Honoring God in Worship

John 2:13-17 >>

13 It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem.

14 In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money.

15 Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables.

16 Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”

17 Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.” 

 

Romans  12:1-2 >>

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 

 

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1. What made Jesus so angry to people who were trading in front of God’s temple was that they were compromising God’s house which was supposed to be for worship, into a marketplace, a place where there was commerce, business, things that are not God. It is His house, so it should be for worshipping of Him.

2. My attitude, my motivation, and my actions when attending worship meetings and other spiritual activities can be better. Sometimes it’s AWESOME because I am prepared, ready to WORSHIP God and seek His face. However, there have been times where I feel too busy and want to make sure to complete my duties well, but this can take the focus away from true worship, which I would like to change. I want the Holy Spirit to help me correct the attitudes that need to be fixed.

True worship, according to Romans 12:1-2, is being a living sacrifice, with holy bodies, that He can find acceptable. It’s also not copying the behaviors of this world, but being close to God and following the Holy Spirit’s guidance and filling my mind with His Word so I can be constantly changed (“changed by the renewing of (my) mind”).

To Make an Impact: Have Humility

Luke 14:7-14 >>

7 When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice:

8 “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited?

9 The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the tables

10 “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests.

11 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

12 Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward.

13 Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.

14 Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.

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1. After meditating on the words above, I learned that we need to be humble and not exalt ourselves, for “those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted (v.11).” And we should not care about others because of reputation, but also invite those who are less in man’s standards, who cannot repay us.
2. My motivation in friendship building with others usually I think is convenience and history. Today I’m learning that appearance, wealth and popularity are not good motivations.
3. My treatment to poor, unattractive, unpopular people are okay I think. I try to treat them like anyone else.

Living as a Steward of the Lord

Luke 17:7-10 >>

7″Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’?
8Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’?
9Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?
10So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

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1. I am usually motivated in obeying commands given by the Lord through my parents, spiritual leaders, teachers and boss, but sometimes I am not as motivated. But I want to ask the Holy Spirit to examine my heart and rid me of any pride and impurities so I can live in humbleness and repentance.
2. From today’s parable given by Jesus, the attitude I must have in order to be a steward of the Lord wherever I am is to be humble and not complain, but trust that God is ultimately in control and He has the best plans for us.
3.

Living as a Witness for Christ

Luke 21:8-19 >>

8He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.
9When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
10Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
12“But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.
13This will result in your being witnesses to them.
14But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.
15For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
16You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.
17All men will hate you because of me.
18But not a hair of your head will perish.
19By standing firm you will gain life.

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1. Some problems and/or sufferings I’ve been experiencing recently are conflicts with relationships with other people. The causes of this is I guess the way people deal with stress in times of change, as well as misunderstanding or mistakes and needing to forgive. These problems/sufferings occured sometimes due to negligence, sin, and sometimes out of my control.
2. Meditating on verse 13, I am able to witness through the problems that I am facing by the way I respond to them. Do I still have peace, joy, patience, and love in going through them? Do I still trust in God and give Him glory? I should respond with a steadfast heart, with humility, with perseverance and patience and trusting and depending on God, having faith that He will get me through it all. To His witnesses, the Lord promises to give us words and wisdom that adversaries will not be able to contradict. He also said not even a hair on my head will perish and I will gain life!

To Make an Impact: Don’t Miss the Opportunity to Give

Luke 14:15-24 >>

Parable of the Great Feast

15 Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!”

16 Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. 17 When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ 18 But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ 19 Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 Another said, ‘I now have a wife, so I can’t come.’

21 “The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ 22 After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ 23 So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. 24 For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’”

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1. The people who first got invited to partake in God’s feast were guests who I guess were like regular people, I’d compare it like middle and high class people. But then they made up many excuses like they are just too busy with their own cares of life.
2. Sometimes I fail to respond to a calling or invitation because of the same reason. I’ve failed in the past in properly responding to God’s calling when perhaps I didn’t want to cancel my plans with someone else, when I felt I wasn’t able to do something I felt He wanted to do properly, or I was just not as motivated for whatever reason – maybe just lack of taking action.
3. WHen I miss that opportunity it’s really sad because other people will take that opportunity and we will not even get a small taste of that banquet that initiatlly was the reward God had in store for us. All we had to do was respond.

To Change and Bear Fruit: Be a Peacemaker!

Luke 12:54-59 >>

54 Then Jesus turned to the crowd and said, “When you see clouds beginning to form in the west, you say, ‘Here comes a shower.’ And you are right. 55 When the south wind blows, you say, ‘Today will be a scorcher.’ And it is. 56 You fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the present times.

57 “Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right? 58 When you are on the way to court with your accuser, try to settle the matter before you get there. Otherwise, your accuser may drag you before the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, who will throw you into prison. 59 And if that happens, you won’t be free again until you have paid the very last penny.”

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1. God’s message for me is as much as possible, to live at peace with everyone and solve conflicts and not escalate it, but resolve it as early and as easily as possible.
2. I need to ilve at peace with others because God wants me to, and so I can be a light for others. I think I’ve been making the effort to make peace whenever there are conflicts with others. I’ve been able to bring up the issue more to solve it rather than hide it.

To Make an Impact, Have Humility

Luke 14:7-14 >>

7 When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice:

8 “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited?

9 The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the tables

10 “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests.

11 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

12 Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward.

13 Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.

14 Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.

—

1. Jesus here is teaching us not to do things based on obtaining honor, status, riches or popularity. Instead, we must do things in humility and with the motivation of serving others.

2. I’m not sure if I’ve chosen friends based on appearance, wealth, or their popularity, or more so because we have more in common with eachother, but if I did then yikes. Sorry God.  I want my motivation in friendship or building relationship with other people to be pure.

3. My views/treatment toward unattractive people, poor, unpopular, not smart, or not good can be improved. I sometimes see them as not as good as me maybe? I’m not sure to be honest, I will try to think about that next time. I hope not though! I usually still try to build friendship with them actually, but at the same time, I may have a bit of favoritism and pride sometimes. I want to make new commitment today.

TO MAKE AN IMPACT: LIVE FEAR OF GOD

Luke 12:1-5 >> 1 Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands weremilling about and stepping on each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees—their hypocrisy. 2 The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. 3 Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!

4 “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. 5 But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell.* Yes, he’s the one to fear.

1. I need to possess respect and fear of God? [analyzed from verses 2-5] because He has the power to kill us and throw us into hell, and also has the power to have mercy on us as well. Man can do nothing. God is everything. He is good, but He is also just, but He is also merciful.

2. Understanding these verses help change me to be more cautious, think more deeply, and not to take lightly acts of sin. I want to confess any hidden sins to God and reconcile and make peace with God and if needed, any other person involved.

To Make an Impact: We Need Commitment to Christ

Luke 14:25-35

[A] – ACCEPT / RECEIVE GOD’S WORD:  I will ask the Holy Spirit to guide me in meditating on God’s Word so that I can experience an encounter with the Lord in His righteousness, and experience change.

Luke 14:25-35 >>
The Cost of Being a Disciple

25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26″If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28″Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’

31″Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

1.
The Lord is teaching

34″Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

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1. Jesus is teaching us to carry the cross, and to also hae a good foundation in every project that we have.
2. Some things that are burdening my steps are past regrets that guilt from past sins! I need to believe and accept God’s full forgiveness and not give in to the accuser of the brethren!
3. I think I am making an impact in bringing change to my family, school, associations and work environment.

5 Things I desire to do to be a salt and make an influence in my family, associations, school, and workplace:
1. Regularly keep in contact with girls in DC and SC
2. Stay holy and do not give in to sexual temptation and wandering eyes (especially now that I’m engaged!)
3. Do my work diligently
4. Live out the Word of God
5. Love my neighbors as myself

Changing and Bearing Fruit Will Make an Impact

Luke 13:1-9

Repent or Perish

1Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”6Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

8” ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ “

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1. To experience change, I need to repent.
2. Repentance is so important because unless we repent, we cannot bear good fruit. Good fruit comes from a good tree.
3. If I continue to neglect opportunities to change from wrong ways and attitudes I have, I think my heart would harden and I would grieve the Holy Spirit. I don’t want that!!!