Devo (21): Rejoice. Pray. Give Thanks.

Scripture reading: ¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Observation: We can see in this verse what’s God’s will for us. This is one of the verses that expresses the will of God in our lives. We are commanded to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. Since, these phrases are not separated by a period then it should be interpreted having one thought. We rejoice in all circumstances – good or bad because we have prayed to God all our circumstances and on that basis we give thanks in all circumstances. Rejoicing always is an act of faith to our God who is in control even over the bad, hopeless, discouraging, dark, and trying times. Praying without ceasing acknowledges that God works through our prayers. As our Father, He wants His children to ask things from Him. And as good children, we should trust our heavenly Father because He doesn’t withhold good things to His children and He knows what is best for Him. He is infinitely wise and perfectly loving towards us and He is in control to bring about what He has meant for us. That’s why we could give thanks in all things – not just the good things.

Application: Let us be joyful in all circumstances even in hopeless, dark, discouraging, tiring, and trying times because God is our hope, light, strength, and shield. Let us pray and share to God all the struggles that we have, the needs that we want, our plans for the future, our worries, and our concerns. Always remember that our heavenly Father wants to listen to His children but we must also remember that our heavenly Father is perfect and His plans and His ways are higher than ours. So whatever He wills in our lives, we should thank Him for it because that’s what’s best for us.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, give us more joy in You. May we rely on You more and express our trust through prayer. Whatever Your response to our prayers, may we give thanks to all circumstances because You know what’s best for us and You work all things together for our good and Your glory. Help us to be in line with Your will in our lives by being joyful, prayerful, and thankful in all things. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.

Devo (19): Never Forsaken

Scripture reading: Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶ So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

Observation: The author of Hebrews exhorts the readers to keep their lives free from the love of money. When people engage us, we should not give them any hint that we are doing the things that we do for the love of money. But rather we are doing the things that we are doing for the glory of God and for the good of others. The watching world should see something different in our lives. People who don’t have Christ value money more than God and they will do anything to get more money. Money is not inherently sinful but if we love money it becomes the root of all evil and ends in all kinds of greed, pride, selfishness, and so forth. The secret is to be content with what we have. Being contented with what we have in life is one of the key things to our happiness. Comparison is the death of joy and happiness. So, we should not compare and be envious of what others have that we do not have. But rather, we should be contented with what we have in life knowing that what we have now is what we need and it comes from our loving Father who knows what’s best. The reason why we ought to be contented is because God said that He will not leave nor forsake us. This is His promise towards us. We have the greatest motivation to be contented because He will be with us forever. He will never abandon His children but He will supply them their needs at the right amount and exactly at the right moment. Because God won’t leave us nor forsake us, we can say with the writer of the Hebrews, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” He will be with us. He is not distant but He is near with us always. And He watches us as we struggle, and He supplies the help that we need by His sustaining grace. Because God is our help, there is no reason to fear men. Weak men cannot do anything against our mighty God who is with us.

Application: Is our character free from the love of money? Or would people conclude that if they look at our lives that money is our god? Let us be contented with what we have abounding in thanksgiving in all that we have knowing that these things are what’s best for us at the moment. There is nothing wrong with striving to earn more money for God’s kingdom and to help other people. But when it becomes an obsession and an end instead of just being a means to something good then it becomes an idol. Let us be contented with what we have while having gratitude in our hearts. Let us not forget that God won’t abandon His children but will help supply their needs according to the riches of His grace. Let us not be afraid of people knowing that our God is our help. If God is with us then no one can be against us.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, sorry for the times that we have a tendency to love money and live as if money is our God. Sorry for the times that we are not contented with the things we have. Sorry for the times that we do not trust You enough that You will provide our needs. Sorry for the fear of men. Thank You, Lord for reminding us that You will never leave us nor forsake us and that You are our Helper. Thank You for the daily grace that sustains, protects, and assures us. Be our Refuge, our Help, and our Strength. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.

Devo (2): Speak Life

 Scripture reading: Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (Eph. 4:29)

Observation: The apostle Paul commands us that no corrupting talk should come out of our mouths. The word corrupting in greek is σαπρός, pronounced as sapros, which means rotten, corrupt, bad, worthless. This is an adjective and is used for fruits and trees. This word is also used in a a moral sense. If we come to think, rotten fruits are discarded by people. They don’t want to eat it because it is rotten. It’s also same with rotten words. People would be avoid you and would not want to receive your words because it is rotten. It could also be interpreted in a moral sense as it relates to the effect of one’s soul. We are moral beings who have a soul. And, our soul is being affected base on our morality. There are words that corrupt our soul especially if the words said to a person entice sinful imaginations and ignite sinful emotions. It could be words that contribute to lust, anger, malice, hatred, divisions, and all the bad things. It could also refer to speaking nonsense and worthless words that do not add value to a person’s life. Some people speak words with no caution. They just speak for the speak of speaking. Most of the times, because of carelessness, we always speak worthless things.

The apostle then contrasts the words that should only come out of our mouths. What we say should build up a person and should be spoken on the right occasion. It should edify the person. It should encourage. It should be a means for the person to improve, be comforted, and be strengthened. It should also be spoken at the right time. People say that the right words spoken at the wrong time are not beneficial. Timing is really crucial. The circumstance should be considered as we speak the things that we think are good and helpful. People usually don’t listen to advices no matter how good it is because it’s untimely spoken. As we try to speak good, helpful, and timely words, the apostle said that it will give grace to those who hear. Do we not want to be a blessing to people as we speak to them? Do we not want others to experience grace through our words? The ways of the flesh and the patterns of the world in conversations are already so downgrading, noisy, self-centered, and worthless. Let us be the kind of people who speak life and light in this dead and dark world. And how do we do that? We speak good words that builds up at the right moment. As we do that, grace is inevitably received and experienced by others through our words.

Application: Before engaging in conversations with other people, may we have a heart that prays and seeks to bless and give grace to all the people whom we talk to. We could ask ourselves filter questions in light of the verse discussed. Is it good? Is it helpful? (edifying or that which builds up) Is it necessary? (fit for occasion). How many arguments would be avoided if we would pause and ask ourselves these questions before speaking? How many people won’t get hurt with our words but instead be blessed?

Prayer: “Heavenly Father, forgive us for speaking death instead of life, for contributing to the corruption of one’s soul instead of the cleansing of one’s soul, and for downgrading instead of building up others. We will all be accountable with every worthless words we say on judgment day. So, we pray that You would enable us by the power of the Holy Spirit to speak what is good, helpful, and necessary. We want to be a blessing to other people as we talk to them. Make us people who give grace to others through our words because we are recipients of God’s grace in the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ mighty name, we pray. Amen”

Devo (1): Your Word is Truth

 Scripture reading: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17)

Observation: These words were part of the high-priestly prayer of Jesus. And it’s just amazing that Jesus didn’t use the adjective true to describe the word of God. This is amazing because when we refer something as true, we mean to say that this something corresponds to a higher standard of truth. It is not the standard but this something is true because it corresponds to that standard. The prayer of Jesus is just drastic because He refers to the word of God as truth. God’s word is not merely true because it corresponds to a certain standard. God’s word is the truth or the standard itself. Something is true if it corresponds to the ultimate standard of truth: God’s word.

God’s word is not just the ultimate standard of truth or the final authority of our life but it also sanctifies us. God’s word makes us holy. God’s word transforms us into Christ. The Holy Spirit, the Person who is in us who helps us in our sanctification, uses God’s word to sanctify us. The holy Spirit is the author of the Bible. And it is through the Bible that He speaks in our hearts and assures us of truth and eventually helps us in our sanctification when we partner with Him in applying the truth in our lives.

Application: As we read the Bible, may we not think of it as merely words that were written by human beings but rather the very words of God Himself. As we read it, God speaks into our hearts. So, may we have this eager anticipation that whenever we spend time reading, meditating, memorizing, and praying over His Word, God uses His Word to speak into our hearts. May we not take it for granted that it is really Him speaking to us. May we focus our minds and our hearts on what He has to say to us. And as we study the truth, may it not just fill our hearts but may it be reflected in our lives so that we would become more and more like Christ.

Prayer: “Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word. Your Word is truth. Your promises are true because you cannot lie. We can trust you because You are faithful and trustworthy. May You give us deeper conviction to believe and obey Your written word through the Bible because it truly comes from You. Holy Spirit, lead us and guide us into all truths. You are the Spirit of truth. Lead us to the truth that we may worship in spirit and in truth. A kind of worship that pleases You. Holy Spirit, enable us to live out Your word and Your truth to become more and more like Jesus. And as we reflect Jesus in our lives may we also share Jesus to others as well and lead them to the Truth. In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen.”