Entries by YMI

ODJ: A Famous Relative

March 13, 2016 

READ: John 1:29-37 

Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (v.29).

From time to time, stories of people who’ve taken advantage of celebrities in their families surface in the news. Athletes, artists, actors—it happens again and again. John, the cousin of Jesus, had such an opportunity. He could have easily boasted that Jesus was his cousin (Luke 1:36). But he didn’t. In fact, of Jesus he said, “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less” (John 3:30).

When John bumped into Jesus one day, instead of boasting that He was family, John told his followers, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (v.29). The next day, when John was with two of his disciples, “Jesus walked by, [and] John looked at him and declared, ‘Look! There is the Lamb of God!’ ” (v.36).

Some people like to say Jesus is the One who solves our problems, gives us healthy self-esteem, makes us happy, heals our diseases, and helps us prosper financially. To present Jesus as the One who came to deal with our sins can be viewed as uncool, unappealing, insufficient, even offensive—for there are those who don’t see that they have a sin problem.

John, however, presented Jesus as the Lamb of God (vv.29,36). He understood that our ultimate need is to deal with our sin—our rebellion against God. Jesus died so that we might be restored in our relationship with Him. Before the Savior was born, an angel told Joseph—His earthly father—to name Him Jesus, “for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

Like John, we are now part of Jesus’ family (John 1:12). We’re “brothers and sisters” by His blood (1 Peter 1:18-20; Hebrews 2:10-11). Because He’s the Lamb of God who takes away our sins, we can call Him our brother and Savior!

—K.T. Sim

365-day-plan: Judges 16:1-21

MORE
Read Matthew 12:48-50 and Hebrews 2:10-18 to find out more about how you’re related to Jesus. 
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Why do you think we’re sometimes slow—reluctant even—to tell others about our relationship with Jesus? This coming week, who can you tell about Jesus—your brother and Savior? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODJ: Pause Points

March 12, 2016 

READ: Exodus 20:8-11 

The seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work (v.10).

Atul Gawande, in his book The Checklist Manfesto, shows how doctors can use a checklist to save lives during surgery. Gawande’s checklist includes three vital “pause points”: before anesthesia, before incision, and before leaving the operating room.

Each pause point lasts no more than a minute—just long enough for the team to make basic checks. The results? In 2008, eight hospitals began using Gawande’s checklist, and within months, the rate of major complications fell by 35 percent and deaths by 47 percent. What an amazing difference brought about by surgical teams taking time to pause during their procedures!

After God delivered His people from Egyptian bondage, he gave them a pause point: the Sabbath. “The seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work” (Exodus 20:10). God instructed His people to remember and observe this day and treat it as holy or set apart from any other regular workday (v.8). When they observed the Sabbath, they were actually pausing to remember several things: God’s work/rest rhythm in creation (Genesis 2:2), their deliverance from bondage (Deuteronomy 5:12-15), their relationship with God, and His desire to give them refreshment and life (Exodus 31:17).

As our loving God has revealed, it’s vital that we intentionally, regularly include pause points in our lives. On Sunday or some other day, we should pause to remember God’s work/rest rhythm in creation (20:11), to thank Jesus for delivering us from the bondage of sin, to find rest and refreshment in Him, and to anticipate the ultimate pause point when we’ll be in His presence!

—Marvin Williams

365-day-plan: Judges 15:1-20

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Read Isaiah 40:29-31 and Philippians 4:6-7, then consider the purposes of spiritual “pause points.” 
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What kind of “pause point” rhythms do you presently have? If pause points can save patients’ lives, how can spiritual pause points make for healthier lives in Jesus? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Abigail’s Reminder

March 12, 2016 

READ: 1 Samuel 25:14-33 

When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them.

Proverbs 16:7

 

David and 400 of his warriors thundered through the countryside in search of Nabal, a prosperous brute who had harshly refused to lend them help. David would have murdered him if he hadn’t first encountered Abigail, Nabal’s wife. She had packed up enough food to feed an army and traveled out to meet the troops, hoping to head off disaster. She respectfully reminded David that guilt would haunt him if he followed through with his vengeful plan (1 Sam. 25:31). David realized she was right and blessed her for her good judgment.

David’s anger was legitimate—he had protected Nabal’s shepherds in the wilderness (vv.14-17) and had been repaid evil for good. However, his anger was leading him into sin. David’s first instinct was to sink his sword into Nabal, even though he knew God did not approve of murder and revenge (Ex. 20:13; Lev. 19:18).

When we’ve been offended, it’s good to compare our instincts with God’s intent for human behavior. We may be inclined to strike at people verbally, isolate ourselves, or escape through any number of ways. However, choosing a gracious response will help us avoid regret, and most important it will please God. When our desire is to honor God in our relationships, He is able to make even our enemies to be at peace with us (see Prov. 16:7). 

— Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Lord, thank You for holding back Your anger and having mercy on me. Help me to walk in step with Your Spirit so that my actions please You in every situation.

We can endure life’s wrongs because we know that God will make things right.  

ODJ: Solution to Scorn

March 11, 2016 

READ: Psalm 119:65-72 

Arrogant people smear me with lies, but in tRuth I obey your commandments with all my heart (v.69).

In his article “The Price of Public Shaming in the Internet Age,” Todd Leopold asks, “Do you believe in forgiveness? Do you believe in second chances? Of course you do. Everybody makes mistakes. To err is human, to forgive divine. Right? Not in the age of social media.”

I read about a barista whose name and actions went viral after she was rude to a customer. Her behavior was inappropriate and she deserved to be reprimanded by her boss. But did her actions warrant written attacks from people from around the globe?

Long before the Internet, an author penned the words of Psalm 119—wisdom that includes how the scribe had been scorned and slandered by others (v.69). If your reputation has been damaged either by poor decisions or wrongful attacks, take heart—God desires for you to experience health in your relationship with Him and vital community with others.

Consider how the writer of Psalm 119 responded to challenges and attacks as found in the following words:

• He acknowledged his need for God to teach him good judgment (v.66).

• He confessed there were times he had wandered from God (v.67).

• Despite his past, he was now committed to follow God’s Word (v.67).

• While facing discipline, he testified of God’s goodness and the value of His wisdom (v.68).

• Though the arrogant “smeared” him with lies, and though callous and unfeeling hearts surrounded him, he chose to cling to and to find delight in God’s instructions (vv.69-72).

Like the psalmist, by God’s grace we can experience solace, restoration, and delight through God and His loving heart.

—Roxanne Robbins

365-day-plan: Judges 14:1-20

MORE
Read Isaiah 54:17 and consider how God can help us to rise above wrongful attacks from others. 
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What has been your typical response to scorn and slander? How can God’s wisdom and presence provide comfort in the midst of attacks from others? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Don’t Quit!

March 11, 2016 

READ: Hebrews 12:1-11 

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Hebrews 12:1-2

 

In 1952 Florence Chadwick attempted to swim 26 miles from the coast of California to Catalina Island. After 15 hours, a heavy fog began to block her view, she became disoriented, and she gave up. To her chagrin, Chadwick learned that she had quit just 1 mile short of her destination.

Two months later Chadwick tried a second time to swim to Catalina Island from the coast. Again a thick fog settled in, but this time she reached her destination, becoming the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel. Chadwick said she kept an image of the shoreline in her mind even when she couldn’t see it.

When the problems of life cloud our vision, we have an opportunity to learn to see our goal with the eyes of faith. The New Testament letter to the Hebrews urges us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (12:1-2). When we feel like quitting, this is our signal to remember not only what Jesus suffered for us but what He now helps us to endure—until the day we see Him face to face.

— Dennis Fisher

Dear Father, sometimes the challenges of life seem insurmountable. Help me to fix my eyes on You and trust You. I’m thankful You are bringing about Your good purposes in me.

We can finish strong when we focus on Christ.  

ODJ: An Example to Follow

March 10, 2016 

READ: 2 Chronicles 31:2-21 

The people of Israel . . . responded generously by bringing the first share . . . of all they produced (v.5).

In the spring of 2015, the president of a large Chinese conglomerate gave more than 6,000 employees an all-expenses-paid trip to France. The group’s itinerary included a private tour of the Louvre museum and a shopping session at a luxury department store. The gift was in celebration of the company’s 20th year of operation. And what a gift it was—4,760 rooms booked in 79 hotels, along with 146 tour buses rented! It’s safe to say that the president of the conglomerate gave his employees an amazing gift and a wonderful example of generosity to follow.

Hezekiah, one of the good kings of Judah, provided a stellar example for God’s people. As he initiated muchneeded religious reforms for the Israelites, he led the way with their worship of God and giving thanks to Him (2 Chronicles 31:2). And although he required the people “to bring a portion of their goods to the priests and Levites” (v.4), he also generously “made a personal contribution of animals for the . . . offerings” (v.3).

It’s one thing simply to state what you feel is right and good to do; it’s quite another to sacrifice and actually live it out. Hezekiah lived it, breathed it, and did it! His life work “was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord his God” (v.20). He wholeheartedly chose to “follow God’s laws and commands” (v.21)—paving the way for the Israelites to follow his example.

You and I are living examples to those around us each day. What are they receiving through our words and deeds? How are they seeing Jesus and His ways in our actions? The Lord told us to “seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously” (Matthew 6:33). Want to know how to do that? Follow Jesus! He’s our perfect example.

—Tom Felten

365-day-plan: Judges 13:1-25

MORE
Read Philippians 4:8-9 and consider what Paul said about the outcome of following his example. 
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Who has been a godly example for you to follow? What about their life reflects thewords and actions of Christ? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Strangers and Foreigners

March 10, 2016 

READ: Hebrews 11:8-16 

He was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Hebrews 11:10

 

I parked my bicycle, fingering my map of Cambridge for reassurance. Directions not being my strength, I knew I could easily get lost in this maze of roads bursting with historic buildings.

Life should have felt idyllic, for I had just married my Englishman and moved to the UK. But I felt adrift. When I kept my mouth closed I blended in, but when I spoke I immediately felt branded as an American tourist. I didn’t yet know what my role was, and I quickly realized that blending two stubborn people into one shared life was harder than I had anticipated.

I related to Abraham, who left all that he knew as he obeyed the Lord’s call to live as a foreigner and stranger in a new land (Gen. 12:1). He pressed through the cultural challenges while keeping faith in God, and 2,000 years later the writer to the Hebrews named him a hero (11:9). Like the other men and women listed in this chapter, Abraham lived by faith, longing for things promised, hoping and waiting for his heavenly home.

Perhaps you’ve always lived in the same town, but as Christ-followers we’re all foreigners and strangers on this earth. By faith we press forward, knowing that God will lead and guide us, and by faith we believe He will never leave nor abandon us. By faith we long for home.

— Amy Boucher Pye

Father God, I want to live by faith, believing Your promises and knowing that You welcome me into Your kingdom. Enlarge my faith, I pray.

God calls us to live by faith, believing that He will fulfill His promises.