Entries by YMI

ODJ: short


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April 2, 2013 

READ: John 10:6-18 


Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here 
a little while, then it’s gone (James 4:14).

My friend, now 65, smiled nostalgically as she shared memories of her grandfather’s last year. Born in 1890, he had made this comment at age 94: “I went from the days of horse and cart to a man walking on the moon,” he said. Then, he mused wistfully, “I never thought [life] would be so short.”

His observation reminds me of Jacob. When his son Joseph, vice-regent of Egypt, brought his father to meet Pharaoh, Jacob said, “I have travelled this earth for 130 hard years. But my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors” (Genesis 47:9).

“Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans,” sang John Lennon in “Beautiful Boy.” No kidding! So often we squirm impatiently through life. We yearn for the bell to ring and summer holidays to begin. We long for something better. If only I were already out of school . . . or finished with college. If only I had a girlfriend/boyfriend. If only I were married. If only I had a better job. If only I could retire. If only . . . And then one day we catch an echo of our grandfather’s voice as we wonder where the time has gone. It’s all so short!


One of the great lies is that we need to be somewhere else, doing something else, with someone else before we can truly start living.


We who come to Christ may do so because we seek eternal life. Ironically, if we do, we miss the larger point. Jesus offers us life now. In the same context of promising His followers eternal life (John 10:28), He said, “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (v.10).

When we find life in Jesus, we begin to exchange regrets over life’s brevity for the pure enjoyment of its eternality. —Tim Gustafson


1 Samuel 28:1-25 ‹

MORE
How does John 6:27 challenge our view of life 
on this earth? In verse 32 what does the phrase “true bread from heaven” mean, and what does it lead to?
 
NEXT
Think of the times when you’ve been impatient. What might God have been teaching you in those moments? How does the brevity of life motivate you? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: No Substitute Needed

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April 1, 2013 

READ: Psalm 139:1-12 

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? —Psalm 139:7 

While I was visiting my son in San Diego, we decided to go to Shadow Mountain Church to hear Dr. David Jeremiah preach. Steve and I got up early on Sunday morning and took the hour-long drive to the church. But our anticipation turned to disappointment when we discovered that Dr. Jeremiah was not there that day. “Some other guy”—a substitute—was preaching.

A couple of weeks later, I was scheduled to preach at the church in Grand Rapids where my wife and I attend. As I stood in front of the congregation, I realized that now I was “some other guy” and they might be disappointed because they had come to hear our pastor—not me—speak.

While we find comfort in the familiarity of those we depend on in life, we have to recognize that at times they can be substituted. But the One we need most—the One on whom we depend for life itself—is always present (Ps. 139:7-8). When we desire to enter God’s presence in prayer, He is always there: “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice” (55:17).

Looking for God? He’s always right there. No substitute needed.

— Dave Branon

Dear Lord, I am so thankful that You are always present.
I never need to make an appointment to speak to You,
the God of the universe. No matter where I go or what
time it is, I can depend on Your presence.

When you come to the Lord, there is no waiting line—His ears are always open to your cry. 

ODJ: a private problem


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April 1, 2013 

READ: Proverbs 27:1-17  


The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume (v.9).


Pastor. Husband. Father. Sex addict.

Nate Larkin’s addiction first began after he visited the red-light district. He was on a sponsored field trip at the time, intending to educate Bible college students about the sex industry. 


Eventually, Larkin would—as he put it—“toggle” between two lives. His double life included viewing pornography first thing in the morning (even on Sunday mornings before taking to the pulpit to preach an hour later). In deep conflict with himself, he longed for “a private solution to [his] private problem”.


God’s solution didn’t involve confidentiality. When Larkin’s wife discovered his obsession, he decided to “get out of [his] private world and go somewhere else for help.” That “somewhere else” was a group of men with similar struggles. Together they lived out James 5:16, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”

Being accountable to others, however, will work only if we’re done with deceit. Fellow believers can’t help unless we reveal the true depth and frequency of our sin. Honesty with others shows that we’re serious about sin, and it also pleases God (Proverbs 12:22).


Accountability also involves receiving correction when necessary. This means listening to and acting on “an open rebuke” (27:5) rather than being swayed by people who flatter us and enable our unhealthy habits (28:23). Accountability partners can receive the insights of others who have ‘been there’. Through this the addict discovers that “the heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume” (27:9).


Ultimately only Jesus can forgive and cleanse us from sin (1 John 1:9), while freeing us from our cravings (Romans 8:37). And honest and humble relationships with other Christians can help us stay close to Him as we veer away from our private obsessions. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt


› 1 Samuel 25:1-42

MORE
Read Proverbs 21:2 to see why God must be at the centre of addiction recovery. 
NEXT
How does friendship 
play a role in addiction? What will you do the next time you’re compelled to satisfy a craving?
 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Knee-Deep In Daffodils

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March 31, 2013 

READ: Luke 24:13-34 

The Lord is risen indeed! —Luke 24:34 

When the first flowers of spring bloomed in our yard, my 5-year-old son waded into a patch of daffodils. He noticed some debris from plants that had expired months before and remarked, “Mom, when I see something dead, it reminds me of Easter because Jesus died on the cross.” I replied, “When I see something alive—like the daffodils—it reminds me that Jesus came back to life!”

One reason we know Jesus rose from the grave is that, according to the gospel of Luke, He approached two travelers headed to Emmaus 3 days after His crucifixion. Jesus walked with them; He ate dinner with them; He even gave them a lesson in Old Testament prophecy (24:15-27). This encounter showed the travelers that Jesus conquered the grave—He had risen from the dead. As a result, the pair returned to Jerusalem and told the disciples, “The Lord is risen indeed!” (v.34).

If Jesus had not come back to life, our faith as Christians would be pointless, and we would still be under the penalty of our sin (1 Cor. 15:17). However, the Bible tells us that Jesus “was raised to life for our justification” (Rom. 4:25 niv). Today, we can be right with God because Jesus is alive!

— Jennifer Benson Schuldt

I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today;
I know that He is living, whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him He’s always near.
—Alfred Ackley © Renewal 1961. The

The empty cross and the empty tomb provide a full salvation. 

ODJ: a new genesis


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March 31, 2013 

READ: John 20:1-23 


On the first day of the week . . . (v.1 NIV).


A couple of years ago as I was driving our son to 
 kindergarten, our conversation turned to 
 resurrection. Understandably he was perplexed about what it meant and how it worked. Finally he asked the question for which he most wanted an answer. “Dad,” he asked, “when God raises us from the dead, are we going to be really alive? Or just alive in our head?”


Often we think of Jesus’ resurrection as the exclamation point on God’s work, its primary purpose being to point back and confirm all that the Father and the Son had done. However, John offers Jesus’ resurrection not as the conclusion of God’s activity, but as the new beginning of God’s cosmic action to restore His world.


From John’s opening line (“In the beginning”) we get the sense that he is recasting the creation narrative (John 1:1). His themes of new creation (water to wine, death to life, etc.) continue until we arrive with Jesus praying in a garden—dusting off memories of Eden (19:41). Finally, after Jesus has been crucified and the disciples have scattered and all seems lost, we hear John’s pronounced refrain: “On the first day of the week.” Jesus walked out of the tomb (20:1 NIV). God began His Genesis work, making His world, on the first day of the week. Now, again, Jesus commences a new creation (a second creation), remaking His world on a new first day.

Death has really broken loose in God’s world. We really know death in our marriages and our hearts and our neighbourhoods. And Jesus is recreating all of it, every bit, crushing death and bringing life. Really!


Into every dark corner of your heart, into loneliness and fear and shame, into despair and greed and lust, into ruin and hopelessness and everything that death breeds, know this: Jesus crushed darkness and death. Rise up and live. —Winn Collier


MORE
Read John 20 and note the physicality of the passage. What did Jesus do? Who did Jesus meet? How did Jesus encounter people?
 
NEXT
Where do you most need a new creation? What does it mean for you to open your heart up to God’s new creation?
 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: You Can Beat It!

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March 30, 2013 

READ: Matthew 28:1-10 

O Death, where is your sting? —1 Corinthians 15:55 

The radio ad for an upcoming seminar sounded intriguing. The announcer said, “You can beat death—for good! Attend my seminar and I’ll show you how.” I wondered for a few moments what the speaker would claim could beat death and what his suggestions might be. Perhaps something about diet or exercise or freezing our bodies? After listening a little longer, though, I realized he had said, “You can beat debt—for good.”

The most wonderful news is that we can beat death because Jesus paid our debt! (1 Cor. 15:55-57). Our debt of sin meant separation from God, but Jesus willingly gave up His life and was crucified on a cross to pay what we owed. As Mary Magdalene and another Mary went to the tomb on the third day to anoint His body, an angel told them: “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said” (Matt. 28:6). With great joy they ran to bring His disciples the word. On their way, Jesus met them and said, “Rejoice!” (v.9). Jesus had risen, and His followers had reason for rejoicing.

Jesus has removed the sting of death (1 Cor. 15:55). Now we too have victory by believing in the Son of God’s death and resurrection for us. Through Jesus’ perfect work, we can beat death—for good!

— Anne Cetas

Dear Lord, thank You for sacrificing Your life for our
sins so that we might live. We’re thankful that because
You died and rose again, we can have assurance that
one day we’ll be with You in a place of no more death.

We owed a debt we couldn’t pay;
Jesus paid a debt He didn’t owe. 

ODJ: true freedom


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March 30, 2013 

READ: John 8:31-38 


So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free (v.36).


Many countries annually exercise their freedom to literally change time. I experienced this timely change when I was in America a few years ago. During my visit in the spring, I witnessed Daylight Savings Time—a national law that calls for all clocks to be set back by one hour. It’s designed to save energy, and it also leads to lighter mornings for children who are heading to school. Interesting!


In our postmodern world, freedom to change is a treasured commodity. It goes hand in hand with individual rights. We see freedom as the liberty to follow our preferences, the ability to do whatever we want. No constraints. No rules.

Sound good?


The Bible reveals that this isn’t real freedom. In John 8:34 Jesus asserts, “Everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” In other words leading a self-centred life—to do our own will, to follow our willful desires and preferences—will lead to bondage to sin. Not freedom. But if we remain faithful to God’s teaching, then we “will know the truth, and the truth will set [us] free” (v.32).

Satan has switched the price tags in the world. He makes the priceless stuff that brings eternal joy look worthless, while the junk that leads to addiction and enslavement he presents in attractive packaging. We desperately need God’s truth—truth that enables us to see things in their true perspective.

The apostle John, in chapter 8 of his gospel, presents an interesting ‘cause and effect’ pattern. To experience freedom we must first know the truth. To know the truth we must first obey God’s Word. The initial step to freedom begins with obedience. Counterintuitive? Yes. But the fact remains that true freedom is only possible when we live under God’s loving authority. —Poh Fang Chia


› 1 Samuel 20:1-42

MORE
Read Psalm 119:45 to discover where we find real freedom.
 
NEXT
What are some commandments from God that lead to freedom? What keeps you from experiencing true freedom in Jesus?
 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Shout Of Triumph

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March 29, 2013 

READ: John 19:28-37 

It is finished! —John 19:30 

Recently I read about Aron Ralston, a hiker who was trapped alone at the bottom of a remote canyon. With scant hope of being found and his strength ebbing away, he had to take drastic measures to save his life. During a moment of excruciating pain, he shouted in agony and in victory, because he had freed himself and now had a chance to escape and live.

Those who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus saw His hours of agony and heard Him cry out in a loud voice, “It is finished!” as He gave up His spirit (John 19:30). His final words from the cross were not a cry of painful defeat but a shout of triumph, because He had accomplished all that the Father sent Him to do.

When Jesus died, He shared in what all of us must experience. But far beyond that, He did what none of us can do. He paid the price for our sins that we might be forgiven and have eternal life through faith in Him.

“It is finished!” was the Lord’s shout of victory because now, through Him, we can escape the power of sin; we can live and be free.

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, we call the day of His death Good Friday.

— David C. McCasland

I have been to the cross where my Savior died,
And all of my life is made new—
In the person of Him I am crucified.
I have been to the cross. Have you?
—Helen Frazee-Bower © 1956 Helen Frazee-Bower

Jesus died that we might live. 

ODJ: the rolling stone


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March 29, 2013 

READ: Mark 15:42-47 


He took Jesus’ body down from the cross, wrapped it in the cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance (v.46).


Jesus was dead—witnessed by His executioners (Mark 15:37-39), confirmed by Pilate (15:44-45) and attested by two high-court judges who prepared His lifeless body for burial (v.43; John 3:1,19:38-39). Jesus was laid in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock. The entrance was sealed by an extremely large, round stone (Mark 15:46). It would take many strong men to move the 1 to 2 tonne door. This troubled the women who had gone to anoint Jesus’ body: “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” (16:3). They had worried unnecessarily, however. For the large stone “had already been rolled aside” (v.4) by an angel (Matthew 28:2).


The Jewish authorities had established additional security measures to ensure that the body remained in the tomb (27:62-66). The massive door was sealed with the Roman seal. Anyone breaking the Roman seal faced severe punishment, imprisonment and even death. A guard of well trained Roman soldiers was deployed to guarantee maximum security. It was very dangerous and practically impossible for anyone to go in or out of the tomb.


But the impossible happened.

There was no need, of course, to remove the stone door to let Jesus out. He could have easily walked through the tomb’s walls or through the stone door (John 20:19,26). The stone was rolled away for our benefit. It was done to reveal that something spectacular had taken place inside the tomb. It was done to allow the women, Jesus’ disciples, His enemies and everyone else to go into the tomb to ascertain for themselves that His body was no longer there (Mark 16:5-6).

The stone door was opened, not to let Jesus out, but to let people in—to let them see for themselves that the tomb was indeed empty! Jesus had risen from the dead! (v.6). —K.T. Sim


MORE
When they entered the tomb, what did Peter and John see that told them Jesus had risen from the dead? (John 20:3-8).
 
NEXT
If you were one of the women who saw that the stone had already been rolled aside, what might your reaction have been? How would you have explained what had happened to Jesus’ body?
 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)