Entries by YMI

ODB: Come Sit a Spell

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July 2, 2016 

READ: Luke 19:1–9 

Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. Luke 19:5

 

When I was a kid, our family made a monthly excursion from Ohio to West Virginia to visit my maternal grandparents. Every time we arrived at the door of their farmhouse, Grandma Lester would greet us with the words, “Come on in and sit a spell.” It was her way of telling us to make ourselves comfortable, stay a while, and share in some “catching-up” conversation.

Life can get pretty busy. In our action-oriented world, it’s hard to get to know people. It’s tough to find time to ask someone to “sit a spell” with us. We can get more done if we text each other and get right to the point. 

But look at what Jesus did when He wanted to make a difference in the life of a tax collector. He went to Zacchaeus’s house to “sit a spell.” His words, “I must stay at your house” indicate that this was no quick stopover (Luke 19:5). Jesus spent time with him, and Zacchaeus’s life was turned around because of this time with Jesus.

On the front porch of my grandmother’s house were several chairs—a warm invitation to all visitors to relax and talk. If we’re going to get to know someone and to make a difference in their life—as Jesus did for Zacchaeus—we need to invite them to “come sit a spell.”

— Dave Branon

Dear Lord, as I look around at those who share this life with me, help me to make time to spend with them—for encouragement, challenge, and perhaps just plain conversation.

The best gift you can give to others may be your time.  

ODJ: Encouragement Exchange

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July 1, 2016 

READ: Acts 16:16-40 

[Paul and Silas] met with the believers and encouraged them once more (v.40).

One Sunday morning, my friend Sally announced some upcoming women’s events to our congregation. Sitting in the back, I made sure she could see my smiling face. Later she exclaimed, “You smiled at me the whole time!” I admitted that the ‘encouraging smile’ idea had come from someone else—my friend Suzy. Several months before, Suzy had beamed at me during a short presentation I made to the church family.

The apostle Paul provided just what the early church needed with his encouraging words and actions. In the city of Philippi, Paul and Silas had been unfairly beaten and imprisoned. When officials finally released them, they went to find the believers in Jesus in the area and “encouraged them once more” (Acts 16:40). These believers needed reassurance because they were new to the faith and had seen their city erupt in religious controversy (vv.20-22). Without Paul’s spiritual pep talk, they could have been overcome by doubt and confusion.

Time passed. In prison again, Paul wrote a letter to his Philippian friends, thanking them for the way they had encouraged him. He said, “You Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News . ...You sent help more than once. ...[Now] I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me” (Philippians 4:15-18).

Paul was uplifted not only by the gifts he received, but also by simply hanging out with other believers (Acts 28:15) and hearing their stories of progress and perseverance (1 Thessalonians 3:7). So “let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love...[and] encourage one another, especially now that the day of [Jesus’] return is drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

—Jennifer Benson Schuldt

365-day plan: Matthew 6:1-18

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Read the following verses and think of some ways you can encourage other believers: Acts 23:11, Ephesians 4:29 and 2 Timothy 1:16. 
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How could you give encouragement to someone today? Where do you go for encouragement? Why? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Out in the Cold

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July 1, 2016 

READ: Job 11:7–20 

To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. Job 12:13

 

In desperation, a woman called the housing assistance center where I worked. A heating problem had turned her rental home into a freezer with furniture. Panicked, she asked me how she would care for her children. I hurriedly replied with the scripted official response: “Just move into a hotel and send the landlord the bill.” She angrily hung up on me. 

I knew the textbook answer to her question, but I had completely missed her heart. She wanted someone to understand her fear and desperation. She needed to know she wasn’t alone. In essence, I had left her out in the cold.

After Job had lost everything, he had friends with answers but little understanding. Zophar told him all he needed to do was live wholeheartedly for God. Then “life will be brighter than noonday,” he said (11:17). That counsel wasn’t well received, and Job responded with scathing sarcasm: “Wisdom will die with you!” (12:2). He knew the dissatisfying taste of textbook answers to real-world problems.

It’s easy to be critical of Job’s friends for their failure to see the big picture. But how often are we too quick with answers to questions we don’t truly understand? People do want answers. But more than that, they want to know we hear and understand. They want to know we care.

— Tim Gustafson

Father, help us to be a friend first before we offer advice to others. Thank You for the privilege of sharing our hearts with You in prayer. Thank You for sending us Your Holy Spirit so that we will never be alone.

Before people want to hear what you say, they want to know that you care.  

ODJ: Raise the Temperature

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June 30, 2016 

READ: Daniel 1:1-21  

Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods (v.8).

When I meet people who have lived overseas, I ask what they noticed about our culture upon their return to our country. Some appreciate our culture’s energy and ‘can do’ spirit, while others lament our individuality and lack of social interaction. Every culture has strengths and weaknesses, but we can help shape the culture that shapes us.

When Daniel and his friends were carted off to Babylon, they could have gone along with whatever their leaders imposed (Daniel 1:3). They could have become thermometers that reflected the temperature of their culture. Instead, they chose to become thermostats that raised the temperature. Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the king’s food, and his three friends declared they wouldn’t bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s idol (3:16-18). Their faithful witness had a profound effect on the king, among others.

Are you a thermometer or a thermostat? Consider the values of the five people you spend the most time with, and you’ll probably see your own. We must carefully choose our friends, for “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

And yet, the Spirit of God working in and through us can influence the temperature of our friends. When they invite us to watch something inappropriate, we can suggest a healthier alternative. When they talk disparagingly about someone or something, we can choose to speak positively. And when they pile up debt to finance their latest impulse, we can encourage them to save and find ways to hang out that don’t cost money.

We’re called to be thermostats, not thermometers. God graciously gives us His love and wisdom. By His power, may we raise the spiritual temperature around us.

—Mike Wittmer

365-day plan: Matthew 5:31-48

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Read 2 Timothy 3:1-17 to learn how to raise rather than reflect the spiritual temperature of your culture. 
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How have you influenced your family and friends for good? How have you allowed them to drag you down? How has God equipped you to turn up the spiritual temperature around you? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Called by Name

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June 30, 2016 

READ: John 10:1–11 

He calls his own sheep by name. John 10:3

 

When I first meet a new group of students in the college composition class I teach, I already know their names. I take the time to familiarize myself with their names and photos on my student roster, so when they walk into my classroom I can say, “Hello, Jessica,” or “Welcome, Trevor.” I do this because I know how meaningful it is when someone knows and calls us by name.

Yet to truly know someone, we need to know more than that person’s name. In John 10, we can sense the warmth and care Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has for us when we read that He “calls his own sheep by name” (v. 3). He knows even more than our name. He knows our thoughts, longings, fears, wrongs, and deepest needs. Because He knows our deepest needs, He has given us our very life—our eternal life—at the cost of His own. As He says in verse 11, He “lays down his life for the sheep.”

You see, our sin separated us from God. So Jesus, the Good Shepherd, became the Lamb and sacrificed Himself, taking our sin on Himself. When He gave His life for us and then was resurrected, He redeemed us. As a result, when we accept His gift of salvation through faith, we are no longer separated from God.

Give thanks to Jesus! He knows your name and your needs! 

— Dave Branon

Dear Lord, thank You for knowing my name and for knowing exactly what I need. Thank You for dying for my sin and for rising from the grave to defeat death and give me eternal life with You.

God’s knowledge of us knows no bounds.  

ODJ: Always

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June 29, 2016 

READ: Psalm 16:8-11  

I know the Lord is always with me (v.8).

On 11 September, 2001, Todd Beamer was one of 44 people who were killed when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after being hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists. Shortly after that tragic day, I remember listening to Todd’s young widow, Lisa Beamer, who said moving forward she would live carefully but not in fear. Though she had lost the husband she loved, Lisa refused to let terror rule over her heart and mind. Instead, she chose to trust in the God of peace and to believe He’s ultimately victorious over evil.

As one who’s often nearly paralysed by fear (for example, I’m terrified of flying and consider bailing before every trip rather than getting on the plane), I’m continuing to learn how vital faith in Jesus is in overcoming my apprehension.

If you battle anxiety as I do, imagine how our lives would look if we truly grasped the truth expressed by David: “I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me” (Psalm 16:8).

The psalmist “knew” the Lord was always with him. He was confident in his certain, living, faithful God. By placing his trust in the truth of who He is, David was able to rest in the reality that the Lord is in charge.

God wasn’t with the psalmist some of the time but all of the time, without exception and on every occasion! The same is true for you and me. With God “right beside” us, we can stand firm rather than allow circumstances, fear and trials to rob us of peace and cause us to experience distress.
May we never forget what David said of God and His loving care: “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever” (v.11). He’s always there.

—Roxanne Robbins

365-day plan: Matthew 5:17-30

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Read Isaiah 58:11 and reflect on a hard time the Lord guided you through as He restored your strength. 
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Do you believe that the Lord is always with you? Why or why not? How can you experience His presence today? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Our Way of Life

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June 29, 2016 

READ: Ephesians 2:1–10 

We are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. Ephesians 2:10 nrsv

 

I was struck by a phrase I heard quoted from a contemporary Bible translation. When I Googled the phrase “our way of life” to locate the passage, many of the results focused on things people felt were threatening their expected way of living. Prominent among the perceived threats were climate change, terrorism, and government policies.

What really is our way of life as followers of Jesus? I wondered. Is it what makes us comfortable, secure, and happy, or is it something more?

Paul reminded the Christians in Ephesus of the remarkable way God had transformed their lives. “God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Eph. 2:4-5 nrsv). The result is that we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life” (v. 10 nrsv).

Doing good works, helping others, giving, loving, and serving in Jesus’s name—these are to be our way of life. They are not optional activities for believers, but the very reason God has given us life in Christ.

In a changing world, God has called and empowered us to pursue a life that reaches out to others and honors Him.

— David McCasland

Father, thank You for the incredible riches of Your love and mercy. You rescued us from our dead way of living and made us alive with Christ.

Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16  

HONG KONG: Loving our neighbors

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I recently met a group of Hong Kong Junior High students who left a deep impression on me. These students volunteer as Chinese tutors in a class organized by an evangelistic organization, to help youth from countries like Nepal, Pakistan and India, learn Chinese–free of charge.   Every Friday evening, the tutors would arrive early […]