How are things?  Hope you’re all having a great start to the week.  For those who will be attending Wed. Bible Study, we will be covering Chapters 1 & 2 in our study book.  For those who didn’t get a chance to pick one up, you can get it on Wed. or download a sample which includes our chapters on amazon.com (search Westminster Shorter Catechism by G.I. Williamson).  Here’s today’s devotion:

Mon, Feb 6th – Exodus 3

If you think about the most memorable stories in the Bible, our story today definitely falls into that category.  Taking a closer look, you’ll see that almost everyone remembers the same stories in the Bible.  Why is that?  We notice that almost all of the memorable include some type of miraculous events or amazing phenomenon.  So we begin to see why the Lord works in the ways that He does.  He will do the extraordinary in order to drive home a point or to display His power and wonder.  In Exodus 3, the Lord would call Moses to be the leader of the Jews and deliver them to the Promised Land.  He would notice the bush that was burning but wasn’t incinerating.  It wouldn’t b/c there was nothing to burn up b/c the bush represented God Himself.  God would tell him to go but he initially hesitated.  Why?  More than likely, he knew that people would question him, the Jew that murder a man and ran off into the wilderness.  But God would reassure Him
with His divine name (I AM who I AM).  The name that was considered so holy that Jews wouldn’t pronounce it when they were reading their Bibles.

This reminds me of how we can be like Moses as well.  We question our abilities and wonder whether God can really use us.  The Lord shows us thru the lives of His servants that when God chooses someone, He will guarantee that they will be used in powerful ways.  Remember that for all of us who have placed our faith in Jesus, you ARE chosen to do the Lord’s work and He promises that you will do great things for the Lord.  Now the world may not notice your works of righteousness but He does and so do His people.

Have a great week everyone and God bless!

SDG,
P. Ben

How are things?  As you guys know, the weather has been crazy outside and we want to make sure that everyone is safe and sound.  Therefore, here is the updated schedule:

1.  College Bible Study – Postponed
2.  Connection Prayer & EM Prayer Meeting – Postponed
3.  Married Couples Meeting – On hold (will contact couples on Sat. morning)

Friday, Feb 3rd – Exodus 1-2

It is amazing to see the turn of events that occur in God’s Word.  One minute people are being blessed, the next they are going thru tremendous hardships.  Going into the book of Exodus, it should have been a great time of rejoicing for God’s people.  They were growing as a nation as one of their own, Joseph would lead them out of famine and into a land of abundance in Egypt.  However as we know, things didn’t turn out the way that they had hoped.  The rulers of Egypt forgot about all the great things that Joseph had done, literally saving the empire and world from destruction.  They would enslave the Egyptians and make their live miserable.  If that wasn’t enough, the Egyptians would have all Hebrew male babies killed in order to curb numbers, what an immoral act.  

Out of this, the Lord would choose Moses.  He would go thru the waters and be found by an Egyptian princess that would save him.  Later as Moses would grow up and get into a dispute with an Egyptian and take his life.  After this, he would see two of his Hebrew brothers fighting and when he tried to stop them, they would confront him with his own act of murder.  Moses would flee and find refuge in the wilderness.  Meanwhile back in Egypt, the Jews were continually suffering looking for deliverance.  

For alot of us, we can go thru similar experiences but usually not to this extreme.  Stories like this remind us that things will not always be good for God’s people.  We will go thru some incredible hardships and wonder why the Lord makes life difficult.  This is where we need to trust the Lord’s plan and know that He has a clear purpose in all things even when we can’t see the driving force behind it.

Hope you guys stay safe.  Have a blessed weekend and God bless!

SDG,
P. Ben

How’s it going?  Most of you know that the weather will probably be rough this weekend.  We will make an official announcement on College Bible Study, EM Prayer & Married Couple Meeting tomorrow.  Stay tuned.  Here’s today’s devotion:

Thurs, Feb 2nd – Genesis 45

When you really look at the Word and compare it to historical documents, it is nearly impossible to question its authenticity.  That’s what makes God’s Word so amazing, it is truthful and impactful.  We see this in today’s story as Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers.  Up to this point, Joseph would veil his true identity.  Some say that he was “stringing” his brothers along but I believe that he wanted to really see whether his brothers had changed.  We see this in the way that they treated Benjamin and their father.  Finally he could hold it back any longer and showed himself to them.  You can only imagine how shocked they were when this happened and probably they were scared for their very lives.  I know I would be if I were in their shoes.  But Joseph eased their fears by reassuring them that this was all apart of God’s plan.  Now Joseph could have said that it was God’s plan and still take vengeance on his brothers.  After
this, we see such an incredible picture of the brothers bonding with Joseph and sharing stories as well as telling them that their father Jacob was still alive.  This is one of my favorite parts of the story.  Even after all these years, both the father and son wouldn’t forget about each other.  You can imagine Jacob pulling out his son’s favorite coat ever so often and remember his son.  How overwhelmed he would be when he finally saw the son that he thought was lost forever.

For us, it is one thing to say that it is God’s plan but the response is another question all together.  We can say that we know that it’s God’s plan but grumble about it or still seek to persecute those who have caused us to suffer.  When we really say that it’s God plan, the godly response is not just simply acknowledge but an attitude of godliness that seeks to bless and find joy even in the midst of suffering.

Take care everyone and stay tuned to our devotion tomorrow for the updated EM schedule.

SDG,
P. Ben

How are things going?  Our KM Missions Team is arriving in Cambodia as we speak.  Pray for their safety, health, and the ministry projects that they will be partaking in.  Also a reminder that we will be having Communion this Sunday.  Make sure to take the time to prepare your hearts as you come before the table.  Here’s today’s devotion:

Wed, Feb 1st – Genesis 41

One of the greatest aspects of Scripture is role reversal.  You see those who were initially successful end up in ruin b/c of their folly.  Likewise, you’ll see the unthinkable happen as those who were completely impoverished end up as a supreme ruler.  If we look back, as Joseph ended up unjustly in prison, he would interest the dreams of the cupbearer and baker.  One would end up executed and the other restored but amazingly the one that was spared completely forgot about Joseph and so he would continue to remain in prison for another two years.  Now as we go to chapter 41, Pharoah himself would have two dreams which no one was able to interpret.  At that moment, the cupbearer remembered Joseph and so he was called into the king’s throne room and was able to interpret these dreams by the Lord’s power.  He woud advise the king of what should be done and the king would appoint Joseph as 2nd in command of all of Egypt.  This is really mindblowing
when you think about it.  It’s like a prisoner who would be appointed as vice-president of the US.  It will never happen in this fashion.

What we learn here is not about good karma or the guaranteed rewards from the Lord.  We learn the importance of being faithful to the Lord even when things don’t go our way.  Also we must also remember that all of our abilities come from the Lord and we are commanded to give Him the glory and not point it to ourselves.  I’ve seen many people when blessed by the Lord, take those blessings and simply use it for themselves rather giving back to God.  As the Lord has blessed us and continues to bless us, it is vital to continue to honor the Lord in all that we do.

Have a great week everyone and God bless!

SDG,
P. Ben

How are things?  Being real in our faith is lifting up everything to the Lord.  Hope you can join us for prayer this Saturday.  Here’s today’s devotion:

Tues, Jan 31st – Genesis 39

Sometimes you’re really not able to see the significance of one story in the Bible until you read the story in context.  As we read yesterday, Judah would end up getting his own daughter-in-law pregnant which would show the foolishness and wickedness of his ways.  Today, we read about true godly integrity in the life of Joseph.  Joseph had ended up in the house of Potiphar who was a successful official.  He was obviously rich and probably had an extremely attractive wife.  Joseph would grow thru the ranks until he was the lead servant.  Potiphar trusted him so much that he would manage everything in the household including the finances.  As Scripture notes, Joseph was also a handsome man and the wife took notice.  She would continue to make efforts to sleep with him but he continued to refuse.  Now it is easy to say that Joseph couldn’t do this b/c his faith in the Lord.  But how many believers would have compromised in this situation.  It
would have been extremely easy to justify the action.  Joseph could have told himself that she was lonely b/c her husband was always gone and that he was betrayed by his brothers and now he had found someone that really cared about him.  But he knew better and that it would be against what the Lord wanted.  

Even though Joseph was falsely thrown into prison, the Lord would use this to bring about His plan.  This chapter teaches us the important lesson that we can’t just assume that if we are faithful to the Lord and follow His commands that everything will go our way.  Sometimes we will suffer more for being faithful to Him but the Lord reminds us that our calling is greater than just living for receiving the immediate desired results.

Take care everyone and God bless!

Coram Deo,
P. Ben

It was great seeing you guys this weekend.  As we were emphasizing this Sunday, one things about being more “real” in our faith is prayer.  This Saturday, we will be having our next Joint Morning Prayer & EM Prayer Meetings at 6 & 7am respectively.  This is our once a month prayer meeting so don’t miss out.  Here’s today’s devotion:

Mon, Jan 30th – Genesis 38

Reading thru our story in Genesis 38, we notice further family drama that existed amongst God’s people.  Judah would have three sons named Er, Onan, and Shelah.  He would find a wife for his first son named Tamar.  Unfortunately his first son would die.  Now according to Jewish custom, the second son would be required to sleep with his brother’s wife in order to produce offspring for him.  Onan knowing that the offspring wouldn’t agree to fully comply.  Now many have used this passage to state that contraception is wrong.  But if you notice carefully, God would strike down Onan b/c of his unwillingness to father a child for his deceased brother.  Notice that Onan had no problem sleeping with his brother’s wife, he just didn’t want to father a child with her.

By this point, Judah thought that Tamar was bad news and that if he gave his last son, Shelah, to her, he might die as well.  And so he would tell her to go back to her father’s house until Shelah would grow up knowing himself that he had no intentions of giving her last son to her.  She would wait and wait and wait and finally realize that she would marry his last son.  So the day would come when she was wearing a veil and Judah would mistake her for a prostitute.  He wanted to sleep with her but she asked for his ID before doing this.  This was really a foolish thing to do b/c it would prove to anyone that he had slept with a prostitute.  Later on, she would become pregnant and when she was accused of prostitution, she would raise Judah’s ID proving that he was the guilty one.

What do we learn from this?  Judah’s initial mistake was marrying a woman from a foreign nation.  That’s how sin works, we start with something seemingly small and it grows in epic proportions.  Before we minimalize our actions, we need to really ponder on how our present actions will affect us in the future.  And this isn’t just about becoming better people but really being transformed more in the likeness of Christ.

Have a great week in the Lord everyone and God bless!

SDG,
P. Ben

Nice to see a little snow.  Hope you’re all safe and blessed.  Here’s today’s devotion:

Fri, Jan 27th – Genesis 37

Is there ever a point where being too naive can be a problem?  Most of us know people who are pretty naive.  They seemed to be clueless when it comes to current events, whether people like them or not, and if there are any problems.  Part of us wants to say that people should be more aware of what’s going on around them but there’s another side that feels like there is something really refreshing when someone isn’t bound by the opinions and perspectives of others.  In our chapter, we read about the story of Jofus (or Joseph) and the beginnings of his amazing journey.  Joseph would have two dreams where his brothers and even his parents would bow down to him.  Now most of us if we had this dream wouldn’t share it with our brothers and definitely not our parents.  So why would he do this?  More than likely, he didn’t know any better.  He was being naive.  

His brothers would grow in their jealousy of their brother b/c he was Jacob’s favorite.son.  Most of us have dealt with sibling rivalry before.  We’ve dealt with it by being mean or unfair to them but rarely would we ever want to actually kill them or send them off forever.  But this is exactly what the brothers wanted to do.  At first they wanted to murder their naive brother but one of the brothers convince them to throw him into an empty well where he hoped to rescue him later on.  But as the brother went back, there was a caravan that was passing by and the brothers decided to sell Joseph off into slavery.  

You can read this chapter and conclude that Joseph shouldn’t have been so naive or that his brothers were messed up in doing what they did.  That’s not the main point of this narrative.  What the Lord would set up is the means by which God’s people and the world would be saved by the sinful actions of his brothers.  If they never decided to selll him off, Joseph would have never reached Egypt to eventually save peopel thru his wise plan.  This teaches us that even though things may not make sense initially, we need to trust the Lord and what He has in store in our lives.

Have a great weekend everyone and God bless!

SDG,
P. Ben

It was great seeing so many of you guys coming out for bible study last night.  What a great blessing!  A reminder that we have our College Bible Study tomorrow night at 6pm sharp.  Make sure to be there by 6pm.  Here’s today’s devotion:

Thurs, Jan 26th – Genesis 34

Many years ago, Daniel Webster (the one who created the famous dictionary) wanted to create another version of the Bible that would remove the more scandalous stories in the Bible.  Obviously he was not successful and there is a reason for these stories.  It displays the sinfulness of God’s people and how the Lord would bring about redemption.  One of those stories is found in Genesis 34 with the rape of Dinah.  Dinah would innocently go out to meet the women of the area by herself which was unwise.  Shechem would see her and overpower her.  But unlike Amnon who hated Tamar after he raped her, Shechem wanted to marry her.  He would have his father enter into an agreement with God’s people so that they could intermarry.  Right away, Jacob should have known better b/c the Lord had specifically forbade that action.  His sons would step in and require circumcision to complete the covenant agreement.  It seemed fair to the people but it was a means
for vengeance.  A few days after all of the men were circumcised,, Simeon and Levi would go into the city with their army and kill all the unsuspecting men.  You can imagine the scene as their men would enter home after home, the men would try to raise their swords but they would end up screaming in pain from the circumcision.

What do we learn from this story?  It contrasts the acts of God’s people versus the Lord Himself.  Dinah’s brothers used God’s holy sacrament as a means to weaken their opponents and destroy them.  But when Jesus offers the cup, He offers it with no strings attached.  When Jesus makes the invitation to salvation there is a condition of works only the necessity of faith.  Jesus could have justifiably laid out judgment on us but He would choose not to in order to secure our redemption.

Take care everyone and hope to see you all soon.

SDG,
P. Ben

Thanks once again to everyone who signed up during our Ministry Fair.  We will be contacting you guys shortly with more info and details.  For those who have not gone thru EM Membership yet, we will be offering our next class in Feb or March.  Make sure to sign up with me.  Here’s today’s devotion:

Wed, Jan 25th – Genesis 28 (I reversed the readings)

When we first heard about the stories of Jacob and Esau as kids, it was so easy to see Esau as the innocent victim and Jacob as the evil deceiver.  Now there is some truth to this but we shouldn’t fall into the false mindset that the older brother was innocent.  Looking at the life of Esau, there were numerous times where he could have taken the godly path but he would choose simply what he desired.  Starting with giving up his birthright, which was a foolish thing to do.  It’s like someone saying that they would give us a McD’s value mean for our parent’s inheritance.  No one in their right mind should ever do that but that’s what Esau did.  As we look at today’s chapter, another huge mistake from Esau was marrying foreign women which was strictly forbidden by the Lord.  The more you exam Esau, you see a Neanderthal quality to him.  ”Women pretty, food good, catch animal…”

Meanwhile, Jacob is running for his life or so he thinks.  He finally gets tired and settles down and the Lord appears to him.  But instead of striking him off the face of the earth, he promises to bless him.  No surprise, Jacob then places conditions on his devotion to the Lord.  But when you think about it, isn’t our devotion to the Lord similar to this.  We tell the Lord, if you deliver for me what I want, then I’ll faithfully follow you.  What we see later on is how Jacob grows in his relationship with the Lord.  

Take care guys and looking forward to seeing what the Lord does in our ministry.  God bless!

SDG,
P. Ben

How are things?  It was great seeing so many of you this past week from EM Bible Study to College Bible Study.  Remember that we make both studies available (Wed at 7pm and Fri at 6pm) so if you can’t make one day, just come out for the other.  Here’s todays’ devotion:

Tues, Jan 24th – Genesis 29

Love will make you do crazy things.  Most of us have either heard of some remarkable stories or been apart of them.  Some of you may have heard the story of a pastor that I worked with in the past that went to extreme lengths to marry the woman that he loved.  Her parents had disapproved of him and the relationship so while he was in the army, they sent her from Seoul to Busan.  After he was discharged, he somehow found out that she was in Busan but he didn’t know exactly where.  So he moved to the city and camped out on the busiest street in Busan for seven days.  He basically became a beggar on the street.  Day after day he looked for her on this street but he didn’t see her.  Finally on the seventh day, he gave up, packed up his belongings and was goign to head off to Seoul when she passed right pass him.  She asked him what he was doing there and once he told her, she knew that she was going to marry him.

In our story today, Jacob is sent out to find his bride and when he found her, he was willing to do anything to have her.  The moment that Jacob laid eyes on her, he fell in love with her.  He approached her father Laban and asked for her hand in marriage.  He agreed so long as Jacob would work seven years for him.  One of the more moving verses in chapter 29 when the Word states that the seven years seemed like only a few days b/c of his love for her.

Finally the day had come to marry Rachel but when Jacob woke up from the wedding tent, there was her older sister, Leah.  Talk about a crazy wedding reception.  How did this happen?  Jacob probably had a little too much to drink but also it was dark by then and Leah was probably wearing a veil which was the custom.  When he confronted Laban, there was no apology but just another promise of his younger daughter for seven more years of labor.  A sign of things to come.  

When we see Jacob’s love for Rachel, it reminds us of the Father’s love for us.  That God would endure thru the unfaithfulness of His people is a true testament of His affection for us.  Likewise, when we are truly in love with the Lord, time genuinely does pass by quickly.  It’s when we focus on the temporary things of this life that weigh us down and tear us apart.  Only the love of the Lord truly satisfies.

Have a great week everyone and God bless!

SDG,
P. Ben