El Monte Vietnamese SDA Church

Psalms 34:8 - Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

1 Peter 2:1-3 - Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

     Oftentimes we go through life very focused on the daily drudgeries we have to go through and the tough experiences we endure.  We deal with things like malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and evil speaking in some form or another.  We may be tempted to retaliate in a similar manner under certain circumstances.  

However, these verses remind me that life is more than dealing with issues and problems that the world throws at us.  Life doesn't have to always be bitter.  God invites you and me to stop what we are doing, lay aside those burdens for just one moment and taste the word He offers us.  

God is telling us that life can be sweeter if we look to Him first.  When we open the Bible and study its truths for ourselves, we will find that our perspective on life may change.  God can give us a new perspective on life if we let Him into our lives.  When we start to see how good God is to us, we will see that our issues and problems in life grow smaller and smaller in comparison.

We will find if we look to God first and trust in Him, if we desire to incorporate studying the Bible into our daily routine, God promises to show us His goodness and bless us.  There may be blessings you didn't even you had the God has already graciously blessed you with!  Come and take God's taste test!

GB!

Psalms 139:14 - I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.

     Popular scientific belief states that life came about by chance and that we as humans eventually came about after millions of years of death and struggle.  However, this verse reminds me that you and I are not an accident.  This verse emphatically states that God purposefully and carefully made us.  God made us with design and intention.  

     This verse also makes me think of the story of Creation in Genesis.  God made us in His very own image.  We did not haphazardly evolve from a lower life form.   We have a purpose and we are a part of God's divine plan.  We can praise God for that!

GB!

Romans 10:17 - So then faith comes by hearing, and by hearing the word of God.

Luke 24:32 - And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"

     There are times in my life when I feel my faith flagging and I feel distant from God.  I pray and pray, but it seems like my prayers hit the ceiling and bounce right back at me.  However, when I study the Bible and gain a new spiritual insight I've never noticed before in a passage or if I listen to a very good sermon, I feel my faith coming back strong again.  These two verses remind me that the best way to increase my faith is to hear the Word of God and to study it carefully for myself.  Try it for yourself.  You may be surprised how much your faith will increase!

GB!

Ezra 7:10 - For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

     The Bible teaches us that we are to share our faith in Jesus Christ with others around us, wherever we may be.  This Bible verse reminds me that we have a couple of things to do before we do any type of evangelizing.  

     First of all, we need to prepare my heart to accept Jesus fully into our lives.  This means we need to make sure He is first in my life in everything we do, no matter how seemingly trivial or minor.  we need to set aside time every day for prayer and Bible study.  If we are not prepared to have Jesus in our lives, how can we tell people that they need Jesus?

     Secondly, we need to live our lives in such a way that people can see Christ in us.  If we tell people about God's Law and the claim He has on their lives, we need to endeavor to follow God's Law ourselves.  Otherwise, how can our witness have any effect on anyone if we do not practice what we preach?

     This may all seem difficult at first, but if we ask Jesus to come into our lives and guide us, we will surely be effective witnesses in sharing the Gospel!

GB!

John 10:10 - The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

     The phrase "living life to the fullest" has been bandied about quite a bit in popular culture.  You might have even used the phrase yourself.  "Living life to the fullest" tends to mean different things to different people.  For some people, that phrase means that they should go travel to as many exotic destinations as they can in their lifetime.  For others, that phrase means to try to have new adventures or experience, or perhaps to live life without regrets.

     However, Jesus declared in John 10:10 that if you want to truly live life to the fullest, you should live your life hid in Him.  Exotic locations, adventures, and new experiences are all fun and good, but they will never truly satisfy you.  We all have a God-shaped hole in our lives and many of us spend our entire lives trying to fill it up with other things.  However if you live a life in Jesus Christ, you will have a satisfaction in life that nothing else can come close in comparison.  In fact, if you tried living any other way, you would actually be robbing yourself of the chance to live life to the fullest.

GB!

John 4:15 - The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."

     A co-worker happened to ask me one day if I taught Sunday school at my church.  I told him I do help out with teaching the youth in Sabbath schools (on Saturdays).  He immediately responded by asking me what does John 4:15 say.  I told him I did not know and he laughed, because he just picked out a random Bible verse just to test me for fun.  I did get a good chuckle out of our interaction and we continued working.

     At the end of the day, I went home and decided to look up John 4:15 to satisfy my curiosity.  It was a verse from the passage where Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at the well.  Jesus was telling woman about living water the woman then asked him for some of that water.  As I read and pondered the verse, I thought to myself, I have living water, but have I shared it with anyone else?  I'm not even thinking in terms of sharing where I go on missionary trips or reach out people to share the Gospel message, but rather, situations, where people come to me and ask about my faith and belief in Jesus.  Have they asked me for living water, but I withheld it for myself?  Did I turn away a thirsty individual even though I have plenty of water I could share?

     I've thought back on missed opportunities where people asked me some questions when I read my Bible in a cafe or I'm standing in line at a store checkout.  I smile and briefly answer their questions and get back to my reading or patiently waiting in line.  I admit to my shame now that I could have done more to share, but I hoarded that precious water.  How unlike Jesus have I been! 

     Jesus went out of His way to preach the Gospel to everyone, even those who would not hear Him.  Jesus gave everything He had, including His own life, so that we could have access to living water.  Jesus died for me, a weak-willed, carnal-minded, rebellious sinner, and yet, I was not willing to give up two minutes of my time to dole out even a drop of that precious water!

     I ask God for forgiveness for my selfishness and I pray that He send more worthy individuals to share living water to those individuals I left by the wayside.  I also pray that God will grant me more opportunities in the future.  Friend, I ask that you share what water you have and don't leave people thirsty.

GB!

Proverbs 16:32 - He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

     Have you ever gotten so angry that you couldn't think straight?  How about feeling so enraged at being wronged by someone that you just wanted to lash back out repeatedly?  I am not proud to admit this, but I have felt this way several times in the past.

     I know there have been times when I have gotten so angry that I have said harsh, cutting words.  I said words that I regret, words that I wish I could take back, but I can't.  I have caused pain, which cannot be mended by a simple "I am sorry."  I think reflect back, I realize now that if I had been able to control my anger, I could've handled those situations more tactfully and gracefully.  I could have gotten my feelings across without damaging relationships in the process.

     This verse reminds me to never let anger get the best of me and that there is great power in self-control.  I pray daily to God to give me this strength!

GB!

Isaiah 40:31 - But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

     Waiting is something people in general are not very good at doing.  I can tell you from experience that I get very restless waiting in line, whether it is at the DMV, a restaurant, or waiting at the doctor's office.  Even when my Internet connection runs a little slow, I get very irritated at the lag. 

     We live in a society where we are very much accustomed to the concept of instant gratification.  Waiting is not something we would willingly do if we can help it.  So, what does it mean to wait upon the Lord?

     Waiting upon the Lord means that we put our full trust in God to deliver us in His good time.  Sometimes our timetable is very different from God's.  We then try to run ahead and accomplish things on our own, but we fail.  We fall down.  We get fatigued and lose hope.  However, God promises us that if we trust in Him wholly, He will strengthen us.  We will be empowered with a vigor that we did not have before and we can overcome all obstacles through His strength!

     So, as I wait in line, I try to stay calm and keep this verse in my mind.  Wait.  Be patient.  God will deliver.

GB!

Proverbs 23:17-18 - Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear ot the Lord all the day; for surely there is a hereafter and your hope will not be cut off.

     Have there been times in your life where it seems all the non-Christians around you are enjoying all types of success and you seem to be struggling to get by?  Perhaps you couldn't get that good job because you refused to work on the Sabbath?  Perhaps you thought you met that perfect someone who complemented you in almost every way, except your faith in Jesus proved to be to great an obstacle in that potential relationship?  Have you ever thought, even ever so briefly, that you wished you had what non-believers had?

     I know in my life I have felt similar frustrations.  However, this verse reminds me that I should not be focused on the here and now, but rather be more focused on the hereafter.  I will continue trusting in God to bring me to all good things in His perfect time!

Proverbs 22:6 - Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

     This verse is an exhortation that we have a duty to teach children about the Bible.  Even if you do not have children of your own, you can volunteer to teach Sabbath School at your church or volunteer to help out in any youth programs your church offers.  Teach them the word of God, good Christian conduct, and most of all, the love and infinite sacrifice of Jesus!  We all have a part in helping raise the next generation in our church!