Entries by YMI

ODB: Quest For Stolen Treasure

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May 29, 2014 

READ: Matthew 4:18-22 

[Jesus] said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” —Matthew 4:19 

In J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, the dwarfs gathered to go up against Smaug, the fierce dragon, to retrieve their stolen treasure. In spite of the dangerously frightening quest, Balin, the dwarfs’ second-in-command, expressed confidence in Thorin: “There is one I could follow. There is one I could call King.” His commitment to the mission, as dangerous as it was, was empowered by his confidence in his leader.

At the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, He gathered a group around Him that would join Him in the kingdom task of rescuing the treasure of lost souls from our enemy, Satan. When He called them, He said, “Follow Me” (Matt. 4:19). For them, following Jesus would mean a radical transition from catching fish to the enterprise of being fishers of men and women who were lost in the grip of sin. But the task would not always be easy; Jesus referred to the quest as taking up our cross to follow Him (see Matt. 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23).

How do we stay engaged in the battle to reclaim Christ’s lost treasures when it seems intimidating or awkward? By keeping our eye on our Leader. He indeed is worthy—One we can follow, the One we call King!

— Joe Stowell

Lord, in the face of intimidation and fear when
seeking to engage others with the gospel, remind
me that they are Your lost treasures. I count it
a privilege to follow You into others’ lives.

Follow your Leader into the lives of those around you. 

ODJ: marriage changes you

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May 29, 2014 

READ: 1 Kings 11:1-13 

In Solomon’s old age they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the LORD his God, as his father, David, had been (v.4).

When we’re in love we easily overlook the flaws in the person we hope to marry. This is good when the flaw is small, but it’s bad when the flaw is more serious—such as a habit of rudely interrupting people or of not going to church. You might put up with a future spouse’s shortcoming because you think that once you’re married you’ll change the one you love. Don’t count on it. Irritations often become worse after we’re married, for our spouse is no longer trying to impress us. They’ve already won our heart.

We shouldn’t count on changing a spouse, but we can count on marriage changing us. As our lives become one we become part of each other’s families, take an interest in each other’s hobbies, develop our own inside jokes and find common ground in handling money and serving in church. Take a hard look at your future spouse’s character, values and habits. If you go ahead and marry, in a few years you may become a lot like your partner!

King Solomon learned this the hard way. He knew God’s command not to marry foreign women (Exodus 34:16; 1 Kings 11:2) and he warned his own sons to watch out for the captivating ways of immoral women (Proverbs 5:1-23, 7:1-27). And his counsel equally applies to daughters marrying immoral men. Yet this man who was gifted with extraordinary wisdom (1 Kings 3:12), who wrote that the point of life was to “fear God and obey his commands” (Ecclesiastes 12:13), somehow followed his wives in worshipping the detestable gods Ashtoreth and Molech (1 Kings 11:5).

If it could happen to Solomon, the wisest man ever, it can happen to you. You may never change the person you marry, but your marriage will inevitably change you. Marry the sort of person you want to become. —Mike Wittmer

365-day plan› Daniel 2:1-24

MORE
Read 1 Corinthians 7:12-24 to learn what God wants you to do if you’re married to an unbeliever.  
NEXT
Think about your spouse or close friend. How have you become like each other? Why are we so greatly affected by those close to us? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: The Crash

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May 28, 2014 

READ: Micah 7:8-9,18-20 

He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness. —Micah 7:9 

For years after the Great Depression, the stock market struggled to win back investors’ confidence. Then, in 1952, Harry Markowitz suggested that investors spread their stock holdings over several companies and industries. He developed a theory for portfolio selection that helped investors in uncertain times. In 1990, Markowitz and two others won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for their theory.

Like those jittery investors, we followers of Jesus may also find ourselves frozen in fear after a “crash” in our personal lives, unsure how to pick up the pieces and move on. We might even spend our remaining lives waiting for a “Markowitz moment,” when one big idea or action can help us recover from a previous failure.

We forget that Jesus has already done that on our behalf. He covered our shame, and He set us free to fellowship with God and serve Him daily. Because He gave His life, and rose from the dead, when we “fall,” we can “arise” with Him, for “He delights in mercy” (Micah 7:8,18).

The moment we find Jesus, our eternity with Him begins. He walks alongside us so He can change us into the people we long to be and were created to be.

— Randy Kilgore

Father, my actions aren’t adequate to fix my
failures. Thank You for doing that through
Your Son Jesus who gave Himself for us.
Help me to look up and walk with You.

Look up from your failure, and you’ll find God standing ready to receive you. 

ODJ: shame and inheritance

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May 28, 2014 

READ: John 2:1-11 

A host always serves the best wine first. . . . Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now! (v.10).

In 2013 the Catholic Church in Venezuela reported that it was running out of wine to celebrate Mass because of a nationwide shortage. This reminds me of another shortage of wine that took place in the village of Cana where Jesus was attending a wedding.

The wine supply ran out during the festivities and Jesus’ mother told the servants to do whatever He commanded (John 2:5). Jesus told them to fill six stone jars with water and take some to the master of ceremonies (vv.7-8). When the man tasted the water that had been turned into wine, he was amazed—the wine was the best he’d tasted all night. This was unheard of, for the bridegroom usually served the best wine first and the cheaper wine later (v.10).

Running out of wine at a wedding was considered a terrible scandal and would bring shame on the newly married couple and their entire family. The food and drink were a symbol of a secure inheritance and a shortage at the wedding pointed to impending doom for the future of the bride and groom. By turning the water into wine, Jesus removed their shame and blessed their future.

Shame is debilitating. It robs us of our dignity and keeps us cowering in the background. But Jesus draws us out of the shadows and into the light. He removes our shame and guarantees an eternal inheritance—securing our future. God promises: “Instead of shame and dishonour, you will enjoy a double share of honour. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land and everlasting joy will be yours” (Isaiah 61:7).

When we’ve reached the end of our reserves and feel that we have nothing more to give, Jesus turns our shame into a proclamation of His miraculous provision. —Ruth O’Reilly-Smith

Daniel 1:1-21 ‹365-day plan

MORE
Read John 8:1-11 and see how Jesus removes the shame and restores the dignity of a woman.  
NEXT
How is shame keeping you in the shadows? What do you need to do to find renewed dignity and hope in Jesus?  

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Blessed Forgetfulness

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May 27, 2014 

READ: John 10:1-10 

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved. —John 10:9 

My office is downstairs, but I make frequent trips upstairs to various rooms in my house for one thing or another. Unfortunately, by the time I get upstairs I often forget what I was planning to do when I got there. Researcher Gabriel Radvansky has come up with an explanation for this phenomenon. He proposes that a doorway serves as an “event boundary.”

After conducting three different experiments, he theorized that a doorway signals the brain that the information held in memory can be filed away—but it’s frustrating when I’m standing there trying to remember why I came upstairs. However, forgetfulness can be a blessing. When I shut the door to our bedroom at night and settle down to sleep, it’s a blessing to forget the worries of the day.

When I think of the fact that Jesus called Himself “the door” (John 10:7,9), I gain a new appreciation for this metaphor. When sheep enter the pen, they enter a safe place protected from thieves and predators. For believers, the Great Shepherd is the door between us and our enemies. Once we enter the sheepfold, we can “forget” all dangers and threats. We can enjoy divine forgetfulness and rest in the protection of the Great Shepherd.

— Julie Ackerman Link

Thank You, Father, for the peace of mind
that comes from knowing You are standing
watch over the events of our lives. Help us
to rest securely in Your protection.

Christ is the door that keeps us in and keeps the dangers out. 

ODJ: gentle heart

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May 27, 2014 

READ: James 3:13-18 

But the wisdom from above is . . . gentle at all times (v.17).

Recently I was forced to bring my car to a complete stop on a busy road. A man in front of me had slammed on the brakes of his van, interrupting the flow of traffic. He climbed out of his van, walked to the front of the idling vehicle and stooped to pick something up. As he passed in front of my halted car, I could see that he was carrying a tiny turtle that he proceeded to place gently at the base of some shrubs far away from the road.

For James, wisdom refers to a life lived in harmony with God and in line with things that are true: “if you are wise and understand God’s ways . . . ” (James 3:13). In other words, do we long to live wisely, to be true to the ways of God? Well, then this is what that type of life looks like: “[Do] good works with the humility that comes from wisdom”, “be peace loving”, and “be willing to yield to others” (vv.13,17). The thing I find most powerful in this passage, however, is James’ insistence that the wise, God-centred life is one that’s “gentle at all times” (v.17).

When believers in Jesus communicate with one another, sometimes there’s precious little gentleness. We may win an argument or prove a theological point, but do we act in ways that are in keeping with the gentle heart of God? We’re called to a life of gentleness.

John Yoder put it well: “The church seeks to help form people who can risk being peaceful in a violent world, risk being kind in a competitive world, risk being faithful in an age of cynicism, risk being gentle among those who admire the tough, risk love when it may not be returned, because we have the confidence that in Christ we have been reborn into a new reality.” —Winn Collier

365-day plan› Ezekiel 37:1-14

MORE
Read Galatians 6:1 and consider what Paul says is the way to help a struggling brother or sister in Jesus. 
NEXT
In what situations do you find it most difficult to be gentle? How does gentleness reflect the way God works in your life? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: A Call To Comfort

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May 26, 2014 

READ: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. —2 Corinthians 1:3 

In their book Dear Mrs. Kennedy, Jay Mulvaney and Paul De Angelis note that during the weeks following the assassination of US President John Kennedy, his widow, Jacqueline, received nearly one million letters from people in every part of the world. Some came from heads of state, celebrities, and close friends. Others were sent by ordinary people who addressed them to “Madame Kennedy, Washington” and “Mrs. President, America.” All wrote to express their grief and sympathy for her great loss.

When people suffer and we long to help, it’s good to recall Paul’s word-picture of “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” as “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3). Our heavenly Father is the ultimate source of every tender mercy, kind word, and helpful act that brings encouragement and healing. Bible scholar W. E. Vine says that paraklesis—the Greek word translated “comfort”—means “a calling to one’s side.” The words comfort and consolation appear repeatedly in today’s Bible reading as a reminder that the Lord holds us close and invites us to cling to Him.

As the Lord wraps His loving arms around us, we are able to embrace others “with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (v.4).

— David C. McCasland

Father, thank You for letting us share with You
our worries and cares. We’re grateful that You
stand beside us to comfort and guide. Help us
to console others as You look out for Your own.

God comforts us so that we can comfort others.