Entries by YMI

ODB: A Fly’s Reminder

/in , /by

September 21, 2015 

READ: Ecclesiastes 9:4-12 

Anyone who is among the living has hope. Ecclesiastes 9:4

 

When I first began working in the small office I now rent, the only inhabitants were a few mopey flies. Several of them had gone the way of all flesh, and their bodies littered the floor and windowsills. I disposed of all but one, which I left in plain sight.

That fly carcass reminds me to live each day well. Death is an excellent reminder of life, and life is a gift. Solomon said, “Anyone who is among the living has hope” (Eccl. 9:4). Life on earth gives us the chance to influence and enjoy the world around us. We can eat and drink happily and relish our relationships (vv. 7,9).

We can also enjoy our work. Solomon advised, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (v. 10). Whatever our vocation or job or role in life, we can still do things that matter, and do them well. We can encourage people, pray, and express love with sincerity each day.

The writer of Ecclesiastes says, “Time and chance happen to them all. . . . No one knows when their hour will come” (vv. 11-12). It’s impossible to know when our lives on earth will end, but gladness and purpose can be found in this day by relying on God’s strength and depending on Jesus’ promise of eternal life (John 6:47).

— Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Dear God, help me to manage my time well and enjoy the gifts of this world today. Thank you for the promise of eternal life through Your Son, Jesus Christ.

This is the day the Lord has made. Rejoice and be glad.  

ODJ: be reconciled

/in , /by

September 20, 2015 

READ: Matthew 5:23-26 

If you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you . . . . Go and be reconciled to that person (vv.23-24).

They sit beside each other on a straw mat—he in beige trousers and a white and purple shirt, she in a blue and yellow dress. “I participated in the killing of the son of this woman,” says Francois, one of thousands of Hutu men that perpetrated crimes against Tutsis during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. “He killed my child,” says Epiphanie, “then he came to ask my pardon”.

A mother sitting by her son’s killer? How can this be? Through reconciliation.

Reconciliation is a common thread in Jesus’ teaching. He blesses the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9), teaches nonretaliation in conflict (vv.38-42) and calls us to forgive those who’ve wronged us (6:12,14-15).

Jesus wants us to pursue reconciliation in all of our relationships. He gives two examples of areas where conflict will naturally arise—in church and in society. If at church we remember we’ve offended someone, we’re to ask that person’s forgiveness before we continue to participate in other activities (5:23-24). And if a dispute arises with a neighbour, we’re to seek reconciliation before the neighbour takes the matter to court (vv.25-26). Jesus’ directive extends to all of our relationships: when we’re the offender, we’re to admit our fault and be reconciled.

Jesus never said reconciliation would be easy. It wasn’t for Him (2 Corinthians 5:19-21). And it hasn’t been for Rwandans, where reconciliation has required time, training, mediation and prayer. But if Epiphanie and Francois can reconcile, can’t that breathe hope into us?

“Before,” Epiphanie says of Francois, “I treated him like my enemy. But now, I would rather treat him like my own child”.

In Christ, even deep conflict and pain can be transformed by reconciliation.

—Sheridan Voysey

365-day-plan: Mark 14:26-52

MORE
Read Romans 12:17-18 for practical instruction on how to heal broken relationships. 
NEXT
How have you seen God reconcile your relationships? Is there anyone with whom you need to be reconciled? How will you proceed? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Tissue Boxes

/in , /by

September 20, 2015 

READ: Psalm 31:9-18 

I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands. Psalm 31:14-15

 

As I sat in the surgical waiting room, I had time to think. I had been here recently, when we received the jarring news that my only brother, much too young, was “brain dead.”

And so on this day, waiting for news about my wife who was undergoing a serious surgical procedure, I penned a lengthy note to her. Then, surrounded by nervous chatter and oblivious children, I listened for the quiet voice of God.

Suddenly, news! The surgeon wanted to see me. I went to a secluded room to wait. There, on the table, sat two tissue boxes, conspicuously available. They weren’t for the sniffles. They were for cold, hard phrases like I heard when my brother died—“brain dead” and “nothing we can do.”

In such times of grief or uncertainty, the honesty of the psalms makes them a natural place to turn. Psalm 31 was the heart-cry of David, who endured so much that he wrote, “My life is consumed by anguish” (v. 10). Compounding that grief was the pain of abandonment by his friends and neighbors (v. 11).

But David had the bedrock of faith in the one true God. “I trust in you, Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands” (vv. 14-15). His lament concludes with resounding encouragement and hope. “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord” (v. 24).

This time in the waiting room, the surgeon gave us good news: My wife could expect a full and complete recovery. Of course we’re relieved and grateful! But even if she hadn’t been “okay,” our times still remain in God’s capable hands.

— Tim Gustafson

Lord, we give You our deepest grief and pain as well as our joy. Thank You for Your constant love and presence no matter what today holds for us. You alone are faithful!

When we put our problems in God’s hands, He puts His peace in our hearts.  

ODJ: a generous tip

/in , /by

September 19, 2015 

READ: 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 

You have seen everything the LORD your God has done for you (Joshua 23:3).

In November 2014 a couple asked a waiter named Carlos for a dish that wasn’t on the menu. Having worked in restaurants themselves, they were impressed by him and how he fulfilled their request. The man asked Carlos what he would do if he had money and time. “I work two jobs. I don’t really have time,” he replied. He did, however, let on that his car needed a £1,000 (€1,370) repair job. Later, Carlos found a £1,000 tip on the table. He said to the generous couple, “Thank God for you and for what you’ve done. . . . It couldn’t have come at a much better time, so I’m eternally grateful.”

Paul called the Corinthians to the “gracious act of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7). The poverty-stricken church in Jerusalem needed funds (8:4; Acts 11:27-30). So the apostle appealed to the affluent Gentile church in Corinth to generously support their needy Jewish brothers and sisters in the Holy City. As an example, he lifted up the churches in Macedonia who had given out of their own poverty—amid persecution and other struggles. By selflessly giving what they had, they reflected the gracious, generous ways of Jesus, who “became poor, so that by his poverty he could make [us] rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

The Corinthian believers were known for their gifts, the spiritual kind. Paul was now calling them to imitate Christ and pour out the financial gifts he had first requested in his previous letter (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). Their lavish giving would show their true love for God and others.

You might not be able to leave a generous tip today. But may you give generously as you acknowledge what it truly means to be “eternally grateful” for what Jesus has done for you.

—Tom Felten

365-day-plan: John 17:1-26

MORE
Read Philippians 4:15-20 and see how one of the churches in Macedonia—the church at Philippi—blessed Paul with its generosity. 
NEXT
How is generosity a sign of spiritual maturity? How has Jesus inspired you to live a more generous life? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Lessons in Suffering

/in , /by

September 19, 2015 

READ: 2 Corinthians 11:21-30 

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 2 Corinthians 11:30

 

The close-up image on the giant screen was big and sharp, so we could see the deep cuts on the man’s body. A soldier beat him while an angry crowd laughed at the man whose face was now covered with blood. The scenes appeared so real that, in the silence of the open-air theater, I cringed and grimaced as if I could feel the pain myself. But this was only a film reenactment of Jesus’ suffering for us.

Reminding us of Jesus’ suffering, Peter wrote, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). While suffering comes in different forms and intensity, it is to be expected. Ours may not be as intense as that experienced by Paul, who for the sake of Christ was beaten with rods, stoned, and shipwrecked. He was attacked by bandits, and he endured hunger and thirst (2 Cor. 11:24-27). Likewise, we may not suffer like those who endure severe persecution in cultures where Christianity is not welcomed.

In some form or another, however, suffering will come our way as we deny ourselves, endure harassment, bear insults, or refuse to engage in activities that do not honor the Lord. Even exercising patience, avoiding revenge, and forgiving others in order to foster good relationships are forms of following in His steps.

Whenever we encounter suffering, may we remember what Jesus endured for us.

— Lawrence Darmani

What have you learned about God through your trials?

The school of suffering teaches us lessons that we could learn in no other classroom.  

ODJ: restoration and salvation

/in , /by

September 18, 2015 

READ: Malachi 3:1-7, 4:1-5 

For you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture (4:2).

An antivirus update for my laptop kept blocking the last phase of my radio recordings—the words I spoke between songs. I tried restoring the computer to an earlier date, prior to the update, which worked for one session of recordings. But when I tried to record another radio show, the antivirus once again stopped me from saving my work. In the end I restored the laptop to a time when it worked properly, uninstalled the antivirus and reinstalled a different one. The new antivirus is now working well alongside my recording software and I can save my work without hindrance. Phew!

Throughout the Old Testament we see how God longed for His people to walk willingly in His ways and be restored to Him (Malachi 1:2,6). Although they had suceeded for a while, they repeatedly succumbed to their selfish desires and allowed sin to overtake them (3:7).

When the priests revered the Lord and lived righteously, many turned away from sin because of their example as God brought life and peace to His people (2:5-7). But it wasn’t long before even the priests left God’s paths, and their false teachings led “many to stumble into sin” (v.8).

But God pressed on with His original restoration plan. Human beings had been separated from Him by the sin of one man (Genesis 3:1-19) and now they could be reunited with God through the sacrifice of the one Sinless Man—His Son (Malachi 3:1-4).

—Ruth O’Reilly-Smith

365-day-plan: John 16:5-33

MORE
Read 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 for more on God’s plan of reconciliation and peace between Himself and mankind as well as between people. 
NEXT
Why do people sometimes try to earn their salvation? How has Jesus provided the only sacrifice that could truly save us? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: 2 A.M. Friends

/in , /by

September 18, 2015 

READ: Colossians 4:2-15 

He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. Colossians 4:12

 

A friend told me about a group of people who share a strong bond of faith in Christ. One of them, a 93-year-old woman, said, “I feel like I can call any of you at 2 a.m., and I don’t even have to apologize if I feel the need for any type of assistance.” Whether the need is prayer, practical help, or someone to be there during a time of need, these friends are unconditionally committed to each other.

The same sense of commitment shines through Paul’s letter to the followers of Jesus in Colossae. Writing from prison in Rome, Paul says he is sending Tychicus and Onesimus to encourage them (Col. 4:7-9). Aristarchus, Mark, and Justus send their greetings (vv.10-11). And Epaphras is “always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured” (v. 12). These are bold assurances of practical help and deep-seated love.

Are you part of a “2 a.m. group”? If so, give thanks for the faithfulness of friends. If not, ask the Lord to connect you with another person with whom you can share a commitment to pray and care. I suspect it will soon grow to include others. Share the love of Christ with one another.

Anything. Anytime. Anywhere. All in Jesus’ name!

— David McCasland

Jesus, thank You for friends who demonstrate Your love to me. Help me to do the same for them and those around me. Most of all, thank You for being the friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Share this prayer from our Facebook

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Jesus  

ODJ: where’s your hope?

/in , /by

September 17, 2015 

READ: Psalm 71:1-24 

But I will keep on hoping for your help; I will praise you more and more (v.14).

Yesterday I received a double dose of bad news. In the span of 5 minutes, the words in two emails left me disappointed and doubting that a project I had worked on for years would come to fruition. I wanted to quit. What’s the use? I felt like going back to bed and starting the day over again.

Then I remembered Psalm 71. The psalmist (who might be David) complained that his enemies were conspiring to take him out in his old age (vv.9-10). “They say, ‘God has abandoned him. Let’s go and get him, for no one will help him now’ ” (v.11). His strength had left him. He couldn’t fight back. Should he simply curl up and die?

Yet the psalmist remembered his God, who had been faithful to him from childhood. He wrote, “From my mother’s womb you have cared for me” (v.6). The God who had been faithful his whole life would remain faithful now and into the future. He didn’t know how his present battle would turn out. He might lose. But considering his death, he wrote that God will “restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth” (v.20). The same God who was faithful in life could be counted on—even in death.

I still feel sad this morning, but I’m choosing to hope in God. I have several reasons to quit my project, but I have one large reason to press on that trumps them all. I believe Jesus will return and raise my body from the grave. He will reward every good thing I’ve ever done, so how can I cease my work for Him? (2 Corinthians 5:10).

—Mike Wittmer

365-day-plan: John 15:17-16:4

MORE
Read Isaiah 40:28-31 to learn where our true hope is found. 
NEXT
Where have you lost hope? How might hoping in God empower you to keep going? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)