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Pastor's Devotional Thoughts



Numbers 12 talks about a time when Miriam and Aaron complain to their brother Moses. This made the Lord extremely unhappy and He called upon Miriam and Aaron. Basically, God was telling them not to complain to their brother like that. When God speaks to prophets, He would speak to them through visions and dreams. But Moses was different. “Not so with My servant Moses… I speak with him face to face.” Numbers 12:7-8. That’s pretty awesome. Moses was so special that God spoke to him in person, not through dreams. Why? God said, “He is faithful in all My house.” verse 7. 


God did something similar with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. When their faith was put to the test by being forced to worship an idol, they chose to stay faithful to God, regardless of consequences. “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. Buf if not, let it be known to you, O kng, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Daniel 3:17, 18. That is quite the faith expressed here. As a result, these men were thrown into the fiery furnace. God responded to their faith. God not only saved them from burning to death, but He did someting extraordinary. Nebuchadnezzar cried out, “Look! I see four men loose,  walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” verse 25. How cool is that? Jesus Himself came down to be with the men in the midst of their trials.


This Jesus gives us the same promise to us that He will be with us in person. Jesus promised, “I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:3. I am glad that I can walk with Jesus and be with Him in person. We will see Jesus. Let us be faithful to Him no matter what.




It was a good 5 mile run on Monday. My body felt well rested, the air was fresh, and I was in the zone while running. Toward the last 10 minutes of the run, a tiny piece of salt on the road got into my left shoe. It was very small and I felt it as it was dancing around under the foot. It was really uncomfortable, but I didn’t want to pause my momentum of the run, and since I was almost done with the run, I did not bother takin it out.


I came home, unlaced my shoes and I got out of the shoes and that was it. Couple of days later, I laced up once again to go out for a run. After 4 steps, I felt the salt and remembered that I had forgotten to take it out last time! I debated in my mind. Should I just go? Or take off the shoe and get it out? After 30 seconds of contemplating, I went back, unlaced my left shoe and got the salt out. The run felt real good. Imagine how that tiny piece of salt under your foot can bring uncomfort to the rest of the body!


In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about the thorn in his flesh that was given to him. He pleaded to the Lord three times that he would get rid of it. But this was God’s response. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” verse 9. Paul took his weakness as an opportunity to seek the power of Christ, for he says, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” verse 10. 


The result of sin in this world brings discomfort and challenges in our lives, no matter how small or big they are. But it is also a means to find greater grace that God gives to us. And we can turn to Jesus and ask Him to reveal His power to us.




As we were traveling out of state, we put on a rooftop cargo carrier on our vehicle. I tightened the holders at the bottom of the carrier to the rooftop bars, and off we went. It was quite windy on the highway, and it got worse as we entered Iowa. After a few hours, we stopped for gas and a bathroom break. 


When I got out of the bathroom, I noticed that the front of the cargo carrier shifted to one side and the carrier was sitting on top of the car roof diagonally. Immediately, I went up to check it out and it turned out that I had tightened the holders, but not enough. The strong winds had pushed it over. I re-positioned the carrier and secured the holder, making sure it wouldn’t move for the remainder of the trip, and be safe. 


The Synoptic Gospels talk about the ‘Parable of the Sower.’ In Matthew 13, the farmer plants the seeds on the soil by scattering them. The seeds fell on the road, rocky places, and some on the thorny area. These seeds only grew to a certain point until they got eaten by the birds, scorched in the sun, or couldn’t grow among the thorns. However, other seeds fell on the good soil. They were securely anchored in the ground and were properly grown to reap up to a hundred fold. 


Jesus says, “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom..” Matthew 13:19. The seeds are the Words of Jesus about His Kingdom. I pray that we can secure His seed in our hearts and not be loose, lest temptations come like a wind and blow it away. I pray that we will forward to being in His Kingdom by holding fast to His Word.


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