Entries by YMI

ODB: Tell It!

Jun 7, 2016 in , /by

June 7, 2016 

READ: Mark 5:1–20 

The man went away and began to tell . . . how much Jesus had done for him. Mark 5:20

 

The year was 1975 and something significant had just happened to me. I needed to find my friend Francis, with whom I shared a lot of personal matters, and tell him about it. I found him in his apartment hurriedly preparing to go out, but I slowed him down. The way he stared at me, he must have sensed that I had something important to tell him. “What is it?” he asked. So I told him simply, “Yesterday I surrendered my life to Jesus!”

Francis looked at me, sighed heavily, and said, “I’ve felt like doing the same for a long time now.” He asked me to share what happened, and I told him how the previous day someone had explained the gospel to me and how I asked Jesus to come into my life. I still remember the tears in his eyes as he too prayed to receive Jesus’s forgiveness. No longer in a hurry, he and I talked and talked about our new relationship with Christ.

After Jesus healed the man with an evil spirit, He told him, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19). The man didn’t need to preach a powerful sermon; he simply needed to share his story.

No matter what our conversion experience is, we can do what that man did: “[He] went away and began to tell . . . how much Jesus had done for him.”

— Lawrence Darmani

What has Jesus done for you? Tell it!

Share your story on Facebook.com/ourdailybread.

ODJ: Hope that Shines

Jun 6, 2016 in , /by

June 6, 2016 

READ: Matthew 14:35 

It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth (v.11).

Enjoying our evening out, we waited for our waitress to come to our table. When she approached, her cheerful demeanour brought an immediate connection, even though we had just met her. However, as our dinner progressed, my husband and I picked up on the self-deprecating comments interjected in her words each time she checked on us. We spoke boldly about God’s beauty in her and asked to pray with her. I was surprised the next morning to find a friend request from her on my Facebook page. Neither my husband nor I had told her our names or the name of the church where we serve.

The world is longing for hope, and we’re God’s ambassadors of it. When Jesus showed up, people had the opportunity to choose whether they would run to Him for their answers or continue to depend on their own efforts (Matthew 14:36, 15:2). The same is true today. The only difference is that the presence of God is made visible through our lives, not by our own efforts but through the presence of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.

Is hope a vibrant, revealed thing in our lives? Matthew 5:15-16 tells us, “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Jesus revealed that He uses our words and actions to help others see Him (Acts 4:13).

Jesus’ confrontation with the Pharisees (Matthew 15:1) shows a poignant certainty. Who we are is more important than how we sometimes view ourselves. The quality of a light isn’t determined by the depth of darkness, but by the Source of its gleam (Philippians 2:15).

—Regina Franklin

365-day plan: Luke 1:5-25

MORE
Read Ephesians 5:8-20 and consider the attributes of a transformed believer in Jesus. 
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In what ways do your words and actions point others to Jesus? How can you address areas where you’re missing the mark? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Broken to Be Made New

Jun 6, 2016 in , /by

June 6, 2016 

READ: Psalm 119:71–75 

I know, Lord, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. Psalm 119:75

 

During World War II my dad served with the US Army in the South Pacific. During that time Dad rejected any idea of religion, saying, “I don’t need a crutch.” Yet the day came when his attitude toward spiritual things would change forever. Mom had gone into labor with their third child, and my brother and I went to bed with the excitement of soon seeing our new brother or sister. When I got out of bed the next morning, I excitedly asked Dad, “Is it a boy or a girl?” He replied, “It was a little girl but she was born dead.” We began to weep together at our loss.

For the first time, Dad took his broken heart to Jesus in prayer. At that moment he felt an overwhelming sense of peace and comfort from God, though his daughter would always be irreplaceable. Soon he began to take an interest in the Bible and continued to pray to the One who was healing his broken heart. His faith grew through the years. He became a strong follower of Jesus—serving Him as a Bible-study teacher and a leader in his church.

Jesus is not a crutch for the weak. He is the source of new spiritual life! When we’re broken, He can make us new and whole (Ps. 119:75).

— Dennis Fisher

 What is on your heart that you need to talk with God about? Bring Him your brokenness and ask Him to make you whole.

Brokenness can lead to wholeness.
   

ODJ: Pain with a Purpose

Jun 5, 2016 in , /by

June 5, 2016 

READ: Hebrews 12:1-3  

Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame (v.2).

I recently watched a viral video in which men were voluntarily subjected to pain similar to what women experience in childbirth. The men began the experiment in good spirits, joking around as electrodes were attached to their abdomens. But as the pain began and eventually increased, they started to grimace and wince in pain—eventually screaming and clutching each other’s hands for emotional support. As I watched the video, I thought about my own wife—the mother of our five kids—and couldn’t help but wonder: How do women endure that kind of suffering?

The answer is that although childbirth may cause intense pain, there’s an invaluable point to the pain: a baby! It’s the baby that allows women to place their experience into a larger context and to realise that, as painful as childbirth is, it results in the birth of a beautiful new life. In that way, their pain isn’t an end unto itself, but a chapter of a larger story.

Although Jesus is fully God, His human suffering on earth was far more profound and severe than what we might face, as evidenced by His night in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:44). What allowed Him to endure suffering of this magnitude was the joy that would come after it: His great victory over sin and death (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus knew that His pain, although indescribable, was only part of the larger story of salvation. And so He was able to endure.

How important it is for us to take the same approach— choosing not to give up when we face trials and tribulations (v.3). They aren’t the entire story of our lives, but merely a chapter. May we rest in God and His infinite power and love, knowing that He can work through even our deepest pain.

—Peter Chin

365-day plan: John 1:1-18

MORE
Read Luke 1:26-38 for the account of Mary who was able to endure the scorn of those around her because she knew the full story: she carried the hope of the world in her womb!  
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Have you ever had a painful experience that was overshadowed by what came after? How might your current pain be part of a larger story or work that God is doing?  

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: The Beauty of Rome

Jun 5, 2016 in , /by

June 5, 2016 

READ: John 17:1–5 

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God. John 17:3

 

The glory of the Roman Empire offered an expansive backdrop for the birth of Jesus. In 27 bc Rome’s first emperor, Caesar Augustus, ended 200 years of civil war and began to replace rundown neighborhoods with monuments, temples, arenas, and government complexes. According to Roman historian Pliny the Elder, they were “the most beautiful buildings the world has ever seen.”

Yet even with her beauty, the Eternal City and its empire had a history of brutality that continued until Rome fell. Thousands of slaves, foreigners, revolutionaries, and army deserters were crucified on roadside poles as a warning to anyone who dared to defy the power of Rome.

What irony that Jesus’s death on a Roman cross turned out to reveal an eternal glory that made the pride of Rome look like the momentary beauty of a sunset!

Who could have imagined that in the public curse and agony of the cross we would find the eternal glory of the love, presence, and kingdom of our God?

Who could have foreseen that all heaven and earth would one day sing, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Rev. 5:12).

— Mart DeHaan

Father in heaven, please help us to reflect the heart of Your sacrifice for the world. May Your love become our love, Your life our life, and Your glory our never-ending joy.

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ODJ: Oddly Honest

Jun 4, 2016 in , /by

June 4, 2016 

READ: Luke 14:25-35 

You cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own (v.33).

“Do you have a problem with spicy food?” the owner asked as we entered his small neighbourhood restaurant.

“No,” we assured him.

“Excellent,” he said. “Because if you did”—here he gestured with both hands towards the exit—“there is the door.”

You may think it strange that a business owner would invite us to leave the moment he met us, but this man did so with warmth and respect. His establishment offered authentic Ethiopian food served in the traditional way. He would not mislead us into staying if we expected French fries with our zilzil tibs combo. The payoff was that we got to try new and interesting food. And it was fun to eat with our hands as we dipped injerra bread into the main dish—also a new experience for us.

Jesus had some oddly honest words for a crowd as it followed Him. “If you want to be my disciple,” He said, “you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Pointing out that no one would start a construction project without first calculating its cost, He warned that it was no different when it came to discipleship. “Don’t begin until you count the cost,” He said (v.28). He even told them “you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own” (v.33).

Jesus wasn’t pointing the “large crowd” towards the exit, but neither would He turn the gospel into a sugarcoated sales pitch. A life spent following Christ might not look anything like traditional success. The payoff is a life invested in true purpose. Discipleship is no short-lived thrill ride; it’s an eternal adventure based in God’s leading and provision.

—Tim Gustafson

365-day plan: Jonah 3:1-4:11

MORE
Note how Jesus challenged a rich young man in Mark 10:17-25. 
NEXT
What things do you sense the Holy Spirit is asking you to give up in order to become a more mature disciple of Jesus? What did Jesus mean by “giving up everything you own”? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: You Have Purpose

Jun 4, 2016 in , /by

June 4, 2016 

READ: 1 Peter 4:7–11 

If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 4:11

 

On a hot day in western Texas, my niece Vania saw a woman standing by a stoplight and holding up a sign. As she drove closer, she tried to read what the sign said, assuming it was a request for food or money. Instead, she was surprised to see these three words:

                                         “You Have Purpose”

God has created each of us for a specific purpose. Primarily that purpose is to bring honor to Him, and one way we do that is by meeting the needs of others (1 Peter 4:10–11).

A mother of young children may find purpose in wiping runny noses and telling her kids about Jesus. An employee in an unsatisfying job might find his purpose in doing his work conscientiously, remembering it is the Lord he is serving (Col. 3:23–24). A woman who has lost her sight still finds purpose in praying for her children and grandchildren and influencing them to trust God.

Psalm 139 says that before we were born “all the days ordained for [us] were written in [His] book” (v. 16). We are “fearfully and wonderfully made” to bring glory to our Creator (v. 14).

Never forget: You have purpose!

— Cindy Hess Kasper

Lord, it often seems that our lives swing from drudgery to challenges we don’t want. Today help us to see You in the midst of whatever faces us. Show us a small glimpse of the purpose and meaning You bring to everything.

Even when everything seems meaningless, God still has a purpose for your life.