My Way or Yahweh?

To tell the truth, I spent a lot of time reflecting about how I was going to write a devo, especially amidst all this “busyness” of a vacation in China. But God is definitely good and He never fails to show his amazing glory to me every single day.

So last Sunday, my family and I were in Beijing and we had the awesome opportunity to attend BICF (Beijing International Christian Fellowship) Sunday Service. I cannot explain how glad I was to finally step into a church again – a very large one at that – and feel enveloped by that same warmness I feel back at WCAC. That day, the church had the opportunity to invite a guest speaker from Ohio and I can’t remember his name (probably means I should’ve wrote this earlier), but he was supposedly renowned as a Christian author and professor; think he had a Stuart in his name or something. ANYWAYS, he spoke about priorities and how we, as Christians, handle them. His sermon deeply moved me and drew some simple, yet often, overlooked truths.

This brings us to our REAL devo.

Read Colossians 3: 2-3
We, as “important” teens, like to find ourselves in busyness. And it’s extremely easy to say, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” But the Bible often speaks truths much easier said than done. Do we actually set God as our number one priority? Do we actually wake up in the morning feeling like doing devos and simply talking to God? Do we actually prefer to read the Holy Bible instead of watching the World Cup? For me right now, it’s super easy to just go into vacation-mode when I’m supposed to be in JESUS-mode 24/7.

Quick stories. Throughout my vacation, God has shown me many, I guess, little “reminders” to get back into JESUS-mode; one of them being BICF.

We had a friend who took us around Beijing, but he spoke pretty broken English. But God’s glory surpasses language barriers, and we were able to minister and teach our friend how to pray. Several other “outreach” instances also opened, such as ministering to taxi drivers and praying with my dad’s non-Christian agents. I had the amazing opportunity to go to the Great Wall of China. The wall is man-made, yet still remarkable. God showed me somethings even more remarkable: His creation – the lush forestry that He fed with rain, the towering mountains that He crafted, and all the beautiful animals He created. There is always time for God.

Sometimes we miss the point. It’s not about all this me-stuff – about possessions or entertainment. Who do you worship, God or the world? This brings us to…

Read Matthew 6: 19-34
Let me just finish with this passage. Read it a bajillion times, cause I feel this passage speaks a TON about what I’m trying to say. Pay particular attention to verses 24 and 33.

Honestly, sometimes we just have to chill a little with all the commotion of life and sit down and focus on the true focus, which is God. Pray… cause prayer is powerful. Talk to God. Remember, you’re talkin with the Creator and Sustainer of this whole universe. Focus on Him. I hope this devo was good to you as it spoke powerfully to me. Kudos to Joey Chen for that oh-so-outstanding title.