Entries by YMI

ODB: Chipmunk Chatter

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May 24, 2015 

READ: Isaiah 41:10-13 

Fear not; I will help you. —Isaiah 41:13 

Ihad laid out some landscape netting in my yard, upon which I was going to spread decorative stones. As I was preparing to finish the job, I noticed a chipmunk tangled up in the netting.

I put on my gloves and gingerly began clipping away at the netting. The little guy was not happy with me. He kicked his hind feet and tried to bite me. I calmly told him, “I’m not going to hurt you, buddy. Just relax.” But he didn’t understand, so in fear he resisted. I finally snipped the last restricting loop and sent him scampering home.

Sometimes humans feel entangled and react in fear to the Lord. Through the centuries, He has offered rescue and hope to people—yet we resist Him, not understanding the help He provides. In Isaiah 41, the prophet quotes the Lord as saying, “For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not; I will help you’” (v.13).

As you think about your situation, how do you see God’s role? Are you afraid to turn things over to Him—for fear that He might harm you? He is good and He is near, wanting to free you from life’s entanglements. You can trust Him with your life.

— Dave Branon

In what area of your life do you need freedom? Ask the Lord to show you and to give you the faith to trust Him for His deliverance.

Faith is the best antidote for fear. 

ODJ: faith full

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May 23, 2015 

READ: Galatians 3:1-26 

So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith (v.9).

Rather than use the closing “Faithfully yours,” many Ugandans end their correspondence with “Faith full,” followed by their name. Each time I’m the recipient of a letter with that closing (which is often in a country where many people still communicate with pen and paper), I ponder what it truly looks like to be “faith full”—to have a heart that brims with confidence in the Lord.

While faithfulness describes the quality of being loyal to someone or something, “faith full” implies being filled with the utmost faith in someone or something. With that in mind, according to Galatians 3:9, it’s not our good works or attempts at faithfulness that make us right with God, but it’s our reliance and trust in Jesus.

“Let me put it another way”, wrote the apostle Paul. “The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:24-26).

In Acts, Stephen was “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5). It was because of his faith in Christ and not merely his faithfulness to God’s Word that Stephen was chosen by the disciples to engage in important work.

If our good deeds or faithfulness in keeping the law made us acceptable to God, we could boast in ourselves. But the gospel points us to a relationship with Him and being made righteous by Him through faith in Christ as modelled by Abraham (Romans 4:1-3).

—Roxanne Robbins

365-day-plan: Isaiah 53:1-12

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What are you told to cling to in 1 Timothy 1:19? 
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How can you explain to someone that “from start to finish” we are made right in God’s sight by faith (Romans 1:17)? How are you living a “faith full” life? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Stuck In The Mud

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May 23, 2015 

READ: Psalm 40:1-5 

He . . . brought me up out of . . . the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock. —Psalm 40:2 

We were absolutely stuck! While I was laying the wreath in place on my parents’ grave, my husband eased the car off the road to allow another car to pass. It had rained for weeks and the parking area was sodden. When we were ready to leave, we discovered that the car was stuck. The wheels spun, sinking further and further into the mud.

We weren’t going anywhere without a push, but my husband had a damaged shoulder, and I had just come out of the hospital. We needed help! At a distance I saw two young men, and they responded cheerfully to my frantic waves and shouts. Thankfully, their combined strength pushed the car back onto the roadway.

Psalm 40 recounts God’s faithfulness when David cried for help. “I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he . . . heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire” (vv.1-2 nlt). Whether this psalm refers to an actual pit or to challenging circumstances, David knew that he could always call on God for deliverance.

God will help us too when we call on Him. Sometimes He intervenes directly, but more often He works through other people. When we admit our need to Him—and perhaps to others—we can count on His faithfulness.

— Marion Stroud

I praise You, heavenly Father, that You can rescue me from any pit, no matter how deep. Help me to accept the help of others and to be ready to offer it to those in need.

Hope comes with help from God and others. 

ODJ: our culture’s idol

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May 22, 2015 

READ: Daniel 3:1-30 

When you hear the sound, . . . bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue (v.5).

The story of King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue always puzzled me. How was it possible for a king to erect a statue and then demand that everyone bow down to it? (Daniel 3:1,5). The whole story seemed silly. And that was before the Veggie Tales video version, which substituted the statue with a chocolate bunny!

A struggle we all face is to seek God and His ways instead of our own ways. It can be so easy to simply strive for what makes us happy and not concern ourselves with how it might affect others. The idol of individualism is so prevalent that a fast-food restaurant chain has changed its slogan from “Have it your way” to “Be your way”. The new motto may encourage us to live the way we want, but far greater freedom and joy can be found in living by the wisdom of our great God.

Nebuchadnezzar’s herald shouted, “Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace” (v.6). With that in mind, today we will sometimes feel the sting of persecution over values and choices that contrast with the ways of the world. But it’s so worth it! For only as we love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, will we find real life (Luke 10:27-28).

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego showed great resolve in lifting God high as they challenged the king: “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve . . . will rescue us from your power . . . . But even if he doesn’t, . . . we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18).

—Mike Wittmer

365-day-plan: Isaiah 6:1-13

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Read Acts 5:17-42 to learn how we should respond to the powerful pressure to disobey God. 
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What’s the difference between healthy self-expression and sinful individualism? How can you support the former without encouraging the latter? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Wisdom Seekers

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May 22, 2015 

READ: Proverbs 3:1-18 

Blessed are those who find wisdom. —Proverbs 3:13 NIV 

Every spring colleges and universities hold commencement ceremonies to celebrate the success of students who have completed their studies and earned their degrees. After the students cross the stage, these graduates will enter a world that will challenge them. Just having academic knowledge won’t be good enough. The key to success in life will be in wisely applying everything they have learned.

Throughout Scripture, wisdom is celebrated as a treasure that is worth seeking. It is better than riches (Prov. 3:13-18). Its source is God, who alone is perfectly wise (Rom. 16:27). And it is found in the actions and attitude of Jesus, in whom “all the treasures of wisdom” are found (Col. 2:3). Wisdom comes from reading and applying the Scripture. We have an example of this in the way Jesus applied His knowledge when He was tempted (Luke 4:1-13). In other words, the truly wise person tries to see life from God’s point of view and chooses to live according to His wisdom.

What’s the payoff for this kind of life? Proverbs tells us that wisdom is like sweetness of honey on the tongue (Prov. 24:13-14). “Blessed are those who find wisdom” (3:13 niv). So seek wisdom, for it is more profitable than silver or gold!

— Joe Stowell

Lord, strengthen my resolve to live by the wisdom that comes only from You. Give me the discernment to live all of life from Your point of view that I might know the blessings of a life lived wisely.

Blessing comes from seeking wisdom and living by it. 

ODJ: trouble in town

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May 21, 2015 

READ: Luke 4:16-30 

No prophet is accepted in his own hometown (v.24).

A 2013 article in Unfinished magazine details the exciting growth of Christianity in the “new India”. With more than 71 million believers in Jesus, the country is now the 8th largest Christian nation in the world. But even though faith in Christ is spreading “at a rapid rate among middle and high caste Indians and young people”, there are challenges for the new believers. “With great receptivity to Christianity also comes alarming religious animosity, resulting in persecution and violent resistance.”

Jesus knew the bitter effects of persecution and resistance. As He returned to “his boyhood home” of Nazareth, He went to the local synagogue and selected a prophetic passage from Isaiah (Luke 4:16). His purpose was to announce that salvation had come through Him—not just for the Jews but also for Gentiles. By referencing Elijah and Elisha and their individual ministries to “foreigners” (non-Jews) as He described His mission, the locals got the message. And they didn’t like it.

“No prophet is accepted in his own hometown,” Jesus said (v.24). Unable to accept the fact that they weren’t the only ones to receive God’s grace and moved by a festering anger against Gentile overlords, the people turned against Jesus. In fact, they tried to push Him off a cliff on the hill where the town was built. But in a display of divine power, Christ simply “passed right through the crowd and went on his way” (v.30).

—Tom Felten

365-day-plan: Ecclesiastes 12:1-14

MORE
Read John 15:18-21 and consider who’s truly being rejected when you’re persecuted for your belief in Jesus. 
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What gives you hope even as you face resistance because of your faith? Take a moment today to pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who are facing bitter persecution. 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: New Start For A Broken Heart

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May 21, 2015 

READ: Isaiah 61:1-3 

He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted. —Isaiah 61:1 

The Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, Croatia, is filled with anonymously donated remnants of love gone wrong. There is an axe that a jilted lover used to destroy the furniture of an offending partner. Stuffed animals, love letters framed in broken glass, and wedding dresses all speak volumes of heartache. While some visitors to the museum leave in tears over their own loss, some couples depart with hugs and a promise not to fail each other.

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah wrote, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted” (Isa. 61:1). When Jesus read from Isaiah 61 at the synagogue in Nazareth, He said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Extending far beyond help for an emotional wound, Isaiah’s words speak of a changed heart and a renewed spirit that come by receiving God’s gift of “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isa. 61:3).

All of us have experienced regret and broken promises in our lives. Whatever has happened, the Lord invites us to find healing, hope, and new life in Him.

— David C. McCasland

Lord, You are the promise-keeping God who has said He will make all things new. Today we give You our ashes in exchange for Your beauty, our mourning for the joy of finding comfort in You. Thank You!

God can transform tragedies into triumphs. 

ODJ: the perfect lie

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May 20, 2015 

READ: Ezekiel 27:1-36 

Son of man, sing a funeral song for Tyre (v.2).

My name is Regina, and I’m a recovering perfection addict. What’s funny is that I willingly—and ironically—cover the mistakes and failures of others. But when it comes to the standards I set for myself, I can be ruthless.

Prophesying to the nation of Israel, Ezekiel foretold of coming events to God’s chosen people but also to the surrounding nations. Ezekiel 27 records God’s judgement on Tyre, a civilisation known for its arrogant pursuit of self-sufficiency (v.2). Exquisite in beauty, the city gained not only abundance, but strength. Speaking of Tyre’s great influence, the Lord declared, “Men from distant Persia, Lydia and Libya . . . hung their shields and helmets on your walls, giving you great honour” (v.10).

Because its consequences are readily visible, we can easily spot the dangers of demanding faultlessness from others (Luke 11:46). Equally offensive to God is requiring perfection from ourselves (2 Corinthians 10:12). Measuring our lives by the standards of others while trying to protect ourselves, we can wrongfully believe that by avoiding error we will avoid pain. Desiring perfection for any number of reasons, we try to: gain the attention or affection of others; hold back any emotional tidal waves of regret; and guarantee provision as we depend on ourselves.

But the desire for perfection is nothing more than an idolatrous high place, and our reliance on humanity will only lead us into bondage and ruin (Ezekiel 28:2,7-10).

—Regina Franklin

365-day-plan: Proverbs 5:1-23

MORE
Read Hebrews 10:16-23 to understand our true source of affection, protection and provision. 
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Identify an area of your life where you rest on your own efforts. In what ways might this place be an idolatrous altar? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)