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 20:19-29

 19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together,
with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them
and said, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands
and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21Again Jesus
said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22And
with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you
forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are
not forgiven.” 24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with
the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen
the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put
my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe
it.” 26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with
them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and
said, “Peace be with you!” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here;
see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and
believe.” 28Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Then Jesus told him,
“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not
seen and yet have believed.”

Meditation
1. Read John’s description of the first time Jesus appeared to his disciples after
his death and resurrection. Pay special attention to Jesus’ words to them.
2. What does Thomas’s response to Jesus’ resurrection make me feel? How did
Jesus respond to him?
3. Read the passage once more. Look around Jesus’ disciples, those believing
ones; and then Thomas. Judging from where I actually am in my relationship
with Jesus right now, where will I be? As I hear Jesus speak to me, respond
to him from my heart. Let him engage me in conversation.
4. Thank God for the faith he has given me no matter if I were a Thomas or like
the other disciple.

The last words from Jesus before he die was "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  By the power of God, Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.  He overcame death.  The first words he said to his disciples were: "Peace be with you!"  The disciples were overjoyed and they confirmed it was really Jesus through examining his wounds.  After we experienced God's peace and love, Jesus is sending us out and he breathed the Holy Spirit on us and said "Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

I thank God for the faith that he has given me.  I can proclaim the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ because I am convicted that I have received forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ.

Devo John 8:1-11

1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2At dawn he appeared again in the
temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to
teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman
caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus,
“Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses
commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6They were
using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus
bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept
on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is
without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down
and wrote on the ground. 9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a
time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing
there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no
one condemned you?” 11”No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn
you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Meditation
1. Imagine myself in the crowd that day. Picture the embarrassed and ashamed
expression on the woman’s face. Hear the condescending voices of the
religious leaders. Feel the dirt blowing against me as Jesus bends down and
writes something in it.
2. Come honestly before God and ask the Spirit to reveal to me the sins I’ve
engaged in recently. Then imagine myself in the same situation as this
woman. I’m caught in this sin, exposed. Imagine me and Jesus having the
same conversation: “Does no one condemn you?” “No one, Master.” He
looks me in the eye. “Neither do I. Go on your way. From now on don’t sin.”
What am I feeling? Thinking?

Personal Note:
God has forgiven me all of my sins! All of my greed, lust, pride, indifference, envy, and all sorts of wicked thoughts are forgiven through Jesus Christ, who absorbed God's wrath on all of my sins.  I feel like an heavy burden is lifted off my shoulder!

Mark 5:25-34

25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.
26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all
she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about
Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she
thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29Immediately her bleeding
stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At
once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the
crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding
against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’
” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman,
knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with
fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed
you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Meditation
1. Jesus, on his way to the home of a dying girl, was touched by a woman with
chronic bleeding. She spent all she had to search for a cure but to no avail.
Then she heard about Jesus, she became convinced that if she could only
touch his clothing, she would be healed. And she was healed indeed.
2. Mark is demonstrating to us here that Jesus Christ, ruler of God’s kingdom,
has power over nature, over demonic power, and over every illness. Knowing
Jesus has such power gives us confidence to live by his word, even if he
should not choose to heal every believer’s disease now.
3. Tell Jesus all of my urgent needs and ask for His healing and help.

Personal Note:
From point 2, we need to accept the reality that we have saints who pray with faith, and yet their love ones dies at the end.  I was recently at a funeral of an elderly lady on the weekend.  The woman endured years of physical suffering before her death.  From her testimony and the testimony of her friends, her faith enable her to rejoice and live life to the fullest despite her last few years' worsening physical condition.  She was at peace and was experiencing God's freedom and she was a tremendous blessing to brothers and sisters around her.

I do not suffer much physically now a days.  I thank God for giving me health so that I can enjoy various physical activities like basketball and running, etc.  I do need help in overcoming discouragement and have faith in God's power in growing the English congregation.  We have seen the group grew from a few guys to a bigger group by his grace.  Now, it is our desire to grow the group in width (more people in each of the small groups) and in depth (quality of discipleship).  As the pastor, I am called to lead them with faith and courage.  I urgently need Jesus Christ to strengthen my doubt and trust in his grace and power.