Entries by YMI

ODB: Take Time To Ponder

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August 4, 2013 

READ: Luke 2:8-19 

Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. —Luke 2:19 

Parents love to remember the developmental milestones of their children. They will record in a baby book when their little ones first roll over, then crawl, and take their first steps. Often they will take photographs and save baby clothing to bring back the memories of those precious experiences.

According to Luke 2:19, Mary, the mother of Jesus, kept a baby book of sorts—in her heart. She treasured the promises that had been given about her Son and “pondered them.” The Greek word for “ponder” means “placing together for comparison.” Mary had heard of great things concerning her Son from angels and shepherds (1:32; 2:17-18). As His life unfolded, she would compare those promises with how her Son acted to fulfill them.

Our faith will be strengthened and we will be encouraged when we meditate on what the Scriptures say about God and compare it with the way He works in our own lives (John 14:21). He is a God who answers prayer (1 John 5:14-15), comforts us in our suffering (2 Cor. 1:3-4), and provides for our needs (Phil. 4:19).

When we take time to ponder, we will see the faithfulness of our great God.

— Dennis Fisher

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow—
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! —Chisholm

God gives by promise that we may take by faith. 

ODJ: in the end

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August 4, 2013 

READ: Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 

He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end (v.11).

As I looked at the goldfish crisp on the floor of my kitchen, I reminisced about the tiny hands of my children and an earlier season in life. Though the fallen crisp was the result of a recent forage, the image made me realise how quickly time passes. As I dealt with sleepless nights, teething babies and potty training, I would have been hard-pressed to believe that the end was soon in sight. The hands that once cupped goldfish crackers now grip a sports bag, textbooks and an iPad.
The Author of what we call time, God, reminds us that He has always been (Revelation 1:8). Our days are numbered on this earth, while eternal life is what God has promised us (John 3:36). Living the dual existence of the eternal and the temporal isn’t always easy, as the writer of Ecclesiastes vividly relays in his musings on the meaning of life. In addition, when we deal with painful seasons, disillusionment can readily cloud our vision (Ecclesiastes 2:13-17).

In these times, however, we must hold fast to the truth that God’s knowledge extends far beyond our view. Ecclesiastes 3:11 reminds us, “He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” We don’t have to stay stuck in whatever difficult season is upon us. Likewise, when God takes us through rigorous times of training (James 1:2-4), we find hope in knowing there’s a finish line ahead.

Beyond living for the moment, we must be a people who patiently await God’s next move. We must let go of anger, give up stubbornness, and let go of yesterday. For, in the end, we will reign with the One who has always been and who always will be! —Regina Franklin

Luke 11:33-54 ‹

MORE
Read Revelation 21:1-7 and consider your current circumstances in light of what God considers to be the final, unending chapter for those who are in Jesus. 
NEXT
How can you balance the knowledge that your decisions have eternal impact with Jesus’ admonition to focus on today? (Matthew 6:34). How are you awaiting God’s next move for you? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Corine

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August 3, 2013 

READ: 1 Peter 4:7-11 

Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. —1 Peter 4:9 

A group of us were helping to put together packets of material at an Our Daily Bread event in Orlando last winter when Corine greeted us. It was mid-morning, and she was sure we must be hungry and thirsty. I told her we were “fine,” and she replied, “I know you’re fine, but you need something to eat.” A few minutes later she came back with cold water and snacks.

Throughout the 2 days we were there, Corine came by to check on us, bring us food or water, and take away our trash. On one occasion, I thanked her and said, “You have the gift of hospitality, don’t you, Corine!” She looked down and replied, “I don’t know. But you write the devotional articles, and I’ll clean up. And God will be glorified.”

Corine’s desire is to bring God glory by helping people. She definitely has the gift of hospitality and practices it well. God has graced each of His children with skills and abilities so that He can minister to others through us. You can find those gifts listed in Romans 12:4-13, 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, Ephesians 4:7-12, and 1 Peter 4:9-11.

The Lord has gifted us “that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever” (1 Peter 4:11).

— Anne Cetas

All Christians have been gifted
By grace from God above,
Equipped to build and strengthen
The church in faith and love. —Fitzhugh

You are one of a kind— designed to glorify God as only you can. 

ODJ: greater than our shame

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August 3, 2013 

READ: 1 Chronicles 10:1-14  

Saul took his own sword and fell on it (v.4).

God is greater than our shame. Because Saul failed to realise this, his life ended tragically. The Israelites were engaged in a fierce battle and suffered defeat at the hands of the Philistines on Mt. Gilboa. That day the Philistines killed Saul’s three sons and wounded him. Humiliation, torture and death were likely to follow his capture. Unable to endure the shame, Saul committed suicide. Beneath this desperate act, however, lurked the larger and the darker issues of disloyalty and disobedience to God.
Saul’s suicide is one of several recorded in the Old Testament (Judges 9:50-57, 16:21-31; 2 Samuel 17:23; 1 Kings 16:15-20; 1 Chronicles 10:4-5). The common psychological denominators seem to be shame arising from guilt, defeat and failure (2 Samuel 17:23; 1 Kings 16:18; Matthew 27:5; Acts 16:27). In each death, the individual usurped God’s sovereignty.

Since God is Creator, He has authority over His creation and ultimately controls life and death (Genesis 2:7; Job 1:21; Psalm 139:13-15). Therefore, taking life—including one’s own—is sin (Exodus 20:13). It violates God’s commands to love and respect ourselves and others (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 7:12; Ephesians 5:29).

Shame and humiliation can be difficult to bear and often lead people, even some believers in Jesus, to adopt the easiest and most immediate way out—suicide. Yet, God is greater than our shame, and nothing can separate us from His love in Christ (Romans 8:35-39), not even suicide.

In our darkest days, let’s find hope among fellow believers as we look to the One who took our shame on Himself so that we might have abundant life (John 10:10; Hebrews 12:2). —Marvin Williams

› Luke 11:14-32

MORE
Read 2 Samuel 17: 1-23 and consider why Ahithophel took his life.  
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Think about a time in your life where you felt the darkness of shame overtaking you. How did God meet you in that time and show you that He was greater than your shame? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Pass It On

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August 2, 2013 

READ: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 

As you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation. —2 Corinthians 1:7 

I’ve noticed through the years that those who have suffered are quick to comfort other sufferers. When a young couple suffers the loss of a child, another couple who also lost a child in the past asks if they can help. If a couple loses their main income, almost immediately another couple steps forward to offer their aid, remembering their own journey through foreclosure years earlier. Again and again we see the body of Christ supporting and encouraging one another. These Christians have learned that they can use the trials they’ve been through to reach out to others going through similar difficulties.

Have you been sick? Lost a loved one? Been imprisoned? Unfairly treated? In all of our trials, God promises to bring something good out of even our darkest moments (James 1:2-4). One key way this takes place is when we share the comfort He offered us with those who are now going through trials.

As Paul points out in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, we are comforted by a Savior who knows our suffering, and we honor Him when we pass His comfort on to still others.

May we never leave someone to suffer alone. If we know the trail another is on, God will help us to guide that person to His presence—the surest comfort of all.

— Randy Kilgore

Dear Lord, help us to step forward when
others around us are suffering trials similar to
what we’ve been through. Enable us to be a
comfort, as You have been to us in the past.

God comforts us so that we can comfort others. 

ODJ: not being a “kidult”

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August 2, 2013 

READ: 1 Timothy 4:12-16 

Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith and your purity (v.12).

In 2005, two teenagers started TheRebelution.com website to encourage fellow young people to exceed low expectations and to do “hard things”. Citing 1 Timothy 4:12, one of its founders said, “As young people we are called to be exemplary in all areas of life. [But] our generation is falling incredibly short of that calling. Instead of serving as the launching pad of life, the teen years are seen as a vacation from responsibility.”
Many teenagers have grown up to become what is known in Taiwan as the cao mei zu (Strawberry Generation)—they look good on the outside, but are easily bruised. In America, they’re known as “kidults”.

Each generation needs to heed the call of Paul, “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young” (v.12). Being young isn’t an excuse for shirking responsibility or not giving God your very best. Instead, if you’re young, you can be an example to all of us. Not everyone will like you. Some may even jeer at you or call you names. But you will inspire all believers to stay true to God amid a culture that resists Him.

Paul stated five areas in which we’re to be exemplary: speech, lifestyle, love, faith and purity. Is our speech marked by grace and truth? Do our priorities and behaviour testify to our commitment to Jesus Christ? Are we self-satisfying or self-sacrificing? Do we exhibit faith in God as we face challenges? Do we fulfil the desires of our flesh or are we morally pure—not just outwardly but also in our thought-life?

If you’re young, choose to rise above low expectations. And may all believers, regardless of age, follow God in obedience, pursue godly character and build momentum for an amazing future! —Poh Fang Chia

Luke 11:1-13 ‹

MORE
Read 1 Samuel 17:32-37 and see how one young person set a positive example in both his faith and speech.  
NEXT
How have you been growing in spiritual maturity? What mindset, attitude or behaviour do you need to change so that you can be an example to other believers? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Snapping, Snarling Thoughts

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August 1, 2013 

READ: Psalm 59 

You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. —Psalm 59:16 

Many years ago, my father and I hiked through Big Bend in Texas. It’s a national park now, but in those days it was rough country.

One night we were rolling out our sleeping bags when a couple with a dog asked if they could camp nearby. We welcomed their company and turned in for the night. They tethered their dog to a stake beside their tent.

Some hours later my father nudged me awake and turned his flashlight into the darkness. Illuminated by the light, we saw pairs of yellow eyes peering out of the shadows. A pack of snapping and snarling coyotes were closing in on the dog. Although we chased them off and our neighbors put the dog in their tent, we slept fitfully.

I think of that night when I read Psalm 59 and David’s twice-repeated imagery: “At evening they return, they growl like a dog” (vv.6,14). David was thinking of Saul’s army that was closing in on him. I think, however, of the thoughts that return to menace us. They come back at nightfall, snapping and snarling: “You’re stupid.” “You’re a failure.” “You’re useless.” “Who needs you?”

When we have such thoughts, we can revel in God’s unconditional, unending love. His steady devotion is our refuge in the dark night of self-doubt and fear (v.16).

— David H. Roper

Dear Lord, I am so thankful that You love me
unconditionally. Please chase away destructive thoughts
that keep returning to take away my confidence in You
and Your work in me. I want to rest in You and Your love.

Knowing that God loves us can dispel doubt. 

ODJ: how we know

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August 1, 2013 

READ: Colossians 2:1-4 

I want [you] to have complete confidence (v.2).

My sons are picking up on the way TV advertisers play games with viewers, twisting statistics and making outrageous claims. I fear it won’t be long before my boys become jaded and are slow to trust. Many of us struggle with this in our faith:How can I believe anything at all? How can I trust what God says?
The apostle Paul spoke directly to this concern, telling the Colossians that he hoped they would have “complete confidence” in “God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ Himself” (Colossians 2:2). Paul cared little about the Colossians buying into a religious system or a codified, abstract set of theological or moral principles. Rather, Paul desired that they would find their settled hope in one person: Jesus Christ. It was in Him alone that they would discover “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (v.3).

Too often, in our well-intentioned efforts to give people ‘the truth’, we provide them with arguments, histories or fine logic. All this may have its place, but the invitation of the gospel is always first to come to a person—to Jesus.

We understand Jesus, as we do any person, through relationship and friendship. This must be why Paul makes this distinct connection: “My goal is that [you] may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that [you] may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that [you] may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ” (vv.2-3 NIV).

In other words, encountering a ‘Jesus community’ where your heart is encouraged and you experience the uniting friendship of deep love is the environment where you discover confidence in Jesus’ message. We need to experience the effect of Jesus’ truth through relationship with one another. —Winn Collier

› Luke 10:25-42

MORE
Missionary Lesslie Newbigin writes, “The gospel does not become public truth for a society by being propagated as a theory or as a worldview. . . . It can become public truth only insofar as it is embodied in a society (the church).” How is this live 
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How have you struggled with having confidence in God? How might your Christian community help you? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Your Flight Is Confirmed

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July 31, 2013 

READ: Romans 3:21-26 

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. —1 Corinthians 15:22 

A heavy thunderstorm delayed our flight to Frankfurt, causing us to miss our connecting flight. We were told that we had been confirmed on another flight the next evening. But when we arrived at the gate, we were told that we were on standby. The flight was full.

When I learned this, I wondered if this was mere miscommunication or if this was how they dealt with missed flights. If passengers had been told up front that they were only on standby, they would have been unhappy. Perhaps they saved the truth until later.

Thankfully, God doesn’t work that way. He clearly tells us everything we need to know to get to heaven. The Bible declares that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). God gave us the full picture of our sin nature from Genesis 3 so that He could give us His full and complete solution.

God’s solution in Romans 3:24 is that we are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” God sent His own sinless Son to die for our sins. His sacrifice on the cross provided us forgiveness. All we need to do is receive that free gift through faith. I’m so glad God told us the truth up front! He hasn’t left us to find our own way.

— C. P. Hia

Thank You, Almighty God, that You don’t hide the
truth from us. You showed us how completely sin
has affected our lives in order to reinforce just
how much Jesus Christ has delivered us from.

Christ’s work makes us safe; God’s Word makes us sure.