Entries by YMI

ODJ: adopted

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January 11, 2016 

READ: Ephesians 1:3-14 

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure (v.5).

Pastor Adrian and his wife, Antoinette, had two biological sons and then adopted baby Rosie several years ago. For most of Adrian’s life, he has dealt with nose bleeds—an affliction his sons have inherited. One day, little Rosie ran into the house holding her nose and grinning from ear to ear as she said, “See, Daddy, my nose is bleeding—just like Mark and John!” For Rosie, a nosebleed was another way of identifying with her adopted family.

Identifying with one’s adoptive family can sometimes be a challenge—something the church in Ephesus found to be true. Coming from diverse backgrounds of ethnicity and culture, the Jews and Gentiles in the church often clashed over who was right. Through Jesus Christ, the Gentiles had been adopted into the family of God and were now legitimate heirs of God with full access to an inheritance that had previously been reserved only for the Jews (Ephesians 1:12-13, 3:6). The apostle Paul reminds us that “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:5).

Just as a nosebleed gave Rosie another way to identify with her adopted family, there are unique traits that prove believers in Jesus are a part of God’s family. Paul urges us to turn away from the destructive habits of a lifestyle without Christ and challenges us to be imitators of God by living a life of love (vv.22-31, 5:1-18). He also implores us to be kind and compassionate, forgiving one another, and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ (4:32, 5:21).

By the power of our loving God who has adopted us, may we reflect His light and life to a world who needs Him (vv.8-9)!

—Ruth O’Reilly-Smith

365-day-plan: Genesis 19:15-29

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Read 1 John 3:7-10 for more desired qualities of believers in Jesus. 
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Are you living as a child of God, bearing fruit that proves you’re adopted into His family? What does it mean for you to identify with members of your adoptive family in Christ? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: You Have Value

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January 11, 2016 

READ: Romans 5:6–11 

You were bought at a price. 1 Corinthians 6:20

 

After my mother-in-law died, my wife and I discovered a cache of US Indian Head pennies in a dresser drawer in her apartment. She wasn’t a coin collector, as such, but she lived in the era when these pennies were in circulation and she had accumulated a few.

Some of these coins are in excellent condition; others are not. They are so worn and tarnished you can hardly see the imprint. All bear the stamp “One Cent” on the opposite side. Although a penny these days has little value and many consider them useless, this one-cent coin would have bought a newspaper in its day. And collectors still find value in them, even those that have been battered and abused.

Perhaps you feel tarnished, worn, old, or out of circulation. Even so, God finds value in you. The Creator of the universe wants you—not for your mind, your body, your clothes, your achievements, your intellect, or your personality, but because you are you! He would go any distance and pay any price to possess you (1 Cor. 6:20).

In fact He did. He came down to earth from heaven and purchased you with His own blood (Rom. 5:6, 8-9). That’s how much He wants you. You are valuable in His eyes, and He loves you.

— David Roper

As I think about Your love for me, Father, I wonder with amazement how You could love someone like me—and I praise You.

Christ’s death is the measure of God’s love for you.  

ODJ: holy, holy, holy . . .

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January 10, 2016 

READ: Revelation 15:1-4 

Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy (v.4).

Theologian R. C. Sproul once wrote, “When the Bible calls God holy it means primarily that God is . . . separate. He is so far above and beyond us that He seems almost totally foreign to us. To be holy is to be ‘other,’ to be different in a special way.”

As we consider what it means for God to be holy, we recognize this is one of His many attributes including love, grace, mercy, and compassion. Even though our holy God is far different and greater than us, He allows us to know and love Him.

Having led the Jews out of Egypt, Moses wrote a song celebrating God’s deliverance and lifting up His power and holiness (Exodus 15:1-18). “Who is like you among the gods, O Lord—glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders?” (v.11).

In the New Testament, the apostle John described a vision of worship in heaven where believers in Jesus sang “the song of Moses . . . and the song of the Lamb” (Revelation 15:3), proclaiming, “Great and marvelous are your works . . . . Just and true are your ways . . . . Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy” (vv.3-4). What an amazing, holy God!

In the few and rare occasions where people have been allowed to have a peek at what the angels are doing in heaven, the angelic beings were singing continuously “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God” (Isaiah 6:1-3; Revelation 4:8). Holiness is the only attribute of God mentioned in triplicate. If God says something about His character once, it’s vitally important. But when He says it three times, that’s some serious emphasis.

Our holy God is wonderful and without equal (Isaiah 40:25). May we worship Him today, declaring “You alone are holy”! (Revelation 15:4).

—K.T. Sim

365-day-plan: Genesis 18:1-15

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Read 1 Thessalonians 4:7 and 1 Peter 1:13-17. Since God is holy, how does that affect the way you live? 
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Pick a song that focuses on the holiness of God and worship Him by singing it. How can you practically live out holiness in what you’re facing today? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: True Shelter

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January 10, 2016 

READ: Joshua 20:1-9 

The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Proverbs 18:10

 

In March 2014 a tribal conflict broke out in my hometown area, forcing my father’s household, along with other refugees, to take cover in the region’s capital city. Throughout history, people who have felt unsafe in their homelands have traveled to other places searching for safety and something better.

As I visited and talked with people from my hometown, I thought of the cities of refuge in Joshua 20:1-9. These were cities designated as places of safety for those fleeing from “relatives seeking revenge” in the case of an accidental killing (v. 3 nlt). They offered peace and protection.

People today still seek places of refuge, although for a variety of reasons. But as needed as these sanctuaries are, supplying shelter and food, they cannot completely meet the needs of refugees and fugitives. That rest is found only in God. Those who walk with God find true shelter and the safest protection in Him. When ancient Israel was sent into exile, the Lord said, “I have been a sanctuary [safe haven] for them in the countries where they have gone” (Ezek. 11:16).

With the psalmist, we can say confidently to the Lord, “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance” (32:7).

— Lawrence Darmani

Father, thank You for being a rock to which we can flee and that no matter where we are or in what circumstances we find ourselves, You are there with us. Help us to remember that even in the darkest of nights, You are our strong tower.

Nothing can shake those who are secure in God’s hands.  

ODJ: genuine life

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January 9, 2016 

READ: Romans 8:1-11 

Just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you (v.11).

During a conversation with friends, several in the circle took turns recounting their early experiences with certain words in the Christian vocabulary. One person said, “Whenever I heard the word life mentioned by a Christian or in the Bible, I always thought it was only talking about heaven. I never thought it had much to do with me right now.” Most everyone nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it was difficult to know what there really was to be excited about,” another confessed. “I imagined playing harps somewhere in the clouds, and I felt guilty when the whole idea just didn’t excite me too much.”

While these descriptions of heaven have little to do with what Scripture actually reveals, it’s true that we often carry a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Bible means when it speaks of the life God brings. Paul describes the Holy Spirit as “the life-giving Spirit” and assures us that this Spirit of life “has freed [us] from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 8:2). At the very core, we discover that in Jesus we find freedom and life—the cure to the wreck and ruin that surrounds us.

Further, to “set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace,” Paul tells us (v.6 rsv). When we yield ourselves to God, setting our affections on Him and His truth as God’s Spirit reveals it to us, then we’ll find ourselves experiencing true life—life full of wholeness and well-being.

This true, genuine life isn’t only for the future, but for now. When we embrace God (or better, when we open up to God embracing us), we find ourselves stepping further into what it means to be truly human and truly alive. We find the genuine life that only Jesus provides.

—Winn Collier

365-day-plan: Genesis 12:1-9; 17:1-8

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Read through Romans 8:1-11 again. Mark each time the word life appears. What does this tell you about your own existence and what it means to truly live? 
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When are you most aware of the wreck and ruin of life? How does Jesus’ call to genuine life speak against these places of death? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Wells of Salvation

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January 9, 2016 

READ: Isaiah 12 

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Isaiah 12:3

 

When people drill holes deep into the earth, it is normally for pulling up core samples of rock, accessing oil, or finding water.

In Isaiah 12, we learn that God wanted His people, who were living in a spiritual desert as well as a geographical desert, to discover His “wells of salvation.” The prophet Isaiah compared God’s salvation to a well from which the most refreshing of all waters can be drawn. After many years of turning their back on God, the nation of Judah was destined for exile as God allowed foreign invaders to conquer the nation, scattering the people. Yet, said the prophet Isaiah, a remnant would eventually return to their homeland as a sign that God was with them (Isa. 11:11-12).

Isaiah 12 is a hymn, praising God for His faithfulness in keeping His promises, especially the promise of salvation. Isaiah encouraged the people that deep in God’s “wells of salvation” they would experience the cool water of God’s grace, strength, and joy (vv. 1-3). This would refresh and strengthen their hearts and cause praise and gratitude to God (vv. 4-6). 

God wants each of us to discover through confession and repentance the deep, cool waters of joy found in the everlasting well of His salvation.

— Marvin Williams

What will you do to draw deeply from God’s well to find His joy, refreshment, and strength?

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ODJ: unplanned change

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January 8, 2016 

READ: Psalm 37:1-24 

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives (v.23).

Flying back from a weeklong trip to Brazil, my husband and I received an unexpected text. The message from the church’s financial secretary revealed that a certified letter from our county’s board of education had arrived. Having planted a church that met at a local high school, we knew the letter had something to do with our rental agreement. For more than a year, it had been the place our church family called home each Sunday. Our dismay grew when we received the contents of the letter—the board wasn’t going to renew our lease for the building past the end of the year, just 3 short months away.

Shocked, we hurriedly considered other venues, only to find ourselves further discouraged. We had planned for change and unpredictability. We had planned for the inconvenience of a shared facility. We had planned to leave behind all that had been familiar. But we hadn’t planned on this . . .

Plans are far more than wanderings of our imagination. They’re doors of hope to what we believe God would have us do. David knew the importance of giving our plans to God: “Commit everything you do to the Lord,” he wrote. “Trust him, and he will help you” (Psalm 37:5). Instead of being overwhelmed by the change, it was important for us to “be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act” (v.7).

Surrendering our plans to God doesn’t mean He will fulfill them the way we would like, but He does direct our “steps” and knows “every detail of [our] lives” (v.23). When we trust Him in the midst of the unplanned, He takes the places of unexpected change and transforms them into opportunities for us to grow our faith. And He promises never to let us “fall” even as He leads us “by the hand” (v.24).

—Regina Franklin

365-day-plan: Genesis 11:1-9

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Read Genesis 22:2-14 and consider how Abraham’s willingness to trust and obey opened the door for God’s provision. 
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How have recent circumstances impacted your relationship with God? When you find yourself struggling with doubt, how do you find renewed hope? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)