I have been trying to fight my sin and temptations in my own strength and I find out I fail miserably. I keep resolving to "try again" and try better but always end up coming short. I am reminded once again that I am a sinner. There is nothing righteous or good or lovely in me because I have rebelled against a holy and pure God. The only thing that is going to help me fight sin is reminding myself of the gospel and the full forgivness of Jesus Christ and his full atonement.

Jesus came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He came to give his life as a ransom for many. He went to calvary, shed his blood, was buried, and three days rose again. By the power of his indestructible life, he lives forever as a High Priest who intercedes on my behalf. Not only that, he is coming back again to save us, "For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him" (1 Thessolonians 5:9). In other words, Jesus accomplishes salvation for us in the past, present, and future. How I need his present work to save me from the weakness of my flesh. I hate the guilt, and shame, and failures of sin. I hate griveing the Holy Spirit. I hate dishonoring the Lord. I find myself weak when I am not captured by grace.

I am glad that my salvation is not ultimately depended on my love for God, but God's love for me in Christ. My love fluctuates, His love remains the same. I change, God does not change. I am wretched, He bore my wretchedness on the cross. I am guilty of sin, he bore my guilt on the cross. I have shame, He was left naked on the cross to take my shame. I feel abandoned when I sinned, He was abandoned by the Father so that the promise "I will never leave your nor forsake you" will come true for in my life.

Father in Heaven,
Please forgive me of my sin. Forgive me for not living the life I should live. But thank you that Your Son lived the life I should have lifed. Thank you that he died the death I should have died. Thank you for his merciful blood that washes me and makes me holy and blameless and above reproach. Thank you for the gospel.

In the name of the Living Savior who is my High Priest,
Amen.

Great preaching starts with a great relationship with God.
Godliness starts with a great relationship with God.
Love for the Church starts with a a great relationship with God.
Love for believers starts with a great relationship with God.
Love for the lost starts with a great relationship with God.
Love for my family starts with a great relationship with God.
Love for the oppress starts with a great relationship with God.
Hatred for sin starts with a great relationship with God.
Hatred for unwise spending starts with a great relationship with God.
Hatred for selfishness starts with a great relationship with God.
Hatred for wasted time starts with a great relationship with God.

Everything starts with a great relationship with God. Just as human relationships need to be cultivated and maintained, how much more my relationship with God. Why do I feel weak spiritually? LAZINESS has made me become dry. I use to be attentive and was passionate to read the Scriptures and Pray and Memorize. But the relationship becomes dull when you forget doing the things you once did at first. Just as in romantic relationships, people forget to be kind and loving when they are married for awhile. Same thing with God. God desires me to find him fresh in new ways everyday and have my love for him increase daily.

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments." John 14:15

During my devotional, I was reminded that God is faithful. God had promised Abraham to make his name a blessing to all nations and to grant him offspring as great as the stars in the heaven. However, Abraham wavered in his faith before God. God promised Abraham a Son, and Abraham was becoming unsure of God's promise as he grew older. When Sarah started doubting, she asked Abraham to sleep with Hagar. So Abraham agreed. And Ishmael was born and Hagar was neglected.

We all know the story. God did come through with his promises. Sarah eventually became pregnant and had a child named Isaac. I was reminded that I should not doubt God's goodness and promises. Whatever God says, he will do; even if it does not make sense to us. More than that, God's promises is not ultimately depended on our faithfulness, but his faithfulness and character.

What promises can I believe now that seem hard to believe? God works out everything for good on our behalf, even the evil I have suffered. God promises to raise me from the dead because of Jesus Christ's Resurrection. God promises to present me blameless and above reproach and holy because of the death of Jesus Christ and his reconciling work. God promises to give me strength in weakness.

God, overcome my unbelief. Help me believe your promises and that you are good. In Jesus Name, Amen.

The primary duty of a Christian is not service, evangelism, ministry, or social justice; but worship. In other words, the primary duty of a Christian is to be happy in God. Why do we sin? We sin when we are not happy in God. We look for earthly pleasures when we are satisfied with godly pleasures.

I have seen in my life that even good things such as service, ministry, and evangelism can crowd out God. My duty as a Christian is to get my soul satisfied in Jesus Christ. To remember what he has done for me. That he has reconciled me to the Father through his atoning sacrifice at the cross. That I am guilt-free and there is not condemnation for me because of Christ (Romans 8:1).

Christian service, evangelism, ministry, and social justice will flow from a heart that is grateful in God (Eph 2:10). I do not have to earn my salvation because Jesus has already accomplished it at Calvary.

When I was a non-believer, I needed to repent of my immorality. Now, as a believer, I need to repent of my righteousness. Preaching, teaching, serving, and leading are not good indicators that you are close to God. In fact, it can be a disguise for self-righteous moralism. I am close to God because of Jesus. It is not Jesus plus something. It is Jesus alone by his grace alone. I am the beloved child of the Father because Jesus has done his work on my behalf and continually does it as my High Priest. He is my greater older brother. He is my greater prophet. He is my greater example. He is my Substitute. He is my divine lover. He is my God.

Here are some more great insights I got from Deep Preaching.

Meditation
There is a significant coorelation between great preaching and meditation. If I want to be godly, I have to meditate on the Word. As Kent Edwards says, it is easy to read the bible like how we eat 99 cent cheesburgers. I read my Bible in the morning as water flows through a pipe. It does not get the chance to settle in my mind throughout the day. The text has to be chewed over and over again until it becomes part of me. I have noticed that my Scripture reading has not been carried over to the rest of my day. Instead, I have comparmentalized my scripture reading to a morning and evening block without every affecting my daily life. In other words, I need to carry my scripture reading with me throughout the day.

Prayer
The Pharisees prayed, but not the way Jesus prayed. It is so easy just to pray before meals, a Bible Study, and Sunday Service. But if I am not nurturing a daily prayer life the way I breathe oxygen, then I have become like a Phariseee. When I am prompted to pray by the Holy Spirit, I must speak my mind to God. God, help me fight this sin. Lord, what would you have me do? Forgive me for being unkind. Teach me your thoughts. Be with me today. How does what you spoke with me this morning have to do with my situation right now as I work and study?

I bet the reason why our church is so lukewarm is because we don't pray and meditate on the Word. I am guilty of this as well. The apostles gave up a noble task (feeding widows) in Acts 6, to devote themselves to the priority of the Word and Prayer. We are spiritually immature because we do not spend time with the Son of God. We do not hear his voice in the pages of Scripture. Instead, we let facebook, emails, phonecalls, adminstration, and events crowd out the "closet work" of alone time with God.

Forgive us Father, help us spend time with you. In Jesus Name, Amen.

"Great preaching begins with a great relationship with God. It is impossible for a preacher to compensate for a relationship that has gone cold for the 'mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.'"- J Kent Edwards, Deep Preaching

"Do you want God or God's blessings? Do you want personal advancement or personal intimacy with God? Your honest answer to these questions will have a major impact on how you preach"

"God does not pastors or churches that are not passionately in love with Him. The prerequisite to deep preaching is a deep and passionate relationship with God for whom we speak."

"The goal of the preacher must not be to have a successful ministry. It is not wrong for people to swell and applaud your ministry, but it is dangerous when they gegin to distract you from what is most important. When some measure of fame comes knocking, it often holds the door open for pride to pay you a visit."

"If you are not enjoying a deep relationship with your heavenly Father--and you want to preach deeply--then you have to fake it."

How can we be better preachers? We should not remember our passion for God, but God's passion for us in sending His Son to die for an unfaithful people. It is not our faithfulness that drew God to us, but God's faithfulness that drew Him to us. In other words, God's character is what loved a sinful people. God wants us to be passionate about Him. He does not want cold lukewarm hearts. He wants hearts that are on fire for Him.

How do we get this fire burning in our lives? By remembering the love of God and his passion for us. He left heaven to come to earth. He left glory to come to a suffering world. He lived a perfect life. He died a criminal's death. The primary goal of a Christian is to be happy in God. When ministry takes over intimacy with the divine lover, you have lost sight of why you are doing ministry. Here is a definition of sin: You love yourself more than you love God.

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments" John 14:15

God, consume me with a holy passion for you! Please!! FOR YOUR NAME'S SAKE!!!

• Read a Chapter of Biblical Greek a day.
• Finish Philosophy of Religion Paper
• Finish memorizing Colossians
• Memorize Jude
• Pay off debt and save $$