SCRIPTURE
5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For 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. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
2 Peter 1:5-9
OBSERVATION
This is Peter's version of the fruit of the Spirit when we truly become fully devoted followers of Christ. The change in our lives is reflected by an increase of these eight virtues. Faith is the starting point and love is the goal. In between, we need to grow in goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness and brotherly kindness. Peter suggests that they work together as one overflows over the other. The more faith I have, the more goodness I will develop. The more goodness I have, the more knowledge I will have, and so forth. The reverse process is also true. I cannot have a measure of love greater that my measure of brotherly kindness. I cannot have a measure a measure of brotherly kindness larger than my measure of godliness, and so forth.
APPLICATION
As I prepare for what has for next year and for the future, looking at Peter's mighty 8 provides me with a clear idea of who I want to become and also a strategy to accomplish that. Just like a pyramid, the base of faith must be vastly large. On top of that I must build goodness, and on top of that knowledge, etc. I think my problem is that I try to work in all these virtues separately, not as unit. I need to realize that the work must be comprehensive, one building upon each other and feeding from each other. I cannot be strong in godliness and week in perseverance. I cannot say that I lack self-control but I abound in love. Only if I focus in all eight of them and increase my measure in each one of them, I will see my life thriving and growing, giving glory to God, and showing that He truly lives in me.
PRAYER
Dear heavenly Father, please let me fgrow in each area of the mighty eight. Help me to understand more and more about the way each one of them build on each other and feeds from each other. I want to honor you with my life and reveal to the world that you live in me by the way I grow in your image. I love you Lord Amen!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
LOVING MY NEIGHBOR. By Kim Matsukawa
SCRIPTURE:
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. James 2:8-9
OBSERVATION:
James gives instructions on how not to commit sin by the law of “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Reminding us that we need to treat everyone equal, whether they are rich or poor, have a mansion or live in a box. What a humbling thought, reminding us that as Jesus put it in Matthew 25, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ (Matthew 25:40)
APPLICATION:
I am totally guilty of giving preferential treatment to certain people. I would like to think that I have a purer heart, one that accepts everyone just the way they are, however, know that is not true. Reading this scripture with Matthew 25:40 as well as “you’re your neighbor”, reminds me that when I treat, or don’t even acknowledge those that I am not comfortable with; they too are God’s creature and I need to treat them as such.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, forgive me for my selfishness of not sharing with those less fortunate as much as I probably could. Your humbling scripture reminds me that I need to love everyone equally and without thinking of what could I get out of it. I ask You for a heart of unabounding love for others who hardly get a chance to receive it. Help me to know what to do when approached and when I need to approach someone else. Amen…
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. James 2:8-9
OBSERVATION:
James gives instructions on how not to commit sin by the law of “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Reminding us that we need to treat everyone equal, whether they are rich or poor, have a mansion or live in a box. What a humbling thought, reminding us that as Jesus put it in Matthew 25, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ (Matthew 25:40)
APPLICATION:
I am totally guilty of giving preferential treatment to certain people. I would like to think that I have a purer heart, one that accepts everyone just the way they are, however, know that is not true. Reading this scripture with Matthew 25:40 as well as “you’re your neighbor”, reminds me that when I treat, or don’t even acknowledge those that I am not comfortable with; they too are God’s creature and I need to treat them as such.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, forgive me for my selfishness of not sharing with those less fortunate as much as I probably could. Your humbling scripture reminds me that I need to love everyone equally and without thinking of what could I get out of it. I ask You for a heart of unabounding love for others who hardly get a chance to receive it. Help me to know what to do when approached and when I need to approach someone else. Amen…
Monday, December 14, 2009
TRUSTING GOD. By Pastor Fernando
SCRIPTURE
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
Hebrews 13:5-6
OBSERVATION
The writer of Hebrews has a great sense of urgency to pass down to his readers the most important values of a fully devoted follower of Christ. Among them he points out sexual purity, hospitality, generosity, justice, and mercy. And also he has a warning about greed and loving money. He accurately describes lack of contentment as a dangerous root in our lives because ultimately steals away our trust in God's love, provision, and protection.
I recently heard Chris Rock, a well known celebrity, confessing how Americans worship money because of what it has to offer in this world. We live in a money loving society that even though has enough and more than everyone else, still is not satisfied and craves for more. If we are not careful, such mindset can invade the heart of a follower of Christ and cause him/her to have divided loyalties. Jesus said that we cannot have two masters. We cannot serve God and money. We must make a choice almost in a daily basis. And if we choose to love God above money, then we will grow trusting more and more in his provision, protection, and plan for our lives.
APPLICATION.
Currently I'm looking at the future of my family and the church. In both fields I see the potential for a greater blessing. At home, even though we have more than enough, we are looking to buy a house and we are very excited about it. However, we also must be cautious about it. Our heart is deceitful and very easy we could become ungrateful and greedy. We want to remain faithful to God and to our calling to be servants and spiritual leaders with integrity. We want to keep an above reproach lifestyle and a sense of authority when it comes to live simple lives for the sake of the gospel.
With the church we are facing a great opportunity to have more and to do more for the kingdom of God. And it's very easy to allow greed and pride to creep in. I want to lead our church in faith for great things to happen without being pretentious and arrogant. We don't want to trust in our abilities, or past experiences. We want to simply trust God and follow His direction. We want to dream for better things without being ungrateful about the current things. And by God's grace, we will have such heart coming into those important decisions.
PRAYER
Dear heavenly Father, please give me a pure heart as I approach important decisions about my family and about your church. Please reveal any trace of ingratitude and greed in our hearts so we can get rid off it and walk into this season with a clean heart. We want to walk into better things not because we are unhappy, but because we are following you. We are happy with what you have given us, but if it's your will to have more, give me wisdom about how to walk into it and also give me grace to receive with humility what you have prepared for us. I love you more than anything!
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
Hebrews 13:5-6
OBSERVATION
The writer of Hebrews has a great sense of urgency to pass down to his readers the most important values of a fully devoted follower of Christ. Among them he points out sexual purity, hospitality, generosity, justice, and mercy. And also he has a warning about greed and loving money. He accurately describes lack of contentment as a dangerous root in our lives because ultimately steals away our trust in God's love, provision, and protection.
I recently heard Chris Rock, a well known celebrity, confessing how Americans worship money because of what it has to offer in this world. We live in a money loving society that even though has enough and more than everyone else, still is not satisfied and craves for more. If we are not careful, such mindset can invade the heart of a follower of Christ and cause him/her to have divided loyalties. Jesus said that we cannot have two masters. We cannot serve God and money. We must make a choice almost in a daily basis. And if we choose to love God above money, then we will grow trusting more and more in his provision, protection, and plan for our lives.
APPLICATION.
Currently I'm looking at the future of my family and the church. In both fields I see the potential for a greater blessing. At home, even though we have more than enough, we are looking to buy a house and we are very excited about it. However, we also must be cautious about it. Our heart is deceitful and very easy we could become ungrateful and greedy. We want to remain faithful to God and to our calling to be servants and spiritual leaders with integrity. We want to keep an above reproach lifestyle and a sense of authority when it comes to live simple lives for the sake of the gospel.
With the church we are facing a great opportunity to have more and to do more for the kingdom of God. And it's very easy to allow greed and pride to creep in. I want to lead our church in faith for great things to happen without being pretentious and arrogant. We don't want to trust in our abilities, or past experiences. We want to simply trust God and follow His direction. We want to dream for better things without being ungrateful about the current things. And by God's grace, we will have such heart coming into those important decisions.
PRAYER
Dear heavenly Father, please give me a pure heart as I approach important decisions about my family and about your church. Please reveal any trace of ingratitude and greed in our hearts so we can get rid off it and walk into this season with a clean heart. We want to walk into better things not because we are unhappy, but because we are following you. We are happy with what you have given us, but if it's your will to have more, give me wisdom about how to walk into it and also give me grace to receive with humility what you have prepared for us. I love you more than anything!
Friday, December 11, 2009
MOMENTS LOST. By Pastor Jan Tomai
SCRIPTURE
“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.” 2 Timothy 2:24-25
OBSERVATION
Quarreling does not seem to solve anything. Just as Timothy shares, it renders one close to being foolish. The worst part of quarreling is how it leads to deception. The harder we fight for something, the more we think we are walking in doing what is right. Manytimes, the issue is of no consequence when compared to people hungry, hurt, and lost without Jesus.
APPLICATION
Occasionally, I find myself drawn into something that really is of no importance but here I am arguing. The arguing comes not so much from a heart-felt stance as from a need to defend myself against some invisible unknown enemy from my childhood! My natural tendency is to avoid quarreling at all costs. I grew up as a youngster with nothing but contention in my family and home. My family took pride in quarreling loudly and perversely. I ran from it then and run from it now. I am immediately hit by the futility of the situation. However, it is very important that I learn to step-back, stop feeling attacked and being defensive. Only then, will I stop running and use those words of gentleness you put in my heart.
PRAYER
Lord, speak to my heart when I feel contention in the air. Give your voice to my words that there is true humility in kindness and gentleness. Restore to me those moments lost due to my shortcomings. Thank you for bringing me out of darkness into your light.
“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.” 2 Timothy 2:24-25
OBSERVATION
Quarreling does not seem to solve anything. Just as Timothy shares, it renders one close to being foolish. The worst part of quarreling is how it leads to deception. The harder we fight for something, the more we think we are walking in doing what is right. Manytimes, the issue is of no consequence when compared to people hungry, hurt, and lost without Jesus.
APPLICATION
Occasionally, I find myself drawn into something that really is of no importance but here I am arguing. The arguing comes not so much from a heart-felt stance as from a need to defend myself against some invisible unknown enemy from my childhood! My natural tendency is to avoid quarreling at all costs. I grew up as a youngster with nothing but contention in my family and home. My family took pride in quarreling loudly and perversely. I ran from it then and run from it now. I am immediately hit by the futility of the situation. However, it is very important that I learn to step-back, stop feeling attacked and being defensive. Only then, will I stop running and use those words of gentleness you put in my heart.
PRAYER
Lord, speak to my heart when I feel contention in the air. Give your voice to my words that there is true humility in kindness and gentleness. Restore to me those moments lost due to my shortcomings. Thank you for bringing me out of darkness into your light.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
TRUE HUMILITY. By Pastor Fernando
SCRIPTURE
In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
2 Timothy 2:20-21
OBSERVATION
Paul has a very practical philosophy of life. He believes there's two kinds of people: those used by God for noble purposes, and those who are not used for noble purposes because of their current ignoble use. Gold and silver vessels were used for very important occasions. Wood and clay vessels were used for day to day stuff. In fact, wood and clay articles were used for something dirty because Paul implies that they needed to be clean. And once the cleansing happens and the ignoble things are gone, then the vessel becomes holy in the hands of the Master and used to do good things.
APPLICATION
Without a doubt, Paul calls each one of us to a reality check about our lives. We all start in our journey with God as vessels of wood and clay, dedicated to ignoble purposes, wasting our true potential, engaged in things that the Master doesn't use. That is our nature. But such nature can be altered when we take the responsibility to cleanse ourselves. Nobody can do the cleansing for us. We need to self-initiate the process and continue keeping our lives clean from impurities.
For some reason I always thought that God will take my wood and clay and turn them into gold and silver. The problem with this mindset is that we give then room for feeling entitled, regardless of our true condition. Better being a clean wood and clay article used by the Master for good things than being a god and silver article filled with filth and discarded by the Master. I find that it is more healthy to think about my own life as wood and clay than needs to be cleansed regularly rather that gold and silver that seems to be so righteous. True humility is not defined by what others perceive in me but by what I harbor in my heart. And if I find something filthy in it, I need to cleanse myself right away from anything that would hinder me as a useful article in the hands of the Master to do good things in this world.
PRAYER
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for clarifying this illustration in my heart. Forgive me for the many times I felt entitled to your grace and forgiveness, having a false sense of humility, thinking that because you have used me in the past for noble purposes, automatically I will be used in the future. Help me to remain faithful and humble at your feet, always thinking about my own life as insignificant, unless you use me. Give me a clean and pure heart, and the diligence to keep it clean from the selfish and lustful desires of my youth, being always ready to be used by you, my Master., to bring glory to your name. Amen.
In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
2 Timothy 2:20-21
OBSERVATION
Paul has a very practical philosophy of life. He believes there's two kinds of people: those used by God for noble purposes, and those who are not used for noble purposes because of their current ignoble use. Gold and silver vessels were used for very important occasions. Wood and clay vessels were used for day to day stuff. In fact, wood and clay articles were used for something dirty because Paul implies that they needed to be clean. And once the cleansing happens and the ignoble things are gone, then the vessel becomes holy in the hands of the Master and used to do good things.
APPLICATION
Without a doubt, Paul calls each one of us to a reality check about our lives. We all start in our journey with God as vessels of wood and clay, dedicated to ignoble purposes, wasting our true potential, engaged in things that the Master doesn't use. That is our nature. But such nature can be altered when we take the responsibility to cleanse ourselves. Nobody can do the cleansing for us. We need to self-initiate the process and continue keeping our lives clean from impurities.
For some reason I always thought that God will take my wood and clay and turn them into gold and silver. The problem with this mindset is that we give then room for feeling entitled, regardless of our true condition. Better being a clean wood and clay article used by the Master for good things than being a god and silver article filled with filth and discarded by the Master. I find that it is more healthy to think about my own life as wood and clay than needs to be cleansed regularly rather that gold and silver that seems to be so righteous. True humility is not defined by what others perceive in me but by what I harbor in my heart. And if I find something filthy in it, I need to cleanse myself right away from anything that would hinder me as a useful article in the hands of the Master to do good things in this world.
PRAYER
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for clarifying this illustration in my heart. Forgive me for the many times I felt entitled to your grace and forgiveness, having a false sense of humility, thinking that because you have used me in the past for noble purposes, automatically I will be used in the future. Help me to remain faithful and humble at your feet, always thinking about my own life as insignificant, unless you use me. Give me a clean and pure heart, and the diligence to keep it clean from the selfish and lustful desires of my youth, being always ready to be used by you, my Master., to bring glory to your name. Amen.
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