ODB: it is my business
January 18, 2010 READ: Leviticus 19:11-18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge . . . , but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. —Leviticus 19:18 In 1955, when the South was still highly segregated, Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago, visited relatives in Mississippi. After Emmett “dared” to talk to [...]
ODJ: i’m alright, aren’t i?
See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know Him (v.1).
READ: 1 John 3:1-5
I was on the 436 bus heading into Sydney one morning when an older woman, wearing a faded floral dress, hobbled onto the bus and sat down next to me. We traveled for some time in silence. Then the floral lady did the most extraordinary thing. She turned, thrust her head in my face, and with her brown eyes bulging and her stained teeth bared, she cried, “I’m alright, aren’t I?”
I jumped.
“Well, of course you’re alright,” I said, lying.
“Some people think I’m funny in the head,” she replied.
“Now, why would they think that?” I asked. She said she didn’t know, then fell back into silence.
A few minutes later she crossed the aisle and sat next to the only other person on the bus. She turned to him and said, ”I’m alright, aren’t I?”
I wondered how many times that question would be asked that day. She longed for assurance so desperately that she sought it from any stranger in her path.
Am I alright? Am I acceptable? Am I lovable? All of us ask questions like these. The gospel says to all who embrace Jesus, to all who accept His sacrifice for their sins, that He will give the right to become children of God (John 1:12-13). “See how very much our Father loves us,” the apostle John exclaims, “for He calls us His children” (1 John 3:1).
You have a most profound identity in Jesus. God the Father has adopted you (Ephesians 1:5), given you His Spirit, and made you an heir to His inheritance (Galatians 4:6). You may be ridiculed and rejected, you may have little in the world’s eyes, yet God looks at you and says, “My child.”
“I’m alright, aren’t I?” we ask anxiously.
“In Me, yes, you are,” the Father replies.
And He isn’t lying. —Sheridan Voysey
How much do you relate to God as your Father, who shares His inheritance with you? As you go about your day, how will you remind yourself that you are your Father’s child?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
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Loading ...ODB: respect for life
January 17, 2010
READ: Psalm 139:13-16
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. —Psalm 139:14
In Psalm 139, David describes God as fashioning his tiny body together in the darkness of his mother’s womb. God loved David before he ever existed.
God designed the person David was to be, and He brought that person into being according to His predetermined plan. In this psalm, David used the intriguing metaphor of a journal in which God first wrote His plan and then brought that plan into fruition through His handiwork in the womb: “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written” (v.16).
Put another way, David was shaped by his heavenly Father’s love into a unique creation. He came from the inventive heart and hand of God. What was true of David is true of you. You are special—along with everyone else in the world.
This being true, we must be pro-life in the purest sense of the word. We are to respect and cherish all human life: the born and those still in the womb; winsome children and weary seniors; the wealthy executive and the financially destitute. All persons are unique productions of our Creator’s genius. With David, let’s exclaim: “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (139:14). — David H. Roper
All life is created by God and bears His autograph.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: a preventable tragedy
By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life (v.3).
READ: 2 Peter 1:3-11
Marvin Schur froze to death in his own house. The 93-year-old owed the power company $1,000. When he didn’t pay, the company limited his electric use, and 4 days later his frozen body was discovered. Two weeks after that, an attorney read Marvin’s will and announced that Marvin had bequeathed $600,000 to the local medical center.
Marvin’s death was doubly tragic. It’s horrible that an old man froze to death because the power company turned off his heat. It hurts even more to know that he could have easily paid the bill.
Like Marvin, many people needlessly suffer from a spiritual power outage. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection have provided everything they “need for living a godly life,” yet they never use their faith to tap into this resource.
Some groan beneath waves of guilt, unable to accept God’s forgiveness and to get on with their life. Others wallow in their suffering and abuse. They have so identified with their victim status that they’re unwilling to extend God’s forgiveness to those who have hurt them.
Like the unmerciful servant in Jesus’ parable, neither party appreciates that they have been forgiven “millions of dollars.” So they simmer in self-pity and lash out at anyone who owes them “a few thousand dollars” (Matthew 18:23-35).
Such graceless living is a flight from reality (2 Peter 1:9). The fact is that Jesus has entered our world and made His mercy available to all who will accept it.
Let’s stop pretending and join the real world. There’s plenty of grace in the bank. Enough to pay your debts and the debts of those who have sinned against you. —Mike Wittmer
Is it sin or a lack of faith that prevents you from accepting and passing on the grace of Jesus? What do you need to believe, and what do you need to do, to bask in God’s forgiveness?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: glory deflectors
January 16, 2010
READ: Acts 14:8-18
I will not give My glory to another. —Isaiah 48:11
Barbara Mertz has a complaint about Egypt’s Pharaoh Ramses II. In her book Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs, archaeologist Mertz writes, “One gets so tired of Ramses; his face, his figure, and/or his name are plastered over half the wall surfaces still standing in Egypt—at least it seems that way.” Insatiably thirsty for glory, Ramses reveled in Egyptian religion, which taught that the pharaoh was divine.
Contrast Ramses’ desire for glory with the attitude of Paul and Barnabas. On one of their missionary journeys, they faced a situation during which they refused to accept vainglory. When a crowd in the idolatrous city of Lystra saw them heal a crippled man, the people exclaimed, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” (Acts 14:11). They immediately prepared animals to sacrifice in honor of Paul and Barnabas. But the two quickly objected, saying, “We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God” (v.15).
We do not rival the apostles in our accomplishments for God, but we all have things we do for Him. It’s then that we must be “glory deflectors,” making sure God gets all the glory for everything we have done. — Dennis Fisher
Man’s greatest goal: Bringing glory to God.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: He still heals
Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord (v.14).
READ: James 5:13-18
Several years ago, a woman in our church received news that no pregnant mother wants to hear: “Your baby has Down syndrome.” The diagnosis was unnerving and the prognosis was bleak. The family called the elders to pray for healing. We had the privilege to anoint the mother and pray that God would supernaturally intervene. Several months later the mother delivered, and although the baby was born with Down’s, many of the conditions the doctors predicted did not come to pass.
James 5:14-16 is clear in its teaching about anointing and praying for the sick. James gave some choice principles to guide the believers’ thoughts, discussion, and practice of praying for the sick.
• They could and should pray for healing. James encouraged those who were sick to be anointed and prayed for. People should pray with confidence for complete healing until it is obvious that God has chosen to do otherwise.
• Elders, in a limited way, were given authority to act on behalf of Jesus. This does not mean that elders in the church have special healing powers or righteousness. It means they have a privilege and responsibility to pray for the sick in Jesus’ name.
• The oil had no special power. It is simply a sign to aid faith, or a symbol of the presence of the Holy Spirit—the One who provides healing, comfort, and assurance.
• God is sovereign. James wanted his audience to realize that God is not obligated to heal anyone.
God still heals supernaturally (and through natural means—using medicine and physicians). Our responsibility is to be obedient to Scripture and to pray for healing in faith and humility. —Marvin Williams
What did you believe about healing prior to reading this passage? How does the fact that God is sovereign affect the way you will pray for people who are sick?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: a second chance
January 15, 2010
READ: Lamentations 3:22-33
His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. —Lamentations 3:22-23
A year ago today, 155 people on US Airways Flight 1549 thought they were going to die. During take-off from New York City, their plane struck a flock of geese, disabling both engines. In a powerless glide, the captain maneuvered over the densely populated area, then announced: “Brace for impact.” Less than 90 seconds later, the crippled plane made a water landing in the frigid Hudson River, where boats and ferries quickly arrived to rescue the passengers and crew, all of whom survived. People called it the “miracle on the Hudson” and praised the pilot and crew. One grateful passenger said simply, “We have a second chance in life.”
In times of crisis, we grasp the importance of every hour. During our ordinary routine, however, we often forget that each day is a second chance. “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I hope in Him!’ ” (Lam. 3:22-24).
We can choose to live with thankfulness for God’s mercy and grace, with confidence in His faithful care, and with hope because He is with us forever. Today, God offers us a second chance in life. Let’s make the most of it! — David C. McCasland
Our God is a God of second chances.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...praying for haiti
The news of the devastation caused by the magnitude-7.0 earthquake in Haiti has caused me to call out to God in prayer. I grieve the loss of life and the painful injuries sustained by so many people. As I’ve been praying for all the people affected, one young woman named Cathy—a friend our family who [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: staying seated
Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers (v.14).
READ: 2 Corinthians 6:14-17
The train car was packed with highly irritated people. We should have pulled into our station four hours earlier, but the train’s engine was stopped dead in a distant city. Exasperated, my husband and I cooked up a plan to get off the train, find a rental car agency, and drive the rest of the way home. We wanted to do something, anything but remain in our seats and wait.
The frustration of waiting sometimes compels us to take matters into our own hands—especially in matters of dating and marriage. The danger comes when we lower our standards instead of “staying seated” and waiting for God’s best.
Paul’s warning to the Corinthian believers can save us a lot of heartache if we apply it to our dating lives. He said, “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 6:14).
If you’re like me, you probably know some really nice people who think Jesus is just one of many ways to heaven. God calls us, however, to “come out from among unbelievers, and separate [our]selves from them” (v.17). So considering marriage with someone who doesn’t know Jesus is one sign that we should definitely stay seated.
When it comes to dating, we also need to avoid so-called believers who consistently act like people with no spiritual conscience. Paul advised us not to get involved with “anyone who claims to be a believer, yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people” (1 Corinthians 5:11). As tough as it is, we need to avoid romantic involvement with people who don’t walk the walk.
While no one likes to wait, it’s worth it to honor God’s standards for marriage. By doing so, you’ll be able to leap from your seat and run down the aisle if God leads you there. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt
If you’re single, what changes, if any, is God asking you to make in your dating habits? Why is it important for a believer to marry another Christian who is walking closely with God? If you’re married, what marital advice could you give the singles
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODB: the sin buildup
January 14, 2010
READ: 1 John 1:5-10
We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. —2 Corinthians 4:7
For hundreds of years, windmills around the world have been used to pump water and to process grains. But in the last few decades, as wind turbines producing electricity have become more prevalent, a “fly in the ointment” unexpectedly occurred.
Researchers discovered that windpower generators worked fine at slow speeds, but at high-wind velocity, bugs on the blades reduced power output. Operators found that it was necessary to regularly wash off the buildup of dead insects to avoid having them slowly decrease the turbine’s power.
A buildup of sin in a Christian’s life can be a problem as well. God has provided a way to clear the accumulation of sins from our lives. First John 1:9 reminds us: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” But unless we do that often, we’ll be running on diminished power. That’s because the power for living comes from God and not us (2 Cor. 4:7). When we try to live the Christian life in our own strength, we’ll feel defeated—like windmills robbed of their energy.
God’s power can be more easily seen and experienced in our lives when we get rid of sin’s buildup every day. — Cindy Hess Kasper
Sin drains our spiritual power; confession restores it.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...
