September 7, 2024

“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness?” Matthew 6:22,23.

This passage is from the sermon on the mount, and many people do not remember this passage as much as the other passages. There are few ways to read this passage, but this reminds me of what my professor shared in class many years ago. It was short but had an impact.

He was watching a show on TV, not knowing what the show was about. Suddenly an inappropriate scene came up without notice, which was now registered in his mind. That Sabbath, he was on the podium to pray and preach. When he got up to give the opening prayer before preaching, that scene that he saw from few days ago came to his thought, completely distracting him from what he was supposed to pray about. I don’t think that is a unique experience for him only, as I have had similar experiences in the past. What we see will occupy the mind, that will control the thought process and our actions.

The things that we do, see, talk about, hear about will determine the outcome of your thoughts and behaviors. I would expect that if we spend and consume more time in the study of the Word and praying to Jesus over other things of the world, then that is what you will be reflecting in your character and actions as you encounter people around you. What have you read and prayed about this week?

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August 31, 2024

We noticed beautiful yellow flowers with leaves in front of our driveway a couple of weeks ago. I have never seen one there over the years, and while we were looking at it, Hyemi said, “These are pumpkin flowers!” It turns out, that when we got a pumpkin to carve in the fall season, we placed it out in the driveway and left it out there for the longest time until it got mushy, and finally got rid of it. The seeds must have come out during that time and were planted in that spot and started growing there. I don’t know whether pumpkins will actually grow there, but they don’t belong in the driveway. When the time comes, I will pluck them out and get rid of them.

There’s a similar parable in the gospel of Matthew, which talks about wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24-30). It talks about how the enemy came at night and sowed tares in the wheatfield. The master let both the wheat and tare grow together, but when the time of the harvest comes, the servants will gather the wheat from the tares, and the tares will be burned. This parable is about the kingdom of heaven.

This reminds us to be ready for the time when Jesus returns. Jesus explains in Matthew 13:41, “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness.” The tares represent those who offend and live a lawless life. If one cannot abide by the law of the kingdom of heaven, it would be very difficult to live in the joy of God’s ways. 1 John 5:3 says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” I pray we will find the joy of keeping God’s commandments.

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August 24, 2024

“Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.” Proverbs 16:3.

Written by the wisest man that has ever lived (aside from Jesus, of course), the book of Proverbs is a sea of wisdom and contains words of truth that paves a way of happiness in life. The more you read of it, the more you will reap blessings from this wonderful book written by King Solomon. 

When I was young, my mother sat me down and told me this. There are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs. Since there are 30 (or 31) days in a month, I should read one chapter each day. If I do this each month, I would be reading the book of Proverbs 12 times a year. What a great way to gain wisdom from the Scriptures on a daily basis.

Well, my mother didn’t stop there. She told me one more thing. There are 12 chapters in the book of Daniel, and 22 chapters in the book of Revelation, a total of 34 chapters. As Seventh-day Adventists, we know the importance of these two books. Hence, she said I should read one chapter each day, along with a chapter from Proverbs. Then, I would be able to read Daniel, Revelation, and Proverbs close to 12 times in a year.

There are many ways to engage yourself in the Word of God daily. My mother’s idea was just one of many ways. I pray that we will take time out of our busy lives and spend the most important time of the day with God from the Scriptures.

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