Entries by YMI

ODB: Unseen Danger

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April 6, 2013 

READ: James 1:13-25 

Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. —James 1:14 

When I was a young child, our family escaped near tragedy. Most of the main appliances in the house, as well as the furnace, were fueled by natural gas, but a small leak in one of the gas lines put our lives at risk. As the gas poured into our little house, our family was overcome by the lethal fumes and we lost consciousness. Had we not been discovered by a neighbor who happened to stop by for a visit, we all could have been killed by this dangerous, unseen enemy.

As followers of Christ, we can also find ourselves surrounded by unseen dangers. The toxic realities of temptation and the weaknesses of our own human frailty can endanger our lives and relationships. Unlike the natural gas in my childhood home, however, these unseen dangers do not come from outside of us—they reside within us. James wrote, “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed” (James 1:14).

Our natural tendency to sin, compounded by blind spots that prevent us from seeing our own weaknesses, can lead to toxic choices that ruin us. It is only by submitting to God as He shows us our hearts in His Word (vv.23-25) that we can live a life that pleases the Master.

— Bill Crowder

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
Wean it from earth, through all its pulses move;
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,
And make me love Thee as I ought to love. —Croly

The unseen Spirit of God is the greatest protection
against sin’s unseen dangers. 

ODJ: content with contention?


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April 6, 2013 

READ: Titus 3:1-11 


If people are causing divisions among you, give a first and second warning. After that, have nothing more to do with them (v.10).

With its uncomfortable chairs and tiled floors, the restaurant reflected the chill of the winter air. Having recently made the decision to take in foster children, my family sat waiting to meet a 7 year old girl who needed a home. She was accustomed to transient relationships and began calling my parents “Mum” and “Dad” at that first trial meeting. Filled with great optimism, we believed we could make her world different—that she might be grateful and understand the nuances of healthy family relationships. We quickly learned her sense of normal was our definition of chaos.


Paul admonishes believers to be satisfied in whatever circumstances they endure (Phil. 4:11; 1 Tim. 6:7-8), but Scripture makes a distinction between godly and ungodly contentment. Because of their own brokenness, some people are not happy until they’ve stirred up strife in the relationships around them. Uncertain about others’ love for them, they attempt to find security in controlling the environment and creating factions.

When we come to Christ, however, He redefines our understanding of normal and healthy. No longer dependent on ourselves, we find that He calls us to trust in His protection rather than our own. But we may not recognise how deeply our defence mechanisms run, and some individuals simply choose not to walk in Jesus’ promise to make all things new (2 Cor. 5:17; Rev. 21:5). In Titus 3, Paul shows us how to handle relational strife. Firstly, we respond with grace through a right understanding of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross (vv.4-7); we teach, model and warn if necessary (vv.8-10); finally, if no change in behaviour occurs, we separate (vv.10-11).


Reflecting Jesus’ love doesn’t mean partnering with others’ dysfunction. Instead, we must present to others the light of His truth (1 John 1:5). —Regina Franklin


MORE
Read Galatians 5:19-26 to understand more about the connection between our relational decisions and our choice to walk by the Spirit.
 
NEXT
What relationships in your life are filled with strife? How do your efforts in the relationships compare with what Scripture says to do? 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: No Fine Print

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April 5, 2013 

READ: Deuteronomy 30:11-20 

For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. —Deuteronomy 30:11 

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Missy Sullivan noted that many user agreements, warranties, and disclaimers that come with products are nearly unreadable. Intentionally set in very small type, they actually discourage people from understanding them. Because of this, many people don’t read all the terms of contracts before signing them. A university professor of graphic communication pointed to a 32-page user agreement that came with his new smartphone, and said of the company, “They don’t want you to read it.”

In contrast, the Lord is always seeking to communicate with His people in clear and compelling ways, with no attempt to confuse or deceive. When Moses spoke to the Israelites just before they entered the Promised Land, he said, “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. . . . I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deut. 30:11,19).

The Lord wants us to understand His plan and purpose clearly, so that we may love, obey, and cling to Him—for He is our “life and the length of [our] days” (v.20). That’s plain to see.

— David C. McCasland

Father, we want to learn and experience more of who
You are in our relationship with You. Teach us so that
we will grow in our understanding of You and
Your plan for our lives.

There is no fine print in God’s communication with us. 

ODJ: in God’s presence


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April 5, 2013 

READ: Exodus 33:7-17 


Inside the tent of meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend (v.11).


During a military operation in Iraq in 2003, military
 chaplain Cary Cash served with the American military’s 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment as they battled their way to Baghdad. After the regiment secured Saddam Hussein’s Almilyah presidential palace, a young marine—ministered to by Cash—bowed and received Jesus as his Saviour. Later the chaplain baptised the young man in the inner sanctum of the palace. In his book A Table in the Presence, Cash writes: “A place that had been known for the presence of darkness and treachery had become a place of the presence of God—a table in the presence.”


God’s presence can be found wherever His people are present. But it hasn’t always been that way. In Exodus we find Moses leading the Israelites from bondage in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land (33:1). Along the way Moses would set up a “tent of meeting” to consult with God—to be in His presence (v.7). It’s interesting that Moses had the tent set up outside of the camp.

Then God gave Moses some special plans for a new meeting place. It was called the tabernacle, and it was placed in the centre of the camp (Numbers 2:17). Jesus, however, made it possible now by His sacrifice and the sending of the Holy Spirit for God to dwell in the centre of our heart. The apostle Paul wrote, “This is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing His glory” (Colossians 1:27).


No longer do we who believe in Jesus and have received salvation have to go outside to a tent or tabernacle to meet with God. God is with us! He’s within us! Every struggle, every victory, every prayer occurs in His presence.


Today, remember that you are in the very presence of God! —Tom Felten


› 2 Samuel 11:1-27

MORE
Read 2 Corinthians 6:16 to see what object Paul uses as a euphemism for our bodies and where he says God is present. 
NEXT
How has the fact that God “lives in you” changed the way you live? How does the presence of God affect those who experience it?
 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Supernatural Surveillance

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April 4, 2013 

READ: Matthew 6:1-6,16-18 

Your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. —Matthew 6:18 

Not far from my house, authorities have rigged a camera to snap pictures of drivers who race through red lights. The offenders later receive in the mail a ticket along with a “red-light photo,” which is visual proof of their traffic violation.

Sometimes I think of God in the same way I think of that camera—He’s up there, just waiting to catch me doing the wrong thing. While God does see our sin (Heb. 4:13), He sees and takes interest in our good deeds as well. Due to His supernatural surveillance, God sees the size of our sacrifice when we give money to the church or to those in need (Mark 12:41-44). He hears our private prayers (Matt. 6:6). And when we fast, we can carry on as usual being assured that our “Father . . . sees in secret” (v.18).

Knowing that God sees everything frees us from thinking about the watchful eyes of others. When we do what is right, we need no applause from onlookers; when we sin, we do not need to worry about our reputation once we settle the issue with God and anyone we’ve harmed. We can rest knowing that “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chron. 16:9).

— Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Lord, thank You for Your all-seeing nature. You know
everything I think and do. Help me to value Your
approval and live according to Your standards,
no matter what anyone else may think.

Others see what we do, but God sees why we do it. 

ODJ: pandora?


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April 4, 2013 

READ: Matthew 5:17-20 


If you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great (v.19).


Pandora is one of the musical marvels of the Internet age. It’s an algorithm-based website that allows you to listen to any musical artists, bands and songs that you like. By each song you can click a ‘thumbs up’ or a ‘thumbs down’ sign. When you click the ‘thumbs up’ sign, it plays more music like what you just heard. If you click the ‘thumbs down’ sign, Pandora will take that song out of rotation or skip that song and bring up a different song for you to judge.


To prevent His disciples from developing a ‘thumbs up’ and ‘thumbs down’ approach to the Scriptures, Jesus taught them to have a high view of the Word. Near the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said His purpose in teaching was not to weaken the interpretation and application of the written Scriptures but to complete His disciples’ understanding of it (Matthew 5:17). To show His high view of Scripture, the unchanging nature of God’s Word and the indistinguishable principles of what the rabbis called “light” and “heavy” commandments, Jesus said heaven and earth would sooner disappear than even the smallest stroke of the ink found in the Scriptures (vv.18-19).

For Jesus, a light commandment (do not be angry or bear hatred in your heart) is just as important as a heavy commandment (do not murder). Jesus wanted His disciples to understand that God had not given them the freedom to customise His Word to their own liking.

As believers in Jesus, let’s internalise all of His teachings, not just the ones we like. When we accept and obey all of His Word, He empowers us to instinctively live out ‘thumbs-up’ obedience to what it says—even the difficult teachings. —Marvin Williams

2 Samuel 9:1-13 ‹

MORE
Read James 1:19-25.
What are the conse-quences of hearing but not obeying God’s Word? What are the results of hearing and obeying 
His Word? 
NEXT
To what parts of God’s Word do you tend to give a ‘thumbs up’ or a ‘thumbs down’? What needs to change in your heart so that you can obey all of Jesus’ teachings?
 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

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April 3, 2013 

READ: 1 John 4:7-21 

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. —1 John 4:11 

Love is the centerpiece of thriving relationships. Scripture makes it clear that we need to be people who love—love God with all our hearts, love our neighbor as ourselves, and love our enemies. But it’s hard to love when we don’t feel loved. Neglected children, spouses who feel ignored by their mates, and parents who are alienated from their children all know the heartache of a life that lacks love.

So, for everyone who longs to be loved, welcome to the pleasure of knowing that you are richly loved by God. Think of the profound impact of His love that was poured out for you at the cross. Meditate on the fact that if you’ve trusted in Him, His love covers your faults and failures and that you are clothed with His spotless righteousness (Rom. 3:22-24). Revel in the fact that nothing can separate you from His love (8:39). Embrace His loving provision of a future secured for you where you will be eternally loved (John 3:16).

When John tells us that we “ought to love one another,” he calls us the “beloved” (1 John 4:11; see also 3:1-2). Once you embrace how wonderfully loved you are by God, it will be much easier to be the loving person God calls you to be—even toward those who don’t show you love.

— Joe Stowell

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small:
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all. —Watts

Embracing God’s love for us is the key to loving others. 

ODJ: transforming grace


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April 3, 2013 

READ: Galatians 1:13-24 


All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!” (v.23).


At the start of the 1998 film Les Miserables, recently released convict Jean Valjean staggers into a small village. Cold, starving and out of options, Valjean receives a meal and lodging from a local bishop. During the night, however, Valjean repays the bishop’s kindness by running off with his host’s expensive silverware. He’s caught the next morning, but the bishop graciously saves him from being sent back to prison by claiming that the stolen silverware was a “gift”.

As he’s about to send Valjean off with even more silver valuables, the bishop looks him straight in the eye and says: “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil, but to good. With this silver I have bought your soul. I’ve ransomed you from fear and hatred. And now, I give you back to God.” The rest of the film goes on to reveal how the bishop’s extraordinary gesture of grace transforms the convict’s hardened heart and, in turn, how Valjean devotes his life to helping those who are in need.

Jean Valjean’s dramatic turnaround reminds me of the apostle Paul. Before he received Jesus, he too was a cruel and self-absorbed man—blind to the true things of God (Galatians 1:13-14). But an unexpected encounter with Jesus’ mercy and kindness completely transformed his life. He abandoned his mission to persecute Christians and make a name for himself (Acts 8:3), and he devoted his life to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:23).


Paul’s life illustrates that a life changed for the good is what naturally follows an encounter with the grace of God (Titus 3:4-5). Nothing has more power to transform self-centred people than a growing amazement for what God has rescued us from and for—to serve in His kingdom. —Jeff Olson


› 2 Samuel 5:1-12

MORE
Read Acts 28:30-31 and note what it says about Paul and his pursuits.
 
NEXT
What kingdom service has God called you to do? How has God’s grace transformed your life and pursuits?
 

(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)

ODB: Friendship

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April 2, 2013 

READ: 1 Samuel 23:14-18 

A friend loves at all times. —Proverbs 17:17 

Friendship is one of life’s greatest gifts. True friends seek a special kind of good for their friends: the highest good, which is that they might know God and love Him with all of their heart, soul, and mind. German pastor and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “The aim of friendship is exclusively determined by what God’s will is for the other person.”

Jonathan, David’s friend, is a sterling example of true friendship. David was in exile, hiding in the Desert of Ziph, when he learned that “Saul had come out to seek his life” (1 Sam. 23:15). Jonathan went to Horesh to find David. The significance of this scene lies in Jonathan’s intent: He helped David find strength in God or, as the text puts it, he “strengthened his hand [grip] in God” (v.16).

That is the essence of Christian friendship. Beyond common interests, beyond affection, beyond wit and laughter is the ultimate aim of sowing in others the words of eternal life, leaving them with reminders of God’s wisdom, refreshing their spirit with words of His love, and strengthening their grip on God.

Pray for your friends and ask God to give you a word “in season” to help them find renewed strength in our God and His Word.

— David H. Roper

Dear Lord, thank You for loving us. May Your love
compel us to show love to others. Give us
sensitivity to Your Spirit that we might know how
to encourage them in their walk with You.

A true friend is a gift from God
and one who points us back to Him.