ODB: God’s remarkable word
December 15, 2009 READ: Psalm 119:89-96 Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven. —Psalm 119:89 The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 has been called the greatest archaeological find of the 20th century. The ancient manuscripts hidden in the caves near Qumran are the oldest known copies of key Old Testament [...]
Your choice – To be close or distant?
By Cindy Tan, Malaysia Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long (Ps 25:4-5). The Psalms have a way of capturing the reality of our human experience. Often, we could [...]
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...ODJ: watching your wait
The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? (v.1).
READ: Psalm 27
A Fitness magazine poll of 1,000 women found that women are willing to take drastic steps to reach their ideal weight: Twenty-three percent said they would spend a week in jail. Twenty-three percent would shave their head. Twenty-two percent would wear a bikini on TV. Twenty-one percent would trade 10 years of their life to lose some pounds.
It’s apparent that some people are obsessed with their weight. And just as these women are concerned about watching their weight, there’s a different “wait” that God calls His children to keep their eyes on.
In Psalm 27, David watched his “wait” by taking a power step of renewal (v.14). He renewed his confidence in God’s attributes. In the first verse, he declared that God was his light. David shed pounds of fear and doubt when he recognized the brilliant, divine light of God’s character. The light of God’s holy nature gave David strength to wait with unswerving faith.
David also affirmed that God was his salvation (v.1). This means that, even though God did not deliver him from every distress, David believed that God could provide physical and spiritual deliverance from present and future dangers (vv.2-3).
Finally, David declared that God was his fortress (v.1). He waited on God for deliverance, for God alone could keep him safe in dangerous situations. David watched his wait through unswerving confidence in God Himself (v.5).
We can experience this confidence! Let’s watch our wait today by taking time to exercise new truths we’ve learned about God and tone up what we already know about Him as found in God’s Word (v.11). When these truths become part of our everyday exercise routine, God will give us the power to work through our circumstances with confidence in Him. —Marvin Williams
What causes you to run ahead of God? While you wait on God, which of His attributes do you need to reaffirm today?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Joy of Christmas: All is well in the hands of God
Submitted by Pamela Bong, 15, Malaysia Photograph & Text by Pamela Bong
(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODB: warning lights
December 14, 2009
READ: Joel 2:12-17
“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” —Joel 2:12
I didn’t think that the hesitation in my car engine and that little yellow “check engine” light on my dashboard really needed my immediate attention. I sang it away, saying that I would get to it tomorrow. However, the next morning when I turned the key to start my car, it wouldn’t start. My first reaction was frustration, knowing that this would mean money, time, and inconvenience. My second thought was more of a resolution: I need to pay attention to warning lights that are trying to get my attention—they can mean something is wrong.
In Joel 2:12-17, we read that God used the prophet Joel to encourage His people to pay attention to the warning light on their spiritual dashboard. Prosperity had caused them to become complacent and negligent in their commitment to the Lord. Their faith had degenerated into empty formalism and their lives into moral bankruptcy. So God sent a locust plague to ruin crops in order to get His people’s attention, causing them to change their behavior and turn to Him with their whole heart.
What warning lights are flashing in your life? What needs to be tuned up or repaired through confession and repentance? — Marvin Williams
Conviction is God’s warning light.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: undefiled
God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin (v.3).
READ: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7
My husband and I have enjoyed ministering to young people for the past 15 years. So as I read the local wedding announcements, I often see the names and faces of former students who used to be in our church’s youth group. One day, while reading a random announcement of a couple I didn’t recognize, I became even more aware of the brokenness of our society. The picture of the happy couple seemed to deny any consequences of their having celebrated their honeymoon 3 months prior to their wedding.
Sadly, sex outside of marriage has become the norm, even within the church. We have our justifications, telling ourselves that sexual sin is okay because we deserve to be happy or that we’re going to get married soon anyway. Thinking we know more than God, we’ve made our own rules and broken His commands. The result continues to be disastrous—especially because forbidden sin feels good.
Our flesh wants all the benefits of sexual pleasure without the boundaries of God’s Word, but Hebrews 13:4 says, “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled” (NASB). Sexual purity goes beyond the body to the heart (1 Corinthians 6:18-20). Are we willing to trust God’s standards because we’re confident of His love? Or will we do things our way because His way seems unfair or too hard?
God designed sex to be something good (Genesis 2:24), and the honor of a man and the beauty of a woman radiates from his or her choice “not to awaken love until the time is right” (Song of Solomon 2:7). The world says whenever, but God says only within marriage. Our actions reveal whether we believe Him or not. —Regina Franklin
In what ways do we try to get around God’s rules about sex? Why must our motivation to avoid sexual impurity be greater than our fear of the consequences?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODB: a time for readjustment
December 13, 2009
READ: Leviticus 25:1-7
In the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land. —Leviticus 25:4
The earth’s solar orbit takes 365 and a quarter days. Because of this, every 4 years an extra day is added to the calendar so we don’t fall behind in the natural cycle of things. Each leap year we add that day onto the end of February. In this way, the calendar is readjusted to the astronomical timetable.
In the calendar of ancient Israel, God set up a remarkable means of readjusting things. Just as mankind was commanded to rest every seventh day (Ex. 20:8-10), so the land was to be allowed to rest during the seventh year (Lev. 25:4). This sabbatical year allowed the farmland to replenish for greater fertility. In addition, debts were canceled (Deut. 15:1-11) and Hebrew slaves were set free (vv.12-18).
With our busy schedules and our hectic pace of life, we too need readjustment. Demands of work, family, and church can require reevaluation. One way we do that is by observing the sabbath principle—making sure to set aside time to rest and prayerfully refocus our priorities. Jesus, for example, went “to a solitary place; and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35).
When can you pull aside from your activities and prayerfully ask God to reset your spiritual calendar to His Word and His will? Is it time for a readjustment? — Dennis Fisher
To make the most of your time, take time to pray.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: sowing seed with tears
December 12, 2009
READ: Ephesians 4:17-24
I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. —Romans 9:2
In our Bible-study class, we were reading Ephesians 4:17-24 out loud when Alyssa began to cry. Most of us were wondering why, when she quietly said, “I’m crying because hearing this passage read out loud makes me see the condition that lost people are in. They’re separated from God and are blind to it! That breaks my heart.”
One person in the class admitted later that he was embarrassed he had never felt that sad about nonbelievers and had in the past even talked excitedly about the judgment they would receive one day from God.
The apostle Paul laid out the condition of the lost with these words: “[They have] their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God . . . because of the blindness of their heart” (Eph. 4:18). He testified that he had “great sorrow and continual grief in [his] heart” because his fellow countrymen had not yet come to know the love of Christ (Rom. 9:1-3).
As we think about the condition of nonbelievers, we can remember God’s heart toward them: “The Lord is . . . longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). When we share the Word of God and pray earnestly for others, eyes will be opened to His love. — Anne Cetas
Open your heart to the Lord, and He will open your eyes to the lost.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: up in smoke
Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? (v.4).
READ: James 4:1-10
When a photo of Michael Phelps inhaling from a marijuana pipe was released to the media earlier this year, it was a sad day for him and his fans around the world. The squeaky-clean image of the sensational swimmer—winner of 8 gold medals in the 2008 Olympic Games—was immediately tarnished. His pure and spotless public persona literally went up in smoke.
Michael did everything right in striving to atone for his actions—apologizing publicly for his “regrettable behavior” and “bad judgment.” But the damage had been done. A poor choice had cost him greatly.
In James 4, the writer presents some strong words for believers in Jesus who make the poor choice of embracing sin. By being a friend of the world, we become an enemy of God (v.4). James says that we are “adulterers” when we buy the world’s values and go after what it offers. (See also Hosea 2:2-5.) Instead, Jesus calls us to be His loving and faithful bride who doesn’t turn away from Him for a moment of worldly pleasure (Ephesians 5:23-32).
Have you been entertaining thoughts of leaving Jesus’ side to experience a dance with the devil? Take these words to heart: “Humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you” (James 4:7-8).
By repenting and turning to Jesus, we can experience a purified heart and renewed loyalty of relationship with Him (v.8). As we bow before Jesus, dropping our sins and poor choices at His feet, we experience His presence as He lifts us “up in honor” (v.10).
Before you make a move away from God, consider the cost. What will go “up in smoke” if you go after sin? —Tom Felten
What happens to our fellowship with Jesus when we choose to sin? How can we avoid a momentary lapse that will result in long-term devastation?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...The Joy of Christmas
Submitted by Herbling R David, Kenya
(2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...
