Good morning, and happy Sunday.

We are kickstarting a new format today. Every Sunday, you will receive First Love Weekly with two sections:

(1) “God in the Daily” to shine a light on how God is still active today
(2) Encouragement from the Word

As you read the two next to one another, I hope you’ll see the same God who delivered the Israelites out of Egypt is still here with us here and now. For our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

May the words and the stories of the day sustain the fire of your first love for Christ.

If anyone crosses your mind as you read, I encourage you to put your faith into action by forwarding this post along, perhaps coupled with a loving word of encouragement. You just may make someone’s day without knowing it.

God in the Daily: Trusting in the Lord

When I first started writing the First Love newsletter, I told my dearest wife Mary that I’d deem it a success if even one person would find it encouraging.

At the time, I made a note to myself that this newsletter is to honor God first and foremost for all the wonderful things He’s doing, and secondarily, to encourage others to seek God in their daily lives and their first love for Christ.

On August 18th, we reached a meaningful milestone in the number of subscribers, with a third consisting of people I do not know personally. I never thought more than a handful would find something like this interesting enough to read— let alone on a weekly basis. Suffice to say I’m a bit surprised to see the growth thus far.

And just like that, without even a moment to celebrate, my instinctive nature and the whisper of the enemy kicked in. Here are the thoughts that held me captive since then:

1. The “need” for growth. For those who may not know, I work in the financial technology industry where the name of the game is growth. I have been researching for hours upon hours on which platform, writing materials, and growth tactics may help First Love grow and reach farther— all in the name of spreading God’s goodness. Sounds like a solid and righteous motivation, right?

2. The “need” to consider the path of monetization. The thought of ‘If writing is how I may make a living one day, I need to start planning ahead’ came across my mind. So, I began brainstorming ways to build a business and branch out beyond the newsletter medium.

3. The “need” to become relevant to reach more people. This one is the most interesting, because this is a whisper that gnaws at my identity. The enemy kept whispering in my ears, “For all the growth you may want to see— of course, for the kingdom of God— are you enough? Are you worthy enough that people beyond the audience today would like to read what you have to say? Do you think you’re doing enough for what’s at stake?”

I woke up this morning after another sleepless night of pondering how I can hustle more and be better. Though I felt like all the aforementioned needs were logical and justified, for some reason, I noticed my heart did not want to seek God’s counsel.

So, after reading the Word for my quiet time, I looked out the window and prayed, asking God to speak to my heart— after avoiding to do so the past couple of weeks.

Here’s what He said:

I felt humbled… but simultaneously frustrated by the call to trust Him and focus on my task at hand.

So, I sought Mary’s counsel. Upon hearing my thoughts and God’s response, she asked to take a step back and unravel all that’s happening beneath the surface.

Although God had told me from Day 1 to focus on writing, over time, I began seeing glimpses of what First Love could become one day. Therein, I felt not only excited but also pressured in thinking the success of this newsletter falls on my shoulders.

So, without even questioning or knowing why, I slowly began pouring more of my energy and thoughts towards: what do I need to do to grow this newsletter in the name of reaching more people, what do I need to prep if I were to ever make a living out of writing, and what do I need to do more to become more relevant?

Mary kindly shared that she understands my point of view: having grown up here as an immigrant with a chip on my shoulder, I found success in operating under the mindset of, ‘As long as I put in the work, I can will myself to do and accomplish anything I put my mind on.’

The flaw of such thinking is that it leaves no room for God in that picture.

So, she asked me, “Jae, do you trust God?” To which I said, “I trust God in general, yes. But I guess my trust ends with thinking God will do His part only if I do mine.”

“Well, what did He ask you to do?”

After a brief pause, I said, “To focus on writing and writing alone. To set my eyes on Him and my heart on how I’ll honor Him through all this.”

She nodded, processing what I said. Then she broke the silence:

“The only thing we’re accountable for is what He’s asking us to do, and anything beyond that, He’s asking us to trust Him.”

Mmh-mmh-MMH! Preach! That’s some good stuff right there. Her words spoke right into my heart like an arrow piercing an apple.

Then, I felt this peace for the first time in a while. If God isn’t asking me to do all these things I felt like I “needed” to do, why am I stressing myself out and letting my heart be troubled?

- A sigh of relief. -

Like me, if you feel lost in the busyness of the world and worry you’re not doing enough, I encourage you to seek and find what God’s asking you to do today. Doing more than what’s asked of us is only going to lead us astray.

Yes, I believe I was on that path without even recognizing it.

Encouragement from the Word: Leviticus 16

What I Found Encouraging

If Exodus was about how God “brought [the Israelites] out of Egypt so that [He] might dwell among them” (Exod. 29:46), Leviticus is about God laying the Law for the Israelites to follow, “so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling [His] dwelling place, which is among them” (Lev 15:31).

The Law served a number of purposes. First of all, it distinguished righteousness from sin and highlighted how high the bar was set for someone to be deemed pure and holy.

Like how I shared earlier in today’s “God in the Daily,” we are by nature prone to be led astray and sin from time to time. And in this reality, a light is shone on the truth that though we may try our best with all our might to be righteous in God’s eyes, we will inevitably fall short.

Therein, the Law ultimately points to our need for redemption.

In Leviticus 16, we hear about two blameless goats that are one, slain and sacrificed, and two, blamed for “all the wickedness and rebellion of [people]— all their sins” (Lev. 16:21). And they demonstrate what Jesus would eventually suffer for us on the cross. The One who was blameless and pure by every right and in every way.

You know, the first time I read Leviticus, I was struck by a sense of shame for all the ways I've been wrong. But reading it for the third time now, I see the depth of God’s love in the sacrifice He made to send His Son to die for us whilst we were still sinners.

And it’s not like Jesus died an ordinary death for our sins. No. He drank from the cup of God’s wrath that contained all of His wrath towards humanity, so we could be cleansed once and for all. Even in the olden days, as written in Leviticus 16, the Day of Atonement was set so the Israelites could be cleansed from their sins.

This is what the world gets so wrong. God is not one for counting our sins. He’s quite the opposite. He is love and all about redeeming us from our sin.

Look at what David says in Psalm 130:

Paul says the following in Romans 8 to share what Jesus did in reference to the Law:

We will never be able to measure or fathom the magnitude of God’s love for us. One thing we do know is that through His love that manifested in Christ’s sacrifice for us, we are now able to call him our Father and be called His children and co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:14-17). And in that, our body has become the temple that houses the Spirit of God who dwells within us— forever bounded by the love of Christ.

Goodness gracious. God is so good.

My Encouragement for You

The other day, I stumbled upon a clip that featured “O Come to the Altar” by Elevation Worship.

The song hit close to home like it never did before. Listen to the lyrics:

I believe we are nearing Him by the day or drifting away— there’s no such thing as coasting when it comes to our daily walk.

My beloved, above all, there’s one thing I want you to know: Jesus is calling.

With love, Jae

“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: you should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)

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