Entries by YMI

ODB: Learning to Love

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June 21, 2016 

READ: 1 Corinthians 13 

Follow the way of love. 1 Corinthians 14:1

 

Love does more than make “the world go round,” as an old song says. It also makes us immensely vulnerable. From time to time, we may say to ourselves: “Why love when others do not show appreciation?” or “Why love and open myself up to hurt?” But the apostle Paul gives a clear and simple reason to pursue love: “These three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Follow the way of love” (1 Cor. 13:13–14:1).

“Love is an activity, the essential activity of God himself,” writes Bible commentator C. K. Barrett, “and when men love either Him or their fellow-men, they are doing (however imperfectly) what God does.” And God is pleased when we act like Him.

To begin following the way of love, think about how you might live out the characteristics listed in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7. For example, how can I show my child the same patience God shows me? How can I show kindness and respect for my parents? What does it mean to look out for the interests of others when I am at work? When something good happens to my friend, do I rejoice with her or am I envious?

As we “follow the way of love,” we’ll find ourselves often turning to God, the source of love, and to Jesus, the greatest example of love. Only then will we gain a deeper knowledge of what true love is and find the strength to love others like God loves us. 

— Poh Fang Chia

God, thank You that You are love and that You love me so much. Help me to love others the way Jesus showed us so that the whole world will know I am Your child.

Love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7  

ODJ: Stay or Run Away?

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June 20, 2016 

READ: Exodus 14:1-13 

Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today (v.13).

Waiting in a long line to ride a roller coaster, I considered turning back several times. When it was finally my turn to board, the safety bar in the seat I was to occupy wouldn’t release properly. I was afraid of getting stuck, but I hopped in anyway. When the safety bar came down too tightly on my lap, I felt trapped and scared! I considered waving my hand and asking to be excused from the ride. But an attendant announced over the loudspeaker, “You can scream and you can shout, but there’s no way we’ll let you out.”

Thankfully, my ride that began with near terror ended in exhilaration!

God’s people had an intense encounter with fear shortly after leaving Egypt. “The [Israelites] looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them” (Exodus 14:10). The Egyptian forces were massive and moving quickly.

This threat caused the Israelites to consider turning back and surrendering to their enemies. They told Moses, “It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!” (v.12). Moses might have been scared too, but his faith in God gave him courage. He told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today” (v.13). Moses knew that giving in to fear would mean missing out on the blessings of the Promised Land.

Thankfully, the Israelites pressed forward and escaped the Egyptians. The Bible tells us that God used the whole event to display His glory (v.4). If you’re facing a scary situation, remember that the great God who delivered the Israelites is with you.

The psalmist wrote, “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you” (Psalm 37:5). May we rest in His power and presence today.

—Jennifer Benson Schuldt

365-day plan: John 3:22-36

MORE
Read 2 Timothy 4:16-18 to see how God’s presence and support can empower us despite our circumstances.
 
NEXT
How might God want you to display His glory in your life? What’s the relationship between fear and faith? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Hoo-ah!

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June 20, 2016 

READ: Psalm 68:7–10,19–20 

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation! Selah. Psalm 68:19 nkjv

 

The US Army’s expression “hoo-ah” is a guttural response barked when troops voice approval. Its original meaning is lost to history, but some say it is derived from an old acronym HUA—Heard, Understood, and Acknowledged. I first heard the word in basic training.

Many years later it found its way into my vocabulary again when I began to meet on Wednesday mornings with a group of men to study the Scriptures. One morning one of the men—a former member of the 82nd Airborne Division—was reading one of the psalms and came to the notation selah that occurs throughout the psalms. Instead of reading “selah,” however, he growled hoo–ah, and that became our word for selah ever after.

No one knows for certain what selah actually means. Some say it is only a musical notation. It often appears after a truth that calls for a deep-seated, emotional response. In that sense hoo–ah works for me.

This morning I read Psalm 68:19: “Blessed be the Lord, who daily [day to day] loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation! Selah” (nkjv).

Imagine that! Every single morning God loads us up on His shoulders and carries us through the day. He is our salvation. Thus safe and secure in Him, we’ve no cause for worry or for fear. “Hoo-ah!” I say.

— David Roper

Day by day and with each passing moment, strength I find to meet my trials here. Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment, I've no cause for worry or for fear.  Lina Sandell Berg

Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Oswald Chambers  

ODJ: Jealousy and Generosity

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June 19, 2016 

READ: Matthew 20:1-15 

Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others? (v.15).

Thomas J. DeLong, a professor at Harvard Business School, has noted a disturbing trend among his students and colleagues—a comparison obsession. He writes: “Business executives, Wall Street analysts, lawyers, doctors and other professionals are obsessed with comparing their own achievements against those of others. ...I have interviewed hundreds of HNAPs (High Need for Achievement Professionals) about this phenomenon and discovered that comparing has reached almost epidemic proportions. This is bad for individuals and bad for companies [and it leads to diminished satisfaction].” It’s also especially bad for believers in Jesus.

To help His followers understand the dangers of comparison obsession and, instead, what the kingdom of heaven is like, Jesus told a parable about a landowner who hired workers to tend his vineyard. He hired workers around 6 a.m. and agreed to pay them a denarius, a day’s wage (Matthew 20:1-2). Then he hired workers at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. and indicated that he would pay them what “was right” (vv.4-5).

When it was time to pay all the workers, he paid them each the same wage, a denarius. The first group he hired protested, accusing the owner of being unfair. But the owner reminded the grumblers that he could choose to be controversially and scandalously generous if he so desired (vv.13-14). Then he revealed the root of the issue—they were “jealous” of his extravagant generosity (v.15).

When God is truly reigning in our hearts, we see Him as sovereign, gracious, just and generous. There’s no room for bitter envy and unhealthy comparison. May we simply focus on the life God has given us and live with gratitude.

—Marvin Williams

365-day plan: John 3:1-21

MORE
Read Galatians 6:4-5 and see the instructions Paul gave to help us avoid comparing our work with others’. 
NEXT
How is comparison obsession more of a vertical (human to God) problem than a horizontal (human to human) problem? What are some practical things you can do to eliminate comparison obsession? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Abba, Father

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June 19, 2016 

READ: Romans 8:12–17 

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. Psalm 68:5

 

The scene belonged on a funny Father’s Day card. As a dad muscled a lawn mower ahead of him with one hand, he expertly towed a child’s wagon behind him with the other. In the wagon sat his three-year-old daughter, delighted at the noisy tour of their yard. This might not be the safest choice, but who says men can’t multitask?

If you had a good dad, a scene like that can invoke fantastic memories. But for many, “Dad” is an incomplete concept. Where are we to turn if our fathers are gone, or if they fail us, or even if they wound us?

King David certainly had his shortcomings as a father, but he understood the paternal nature of God. “A father to the fatherless,” he wrote, “a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families” (Ps. 68:5–6). The apostle Paul expanded on that idea: “The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.” Then, using the Aramaic word for father—a term young children would use for their dad—Paul added, “By him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’ ” (Rom. 8:15). This is the same word Jesus used when He prayed in anguish to His Father the night He was betrayed (Mark 14:36).

What a privilege to come to God using the same intimate term for “father” that Jesus used! Our Abba Father welcomes into His family anyone who will turn to Him.

— Tim Gustafson

Heavenly Father, I want to be part of Your family. I believe that Your only Son Jesus died for my sins. Please forgive me and help me live a life that pleases You.

A good father reflects the love of the heavenly Father.
   

ODJ: On the Fringe

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June 18, 2016 

READ: Mark 5:1-20 

But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been” (v.19).

I was once invited to an authors’ party in London. It was a posh affair with caviar and oysters and a private view of a fashion exhibition. Celebrities milled through the crowd and everyone else looked like a celebrity due to their chic fashion sense.

I was alone and couldn’t find the one contact I knew was attending the gala. Forty-five minutes later I was still standing by myself, feeling out of place and on the fringe.

Have you ever noticed how Jesus sought out people on society’s fringe—those out of place and lonely? He brought lepers back into the community (Mark 1:40-45). He drew children (that others were trying to turn away) into the spotlight (10:13-16). He focused on the disregarded and arranged dinner parties for the despised (vv.46-52; Luke 19:1-10). Jesus drew those on the fringe back into community.

This is powerfully illustrated in Jesus’ dealings with a demon-possessed man. The man was on the fringe, isolated from society because of his violence and self-abuse (Mark 5:3-5). Jesus went out of His way to meet him, venturing into Gentile territory (v.1). He freed the man of the demons that were tormenting him, and then He sent him home to reunite with his family (vv.8-19).

I decided to leave the authors’ party early. As I was about to leave, I heard someone call my name. It was Rose, my contact, who had been looking for me. Rose introduced me to others and I ended up remaining at the party all evening.

My experience of isolation that night reminds me of this truth: in most crowds there are people on the fringe who don’t fit in and can’t find their way ’in’ to the ’party’. May the love of Jesus fill our hearts so that we’ll go out of our way to bring them in.

—Sheridan Voysey

365-day plan: John 2:1-25

MORE
Read Psalm 68:5-6 and consider God’s heart for those on the fringe. 
NEXT
Who sits alone at church that you can befriend? At your next party, how will you reach out to those who stand alone? How has God drawn you out of isolation? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Defeat or Victory?

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June 18, 2016 

READ: 1 John 5:1–13 

Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4

 

Each year on June 18 the great Battle of Waterloo is recalled in what is now Belgium. On that day in 1815, Napoleon’s French army was defeated by a multinational force commanded by the Duke of Wellington. Since then, the phrase “to meet your Waterloo” has come to mean “to be defeated by someone who is too strong for you or by a problem that is too difficult for you.”

When it comes to our spiritual lives, some people feel that ultimate failure is inevitable and it’s only a matter of time until each of us will “meet our Waterloo.” But John refuted that pessimistic view when he wrote to followers of Jesus: “Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).

John weaves this theme of spiritual victory throughout his first letter as he urges us not to love the things this world offers, which will soon fade away (2:15–17). Instead, we are to love and please God, “And this is what he promised us—eternal life” (v. 25).

While we may have ups and downs in life, and even some battles that feel like defeats, the ultimate victory is ours in Christ as we trust in His power.

— David McCasland

Lord Jesus, Your ultimate victory in this fallen world is assured, and You ask us to share in it each day of our lives. By Your grace, enable us to overcome the world through faith and obedience to You.

When it comes to problems, the way out is to trust God on the way through.
   

ODJ: Taming Anger

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June 17, 2016 

READ: 1 Samuel 24:1-22 

The wise will calm anger (Proverbs 29:8).

“I can feel your anger. I am defenceless. Take your weapon! Strike me down with all of your hatred, and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!”

These chilling words were delivered by Scottish actor Ian McDiarmid as he played the role of the Emperor in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. In this memorable scene, the Emperor fruitlessly tried to sway the film’s hero, Luke Skywalker, to join him on the dark side of evil. But anger itself wasn’t enough to make Luke evil. It happened when he let rage consume him to the point of taking action.

David could have reacted to Saul’s murderous rage and let his own anger get the best of him (1 Samuel 23:15). He could have become enraged and slain the king who was trying to kill him (24:4). But he left Saul in God’s hands, not willing to use his own hands to harm him (v.10). Hundreds of years later, Jesus displayed divine and righteous anger as He overturned tables and used a whip to drive out those who were misusing the temple courts (Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-22). Jesus wasn’t being ruled by anger; He was displaying His holy and perfect nature. Anger can be bad (like Luke Skywalker’s) or good (like Christ’s).

It’s not pleasant to encounter anger, especially the righteous anger of God. It can be comforting, however, to see that anger itself is not sinful. What we do with our anger—whether we “give in to hate” or not—makes all the difference.

Today, it’s likely that someone or something in our lives will cause us to become angry. In that moment may we live out this truth by God’s power: “The wise will calm anger” (Proverbs 29:8). Let’s lean on His Spirit to help us grow in love, patience and self-control (Galatians 5:22-24).

—Andy Rogers

365-day plan: John 1:35-51

MORE
Read Matthew 5:21-25 and John 2:13-22. Consider what Jesus reveals about anger and also the reasons He was filled with righteous anger. 
NEXT
Think back to a time when you lashed out in anger, or when someone lashed out at you. Was the reaction appropriate? What can you learn from that experience? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)