Revelation 1:4-8

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come,
and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, who is the
faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the
earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and has made
us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and
power for ever and ever! Amen.
7Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who
pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall
it be! Amen.
8”I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and
who is to come, the Almighty.”

Meditation:
1. Read the passage aloud and pay attention to the characteristics and actions
of God described in this passage.
2. Look at the sky, or close your eyes and reflect on how God has brought
victory to all mankind, including me.
3. What does the proclamation in v8 “I am alpha and omega” mean to my faith
and life today?

Personal Note:
Jesus Christ is the God eternal.  He is here from the beginning till the end.  Glory and power to Jesus Christ as we have conquered death and sin.

In the world I live in, we have this defeated attitude in almost every arenas in life.  I see people living out defeated attitude in their school life, social life, marriage, career, family, addictions, etc.  People are seeking to find victory and accomplishments through success in gaming, career, lust, etc...  As followers of Christ, we have overcome death and evil in this world, through the blood of Christ.

Devo John 12:20-26

20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the
Feast. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request.
“Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22Philip went to tell Andrew;
Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23Jesus replied, “The hour has come for
the Son of Man to be glorified. 24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls
to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces
many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates
his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow
me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who
serves me.

Meditation
1. What does Jesus mean when he talks about a grain of wheat dying and
reproducing itself? Then wait for Jesus to show an area of my life – a
relationship, a decision to be made, and so on – in which I am holding on to
the status quo, and not allowing him to bring growth or change. In what way
might this be destructive or suffocating?
2. Ponder Romans 12:2 “Fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the
inside out.”(the Message). What would this area of my life look like if I am to
“fix my attention on God, ” and in so doing, let go?
3. Hold hands in tight fists. Then relax them, open them, and turn palms
upward. Talk with Jesus about what a life of open hands would look like. Ask
him to show me what it means to be where he is(26).
4. Think again about the tightly held part of my life. Talk with Jesus, ask Him to
help me to let go just a little bit today, and tomorrow, …

Personal Note:
I want to let go of how other people look at me.  I want to let go of my fear and dependency on worldly treasure.  I want to let go of the fear of rejection so I can courageously share the Gospel.

Hebrew 2:6-10

Chapter 2

⁶But there is a place where someone has testified:
“What is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
⁷You made him a little lower than the angels;
you crowned him with glory and honor
⁸ and put everything under his feet.”

In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. ⁹But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

¹⁰In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Meditation

1. Read the passage aloud once.
2. Then read the passage again slowly.  What words or phrases capture my attention the most?  Pause for a moment and ask God to help me understand them and continue to meditate on them.  Why do I think those words or phrases fascinate me?  Are they related to what is going on in my life right now – feelings, circumstances, decisions, etc.?
3. Pray that I will be continually fascinated by God’s glory, honour and majesty.

Personal Note: Jesus Christ's death and suffering brings glory to God.  He overcame death and sin by his resurrection.  Am I living with the hope of God's power?  

Mark 8:27-38

 27Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On
the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 28They replied, “Some say
John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29”But
what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are
the Christ.” 30Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. 31He then began
to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected
by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed
and after three days rise again. 32He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took
him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But when Jesus turned and looked at his
disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have
in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” 34Then he called the crowd
to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he
must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will
save it. 36What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38If anyone is ashamed of
me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will
be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Meditation
1. When Peter made this confession of faith “You are the Christ”, he has
only taken the first step. The next step is a lifelong journey to live out this
confession fully and authentically.
2. That’s the same with us. After our confession of faith, Jesus calls us to live a
life to “deny himself and take up his cross and follow” Jesus.
3. In my journey of faith, which step have I taken? Am I still lingering at the first
step? Or am I walking toward the goal of being sanctified and made holy?
What is it that has kept me from moving ahead? What am I afraid of?
4. Pray for courage and faith to walk on this journey. Ask for God’s guidance
that I may willingly follow.

Personal Note:
The Christian faith is a journey.  I like the way John Bunyan described it in the book the Pilgrim Progress.  It is an adventure full of trials, difficulties, excitement, heart break, danger.  It is worth it as we have God's protection and guidance.  When I think about all the wonderful things that happens to humanity, it always come at a cost of suffering, perseverance, and a committed group of people willing to sacrifice for a cause.

What is it mean to me at this stage of my life?  I see that being the pastor and walking through the up and downs of the life of the teenagers a great challenge.  They are going through various difficulties, which I personally did not bear when I was young, and I have compassion on them to guide them and be a source of peace for them through the love of Jesus Christ.  If I really love them, I would need to journey and walk through those "valley of the shadow of death" with them and I need prayer for courage and faith to walk on this journey.  It is by God's grace that I may willingly follow.

Romans 3:23-28

23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by

his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him

as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate

his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand

unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to

be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of

observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28For we maintain that a man is

justified by faith apart from observing the law.


Meditation

1. Like prisoners on death row, all people are guilty, condemned and awaiting

the execution of God’s wrath. They sit silently in the miserable darkness of

their cell, all hope extinguished. Then abruptly, the door swings open and

darkness becomes light, death becomes life, and bondage becomes freedom.

“You are pardoned,” a voice tells them. But how? Why? This passage tells us

that this is exactly our situation. But how did I get pardoned? Why would

it happen?

2. When did the message of God’s grace become real to me? What impact is it

having on my life right now?


Personal Note:

I along with everyone else on earth have all failed to live up to God's standard of perfection. We sin when we missed God's standard. The wages of sin is death and we are all guilty. Some people may think that God is unfair. He is the one who created us and we are doomed to fail on our own. Our alienation and guilt resulted from our will to separate ourselves from God and we would like to be god ourselves. For example, a famous philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche said that God is dead and we killed Him. It is unfortunate that some people decided to follow the ways of the wicked. The ways of the wicked lead to miserable darkness.

God loves me and He knows that I cannot save myself. That is why he sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins and take the punishment on the cross for the sins that we deserved.

The message of God's grace become real to me eight years ago when I was led to Christ. From that point on, I experienced how God transformed my life from someone who lives for my own pleasure to someone who lives for God's glory. Of course, this takes time and today, I am far from being a total humble and faithful servant of Jesus Christ. I do have faith that God is at work in shaping myself to be more obedient to His Words and His leading. There is great joy and peace when I trust in God's love and faithfulness.

2 Corinthians 3:12-18

 12Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13We are not like
Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it
while the radiance was fading away. 14But their minds were made dull, for to this
day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed,
because only in Christ is it taken away. 15Even to this day when Moses is read, a
veil covers their hearts. 16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken
away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being
transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the
Lord, who is the Spirit.

MEDITATION
1. When we rest in the splendour of God revealed by Christ, we find ourselves
changed by it.  Gradually, by degrees, we incline toward the divine glory and
it begins to overtake us.  This is by the power of the Spirit, which prepared
us for such growth beginning at baptism.  We are being transformed into
his likeness, the way that God had intended for us to be when he created us.
2. Though there are still warts and blemishes all too visible, I am growing and
changing.  In the ever-increasing glory of the transformation taking place,
“The Christian is the person who makes it easy for others to believe in God.”
Lord, help me to reflect more of your glory and to become easier for others
to believe in you.

Personal Note:

As I reflected upon the spiritual journey, I have seen God leading me in the path of growth.  He changed me from someone whom cared only for myself to a heart who is willing to lay down my life for God's glory.  I am far from perfect as I still have doubts, insecurities, wicked, and lazy thoughts.  I have faith that when I get closer and closer to Christ through being connected with Him, I can be a blessing in witnessing to others about God.