AD's January 2016 Devotional

Fully Embracing God’s Sovereignty in 2016

Who or what will be in control of your life in 2016?    A Sovereign God or a random set of circumstances?   God’s Sovereignty evokes a sense of security conceptually but often distress pragmatically.   We can see this in Jesus’ birth. 

Jesus’ birth was prophesized to be in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).   It was only one of the many details of His life that was prophesized.  Statistically if only eight of those hundreds of prophecies were fulfilled, it would be at 1 in 10¹⁷ odds (“Science Speaks,” Stoner).   God’s Sovereign control of the minute details of Jesus’ life has strengthened believers throughout the centuries.  He is a Sovereign God that we can trust implicitly!

Yet, do we fully embrace God’s Sovereignty in the details of OUR lives when we feel “out of control?”   Think of Joseph and Mary.  Caesar Augustus’ decree for a census disrupted their lives at such an inconvenient time.   Their forced journey to Bethlehem accentuated their powerlessness in light of the almost god-like power of the Emperor.  Their lives could have been marked by resentment but instead they fully embraced God’s control of their lives.  The Messiah was born when and where He needed to be born and all of our faith was strengthened.

Regardless of your present circumstances, fully embrace that you serve a Sovereign God Who is orchestrating the minute details of YOUR lives.  As Proverbs 19:21 (TLB) affirms, “Man proposes, but God disposes.”   Trust Him with the details of your life and ministry right now and throughout this New Year.

AD's December 2015 Devotional

 

I See You Seeing Me!

“Enough of this!” screamed Hagar’s inner voice, as she fled from her mistress’ abuse.  After Sarai had forced her to conceive a son for Abram, she felt used and alone but God had not abandoned her.  The angel of the Lord found her beside a spring of water in the wilderness and asked, “Where have you come from and where are you going? “I’m running away!” she replied. “Go back and there I will bless you…” God exhorted her.

In that moment of vulnerability she discovered God’s sustaining love.  Hagar exclaimed, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” (Gen16: 7-14 NLT). In Hagar’s extreme circumstances with a challenging pregnancy, she sees God seeing her and that revelation changes everything.  God’s place for her growth was in her trials, not away from them.  (Devotion ideas from a sermon by Cheryl Jamison--Regional Retreat.)

Seeing the One who sees us in all of our circumstances is a key to our maturity.  There is a special mirror called the infinity mirror where one mirror reflects the image of a paired mirror in such a way that there is a depth of images of what appears to be a thousands mirrors.  In Hagar’s moment of despair, God’s infinite love invades her space, changes her attitude and gives her a depth of understanding of how much God loves her.

Whatever your circumstances, choose to look deeply into God’s infinite mirror of love as you fulfill your calling with His Grace and His Mercy.

AD's November 2015 Devotional

Moving your witness from the abstract to the concrete

A famous child psychologist, known for affirming children, had a sidewalk poured in front of his house.   When the neighborhood children wrote their names in the fresh cement, he lost it, “You stupid kids, get off my property.”   The neighbors were shocked and confronted him.   He defended his outburst saying, “It’s true, I do love kids but only in the abstract…I can’t stand them when they’re in my concrete!” 

Hopefully we are not like that psychologist, loving people in the abstract but not connecting with them in our real lives, in our concrete.   We need to reach people in where we actually live!   Here a simple formula on how to keep it real, i.e. how to R.E.A.C.H. people:  Keep it Relevant and Relational, Easy, Anointed, Christ-centered and Honest.    

We also need to watch our attitude!   When Jonah was called to a specific group of people that he resented, he rebelled because he was afraid that God “was a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”   Jonah 4:2.  When our “righteousness” keeps us from loving the very people that God loves, we need an attitude check.   Let’s keep our witness fresh as God keeps us broken and our witness authentic.

From SO CAL devotions: https://vimeo.com/142902026

AD's October 2015 Devotional

It’s Not Over Till It’s Over

The world had written Roberta Vinci off.   Serena Williams, the U.S. women’s tennis darling, was making a bid at history.   Williams was going after the coveted Grand Slam, winning all four major championships in a single calendar year.  All that was between Serena and her desired goal was a semi-final match against Vinci, an unseated Italian, and then the final match.   The sports commentators were so focused on Williams’ final match that it seemed that Vinci didn’t count.    It was assumed that Williams would quickly dispose of Vinci since the odds were 300 to 1 against Vinci.

Vinci knew that in all likelihood she would lose.  She had in fact scheduled a flight home immediately after her expected loss to Williams.   The morning of the match, Vinci decided that the dream of beating Williams was so absurd that she determined just to concentrate on putting the ball in the court and NOT to focus on Williams.   And then it happened…Vinci beat Williams in a historic upset that stunned the sporting world.   This confirms what I believe as a believer: “It’s not over till it’s over!”

As believers in the Almighty God of all creation, we should realize that’s it’s not over, until it’s over.   David, the young shepherd boy, refused to submit to fear when his kin mocked him for facing Goliath.   Instead of focusing on the odds against him, he shouted to Goliath,  “You are coming to fight against me with a sword, a spear and a javelin. But I’m coming against you in the name of the LORD who rules over all. He is the God of the armies of Israel. He’s the one you have dared to fight against.  1 Sam 17:45 (NIRV)

Whatever giant you may be facing in this very moment, take heart, “It’s not over till it’s over.  So, keep your eye on the ball and leave the results to God.

AD's September Devotional

 

 

Created by God to move forward

The current Australian Coat of Arms features two of their iconic animals, a kangaroo and an emu, proudly supporting a shield, which symbolizes the six states. There is a lot of speculation why the kangaroo and the emu were chosen over other animals such as the koala bear. The one I like the best is that both animals have something in common. Their bodies were designed to move forward while awkward if they try to move back-wards. The shape of the kangaroo’s body and its long tail impedes backward motion. The Emu’s strong legs were shaped to run fast while the joints in their knees make backward motion difficult. The use of the two animals brilliantly conveyed what the 1908 version of this Coat of Arms boldly proclaimed, “Advance Australia.”

Perhaps Apostle Paul had this same sentiment in mind when he affirms, “But one thing I do…I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (NIV).” J.B. Phillips translation renders Paul’s thoughts this way, “But I keep going on, grasping ever more firmly that purpose for which Christ grasped me.” Philippians 3:13b-14  

This “one thing” that Paul desired to obtain included three steps:  

1.      Forgetting those things that are behind.

2.      Reaching to the things ahead.

3.      Pressing toward the goal of the Call of Christ.  

Whether we are talking about the way God fashioned the kangaroo and the emu or the intense passion God placed in his followers, we’re designed by God to move forward in Him. Press in, press on, and hear our God’s heavenly Call with ever-increasing clarity.

ADs AUGUST 2015 Devotional

Are you a victim or a victor?

It depends on your attitude. John Maxwell develops 7 axioms for an overcomer in “The Winning Attitude.” Axiom # 3 declares: “Often our attitude is the only difference between success and failure.” Maxwell asserts, “This could be called the principle of the slight edge [over defeat or victory].”

   The former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir underlined this truth in one of her interviews. She said, “All my country has is spirit. We don’t have petroleum dollars. We don’t have mines or great wealth in the ground. We don’t have the support of a worldwide public opinion that looks favorably on us. All Israel has is the spirit of its people. And if the people lose their spirit, even the United States of America cannot save us.”

   When Apostle Paul was under house arrest in Rome, he could have felt like a victim. Arrested in Jerusalem for preaching grace to the Gentiles and under a threat of death by the Jews, he appealed to Caesar. Sent to Rome, he did not see himself as a victim of either the Jews or of the Romans but rather; he was a “prisoner of Christ Jesus” for the sake of the Gentiles (Eph 3:1). To the Gentiles he affirmed, “We can go to God with bold confidence through faith in Christ. So then, I ask you not to become discouraged by the troubles I suffer for you. In fact, my troubles bring you glory.” (Eph 3: 12, 13 GW)

   Paul, the victor kept his identity in Christ in tact, understood his calling and refused to play the victim even in unjust circumstances. Let’s be people of the Spirit. Let’s be victors in Christ! 

ADs JULY 2015 Devotional

Facing your Giants!

In the movie, “Facing the Giants,” David Childers, a rookie punter weighing only 145 pounds, faced an impossible challenge. With 2 seconds left in the state championship game against the Richland Giants, his coach Grant Taylor asked him to kick a game-wining field goal from the 51-yard line, although his best had only been 39 yards. The season had started off badly until coach Taylor 

decided to give the season all to God. All he asked of his team was to lay it 

all on the field for God.

    The Shiloh Eagle’s 32 players shouldn’t have even been in the play-offs and certainly didn’t have a chance against the Giant’s team of 85 players, but they were there! They were facing their giants of fear and failure. David, drawing his courage from his father on the sidelines and a momentary shift in the wind towards the goal, kicks a game-winning goal. Later, coach Taylor declared, “With God, nothing is impossible!”

    We need that message! In this year’s MT/MR, the Holy Spirit weaved the recurrent theme of preparing for suffering. As missionaries we may face the real possibility of suffering and/or persecution as we lay it all on our field! In our own strength, we cannot do this but, “With God, nothing is impossible!”  

   We’re not promised immunity to suffering but rather victory through it. Suffering may become an integral part of our call as missionaries, as Paul’s discovered,

“The Lord said, “Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles…and I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”  Acts 9:15-16 (NLT)

Be of good courage, God is preparing us to face our Giants and we will be alert!

“We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next.” Romans 5:3-4 (MSG)

AD's May 2015 Devotional

Ever feel ineffective and unproductive?

I have! I was going through a bad spell. I took on a church building project in Nevis. My path to dedicating the church was laid out for me. We had tremendous success with the first team, getting the building up to the bond beam level. After considering the options, we ordered a roof to be made and shipped to Nevis, arriving in time for the next team. They were going to weld the roof to be finished by team 3. Team 4 was going to lay the floors and hang the doors and windows. The last team was going to finish the platform, plaster and paint, and generally get the building to the dedication stage. 
   My plan fell apart when the shipment scheduled to take 15 days took over two months! Welders became electricians. Stairs were built instead of the roof being installed. As of this writing, I am scheduled to host the last team without any assurance that the roof will come. Is it lost forever in the Bermuda Triangle? I was carrying this discouragement to last Sunday’s service when a scripture spoke to my heart about being effective:
  His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life...
  …make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.    

                                                                                                                                        2 Peter 1:3-8 (niv) portions

    I've preached it. I've tried to live it. God is more concerned about the worker than the work!

   During you setbacks —and there WILL BE setbacks— what is the work that God is doing in you 
so He can more effectively work through you? Let keep our eyes on Him to keep from being ineffective and unproductive in life and in ministry.

AD's February 2015 Devotional

What a parade of the Nations! 

What a reminder of the heart of God!

We were at the CFAGE meeting (*Caribbean Fellowship 

of Assembly of God Executives) in Suriname. Suriname has one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the world. On the first night, there was a missions parade of people groups who identified with our host church pastored by Rev. Irving Chin Sie Jen. There were Hindustani, Javanese, Amerindians, Maroons, Creoles, Europeans and Brazilians groups represented, all carrying flags of their nations.

   On the second night of CFAGE, spontaneous praise broke out into joyous dancing. Despite the cultural diversity, most entered in, unashamedly worshipping God. Overhead, there was a sign, 

“To Whom Shall We Go?” 

What a celebration! It was a glimpse of heaven.  

   As Revelation 5:9 (NIV) depicts it: “And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.’”  

Our time in Suriname reminded us of that glorious day of celebration coming soon when our mission on this earth is finished and we shall see Jesus in All of His Glory!

ADs January 2015 Devotional

     Sharpening your focus in 2015     

The year 2015 is upon us. I pray for greater clarity of purpose and a sharpened focus of what is important. Let’s keep the main thing, the main thing. C.S. Lewis’ apologetic trilemma is often quoted to prove the Divinity of Jesus. As the argument goes, Jesus was either the Lord or a Lunatic or a Liar. An opinion that asserts that Jesus was merely a good moral teacher is challenged by the choice among three options of which only one is true. Jesus’ Divinity is the truth that gives meaning to everything that He said and did.

     In our missionary service, what is the compelling truth that challenges any lesser options? Following the alliteration of Lewis, I propose that we will either live lives that are lethargic, lapsed, or ones that leave a legacy, there is no compromise among these three options.

* A lethargic life is one defined by laziness, limitations, and is recognized 

as being listless. When the passion for the Call of God is not fresh, 

the fruit of that life is putrid.

* A lapsed life is one defined by lasciviousness, lawlessness, or loftiness. 

The heart once broken at the altar of prayer, hungering for a fresh revelation 

of God’s Glory is now caught up with lust, compromise, or pride. This life is lived in the past tense.

* Finally, a life that leaves a legacy is defined by its liberality of Grace, it’s lifting influence on others, and its lasting impact. As Psalms 92:13-14 (nkjv) depicts this life: “Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age. They shall be fresh and flourishing.” I pray that you will choose to live a life that flourishes this year. Let’s leave a legacy for the Glory of God!