Entries by YMI

ODB: The Meaning of a Name

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December 1, 2015 

READ: Matthew 1:18-25 

You are to give him the name Jesus. Matthew 1:21

 

According to a New York Times article, children in many African countries are often named after a famous visitor, special event, or circumstance that was meaningful to the parents. When doctors told the parents of one child that they could not cure the infant’s illness and only God knew if he would live, the parents named their child Godknows. Another man said he was named Enough, because his mother had 13 children and he was the last one! There’s a reason for everyone’s name, and in some cases it also conveys a special meaning.

Before Jesus was born, an angel of the Lord told Joseph, “[Mary] will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means “the Lord saves.” In that day and culture, many children would have been named Jesus, but only one came into this world to die so that all who receive Him might live eternally, forgiven and freed from the power of sin.

Charles Wesley wrote these words we often sing as Christmas nears: “Come, Thou long-expected Jesus, born to set Thy people free; from our fears and sins release us; let us find our rest in Thee.”

Jesus came to turn our darkness into light, to transform our despair into hope, and to save us from our sins.

— David McCasland

Heavenly Father, in Jesus we see Your loving purpose and boundless grace. We humbly acknowledge Your Son as the One who came to save us from our sins.

Jesus’ name and mission are the same—He came to save us.  

ODJ: the least of these

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November 30, 2015 

READ: Deuteronomy 24:14-22 

When you [helped] one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me! (Matthew 25:40).

On a recent trip into the city I noticed people stationed on several street corners. Their clean, coordinated T-shirts announced a common goal—to help end homelessness. One of them approached me offering information. As I paused there on the street, I noticed a homeless man standing just a few feet away. I saw his scruffy outfit and downcast look. Although the advocates for the homeless were doing a good thing, they seemed oblivious to the man. No one spoke to him or offered him food.

There are many noble organisations that exist to make the world a better place. There’s a difference between campaigning for a cause, however, and showing genuine, compassionate care for people God places in our path (James 2:15-16).

In the Old Testament, God encouraged the Israelites to be generous to the poor (Deuteronomy 15:7). Later He said, “When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain. . . . leave it for the foreigners, orphans and widows” (24:19). If they followed God’s lead, a blessing would result. But they weren’t supposed to aid the needy just to get good stuff from God. They were to help because they once needed help themselves. As slaves in Egypt, they had been trapped in a place of disadvantage (v.22).

The Bible says that God is a “tower of refuge” for the underprivileged (Isaiah 25:4). And He considers it a personal favour when we assist poor people. Jesus said, “I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. . . . When you [helped] the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” (Matthew 25:35,40). As we serve others, we’re serving our Saviour too.

—Jennifer Benson Schuldt

365-day-plan: Ephesians 2:1-22

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Read Luke 14:12-14 to see how Jesus viewed our compassionate care for less fortunate people. Look up James 2:1-6 to learn how actions reveal attitudes towards the rich and the poor. 
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How has God met your needs? Does this motivate you to reach out to other people? Why or why not? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: The Heavenly Manifest

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November 30, 2015 

READ: Luke 10:17-24 

Rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Luke 10:20

 

At the Kenya Airways check-in counter, I presented my passport for verification. When the agents searched for my name on their manifest—the document that lists names of passengers—my name was missing. The problem? Overbooking and lack of confirmation. My hope of reaching home that day was shattered.

The episode reminded me of another kind of manifest—the Book of Life. In Luke 10, Jesus sent His disciples on an evangelistic mission. On their return, they happily reported their success. But Jesus told them: “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (v. 20). The focus of our joy is not merely that we are successful but that our names are inscribed in God’s book.

But how can we be sure of that? God’s Word tells us, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). 

In Revelation 21, John makes a breathtaking description of the Holy City that awaits those who trust Christ. Then he writes, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (v. 27).

The Book of Life is God’s heavenly manifest. Is your name written in it?

— Lawrence Darmani

Father in heaven, thank You for the gift of Your Son, who promised to prepare a place for us. Thank You too, that You are preparing us for that place.

God opens the gates of heaven to those who open their hearts to Him.  

ODJ: not fiction

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November 29, 2015 

READ: 2 Peter 1:16-21 

You must realise that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. . . . They spoke from God (vv.20-21).

Recently a shop that’s part of a huge retail chain labelled its Bibles as “Fiction”. A pastor shopping for a gift came across the Bibles and saw “Fiction” written on the price tag. So he took a photo and posted it on social media with the comment: “[Name withheld] has Bibles for sale under the genre of FICTION. Hmm.” The retailer has since apologised, saying the Bibles were mislabelled and the mistake had been corrected.

You wouldn’t ever find the apostle Peter making a similar mistake. He was emphatic that he didn’t create cleverly invented fiction, but wrote from the real-life angle of his eyewitness experiences (2 Peter 1:16-18). “For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendour with our own eyes” (v.16). In other words, the Bible is grounded on historical truth.

At the transfiguration God affirmed Jesus as His Son. Philip said, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus” (Matthew 17:1-9; John 1:45). And whatever the prophets wrote, it wasn’t the product of the authors’ “own understanding or from human initiative” (2 Peter 1:20-21).

Ensuring the accuracy and reliability of what was written, the human authors were “moved by the Holy Spirit”—the divine Author (v.21). In fact, the Holy Spirit guided different people of diverse backgrounds to reveal God’s inspired truth (Numbers 22:38; Jeremiah 1:6-7; Amos 7:14-15; Luke 1:1-4). So as he wrote of the power and trustworthiness of Scripture, Peter affirmed their authority to speak into our lives.

—K.T. Sim

365-day-plan: Ephesians 1:3-23

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What do John 5:39, John 6:63 and 2 Timothy 3:16 say about the authority and application of Scripture? 
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How can you know with certainty that the Bible is God’s Word? Why is it important not to simply know the Scriptures but also to apply them? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: The Low Point

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November 29, 2015 

READ: Psalm 40 

You are my help and my deliverer. Psalm 40:17

 

C. S. Lewis and his older brother, Warren (Warnie), endured several terms at Wynyard, an English boarding school for boys. The headmaster was a cruel man who made life unbearable for everyone there. Decades later, Warnie wrote in his understated dry wit, “I am now sixty-four and a bit, and have never yet been in a situation in which I have not had the consolation of reflecting that at any rate I was better off than I was at Wynyard.” Most of us can recall a similar dark and difficult time in our lives and be grateful that we’re better off now than we were then.

Psalm 40:1-5 records a low point of David’s life when he cried out to the Lord who rescued him. God brought him up from “the slimy pit” and “the mud and mire” and set his feet on a rock (v. 2). “He put a new song in my mouth,” David says, “a hymn of praise to our God” (v. 3).

But deliverance from depression and despair are seldom one-time events. Psalm 40 continues with David’s renewed plea for God’s mercy, lovingkindness, and truth to deliver him from his own sin and the threats of his enemies (vv. 11-14).

Along with David, we can say at every low point, “I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer” (v. 17).

— David McCasland

How does recalling a low point in your life encourage you to trust God for His help today?

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ODJ: messages made public

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November 28, 2015 

READ: James 3:1-12 

A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And . . . the tongue is a flame of fire (vv.5-6).

Hackers broke into the servers of a major film studio and leaked large amounts of confidential information. They released films, scripts, salaries and loads of indecent emails. Mortified executives quickly apologised for their racist riffs and disparaging remarks about film stars. But the damage had been done. One celebrity, having learned she was called a “minimally talented, spoiled brat,” said she could not promote her film because she suddenly had the chicken pox. Worse, the leaked emails left the company vulnerable to blackmail. The hackers promised to release more gossipy texts unless the studio stopped the release of a controversial new film.

What would happen to our friendships and working relationships if some of our emails and texts were made public? We’re constantly communicating across a variety of platforms, and the more we type the greater the opportunity to sin. Proverbs 10:19 warns us that “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.”

When talking online, it’s important to remember that the virtual world is still real. Living people with real feelings will read what we’ve written, perhaps even the person we’re writing about. It takes only one click to forward or copy someone else on an email, so never write something you wouldn’t want the whole world to see. A negative word “can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself” (James 3:6).

—Mike Wittmer

365-day-plan: Galatians 5:13-26

MORE
Read Philippians 1:1-11 to learn how to communicate in a positive tone. 
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What safeguards can you put in place to prevent you from sending emails and texts you’ll later regret? How can you honour God better with your words today? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Seeing Ourselves

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November 28, 2015 

READ: 1 Corinthians 11:23-34 

Everyone ought to examine themselves. 1 Corinthians 11:28

 

Long ago, before the invention of mirrors or polished surfaces, people rarely saw themselves. Puddles of water, streams, and rivers were one of the few ways they could see their own reflection. But mirrors changed that. And the invention of cameras took fascination with our looks to a whole new level. We now have lasting images of ourselves from any given time throughout our entire life. This is good for making scrapbooks and keeping family histories, but it can be detrimental to our spiritual well-being. The fun of seeing ourselves on camera can keep us focused on outward appearance and leave us with little interest in examining our inner selves.

Self-examination is crucial for a healthy spiritual life. God wants us to see ourselves so that we can be spared the consequences of sinful choices. This is so important that Scripture says we are not to participate in the Lord’s Supper without first examining ourselves (1 Cor. 11:28). The point of this self-examination is not only to make things right with God but also to make sure we are right with one another. The Lord’s Supper is a remembrance of Christ’s body, and we can’t celebrate it properly if we’re not living in harmony with other believers.

Seeing and confessing our sin promotes unity with others and a healthy relationship with God. 

— Julie Ackerman Link

Dear Lord, help me to be more concerned with the reflection of my heart than with my physical reflection. Change me through the power of Your Spirit.

When we look into the mirror of God’s Word, we see ourselves more clearly.  

ODJ: the God who will come

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November 27, 2015 

READ: Mark 13:24-37 

Everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory (v.26).

My wife and I have arrived at that poignant age when we can’t believe how quickly time has passed—especially while looking at one of my favourite videos of our oldest son, taken when he was just 2 years old. Miska and I had gone out for a date, and the babysitter shot a short video of our boy clinging to the bottom ledge of the living room window. He was just tall enough to peek over the edge. As he watched us get in our car and drive away, he said, “Mumma. Dadda.” There was an anxious longing in his voice. Our son was sad to see us go and eager for us to return.

Mark wrote his gospel to tell others about Jesus. The Saviour had ascended to the Father, and now some wondered if they might be left to fend for themselves. Some were anxious and uncertain of His care for them. Mark wrote words that must have helped soothe his readers’ troubled minds, stating: “You can know that [Jesus’] return is very near, right at the door” (Mark 13:29).

The precise meaning and intricate details of Jesus’ words have confused many (myself at the top of the list), but the one thing that seems most certain is this: Jesus has never abandoned His world or His people. And He never will. In Jesus, God came to the world with a brilliant display of grace and power. And this same Saviour is the One who, even now, rules “with great power and glory” (v.26). God hasn’t abandoned us. Rather, Jesus has proven that He is Lord over all.

—Winn Collier

365-day-plan: 2 Corinthians 4:1-18

MORE
Read Mark 13:34-36 again. What does this short parable tell you about God’s faithfulness? What does it tell you about what we’re to do as we wait? 
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How does Jesus’ promise to come to you again speak into your fears or loneliness? How is He present with you even as you wait for Him to return? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)