Today’s 260 devotional passage is Luke 13:10-17.  Jesus out of compassion healed a woman with a disabling Spirit.  The synagogue ruler was indignant because Jesus broke the rule of Sabbath.  The woman who experienced grace praised God.  The message from today’s meditation remind me that I may be taking the rules literally in order to rationalize our lack of concern for others.

I am very touched by how brothers and sisters pray and care for those who are suffering from physical illness in PGC.  Also, I see the love of Christ bringing healing to those who suffering emotional and spiritual sufferings, as I recalled the testimonies given from baptism.  My prayer goes out to the Rosanna and Carmen for bring glory to God in witnessing for Christ.  Christ continues to do the work of healing and reconciling people to God.

Personally, I will be stepping down my role as the pastoral assistance in youth ministry beginning April 1, 2015.  The decision is not made rashly as I have prayed and discerned for a year over how to lead people to the presence of Christ for the years to come.  The growth of the English ministry has been slow in the past two years and there are many reasons for this.  As a leader, I will have to take responsibility.  I find that over the years I have become more and more like the Pharisees, who just try to keep the rules and regulation, and may neglect to love others compassionately.  I find that I focus more on keeping the rules and regulation of being a pastor and may do the work of ministry instead of out of the power of the Holy Spirit.  I prayed to God to restore my heart.  I would like to pray and love people purely because I love Jesus and not because my job is being a pastor and it is my duty to do the work of ministry.

I am thankful that God provided me with apprenticeship work as I step back from vocational ministry.  I was able to experience the power of this passage during my work.  One day, I was assigned to maintenance check-up work for furnaces in a co-op housing complex.  I did not want to do the work as the environment was dirty.  My boss told me to just do the work and minimize the amount of conversation.  As I finished up the work, I just want to get out as soon as possible.  The last house I service was a house of an old lady.  She lived by herself and she had a series of surgeries in the past year and she was in a lot of pain.  I have finished the work as she shared about her life.  The more I listened, the more I have compassion on her.  The Holy Spirit promoted me to share my faith and pray with her.  This is totally against what my boss would like me to do, and I would break a few rules.  The lady shared that even though she is poor, sick, and would not live a long life, she is willing to let God use her in whatever remaining time she has on earth.  She is a faithful member of her church as she would take 3 buses to get to her church for worship, Bible study, and prayer meeting, even though sometimes people drive her, but she tries not to burden brothers and sisters.  I shared my testimony and we prayed for one another.  

God reveals to me that I am to listen to Him humbly.  If I allow the Spirit to lead me instead of I use my own self-will to follow the regulations, I will see Jesus Christ and people around me with compassion.