Entries by YMI
ODB: We’re Safe
June 13, 2014
READ: 1 Peter 1:3-5
[God] has begotten us . . . to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. —1 Peter 1:3-4
The United States Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, Kentucky, is a fortified building that stores 5,000 tons of gold bullion and other precious items entrusted to the federal government. Fort Knox is protected by a 22-ton door and layers of physical security: alarms, video cameras, minefields, barbed razor wire, electric fences, armed guards, and unmarked Apache helicopters. Based on the level of security, Fort Knox is considered one of the safest places on earth.
As safe as Fort Knox is, there’s another place that’s safer, and it’s filled with something more precious than gold: Heaven holds our gift of eternal life. The apostle Peter encouraged believers in Christ to praise God because we have “a living hope”—a confident expectation that grows and gains strength the more we learn about Jesus (1 Peter 1:3). And our hope is based on the resurrected Christ. His gift of eternal life will never come to ruin as a result of hostile forces. It will never lose its glory or freshness, because God has been keeping and will continue to keep it safe in heaven. No matter what harm may come to us in our life on earth, God is guarding our souls. Our inheritance is safe.
Like a safe within a safe, our salvation is protected by God and we’re secure.
— Marvin Williams
What about your salvation brings you the
greatest joy? How does it make you feel knowing
that your salvation is kept safe with God?
An inheritance in heaven is the safest possible place.
ODJ: imperfectly acceptable
June 13, 2014
READ: 2 Samuel 3:12-16
“All right,” David replied, “but I will not negotiate with you unless you bring back my wife Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come” (v.13).
When it is first read it seems like a love story. In truth it’s the record of what might have been one of David’s most heartless acts.
David had been at war with King Saul (2 Samuel 3:1). After Saul’s death, his field commander Abner decided to switch sides and support David’s claim to the throne (vv.8-10). “Make a solemn pact with me,” Abner said, “and I will help turn over all of Israel to you” (v.12). David agreed, but on one condition: “Bring back my wife Michal” (v.13).
Michal was Saul’s daughter. Saul had originally given her to David as his wife, but later had given her in marriage to another man, Palti, when David fled (1 Samuel 18:27, 25:44).
But it’s possible that there was no romance here. Michal was valuable to David for other reasons. Some commentators cite that a reunion with her positioned him as Saul’s legitimate son in law and strengthened his claim to the throne. Disregarding Michal’s wishes, and Palti’s feelings, David claimed his political treasure. Palti wept for Michal as she was dragged back to David (2 Samuel 3:16).
We often think of David as a man after God’s own heart who was kind to the disabled and the elderly (1 Samuel 13:14; 2 Samuel 9) and as someone who spared his enemy’s life when it was his to take (1 Samuel 24). But as Eugene Peterson says, here David may have been at his worst: “A man who sacrifices his humanity at the altar of power.”
So what are we to make of David’s life? “The story of David is not a story of what God wants us to be,” Peterson says, “but a story of God working with the raw material of our lives as he finds us.” David’s life is a reminder that God takes and uses sinful, imperfect people.
Feeling too sinful to be accepted by God? Feeling too imperfect? God’s grace will take you as you are—imperfectly acceptable. —Sheridan Voysey
Matthew 2:13-23 ‹365-day plan
other side of David’s sinful, imperfect life.
Do you think God expects you to be perfect? What separated sinful, imperfect David from someone like Saul?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
ODB: Keep Calm And Carry On
June 12, 2014
READ: Ezra 5:7-17
We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. —Ezra 5:11
Keep calm and call mom.” “Keep calm and eat bacon.” “Keep calm and put the kettle on.” These sayings originate from the phrase: “Keep Calm and Carry On.” This message first appeared in Great Britain as World War II began in 1939. British officials printed it on posters designed to offset panic and discouragement during the war.
Having returned to the land of Israel after a time of captivity, the Israelites had to overcome their own fear and enemy interference as they began to rebuild the temple (Ezra 3:3). Once they finished the foundation, their opponents “hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose” (4:5). Israel’s enemies also wrote accusing letters to government officials and successfully delayed the project (vv.6,24). Despite this, King Darius eventually issued a decree that allowed them to complete the temple (6:12-14).
When we are engaged in God’s work and we encounter setbacks, we can calmly carry on because, like the Israelites, “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth” (5:11). Obstacles and delays may discourage us, but we can rest in Jesus’ promise: “I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it” (Matt. 16:18 nlt). It is God’s power that enables His work, not our own.
— Jennifer Benson Schuldt
And all our substance and our strength receive.
Sustain us by Thy faith and by Thy power,
And give us strength in every trying hour. —Psalter
God’s Spirit gives the power to our witness.
ODJ: chaos monster
June 12, 2014
READ: Job 38:1-41
For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. I said, “This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!” (vv.10-11).
Ancient civilisations were terrified by the ocean. To them, the sea was a stormy, unpredictable place where swells swallowed up courageous sailors. So it’s not surprising that the religions of the Ancient Near East all contained accounts about how their god defeated the evil sea of chaos and its seven-headed monster—often portrayed as a dragon or serpent. Whether it was the Mesopotamian Marduk slaying Tiamat, goddess of the sea, or the Canaanite Baal cutting off the heads of the oceanic chaos monster, the ancients made a point of saying that their god had triumphed over evil.
Scripture uses the sea and the chaos monster to make an even better point about God. Yahweh demonstrated that He alone was God when He “dried up the sea” so His people could escape from Egypt (Isaiah 51:10). And Rahab confessed to the spies, “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the LORD made a dry path for you through the Red Sea” (Joshua 2:9-10).
God reminded Job that He has placed limits on what the sea can do, and that He dominates the sea monster Leviathan (Job 38:8-11, 41:1-34). Asaph later wrote of God: “You split the sea by your strength and smashed the heads of the sea monsters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan” (Psalm 74:13-14). God’s power is greater than any enemy we will face on earth—even the enemy of our souls.
Jesus promises to return and slay “the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil”, and He will create a new earth with no more sea (Revelation 20:2, 21:1).
I don’t know what ocean of chaos has buckled your knees, but give your chaos to God. He can tame it. —Mike Wittmer
365-day plan› Matthew 2:1-12
Read Genesis 1:1-10 and consider what this passage teaches about God’s relation to the chaos represented by the sea.
What person would you like to tell about God’s power over the ocean of chaos? How have you experienced God’s power over chaos?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
ODB: An Honest Heart
June 11, 2014
READ: Psalm 15
I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. —1 Chronicles 29:17
I came across an epitaph on an old gravestone in a cemetery the other day. It read, “J. Holgate: An honest man.”
I know nothing of Holgate’s life, but because his marker is unusually ornate, he must have struck it rich. But whatever he accomplished in his lifetime, he’s remembered for just one thing: He was “an honest man.”
Diogenes, the Greek philosopher, spent a lifetime in search of honesty and finally concluded that an honest man could not be found. Honest people are hard to find in any age, but the trait is one that greatly matters. Honesty is not the best policy; it’s the only policy, and one of the marks of a man or woman who lives in God’s presence. David writes, “Lord, . . . who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly” (Ps. 15:1-2).
I ask myself: Am I trustworthy and honorable in all my affairs? Do my words ring true? Do I speak the truth in love or do I fudge and fade the facts now and then, or exaggerate for emphasis? If so, I may turn to God with complete confidence and ask for forgiveness and for a good and honest heart—to make truthfulness an integral part of my nature. The One who has begun a good work in me is faithful. He will do it.
— David H. Roper
In all I do and say,
And grant me grace and power
To live for You each day. —Fitzhugh
Live in such a way that when people think of honesty and integrity, they will think of you.
ODJ: time and eternity
June 11, 2014
READ: John 12:20-26
Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity (v.25).
I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the cello. But I haven’t found the time to take lessons. Since time is short, I would rather spend my time doing the things that I won’t get to do in heaven—stuff like helping a believer to mature in his or her faith or reaching out to someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus. I say to myself, In heaven, I’ll have the whole of eternity to master that instrument!
Perhaps you’ve also set aside some personal pursuits in order to help others. And though you know it’s a good thing to do, somewhere from the back of your mind you ask yourself from time to time: Am I short-changing myself?
It’s understandable that we might ponder that type of thought. After all, time is like a relentless, flowing river moving our lives along with it. We feel the pressure to make the most of the time we’ve been given before it’s gone.
Shortly before Jesus went to the cross, He said these poignant words: “Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity” (John 12:25).
Was Jesus telling us not to enjoy the many good things God gives us in this life? No, He was telling us to relish them with eternity in view. Don’t live for the present. Don’t hold tightly to comforts, pleasure, power, position or wealth. God must always be our top priority. As Jesus said, “Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me” (v.26).
In light of the aeons of eternity, we know that some things can wait, while others can’t. Jesus’ priority was clear. He seized the day to reconcile man to God and to make disciples. How about you? —Poh Fang Chia
Luke 2:21-39 ‹365-day plan
Consider the apostle Paul’s eternal perspective found in 2 Corinthians 4:16-17.
What things can wait in this life and what can’t? How can you live practically with eternity in view?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
ODB: Crowns Of Honor
June 10, 2014
READ: John 19:1-8
The soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head. —John 19:2
The Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom are stored securely and protected within the Tower of London under 24-hour guard. Each year, millions visit the display area to “ooh and aah” over these ornate treasures. The Crown Jewels symbolize the power of the kingdom, as well as the prestige and position of those who use them.
Part of the Crown Jewels are the crowns themselves. There are three different types: the coronation crown, which is worn when an individual is crowned monarch; the state crown (or coronet), which is worn for various functions; and the consort crown worn by the wife of a reigning king. Different crowns serve different purposes.
The King of heaven, who was worthy of the greatest crown and the highest honor, wore a very different crown. In the hours of humiliation and suffering that Christ experienced before He was crucified, “the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe” (John 19:2). That day, the crown, which is normally a symbol of royalty and honor, was turned into a tool of mockery and hate. Yet our Savior willingly wore that crown for us, bearing our sin and shame.
The One who deserved the best of all crowns took the worst for us.
— Bill Crowder
Who triumphed o’er the grave;
Who rose victorious in the strife
For those He came to save. —Bridges/Thring
Without the cross, there could be no crown.