Entries by YMI

ODJ: Certain Goodness

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April 4, 2016 

READ: Psalm 23:1-6 

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever (v.6).

As my sister and I were growing up, our parents taught us about the love of Jesus and to enjoy intimate prayer with Him. As I grew older, sometimes life’s varied challenges pressed hard on me, and my prayers became requests based on need rather than tender dialogues with the One who delights in giving to His children (Matthew 7:11). In other words, my prayers were based on circumstances rather than on God’s character. Over time, I’ve learned to ask according not only to His will but also His goodness.

We embrace God’s sovereignty when we acknowledge Him as the Great “I Am” (Exodus 3:14). Our view of God, however, should also include His being the One who loves to give (Hebrews 11:6; James 1:17).

A spiritual cancer, jealousy can creep into our lives unannounced, root its way through our soul, and create havoc in its wake. Even a believer in Jesus isn’t immune to the temptation of envying someone else’s circumstances, relationships, or gifts.

James 4:2—3 teaches us the connection between our prayers, our hearts, and the answers we receive. Often we don’t have what we desire because we “don’t ask for it.” Or, if we do ask, we have the wrong motives. Both our failure to ask and our inappropriate asking stem from the same limited and marred view of God. Jealousy and self—promotion can flourish when we’re unconvinced of His goodness.

Psalm 23 beautifully exemplifies God as being both all—powerful and always good even when we “walk through the darkest valley” (v.4). We have “all [we] need” because we’re filled with His Spirit (v.1). Best of all, we can declare that His goodness will run after us, not just for eternity, but here and now (23:6, 27:13).

—Regina Franklin

365-day-plan: 2 Samuel 9:1-13

MORE
Read 1 John 3:14—24 and 5:1—15 and consider the relationship between our prayers and the purity of our motives, our love for others, and our heart for obeying God’s commandments. 
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What are the hurdles you face when it comes to boldly approaching God in prayer? In what ways have you allowed your perceptions of your own worthiness to color your view of God’s goodness? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Wisdom and Grace

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April 4, 2016 

READ: James 1:1-8 

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault. James 1:5

 

On April 4, 1968, American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated, leaving millions angry and disillusioned. In Indianapolis, a largely African-American crowd had gathered to hear Robert F. Kennedy speak. Many had not yet heard of Dr. King’s death, so Kennedy had to share the tragic news. He appealed for calm by acknowledging not only their pain but his own abiding grief over the murder of his brother, President John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy then quoted a variation of an ancient poem by Aeschylus (526–456 bc):

Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.

“Wisdom through the awful grace of God” is a remarkable statement. It means that God’s grace fills us with awe and gives us the opportunity to grow in wisdom during life’s most difficult moments.

James wrote, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5). James says that this wisdom is grown in the soil of hardship (vv. 2-4), for there we not only learn from the wisdom of God, we rest in the grace of God.

— Bill Crowder

Father, in the face of life’s sometimes awful circumstances, may we find Your grace to be a source of awe and wonder. Instruct us in our trials, and carry us in Your arms when we are overwhelmed.

Has the Lord led you through a cr

The darkness of trials only makes God’s grace shine brighter.  

ODJ: Happiness & Joy

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April 3, 2016 

READ: 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 

Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything (v.10).

My wife, Merryn, and I spent last Christmas on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. With its snow—capped mountains and vivid landscape, it’s a truly beautiful place! One moment we drove through snowstorms, the next we saw double rainbows appear from end to end. To me, Mull is a place of fairytales.

Natural beauty makes me happy. So do long train rides, second—hand bookshops, and the giggles of a child. French crepes served with sugar and lemon make me happy, as well as cherries dipped in dark chocolate.

Scripture tells us that every good and perfect gift is from God, including things like sunshine, food, and happy moments (Matthew 5:45; James 1:17). But all these enjoyable things have one shared flaw—they’re temporary. The chocolate—dipped cherries are soon gone. Mull’s rainbows fade as quickly as they appear. What happiness can we find when these things leave or end, or when life is just plain difficult?

The apostle Paul found the answer. In the midst of being chased, beaten, slandered, and unjustly imprisoned—even when he was hungry, exhausted, and impoverished—he could say that he had “joy” (2 Corinthians 6:5—10). How? Because he knew that with God no pain is wasted (Romans 5:2—5). But even more significantly, his joy was sourced in the Holy Spirit who brings joy no matter the circumstances (Galatians 5:22—23). Happiness is often found in outside circumstances, but real joy flows from the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

So savor today’s moments of happiness—the tastes, the conversations, the sunlit valleys. They’re good gifts to be enjoyed. But find the fullness of joy in the One who can lift and comfort you even in the unhappiest of times.

—Sheridan Voysey

365-day-plan: 2 Samuel 5:1-12

MORE
Read Romans 15:13 and consider what Paul wrote about the origins of joy. 
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Are you basing your happiness mainly on temporary things? How will you draw on the Holy Spirit to experience joy in Jesus today? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: The Blacksmith and the King

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April 3, 2016 

READ: Exodus 31:1-11 

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Colossians 3:23

 

In 1878, when Scotsman Alexander Mackay arrived in what is now Uganda to serve as a missionary, he first set up a blacksmith forge among a tribe ruled by King Mutesa. Villagers gathered around this stranger who worked with his hands, puzzled because everyone “knew” that work was for women. At that time, men in Uganda never worked with their hands. They raided other villages to capture slaves, selling them to outsiders. Yet here was this foreign man at work forging farming tools.

Mackay’s work ethic and life resulted in relationships with the villagers and gained him an audience with the king. Mackay challenged King Mutesa to end the slave trade, and he did.

In Scripture, we read of Bezalel and Oholiab, who were chosen and gifted by God to work with their hands designing the tent of meeting and all its furnishings for worship (Ex. 31:1-11). Like Mackay, they honored and served God with their talent and labor.

We tend to categorize our work as either church work or secular. In truth, there is no distinction. God designs each of us in ways that make our contributions to the kingdom unique and meaningful. Even when we have little choice in where or how we work, God calls us to know Him more fully—and He will show us how to serve Him—right now.

— Randy Kilgore

Father, grant me an awareness of my place in Your work. Help me to see You at work in the people and places where I spend my time.

God will show us how to serve Him—wherever we are.  

ODJ: Do Something!

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April 2, 2016 

READ: Matthew 25:14-30 

Why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it (v.27).

When I was a kid, my dad encouraged me to be courageous and not play it safe. He could see how tempted I was to overthink a situation or to hedge my bets. “Do something!” he would say. Then in jest, he would add: “Even if it’s wrong, do something!”

We find similar wisdom in Jesus’ parable of the three servants. Before leaving on a trip, the master summoned the trio and gave them money to steward during his absence. He divided the money “in proportion to their abilities” (v.15)—the first received five talents (a talent was approximately 15 years of wages), the second two talents, and the third one talent. The master gave his workers what they could handle and no more.

When the man returned, the first two had doubled their talents. The master lavished praise on both of them despite their different totals. He said to them both, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!” (vv.21,23).

The third servant, however, was lazy and deceptive. He chose to simply hide his master’s money. The master asked, “Why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it” (v.27). The master was happy with the first two workers despite their unequal results. And, graciously, it appears he would have even been content with the interest the third could have earned from a savings account. What he couldn’t abide, however, was a servant who would return his careful instruction with irresponsibility. I hear this master echoing my dad: “Go do something.”

Likewise, our gracious, loving God invites us to steward well what He’s lavished on us!

—Winn Collier

365-day-plan: 1 Samuel 28:1-25

MORE
Read 2 Corinthians 5:10 and see what it reveals about our responsibility before God. 
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When are you most tempted to be overly cautious and fearful? How would it free you to recognize that God’s concern is not primarily with outcomes but with seeing you courageously exert your skills and energy for Him? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Too Close

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April 2, 2016 

READ: Proverbs 3:1-18 

In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6

 

I grew up in Oklahoma where severe weather is common from early spring through the end of summer. I recall one evening when the sky boiled with dark clouds, the TV weather forecaster warned of an approaching tornado, and the electricity went out. Very quickly, my parents, my sister, and I climbed down the wooden ladder into the storm cellar behind our house where we stayed until the storm passed by.

Today “storm chasing” has become a hobby for many people and a profitable business for others. The goal is to get as close as possible to a tornado without being harmed. Many storm chasers are skilled forecasters with accurate information, but I won’t sign up for a tornado tour anytime soon.

In moral and spiritual areas of my life, however, I can foolishly pursue dangerous things God tells me to avoid because of His love for me, all the time believing I won’t be harmed. A wiser approach is to read the book of Proverbs, which contains many positive ways to elude these snares of life.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding,” Solomon wrote. “In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Prov. 3:5-6).

Our Lord is the master of the adventure of living, and following His wisdom leads us to fullness of life.

— David McCasland

Father, Your wisdom leads us along the path of life. Help us to follow Your guidance today.

How can you trust the Lord today?

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Indonesia: What Satisfies Youth?

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Recently, we read news about some Indonesians who moved to Syria to join ISIS, many of whom were young people. It got me thinking: why do radical groups target young people? Or rather, why do young people join these groups? Could it be because they fill a need or desire in these young people? When […]

ODJ: April Fool

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April 1, 2016 

READ: John 20:1-31 

She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him” (v.15).

April Fool’s Day began in the late 16th century when the Gregorian calendar moved New Year’s Day from April 1 to January 1. Those who kept the old tradition were called fools, which began a new tradition of pulling pranks. A recent prank I’m aware of was the releasing of three pigs into a school building (but not before numbering them 1, 2, and 4). What a surprise for those looking for pig number 3!

April Fool’s Day often falls around Easter. This is fitting, because the Easter story contains the best and most shocking surprise of all time. Imagine the happy laughter when Mary Magdalene told her story to John:

So I’m outside the tomb, having a conversation with two men. They must have been angels, though my tears made it hard to see. I tell them I’m looking for the body of Jesus, and since He’s not there, I turn to leave. That’s when I see who I think is the gardener. He asks me why I’m crying and who I’m looking for. I ask him if he’s taken the body away. Just tell me, and I’ll go get Him. Then He says, “Mary!” It was Jesus! Alive! I hugged Him and cried “Teacher, it’s You!” Can you believe it? I’ve seen the Lord! (John 20:11—18 paraphrased).

The Easter story includes this happy event—one that is truly no joke. There was an empty tomb. God, by His amazing power, made the resurrection of Jesus something not only possible, but a reality. As Peter wrote, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation” (1 Peter 1:3).

As we believe by faith the miracle that changed everything—Jesus’ resurrection—we too can laugh with joy!

—Mike Wittmer

365-day-plan: 1 Samuel 25:1-42

MORE
Read 1 Corinthians 15:12—34 to learn why the resurrection of Jesus is absolutely necessary. 
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Are you feeling sad today? How does the resurrection free you to experience the joy found in Jesus? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)