Entries by YMI

ODJ: untouchable

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June 18, 2015 

READ: Mark 1:40-45 

Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” (v.41).

Leprosy was one of the most feared diseases in Jesus’ day. It sentenced a person who was afflicted with it to an isolated and lonely existence. Jewish ceremonial laws forbade people from having physical contact with lepers. It required those with the disease to live “outside the camp”, isolated from their family and neighbours (Leviticus 14:2-3). If lepers were to venture out into the general public, they were to shout, “Unclean! Unclean!” so that people would know to keep their distance (13:45-46).

Jesus once encountered a man afflicted with leprosy— a dreaded, disfiguring disease. It’s possible that this man had a collapsed nose, skin blemishes covering his body and curled up arms and hands. He may have been missing a few fingers or toes.

Apparently the leper sensed something so radically different about the Saviour that he was willing to break the rules of the day. Rather than back away and warn Him of his uncleanness, this guy ran up to Jesus, fell at His feet and humbly begged to be healed (Mark 1:40). Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him and cured him (vv.41-42).

One might say that Jesus broke the rules too when He touched the leper. But He wasn’t trying to be a rule breaker. He came to fulfil the Law (Matthew 5:17). He was helping people move from the old way of doing things (that was no longer the priority) to the new way of kingdom life found in Him.

—Jeff Olson

365-day-plan: John 2:1-25

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Jesus’ touch could transform lives, but He could also heal with His words. Read Mark 2:1-12 and consider His healing ways. 
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Is there something others have done to you or you have done to yourself that has made you feel leper-like? Don’t hide. Approach Jesus, talk with Him about it and discover His healing touch. 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Failure Is Not Fatal

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June 18, 2015 

READ: John 18:15-27 

You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. John 6:69 

Prime Minister Winston Churchill knew how to bolster the spirits of the British people during World War II. On June 18, 1940, he told a frightened populace, “Hitler knows that he will have to break us . . . or lose the war. . . . Let us therefore brace . . . and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire [lasts] for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour!’ ”

We would all like to be remembered for our “finest hour.” Perhaps the apostle Peter’s finest hour was when he proclaimed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:69). Sometimes, however, we let our failures define us. After Peter repeatedly denied that he knew Jesus, he went out and wept bitterly (Matt. 26:75; John 18).

Like Peter, we all fall short—in our relationships, in our struggle with sin, in our faithfulness to God. But “failure is not fatal,” as Churchill also said. Thankfully, this is true in our spiritual life. Jesus forgave the repentant Peter for his failure (John 21) and used him to preach and lead many to the Savior.

Failure is not fatal. God lovingly restores those who turn back to Him.

— Cindy Hess Kasper

Dear Father, thank You for Your forgiveness. Thank You that Your mercy and grace are given freely through the shed blood of Your Son, Jesus.

When God forgives, He removes the sin and restores the soul. 

ODJ: what’s that to you?

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June 17, 2015 

READ: John 21:15-22 

Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me” (v.22).

For all the good Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can bring to our lives, including allowing us to keep in touch with family and friends, these social media sites can also be stumbling blocks. One of my friends has started limiting the amount of time she spends on social media because she found herself becoming increasingly consumed with the lives of her online friends. Yep, she struggles with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram nosiness. But she’s not the only one.

All of us struggle with being nosy and not minding our own business at times. We can often find ourselves checking out what’s happening to people of similar callings. Ministers often follow other preachers. Musicians find themselves checking up on other music-makers. Writers tend to delve into the life and times of other authors. As we sink into nosy behaviour, we can take our eyes off Jesus and begin to lose our love for Him and forget to be grateful for what He’s done in our lives.

When Jesus reinstated Peter (John 21:15-17), the apostle immediately took his eyes off of the Saviour and asked Him if John would suffer the same way he would (v.21). Considering Peter’s query, Jesus basically replied, Don’t worry about him. Keep your focus on Me (v.22).

—Marlena Graves

365-day-plan: John 1:35-51

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Take a look at Psalm 34:5 and think about what happens when we turn our gaze to Jesus. 
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In what ways do you struggle with being nosy about what’s happening in others’ lives? How can you make Jesus and His provision for you your true focus? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Wise Words

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June 17, 2015 

READ: Proverbs 10:18-21; 12:17-19 

The tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 12:18 NIV 

What is the strongest muscle in the human body? Some say it’s the tongue, but it’s hard to determine which muscle is the most powerful because muscles don’t work alone.

But we do know that the tongue is strong. For a small muscle, it can do a lot of damage. This active little muscular organ that helps us eat, swallow, taste, and begin digestion has a tendency to also assist us in saying things we shouldn’t. The tongue is guilty of flattery, cursing, lying, boasting, and harming others. And that’s just the short list.

It sounds like a pretty dangerous muscle, doesn’t it? But here’s the good thing: It doesn’t have to be that way. When we are controlled by the Holy Spirit, our tongues can be turned to great good. We can speak of God’s righteousness (Ps. 35:28) and justice (37:30). We can speak truth (15:2), show love (1 John 3:18), and confess sin (1 John 1:9).

The writer of Proverbs 12:18 spells out one of the best uses of the tongue: “The tongue of the wise brings healing” (niv). Imagine how we could glorify the One who made our tongues when He helps us use it to bring healing—not harm—to everyone we talk to.

— Dave Branon

Please guard each word we say so we reflect You and Your love. Help our tongues speak words of healing and not harm.

Encourage one another and build each other up. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 niv 

ODJ: the devil’s roar

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June 16, 2015 

READ: Revelation 12:1-18 

Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels (v.7).

A Protestant denomination is proposing a new liturgy for christenings. The old ceremony asked parents and godparents two questions: “Do you reject the devil and all rebellion against God?” and “Do you repent of the sins that separate us from God and neighbour?” The new liturgy summarises both in one question: “Do you reject evil, in all its many forms and all its empty promises?”

The absence of “the devil” would have bothered C. S. Lewis. The well-known author wrote The Screwtape Letters to alert Christians to the reality of Satan. The demon Screwtape encourages his nephew to keep his human subject sceptical of his existence. “If any faint suspicion of your existence begins to arise in his mind, suggest to him a picture of something in red tights, and persuade him that since he cannot believe in that . . . he therefore cannot believe in you.”

Rather than downplay Satan’s existence, it’s good to remember two facts:

• Satan is our “great enemy” (1 Peter 5:8). John symbolically describes him as “a large red dragon” whose “tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky” and who tried to kill Jesus from the moment He was born (Revelation 12:3-4). No creature is more powerful or full of hate.

• Satan is not stronger than Jesus. Jesus destroyed Satan and his power when He died and rose again (Colossians 2:15). The serpent that accuses us before God has been kicked out of heaven. He’s been defeated “by the blood of the Lamb” and will soon be “thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulphur” (Revelation 12:11, 20:10).

Don’t be intimidated by the devil’s roar (1 Peter 5:8). Use his every growl as an excuse to rush into Jesus’ arms. Satan is real, but he can’t touch you there.

—Mike Wittmer

365-day-plan: John 1:19-34

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Read Daniel 10:1–11:1 to learn about the unseen battles in the spirit world. 
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Are you tempted more to overstate or to minimise the threat of Satan? How can you believe in his existence without cowering in fear? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Our Anchor

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June 16, 2015 

READ: Hebrews 6:13-20  

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. Hebrews 6:19 

After Estella Pyfrom retired from teaching, she bought a bus, decked it out with computers and desks, and now drives the “Brilliant Bus” through Palm Beach County, Florida, providing a place for at-risk children to do their homework and learn technology. Estella is providing stability and hope to children who might be tempted to throw away their dream for a better tomorrow.

In the first century, an avalanche of suffering and discouragement threatened the Christian community. The author of Hebrews wrote to convince these followers of Christ not to throw away their confidence in their future hope (2:1). Their hope—a faith in God for salvation and entrance into heaven—was found in the person and sacrifice of Christ. When Jesus entered heaven after His resurrection, He secured their hope for the future (6:19-20). Like an anchor dropped at sea, preventing a ship from drifting away, Jesus’ death, resurrection, and return to heaven brought assurance and stability to the believers’ lives. This hope for the future cannot and will not be shaken loose.

Jesus anchors our souls, so that we will not drift away from our hope in God.

— Marvin Williams

Jesus, in the face of all kinds of trouble and uncertainty, help me to have a confident expectation that is grounded in Your unfailing love for me.

Our hope is anchored in Jesus. 

ODJ: messages of hope

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June 15, 2015 

READ: Philippians 1:1-11 

God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus (v.8).

I love collecting old books. There’s something exciting about holding in my hands a work that’s been thumbed through over the years by others. In my mind, each book has a story to tell far beyond the words on its pages—if only it could talk!

One tiny book that I treasure, little more than the size of a booklet, is a copy of the gospel of John that was given to men on active duty in World War I. It contains the gospel and also a number of stories about men of faith, along with an explanation to the reader of how to receive Christ. It’s a book of hope and encouragement, originally distributed to men whose lives were being ravaged by the horrors of trench warfare.

In Paul’s encouraging letter to the Philippians, he expresses his love from the outset along with his great desire to be with the believers in Philippi. He longs for them with “the tender compassion of Christ Jesus” (1:8). Paul wrote these words at a time when the church was being persecuted, faith was being tested and false teaching was in the air.

How reassuring for the people in Philippi to receive such an encouraging message and expression of love from the apostle himself! He assured them of God’s power to sustain (v.6), expressed his thankfulness for them (v.3) and encouraged them to continue looking forward with hope (v.10).

How important it is for us to offer encouragement to those in adversity or simply to those who share the same faith! We all need comforting, and as we present the truths of God and His loving, compassionate ways, we (and others) can experience encouragement.

Old books are great, but the Greatest Book provides hope that comes from God Himself.

—Russell Fralick

365-day-plan: Mark 1:1-13

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Read Romans 15:13 and consider the encouraging words Paul wrote to his readers. 
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What can you do today to speak words of encouragement to those who need them? How have the Scriptures provided encouragement for you this week? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)