, they're perfect, because they're able to control their entire body. You know how we're able to make cars go where we want them to? We have a steering wheel. What about ships? They have those little rudders that control where they are going. Crazy eh? Something so small can control the direction of these things. Just like the tongue. Even though it is so small, it can do things that we don't know it can do.

You know those forest fires in California? Yup, those were started by a small spark. Our tongues are just like that small spark. We say a lot of bad things. Those bad things corrupt us and soon directs our life. Soon enough we're going to be set on fire by the fires of hell. Yeah, that's scary. You know, we've been able to subdue even the fiercest of biggest of animals such as the lion, killer whales, or rhinoceros'. But we're not even close to controlling what we say! What we can say can cause ruin and destruction. What we can say can also encourage and give life! How is this even possible? Destruction and life are completely opposite! This shouldn't be happening, brothers and sisters. It's just how water can not be fresh and salty at the same time. Or it's an apple tree growing oranges. It's not natural.

Your tongue! Control it!

It is easier said than done. And we can not do this by our strength alone. Pray for the Holy Spirit to empower you.

Reflect upon the ways that you can be encouraging. Not only to your brothers and sisters in Christ, but also to those at your school. This is a way that you can be a light to everybody.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Action without Faith?

Last week, a few of us went to Wisconsin for the Senior High Retreat. Outside of having tons of fun, we had the privilege of hearing a very powerful and convicting message. We spent a lot of time in James, which Heath, the speaker, stated was a very offensive book in the Bible. By offensive, he meant that James’ words are brutal, straightforward, and rebuking.

One of Heath’s messages was particularly convicting. He examined the difference between knowledge and action, and put forth the question, “Ok, you have faith, so what are you gonna do about it?” He told us this story of a surgeon:
There was once this girl, who wanted very badly to be a surgeon. So she worked very hard during college, so hard that she graduated and got accepted into Harvard Medical School. At Harvard, she worked and studied so hard that she graduated at the top of her class. One day, she was in the subway and in the middle of the ride, an elderly man collapsed and started having a seizure on the dirty, nasty floor of the subway. One of the people on the subway dropped to her knees and tried to assist the man, but wasn’t adequately trained, so she screamed out, “Does anyone here know how to save this man? Is there a doctor or surgeon here?” And nobody moved. The Harvard med student sat watching, and turned to the person next to her saying, “Hey, I read about a situation like this in my med textbook.” At this point the elderly man is starting to go into shock, and the woman on the ground with him screams at the top of her lungs, “IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN SAVE THIS MAN?!!” And once again the surgeon turns to the person sitting next to her and says nonchalantly, “Yeah, this is an epileptic seizure, I learned all about these at Harvard Med.”

This story illustrates the ridiculousness of Christians who have the knowledge of the Savior, yet do not act. Unfortunately, the Harvard Grad was a metaphoric symbol for us. Similarly, the following passage demonstrates the ideas we have examined so far.

Read James 2:14 – 26

So many times we hear that we cannot obtain salvation through good works, but this passage actually tells us that faith without deeds is also insufficient. So you may be thinking, “Well what should I do?” Well, Matthews 25:34 gives an answer. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “

Now take the initiative. Clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty, care for the poor in your world, whether at school, at your extracurriculars, or even at WCAC. That is what faith calls you to do.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Favoritism, revisited.

Read: James 2: 1-13

James is quite straightforward as a book, and for that reason, I’ll try to be straightforward in this entry.

Favoritism sucks, and the issue resonates strongly with me because it has damaged my family. Like the traditional Chinese grandfather, mine valued grandsons. He also has 2 granddaughters, but he pretty much ignores them. My brothers and I were the only grandsons in the entire Kuo family. So, at every dinner, my parents (who did not want my grandfather’s favoritism to destroy the family) often asked me and my brothers to sit far away from my grandfather, and let my uncles and dad sit next to him (the privileged seats). But my grandfather would always want his grandsons sitting next to him, in the seats of privilege. My parents, by Chinese custom, are not allowed to disagree, so they kept quiet. Not so surprisingly, our entire family remains rather fragmented to this day (repaired somewhat through my dad’s battle with cancer and later, his passing away).

But that’s exactly, as you noticed, what James was warning against. The thing is that in the olden days, the congregations met at the wealthy Christians’ homes. After church, there’d be dinner and stuff, and according to cultural mores, the homeowner sits at the front of the table. Now, the temptation is obvious - you want your best buddies to sit next to you and... well, those newcomers (and most often the poor) can sit far, far away from me at the other end of the table. James says, “No!” If there’s an empty sit next to you, and a poor guy walked in, the seat is his. You don’t like the poor guy? Tough - go and repent. In the church, there is no favoritism.

And the same applies at WCAC as well. Oftentimes we gather in cliques because they comprise of people we like. But what about those not like us? What about those who are not Chinese and are from the inner-city church? What about those who are not from an Alliance church? What about the people who are not destined to be engineers, doctors, lawyers, and professors?

Let me go further: what kinds of people come to church? Let’s just focus on WCAC. What kinds of people show up? Well, if I’m correct, most of you have the following characteristics:
 99% of you have GPAs in the range of 3.5 - 5.0 (out of 4).
 most of you are involved with some sport.
 most of you intend to go to college to major something in medicine, law, engineering, or business.
 And most of you intend to graduate college intending to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, or CEOs.
 most of your friends are in the above categories.

True? Let me ask you, what place does a grossly-obese Latino with a 2.3 GPA who wants to be an artist have in youth group? I know, we’re a Chinese church, and we are equipped to reach out to a particular demographic, but that doesn’t mean we’re restricted to reach out to that demographic. If someone like what I described can’t find a home in WCAC, aren’t we playing favorites? Let me go further - do YOU play favorites at school? Are there people you just don’t talk to because they’re black? Or they’re from the inner city? Or their GPA is below 3.0? Or because they’re just really weird?

So let us be wary of the favoritism that sometimes we don’t watch out for. Let us take to heart Jesus’ second command to love our neighbors as ourselves, and love everyone, even those we don’t like.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Live Out the Word

God has richly blessed me in being married and now having a beautiful baby. I have been learning more and more what it means to be a loving husband. I remember before I got married I was hoping to understand what is expected of a loving husband? Like I totally believed in the institution of marriage and that a husband should love his wife as himself. I know that I should learn from different people, books about what it means to be a loving husband. Therefore just think if I have this image of what a loving husband is and I totally just ignore Annie and hung out with the boys, I ditch her for a date because I got good Bulls tickets, I don’t help around the house but totally make a huge mess, I don’t listen to her and instead when she wants to tell me how her day went, I turn on the television…..and after all that is said and done, how well do you think it will be received if I came up to her and said, I am really sorry I know what a good husband is suppose to be, I totally have the understanding of that, but I am just not doing it ….will you forgive me.

Read and re-read James 1:19-27

God desires a life with Him that doesn’t just know what He wants and expects, but one that actually lives it out in our very lives. We continue to read the Word, hear messages on the Word, and continue to see God speaking to us through many different ways. However, God is calling us not to just be mere listeners but we have to live it out. However, if you are in a place in your life that you are not listening, that obviously has to be your first step. There are many distractions in life that want to tear you away from the Word and hearing from God. So make sure you make this a priority. I love the book of James because it has such practical advice for us. We make ask, how do we live it out in our lives? Well, get rid of all moral filth and evil in your life. Then humbly accept the Word planted in you. See the ways that God’s Word gives us freedom and continued to do that everyday not forgetting his promises and grace. You can recognize that this is not the case if you start seeing that you are not living a life that reflects his holiness and love. James points this out in being a person that doesn’t watch his words and essentially is talking about people that live as hypocrites. Then he points to something that looks out of place which is to love the orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. It doesn’t seem to connect to us, but when godliness and love from God enters our heart, we have to realize something. God has special concern for the widows and orphans as these are symbolic of all groups open to exploitation. If we truly understand what it means to be God’s people who have been embraced into His Family then we have to extend our love and family to those on the outside. We were all at one time on the outside, but through God’s grace He (not our birthright, not our works) have been allowed to come into this family. God is the protector: “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing” (Deut. 10:18). So we must remember to love those that are being marginalized in our society because as God loves us, we are to be a light and reflection for this world of God’s love and grace. In order to do this, we cannot be polluted in the ways of this world and we absolutely can’t do this from a distance, we must put ourselves in places that know and have relationship with those that are need.

Reflect on the ways you have been a good listener of God’s Word, then a good doer of His Word. Ask God for strength to strive for those things.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Stand Firm

Just last week at the Senior High Retreat, the speaker spent four messages going through parts of James. One of the things I appreciated most was the background he gave on who James was and his mindset when it came to writing to the church in his letter. In James 1:1, he begins by identifying himself as a servant of God. The word he uses here in the Greek is doulos, literally slave or bondservant. James identifies himself completely as God’s servant. There is no part time or “when he feels like it” in following Jesus. James was wholly commited to being a servant of God. And its from this passion for God that drives his message.

Read James 1:1-18

As we read this, we begin to see James passion for following Christ. There is no middle ground in following Jesus, James is completely sold out and wants his readers to know this as well. In particular, James introduces a very clear dichotomy. On one side is joy, faith, and steadfastness (or standing firm). Reread James 1:2-12. In opposition to that is desire, temptation and sin. Reread James 1:13-18. This is what James is telling the believers. As we follow Christ, we will undoubtedly face many trials and difficulties. Situations where we are tempted to go back to the life we had before Jesus. James was calling the believers to make a radical decision to stand firm in their walks and not fall into sin when they were tempted. Not only that, but they were to see these trials as a joy rather than a burden. How often do we face following Jesus, the pursuit of Him daily, as a chore or a burden. James is saying to consider this joy!

In your own life, take a moment to identify areas where you are standing firm in your journey with Jesus. Write these down in the section below. Thank God for the grace and wisdom he’s given you to enable you to stand firm.



Now think about areas of your life where your desires have caused you to be tempted and have led to sin. Write these down in the section below.



In James 1:15 we know that “desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it has fully grown brings forth death.” Ask God to give you wisdom so that you can stand firm knowing that He is faithful to give. Ask God for grace so that areas of sin and temptation can become areas of steadfastness and victory. Let’s cling to the promise we have in James 1:2-4.
Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.