ODB: imagine that!
February 25, 2010 READ: 2 Peter 1:16-21 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, . . . rightly dividing the Word of truth. —2 Timothy 2:15 My friends and I were anticipating a contemplative time looking at a collection of artwork about the prodigal son who returned home to a forgiving father (Luke 15). [...]
Love Works Wonders
By Julian Abraham Chua, 20, Singapore Love can work wonders. It could keep the poor and destitute alive through the generous giving of strangers. Similarly, because of God’s great love for us, we became the beneficiary of a great wonder. God “demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ [...]
(13 votes, average: 4.69 out of 5)
Loading ...ODJ: forgiven and forgiving
Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others (Colossians 3:13).
READ: Matthew 18:23-35
In Matthew 6:12, Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” Jesus immediately explained why we must forgive those who have wronged us (vv.14-15). And He later illustrated it with a parable (Matthew 18:23-35).
How much did the first servant owe the master? Ten thousand talents (v.24 NIV). One talent was the equivalent of 20 years’ wages for an average worker. It would have taken 200,000 years for the servant to earn 10,000 talents. Although the servant promised to pay back everything (v.26), this was an impossible debt to repay. So “his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt” (v.27).
How much did the fellow servant owe the first servant? One hundred denarii (v.28 NIV). Equivalent to 20 weeks of common labor. This debt could be repaid within 5 months. The fellow servant begged for some time to pay back this debt, but the first servant refused and had him put in prison instead (vv.29-30).
You are a free person. Jesus has set you free. But when you refuse to forgive, you become a prisoner again. A prisoner of your own unforgiveness. A prisoner of your own bitterness. A prisoner of sin again (vv.32-34). The worst kind of prison is the prison of an unforgiving heart.
In his book The Lord and His Prayer, N. T. Wright wrote: “Failure to forgive wasn’t a matter of failing to live up to a new bit of moral teaching. It was cutting off the branch you were sitting on. The only reason for being kingdom-people, for being Jesus’ people, was that the forgiveness of sins was happening; so if you didn’t live forgiveness, you were denying the very basis of your own new existence.”
If we are truly forgiven, we will be forgiving. —K.T. Sim
Is there someone you find hard to forgive? What will you do today to forgive this person based on God’s forgiveness of you?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODB: being real
February 24, 2010
READ: 2 Corinthians 6:3-11
In all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses. —2 Corinthians 6:4
An antique dealer thought the wrinkled old baseball card she found might be worth $10. After posting it on eBay, she began to wonder if it might be more valuable than she had thought. She removed the posting and consulted a professional evaluator who confirmed that the photo on the 1869 card showed the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional baseball team in the US. The card sold for more than $75,000.
Mike Osegueda’s article in The Fresno Bee said that even though the card was creased and discolored, the most important thing was its authenticity—it was real.
Paul and his companions suffered greatly while spreading the gospel. In 2 Corinthians 6, he listed their outward trials, their inward traits, and their spiritual resources (vv.4-7). Try to imagine the circumstances in which all these things interacted—beatings, patience, prison, kindness, distresses, love. Although broken physically, depleted emotionally, and tested spiritually, the authenticity of their faith in Christ clearly shone through. “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things” (v.10).
In our walk with Christ, there’s no substitute for spiritual authenticity—being real. — David C. McCasland
There’s no substitute for being real.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Why Are Close Friendships Especially Difficult in Church?
By Poh Fang Chia Someone once asked me, “I’ve been in this church for more than six years. But I can’t name a single close friend. Why is it that we could spend innumerous time together in church, camps and Bible-study group, yet not forge any genuine friendship with anyone?” Perhaps, you have the same [...]
(4 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: running on empty
But Jesus said, “You feed them” (v.37).
READ: Mark 6:30-38
My boss and I were driving back from a neighboring town late one night when our car rolled to a stop. “We’re out of gas,” she said. There was a gas station about a quarter of a mile away, so we shrugged into our coats, shoved the doors open, and started walking.
If you’ve ever been low on fuel, you know it’s impossible to keep moving for very long. You might be able to coast for a while, but you can’t run on empty forever.
Jesus recognized the disciples’ need to refuel when He suggested, “Let’s go off by ourselves . . . and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31). His band of do-gooders had just come back from a ministry tour, but things were so hectic that Jesus and His apostles didn’t even have time to grab lunch before a crowd formed. Jesus decided to hold an impromptu seminar, teaching them “many things.”
After a while, the disciples said, “It’s getting late. Send the people away so they can get something to eat.” Jesus’ response? “You feed them” (v.37). He knew His crew was tired and hungry, that it was late, and that they were broke. The disciples sassed back, “With what?”
Maybe you’re wondering the same thing. Fortunately, Jesus wasn’t setting the disciples up to fail—and like them, He won’t ask us to help people in His name without enabling us to follow through. Jesus “knows how weak we are; He remembers that we are only dust” (Psalm 103:14).
Sometimes though, He allows us to run on empty for a while, until we recognize that He is the ultimate fuel source for our ministry. Without Him, we can’t keep going, but with Him we “can do everything through Christ who gives [us] strength” (Philippians 4:13). —Jennifer Benson Schuldt
If Jesus has allowed you to come to a place in ministry where you feel depleted, what do you think He wants to show you? What’s the relationship between Jesus’ sufficiency and our ministry needs?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...A Conversation Between Two Friends
By Nii Sapei, 19-year-old, Ghana Tano : I don’t believe in God, even if He does exist. Kofi : Oh! Why? Tano : Coz’ if there is a God, He won’t allow all the evils in the world to continue. If He had such power, He could just end it all. Kofi : Mmmm. But [...]
(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5) Loading ...ODB: foreign worship
February 23, 2010
READ: Acts 17:16-31
“[Paul] seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus. —Acts 17:18
During a trip to the Far East, I visited an unusual shrine made up of hundreds of statues. According to our guide, worshipers would pick the statue that looked the most like an ancestor and pray to it.
A few years ago, I read about a student named Le Thai. An ancestor worshiper, he found great comfort in praying to his deceased grandmother. Because he was praying to someone he knew and loved, he found this to be personal and intimate.
But when he came from Vietnam to the US to study, Le Thai was introduced to Christianity. It sounded like a fairy tale based on American thinking. To him, it was the worship of a foreign God (see Acts 17:18).
Then a Christian friend invited him to visit his home on Christmas. He saw a Christian family in action and heard again the story of Jesus. Le Thai listened. He read John 3 about being “born again” and asked questions. He began to feel the pull of the Holy Spirit. Finally, he realized that Christianity was true. He trusted Jesus as his personal Savior.
When friends see Christianity as foreign worship, we need to respect their heritage while sharing the gospel graciously and giving them time to explore Christianity. And then trust the Spirit to do His work. — Dave Branon
God is the only true God.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: remember our manna
Put [the manna] in a sacred place before the Lord to preserve it for all future generations (v.33).
READ: Exodus 16
We’ve been gone from South Carolina only for a year, but our boys have already begun to forget. A couple of weeks ago, we took a trip to our old town. We drove through our neighborhood and saw the steep hill where they rode their bikes, screaming all the way down. We saw the spot where we always stopped on our springtime walks to snag honeysuckle. The boys, wide-eyed, kept saying, “Oh, I remember! I remember that!”
I believe remembering is one of the most important things we do as humans. In order to remember who we are, we need to remember where we’ve come from and what we’ve experienced up to now.
For Israel, their national identity was replete with stories of how their God had delivered and rescued and provided (and, yes, judged). The Exodus narrative tells how God pried Pharaoh’s hand free from His people and walked them out of Egypt. God opened up the sea, led His people with a fiery pillar (Exodus 14) and turned bitter water sweet (Exodus 15). And, perhaps most astonishingly, “rain[ed] down food from heaven” (16:4). They called it manna.
Despite God’s miraculous intervention, the people often doubted whether God would provide what they needed. When the people were hungry, they complained. And so God graciously sent them food—food that would fall from the sky. Every day, they had all they needed (v.12).
God insisted, however, that they save some manna as part of their holy items. He was concerned that future generations would forget what had been provided. When their grandchildren would ask about what the strange wafers were in the jar, they could say with gratitude and hope, “Ah, I remember.”
—Winn Collier
What God-moments do you most need to remember? What practices do you need to put in place so that you do remember?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Friends
By Cioloca Tabita, 16, Romania When I saw the announcement that invites us to share our thoughts on the subject of friends and love, I told myself to give it a shot. Why? I do not have that many friends as to be an expert on this subject, but I have one Friend that counts [...]
(7 votes, average: 4.14 out of 5) Loading ...
