Entries by YMI

ODJ: Peace of Mind and Heart

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August 3, 2018 

READ: John 16:1-4,16-33 

You may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world (v.33).

In 2017, the morning after the mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert that resulted in nearly 60 fatalities and more than 500 wounded, the President of the United States quoted Scripture to comfort the grieving families and victims. This response to tragedy isn’t unusual; many people turn to the Bible for comfort following devastating events

BibleGateway.com analysed Scripture search patterns after 19 major incidents of violence and found that among the site’s 150 million visitors, four Bible verses registered a distinct spike in readership in the aftermath of the violent tragedies. John 16:33 is one of these four Bible verses.

Hours before His betrayal, Jesus spoke of the troubles and dangers ahead. He would be betrayed and put to death (John 13:21,31-33). The disciples would be persecuted and scattered (15:20, 16:2,32). But Jesus comforted the distraught disciples with the promise of His presence and abiding peace through the Spirit (14:16-20). Jesus offered them and us a much-needed gift: “peace of mind and heart”. He said that His peace “is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (14:27).

Jesus also left His distressed disciples with another gift—the assurance of His final victory over sin and death. “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (16:33).

We live in a world broken by sin and twisted by pain. Yet even in the midst of turmoil and fear, we can experience Jesus’ gift of “peace of mind and heart”. We can bring our fears to Him. For He—the One who has triumphed over death—brings us joy no one can take away (16:22).

—K.T. Sim

365-day plan: Luke 11:14-32

MORE
Read Philippians 4:6-7 to see how we can experience afresh the peace Jesus promised us. 
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What’s distressing you today? As you cope with life’s troubles and pain, how can the gift of Jesus’ “peace of mind and heart” give you confidence and hope? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: To My Dear Friend

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August 3, 2018 

READ: 3 John 

The elder, to my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. 3 John 1

 

What the apostle John did for his friend Gaius in the first century is a dying art in the twenty-first century. John wrote him a letter.

One writer for the New York Times, Catherine Field, said, “Letter-writing is among our most ancient of arts. Think of letters and the mind falls on Paul of Tarsus,” for example. And we can add the apostle John.

In his letter to Gaius, John included hopes for good health of body and soul, an encouraging word about Gaius’s faithfulness, and a note about his love for the church. John also spoke of a problem in the church, which he promised to address individually later. And he wrote of the value of doing good things for God’s glory. All in all, it was an encouraging and challenging letter to his friend.

Digital communication may mean letter-writing on paper is fading away, but this shouldn’t stop us from encouraging others. Paul wrote letters of encouragement on parchment; we can encourage others in a variety of ways. The key is not the way we encourage others, but that we take a moment to let others know we care for them in Jesus’s name!

Think of the encouragement Gaius experienced when he opened John’s letter. Could we similarly shine God’s love on our friends with a thoughtful note or an uplifting call?

— Dave Branon

Lord, help us know how to encourage others who need a spiritual boost from us.

Encouraging words bring hope to the human spirit.  

ODJ: No Time for God?

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August 2, 2018 

READ: Psalm 1:1-6 

Delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night (v.2).

An essay, two exams, hundreds of pages of reading and other assignments were coming up, along with friends who needed attention. There was shopping to be done, meals to be made and house cleaning to do! How can I possibly have time for my relationship with God? These thoughts haunted me during my second month of postgraduate education. It’s okay, I told myself. God’s doing something.

I grabbed my Bible and flipped to Psalm 1. In it, the psalmist writes about delighting in God’s law and meditating on it “day and night” (v.2). The author of the psalm was referring to the Torah (the first five books of Scripture), but today we have the entire Bible to meditate on. He went on to explain that those who do so “are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do” (v.3). But how can meditating on Scripture help me finish my ‘to do’ list?

In reading God’s Word, we find instruction and stories that remind us that God is in control. No matter what’s going on in our lives or how pressing the deadline is, if something doesn’t get done, God’s in control. He’s still King, and He’s greater than whatever we’re facing. As the psalmist writes, “The Lord watches over the path of the godly” (v.6). He’s there in the midst of the busy days and challenges we face.

If God is watching over our every step, He’s powerful enough to take care of us in any situation. There’s no need for us to endlessly worry about anything. We might miss a deadline or have to postpone house cleaning, but God is still God. Our quiet moments with Him can remind us of His presence with us, even during our busiest times.

—Julie Schwab

365-day plan: Luke 11:1-13

MORE
Compare Martha’s choice with that of Mary’s in Luke 10:38-42. Which does Jesus say is better? Why? 
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How can you make more time for God? What happens to our worries and fears as we bring them to Him and rest in His presence? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Healing Flood

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August 2, 2018 

READ: Psalm 107:1–16, 35–36 

He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs. Psalm 107:35

 

I’ve always loved a good thunderstorm. As kids, whenever a storm was truly incredible—with booming thunder and buckets of heavy rain pounding down—my siblings and I would make a mad dash around the outside of our house, slipping and sliding along the way. When it was time to go back inside, we were soaked to the bone.

It was an exhilarating taste—for just a few minutes—of being immersed in something so powerful we couldn’t quite tell whether we were having fun or terrified.

This picture comes to mind when, as in Psalm 107, Scripture compares God’s restoration to a barren wilderness transformed into “pools of water” (v. 35). Because the kind of storm that transforms a desert into an oasis isn’t a gentle shower—it’s a downpour, flooding every crack of parched ground with new life.

And isn’t that the kind of restoration we long for? When our stories feel like tales of aimless wandering because we are “hungry and thirsty”—starving—for healing that never seems to arrive (vv. 4–5), we need more than a bit of hope. And when deep-rooted patterns of sin leave us trapped “in utter darkness” (vv. 10–11), our hearts need more than a little change.

That’s exactly the kind of transformation our God can bring (v. 20). It’s never too late to bring our fears and shame to the One who’s more than able to break our chains and flood our darkness with His light (vv. 13–14).

— Monica Brands

Father, help us turn to You with our burdens, trusting Your love and power to write a new story of healing and transformation.

God’s power transforms.  

ODJ: Inner Peace

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August 1, 2018 

READ: Isaiah 26:1-19 

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! (v.3).

Paying attention is one of our most underrated capacities. Our lives are greatly affected by what we do and don’t pay attention to. For example, if we’re inattentive to a bill’s due date, we’ll incur late fees. In the same way, if we ignore our emotions or try to blunt them, we’ll miss out on more deeply relating with others and God.

Neuroscience, the study of the nervous system, has found that paying focused attention to all aspects of our being (including emotions and body sensations) promotes healthy mental states like inner peace. Our brains function more coherently—they literally create new neurons and new neural connections, while ‘pruning’ older neural connections that promote states of inner unrest.

Long before studies revealed the health benefits of paying attention, the Old Testament prophet Isaiah hailed its importance. Picturing the coming day of God’s worldwide renewal (that would start with Jerusalem) he wrote, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isaiah 26:3).

God longs for us to fix our attention on Him. He knows this is essential to experiencing His deep inner peace, one that transcends the facts of the most difficult set of circumstances (Philippians 4:7).

Let’s practise what the psalmist described in poetic form: “reflect” on God’s “ways” (Psalm 119:15). “Meditate”, that is, pay attention on purpose to His “wonderful deeds” (v.27). And if sleep escapes you, “stay awake through the night” and focus on His “promise” (v.148).

Take some slow, deep breaths and pay attention to the One who breathed into the first human the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). Your peace of mind depends on Him and what He’s doing within you.

—Jeff Olson

365-day plan: Luke 10:25-42

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Read Psalm 25:4-5 and think about what it means to focus on God and His presence in your life. 
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Why is it hard to pay attention to God? What will happen if you focus your attention on one of the fruits of the Spirit such as patience or self-control? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Love Without Limits

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August 1, 2018 

READ: Psalm 145:8–21 

The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. Psalm 145:9

 

A wise friend advised me to avoid using the words “you always” or “you never” in an argument—especially with my family. How easy it is to criticize others around us and to feel unloving toward those we love. But there is never any variation in God’s enduring love for us all.

Psalm 145 overflows with the word all. “The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made” (v. 9). “The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down” (vv. 13–14). “The Lord watches over all who love him” (v. 20).

A dozen times in this psalm we are reminded that God’s love is without limit and favoritism. And the New Testament reveals that the greatest expression of it is seen in Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Psalm 145 declares that “the Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them” (vv. 18–19).     

God’s love for us always endures, and it never fails!

— David C. McCasland

Father in heaven, we are awed by Your love for us that never changes, never fails, and never ends. We praise You for demonstrating Your limitless love for us through Jesus our Savior and Lord.

There is never any variation in God’s enduring love for us all.  

ODJ: Repeat or Release?

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July 31, 2018 

READ: Proverbs 17:1-19 

Love prospers when a fault is forgiven (v.9).

It was an uncomfortable confrontation. The kind where you hope the hammering of your heart isn’t visible through your shirt. My friend and I stood face to face, disagreeing about how to handle a situation between our children at school. It had been a fairly serious issue, and I had spoken to a teacher about it before discussing it with my friend. After a second uncomfortable exchange by phone, we both owned up to our part of the dispute and apologised. After that, our friendship began to feel solid again. These days, it’s better than ever.

What happened between us seems consistent with wisdom from the book of Proverbs: “Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends” (Proverbs 17:9). Reliving the offence—recalling the words, envisioning the body language and talking about it with other people—often results in us becoming more entrenched in our way of seeing the issue. We may even start recruiting people to take our side and create a big mess out of a relatively small problem (v.19).

In contrast, forgiveness is rewarding in the long run. Forgiveness is possible when we’re honest about our hurt in a way that avoids finger-pointing. Humbly mentioning an offence allows the other person to see it, own it and avoid it in the future (v.10). Then both people can let go completely and continue in loyal appreciation for each other (v.17).

Forgiveness is an essential step to fully restoring a broken relationship. As Paul wrote, “Forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Colossians 3:13). That’s only possible through Jesus. He works in us the humble kindness that makes a heart of forgiveness possible.

—Jennifer Schuldt

365-day plan: Luke 10:1-24

MORE
Read Luke 17:3-4 and notice what the text says about repeated forgiveness. Consider God’s role in helping us forgive when we can’t do it on our own. 
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What’s the difference between a disagreement and an offence? What’s the relationship between forgiveness and humility? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)