ODJ: game over
Then Delilah pouted, “How can you tell me ‘I love you’ when you don’t share your secrets with me?” (v.15). READ: Judges 16:15-19 Some Japanese girls are all ga-ga for boyfriends who don’t really exist. An online dating simulation game called “Webkare” allows girls to choose a virtual guy to pursue online. They [...]
ODB: good riddance!
December 27, 2009
READ: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
My grace is sufficient for you. —2 Corinthians 12:9
A shredder ate hundreds of pieces of paper and other items in New York City on December 28 last year. Organizers of the second annual “Good Riddance Day” encouraged people to bring to Times Square their bad memories and suffering of 2008 and feed them into the industrial-strength shredder or toss them into an extra-large dumpster.
Some participants shredded pieces of paper with the words “the stock market” or “cancer.” Others destroyed bank statements, and one person shredded a printed e-mail from a boyfriend who broke up with her.
We long to “shred” memories of bad things that others have done to us or difficult circumstances we’re going through. The apostle Paul wanted relief from his present suffering, an infirmity that made him feel weak (2 Cor. 12:7-10). But God said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” God didn’t take away the problem. Instead, He gave Paul the grace to live with it.
Difficulties burden us as we mull them over in our minds, affecting our relationships and our outlook on life. We as believers in Christ have a place to take these burdens. First Peter 5:7 tells us, “[Cast] all your care upon [the Lord], for He cares for you.” — Anne Cetas
God gives enough grace for whatever we face.
Source: Our Daily Bread
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Loading ...ODJ: tools of the faith
Search for the Lord and for His strength; continually seek Him (v.4).
READ: Psalm 105:1-4
In his book Play Ball, former Major League Baseball All-Star Dave Dravecky says some athletes are known around the league as “complete packages” or “franchise players.” Former MLB Manager Leo “The Lip” Durocher said, “These are the athletes coaches look for, the ones that have exceptional abilities to run, catch, throw, hit for distance, and hit for average.”
Dravecky draws from this baseball analogy to suggest that a “five-tool” Christian is someone who:
• Makes God’s Word a priority. “Don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says” (James 1:22).
• Knows he can’t grow without the fellowship of believers. “Standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News” (Philippians 1:27).
• Prays regularly. “Pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done” (Philippians 4:6; Psalm 105:4).
• Talks about his relationship with Christ to others, when appropriate. “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done. . . . Tell everyone about His wonderful deeds” (Psalm 105:1-2).
• Stays humble and loves others the way Christ loves us. “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. . . . You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” (Philippians 2:3-5).
Dravecky concludes, “Baseball players must make the best of whatever tools they have been given. Only a select few are born every generation with the ability to be five-tool players. Christians, on the other hand, can be five-tool followers of Christ every time they step inside the lines. Why should we choose to be average?” —Roxanne Robbins
Review the points that Dave Dravecky says comprise a “five-tool Christian.” How can you make these characteristics a greater part of your life?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: the hope that banishes hopelessness
December 26, 2009
READ: Philippians 2:5-11
God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. —Galatians 6:14
When atheistic communism was a world-menacing power, it proclaimed that there is no God and that faith in any future life is a deceptive illusion. Leonid Brezhnev had been the Soviet dictator, the embodiment of Marxist unbelief. But something happened at his funeral that contradicted atheism. George H. W. Bush, then vice president of the US, was the country’s official representative at the solemn, formal ceremony.
He reported that while the casket was still open, Brezhnev’s widow stared motionless at her husband’s body. And just before the soldiers were about to close the lid, she reached inside and made the sign of the cross over his chest. What a desperate and significant gesture! That widow evidently hoped that what her husband had vehemently denied might somehow be true.
Thankfully, we can have hope beyond this earthly life! All we need to do is embrace by faith the saving message of the cross: Jesus died for our sins and rose again so that we might live eternally with Him. Do you believe? Then join with the apostle Paul in affirming that “we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe” (1 Tim. 4:10). — Vernon C. Grounds
Calvary’s cross is the only bridge to eternal life.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: what’s in a name?
She will have a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (v.21).
READ: Matthew 1:18-25
Babies may be small, but preparing and caring for one requires some big things: Fixing up his or her room. Buying a crib, baby clothes, and toys. And one biggie is deciding what to name the little bundle of joy. This is not always an easy task, for most parents want to select names that both sound good and possess special meaning. Joseph and Mary, however, didn’t have to sweat choosing the name that was just right for their first son. Joseph was supernaturally given the perfect choice: “Jesus” (Matthew 1:21).
Two names, in fact, were given to the baby: “Jesus” and “Immanuel” (v.23). Someone once said that “Jesus” describes His purpose—what He came to do; and “Immanuel” describes His nature—who He really is. Let’s take a closer look at the name Jesus.
Jesus, the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, means “Jehovah is salvation” or “The Lord saves.” Jesus was born so that He could die to save us from our sins (v.21).
When asked, “What is the meaning of Christmas?” a young woman shopping for Christmas presents sheepishly responded, “I don’t know. Is that the day Jesus died?” She couldn’t have been more wrong and right! That precious little body, fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb (vv.18,21), would one day be “flogged with a lead-tipped whip,” exposing raw flesh and blood (Matthew 27:26). The head of that beautiful infant would one day have a crown of thorns thrust onto it (v.29). Those adorable feet would one day walk up the dusty road leading to Golgotha (vv.31-33). Those tiny hands would be pierced one day by nails driven into a cross (Matthew 27:35).
Jesus saves. What a beautiful name! —K.T. Sim
Is it right to link Christmas with Good Friday? How does Christmas find its fulfillment and full meaning in that day?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Mary’s Christmas
December 25, 2009
READ: Luke 1:26-33; 2:4-7
Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. —Luke 2:19
It was anything but an idyllic, silent night on that cool Bethlehem evening when a scared teenager gave birth to the King of kings. Mary endured the pain of her baby’s arrival without the aid of anything more than the carpentry-roughened hands of Joseph, her betrothed. Shepherds may have been serenaded in nearby fields by angels singing praises to the Baby, but all Mary and Joseph heard were the sounds of animals, birth agony, and the first cries of God in baby form. A high-magnitude star shone in the night sky above the outbuilding, but the manger scene was a dreary place for these two out-of-town visitors.
As Joseph laid the infant in Mary’s arms, a combination of wonder, pain, fear, and joy must have coursed through her heart. She knew, because of an angel’s promise, that this tiny bundle was “the Son of the Highest” (Luke 1:32). As she peered through the semidarkness into His eyes and then into Joseph’s, she must have wondered how she was going to mother this One whose kingdom would never end.
Mary had much to ponder in her heart on that special night. Now, over 2,000 years later, each of us needs to consider the importance of Jesus’ birth and His subsequent death, resurrection, and promise to return. — Dave Branon
God came to live with us so that we could live with Him.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...The Perfect Gift
By Cindy Tan, Malaysia Jesus Christ was conceived miraculously by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. His life was unique. As a man, He lived in our world yet He was without sin. His death was also unusual. He died but the grave could not keep Him there. He rose from the dead. [...]
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: this Christmas child
She gave birth to her first child, a Son. She wrapped Him snugly in strips of cloth and laid Him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them (v.7).
READ: Luke 2:1-12
Watch Him. Watch Him. Watch this Child, who grows into a boy, who grows into a man and is found to be so much more.
Watch as He is born—among shepherds and angels and bright lights in the sky. Watch as He grows in favor and stature—as a youngster asking questions, giving answers, astounding teachers. Watch Him in the desert—a young man in prayer, with hunger and thirst and a calling from heaven.
Watch this strange northerner—with His calloused hands and radical ways—who grew up in “pagan” Galilee, whose brothers once thought Him unbalanced, and whose neighbors once drove Him out of town. Yet watch His authority, His acceptance, His patience. Watch Him touch the leper, heal the diseased, cleanse the impure. Watch Him teach the crowds to forgive and pray always.
Watch Him as He kneels—in a garden, and in anguish. “Father, if You are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine” (Luke 22:42). Radical submission to a heavenly plan.
Watch as the Son of God is betrayed with a kiss. Watch as they arrest Him and His closest friends flee. Watch as He submits to a fate sketched before time. Watch as they spit on Him and hit Him and crucify Him on a tree.
Watch as one final breath slips from His lips—the sins of the world on the shoulders of one man. Then watch, yes watch, as the stone is rolled away; an empty tomb filled with hope, for He rose again!
Then watch as His name and His fame fills the world.
This God, this Man, this Boy. This Christmas Child. —Sheridan Voysey
Jesus grew up in Nazareth, Galilee, a region often despised as “pagan” by strict Jews of the time because of its Gentile population. Why is it significant that Jesus came from such a place?
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(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODB: God’s special place
December 24, 2009
READ: Luke 2:1-7
[Mary] brought forth her firstborn Son, . . . and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. —Luke 2:7
As a young girl in the late 1920s, Grace Ditmanson Adams often traveled with her missionary parents through inland China. Later, she wrote about those trips and the crowded places where they stayed overnight—village inns full of people coughing, sneezing, and smoking, while babies cried and children complained. Her family put their bedrolls on board-covered trestles in a large room with everyone else.
One snowy night, they arrived at an inn to find it packed full. The innkeeper expressed his regret, then paused and said, “Follow me.” He led them to a side room used to store straw and farm equipment. There they slept in a quiet place of their own.
After that, whenever Grace read that Mary “brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7), she saw the event differently. While some described the innkeeper as an example of uncaring, sinful mankind who rejected the Savior, Grace said, “I truly believe that Almighty God used the innkeeper as the arranger for a healthier place than the crowded inn—a place of privacy.”
Through eyes of faith, we see God’s provision for Mary. Look for the ways He provides for you. — David C. McCasland
Those who let God provide will be satisfied.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Please Call Back Later
By Eugene Seah, 22, Singapore “I ought to start earning a salary to put food on the table” and “I ought to secure a stable job and lighten my aged parents’ financial burden” are thoughts that could deter many Christians from responding to the call to full-time ministry. These concerns are especially pronounced for a [...]
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