Entries by YMI

ODB: Too Late

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April 30, 2014 

READ: Hebrews 4:1-11 

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. —Hebrews 4:1 

It happens nearly every semester. I tell my freshman college writing class often that they need to keep up with the numerous writing assignments in order to pass the class. But nearly every semester some don’t believe me. They’re the ones who send me frantic emails after the last day of class and give me their reasons for not taking care of business. I hate to do it, but I have to tell them, “I’m sorry. It’s too late. You have failed the class.”

That’s bad enough when you’re a college freshman and you realize you’ve just wasted a couple thousand dollars. But there is a far more serious, more permanent finality that comes at the end of life if people haven’t taken care of business with God about their sin. In those cases, if people die without having put their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, they face an eternity without Him.

What a terrible moment it would be to stand before the Savior Himself and hear Him say, “I never knew you; depart from Me!” (Matt. 7:23). The author of Hebrews warns us to make sure we don’t “come short” (4:1) of the eternal rest offered by God. The good news is that it’s not too late. Today Jesus freely offers to us salvation and forgiveness through Him.

— Dave Branon

If you’d like to know the love of God the Father,
Come to Him through Jesus Christ, His loving Son;
He’ll forgive your sins and save your soul forever,
And you’ll love forevermore this faithful One. —Felten

Calvary reveals the seriousness of our sin and the vastness of God’s love. 

ODJ: the right time

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April 30, 2014 

READ: Song of Solomon 8:1-14 

Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, not to awaken love until the time is right (v.4).

I recently officiated the marriage of a young couple. After the ceremony, the bridal party headed out for some photos prior to the reception. My wife and I were invited to the bride’s home for some fellowship and snacks on the family’s garden patio. Suddenly, the mother of the bride emerged from the house with tears in her eyes. She held up her daughter’s purity ring and with a choked up voice and tender smile, uttered, “She left this on the kitchen counter.” The decision of the young woman to wear a purity ring had been an outward sign that she had vowed to remain sexually pure until marriage. Now, the ring was no longer needed.

In the poetry of the Song of Solomon, we find the godly virtue of maintaining one’s virginity prior to marriage. In the final chapter, the “young woman” declared her longing for her husband’s embrace (vv.1-3) and then turned to her friends and said, “Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, not to awaken love until the time is right” (v.4). This was the third time she presented this purity principle (2:7, 3:5). But she wasn’t done, for in 8:8-9 she described the need for a young girl’s virginity to be defended, stating, “If she is a virgin . . . we will protect her” (v.9).

The Song of Solomon is not at all prudish. In fact it clearly celebrates the joy and ecstasies of sexual intimacy. But the joy of sex is seen in the context of a man and his bride who are deeply in love (4:9, 8:6,13-14).

The apostle Paul later gave us inspired instruction from God regarding staying pure before marriage. He wrote, “God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin” and “live in holiness and honour—not in lustful passion” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5).

Yes, there’s a right time to say “I do” to sexual intimacy. It’s after saying “I do” at the altar. —Tom Felten
Nehemiah 5:1-19 ‹365-day plan

MORE
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:8 and see how God views sex before marriage. Read Ephesians 5:3-9 to see additional sexual-purity instruction from Paul. 
NEXT
Why does God want you to stay sexually pure before marriage? What are some ways you can strengthen your resolve not to commit sexual sin? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Christ In The Storm

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April 29, 2014 

READ: Mark 4:33-41 

Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? —Mark 4:40 

At the age of 27, Rembrandt painted the seascape Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee based on the story in Mark 4. With its distinctive contrast of light and shadow, Rembrandt’s painting shows a small boat threatened with destruction in a furious storm. As the disciples struggle against the wind and waves, Jesus is undisturbed. The most unusual aspect, however, is the presence in the boat of a 13th disciple whom art experts say resembles Rembrandt himself.

Mark’s gospel describes the disciples’ vivid lesson about who Jesus is and what He can do. While they were frantically trying to save a sinking boat, Jesus was asleep. Didn’t He care that they were all about to die? (v.38). After Jesus calmed the storm (v.39), He asked the penetrating question, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” (v.40). Then they were even more afraid, exclaiming to each other, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” (v.41).

We could also put ourselves in this story and discover, just as Jesus’ disciples did, that to each person who trusts in Jesus Christ, He reveals His presence, compassion, and control in every storm of life.

— David C. McCasland

Be still, my heart; for faithful is thy Lord,
And pure and true and tried His holy Word;
Though stormy flood which rageth as the sea,
His promises thy stepping-stones shall be. —Anon.

God is a safe dwelling place in life’s storms. 

ODJ: the Lord is my Pacesetter

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April 29, 2014 

READ: Psalm 23:1-6 

He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams (v.2).

The year 2013 had hardly begun before I felt as if I needed a vacation. A house renovation, a book launch, a trip to Ethiopia and two speaking trips to Australia had left the year with little free space. In the midst of the busyness, I picked up a book one night and found this delightful paraphrase of Psalm 23 by Japanese poet Toki Miyashina:

The Lord is my Pacesetter, I shall not rush. He makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals. He provides me with images of stillness which restore my serenity. He leads me in ways of efficiency through calmness of mind and His guidance is peace. Even though I have a great many things to accomplish this day, I will not fret, for His presence is here. His timelessness, His all-importance, will keep me in balance. He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity by anointing my head with the oil of tranquility. My cup of joyous energy overflows. Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits of my hours, for I shall walk in the place of my Lord and dwell in His house forever.

Having visited Japan and seen its rushing masses and its countryside overtaken by shopping malls, this is a wonderful paraphrase of the original psalm for a society that knows little of shepherds and meadows (Psalm 23:1-2). But it’s more than that. Like the original psalm, the poem is a reminder for people like me—who easily get caught in the grip of rush and hurry—that God is unrushed and His guidance is unhurried.

I need to stop and meditate on this for a while.

The Lord is my Pacesetter, I shall not rush. Even though I have a great many things to accomplish this day, I will not fret, for His presence is here (vv.4-6).

—Sheridan Voysey

365-day plan› Nehemiah 2:1-20

MORE
Read 2 Peter 1:2 and consider what it says about what God brings to your life. 
NEXT
How are you prone to rush forward with your own plans rather than resting in God? How can we live out God’s peace when life seems so busy? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Probing Questions

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April 28, 2014 

READ: 1 Peter 3:8-17 

Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you. —1 Peter 3:15 

While riding on a train a few years after the American Civil War, General Lew Wallace of the Union Army encountered a fellow officer, Colonel Robert Ingersoll. Ingersoll was one of the 19th century’s leading agnostics, and Wallace was a man of faith. As their conversation turned to their spiritual differences, Wallace realized that he wasn’t able to answer the questions and doubts raised by Ingersoll. Embarrassed by his lack of understanding about his own faith, Wallace began searching the Scriptures for answers. The result was his confident declaration of the person of the Savior in his classic historical novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.

Probing questions from skeptics don’t have to be a threat to our faith. Instead, they can motivate us to seek a deeper understanding and equip us to respond wisely and lovingly to those who might question our faith. The apostle Peter encouraged us to pursue the wisdom of God in the Scriptures when he wrote, “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).

We don’t have to have an answer for every question, but we need the courage, confidence, and conviction to share our love for Christ and the hope that is in us.

— Bill Crowder

Christ is the ultimate answer to life’s greatest questions. 

ODJ: faith and diligence

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April 28, 2014 

READ: Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 

Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both (v.6).

Ever suffered from paralysis of analysis? New graduates stepping into the workforce often experience its symptoms. They hope God will tell them exactly what their job should be. They wish He would show them beyond any shadow of a doubt that they’re making the best choice. So some of them hesitate to send out their resumé to even one company.

Often, in making the big decisions of life, we weigh and reweigh the options, implications and possibilities before us. We’re so afraid to make the wrong move that we’re paralysed by our indecision.

King Solomon offers us some helpful advice. In Ecclesiastes 11:4, he observed that if a farmer holds out for the most opportune moment to plant (when there’s no wind to blow away the seed) and reaps only when there’s no rain to ruin a ripe harvest, he’ll spend much of his life simply sitting and waiting.

There are many things in life that are mysterious, like the “path of the wind” and how a baby is formed in a mother’s womb (v.5). But God knows and controls all these things. So after prayerfully assessing the options based on biblical principles and consulting with godly advisors, we can step out boldly in faith—not worrying over the uncertainties. Elisabeth Elliot wrote, “God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to.”

As we prepare to step out in faith, we also apply due diligence (v.6). Don’t turn everything into a mystical decision about what you ‘feel’ God wants you to do. Do the sensible thing. Apply wisdom, pray about it and then boldly go where God leads! —Poh Fang Chia
Ezra 3:7-13 ‹365-day plan

MORE
Read Psalm 23 and reflect on how its wisdom can help you move forward in faith and diligence.  
NEXT
What project, dream, idea or initiative have you been postponing? When do you plan to get started? What’s the first step you need to take?  

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Learning To Love

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April 27, 2014 

READ: 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 

Love suffers long and is kind. —1 Corinthians 13:4 

When Hans Egede went to Greenland as a missionary in 1721, he didn’t know the Inuit language. His temperament was often overbearing, and he struggled to be kind to the people.

In 1733, a smallpox epidemic swept through Greenland, wiping out almost two-thirds of the Inuit people—and claiming Egede’s wife as well. This shared suffering melted Egede’s harsh demeanor, and he began to tirelessly labor to care for the people physically and spiritually. Because his life now better represented the stories he told them of God’s love, the Inuits could at last grasp His desire to love them too. Even in suffering, their hearts turned to God.

Perhaps you are like the Inuits in this story, and you are unable to see God in the people around you. Or perhaps you are like Hans Egede, who struggled to express love in a way that taught people about God. Knowing we are weak and needy people, God showed us what love is like. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins (John 3:16). That’s how much God loves you and me.

Jesus is the perfect example of the love that is described in 1 Corinthians 13. As we look to Him, we learn that we are loved and we learn how to love in turn.

— Randy Kilgore

Jesus, let me find in You a sense that I am
loved. And may my heart not grow cold and
cluttered by anger and wounds from the past so
that others can see Your reflection in me.

May I never be the barrier that blocks one’s view of God. 

ODJ: ask God first

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April 27, 2014 

READ: Joshua 9:1-27 

The Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the LORD. Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them . . . and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath (vv.14-15).

In my radio work I’m always listening for new talent, and have at times foolishly chosen to work with people because of their impressive experience or larger-than-life personalities. Previous poor judgements have taught me to stop and listen to that “still small voice”. Now I check in with the Lord before being simply swept away by a person’s charisma and impressive words.

God promised the land of Canaan to the Israelites and commanded them to wipe out every nation that stood against Him (Deuteronomy 20:15-18). The Gibeonites knew this and, fearing for their lives, came up with an elaborate and shrewd plan. They told Joshua and the men of Israel that they had come from a distant land and then asked for a treaty of peace (Joshua 9:6-13). As part of their ruse, the Gibeonites wore old clothes and patched sandals. They brought along mouldy bread and cracked wineskins and told an impressive story of the long distance they had travelled (vv.3-5).

The Gibeonites were successful. The Israelites examined their food but didn’t consult the Lord (v.14) and they were deceived into signing a peace agreement with their neighbours (v.15). The Gibeonites weren’t destroyed (vv.19-20), but they were cursed for their lie and became slaves to the Israelites (vv.26-27).

The blind trust of the leaders of Israel cost them part of the land of Canaan. They never enjoyed the fullness of the Promised Land because they didn’t first inquire of the Lord. Whatever your role or circumstance, you need the wisdom of the only One who knows the true intent of every heart. Take the time to inquire of the Lord and He will guide you and make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6). —Ruth O’Reilly-Smith
365-day plan› 2 Kings 22:1-23:3

MORE
Read 1 Samuel 23:1-12 and see how David’s repeated inquiring of the Lord led to blessing. 
NEXT
What are some things in your life that you need to bring to God for guidance and direction? How will you seek His will practically in the days ahead? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)