ODJ: the benediction
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace (vv.24-26). READ: Numbers 6:22-27 In many churches, as part of the liturgy, the pastor closes the worship service with a benediction (good pronouncement) invoking God’s [...]
It’s All Worth It
By Hannah, 16, USA YMI note: Hannah wrote this article on her way to (place)*. She was reminiscing on the time spent with her old friends in the United States, while getting ready to make new ones. The song “With Everything” by Hillsongs United came on the car stereo and she started thinking about all [...]
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Loading ...ODB: Sign Language
May 22, 2011
READ: John 1:14-18
May the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all. —1 Thessalonians 3:12
A friend of mine pastors a church in a small mountain community not far from Boise, Idaho. The community is nestled in a wooded valley through which a pleasant little stream meanders. Behind the church and alongside the stream is a grove of willows, a length of grass, and a sandy beach. It’s an idyllic spot that has long been a place where members of the community gather to picnic.
One day, a man in the congregation expressed concern over the legal implications of “outsiders” using the property. “If someone is injured,” he said, “the church might be sued.” Though the elders were reluctant to take any action, the man convinced them that they should post a sign on the site informing visitors that this was private property. So the pastor posted a sign. It read: “Warning! Anyone using this beach may, at any moment, be surrounded by people who love you.” I read his sign the week after he put it up and was charmed. “Exactly,” I thought. “Once again grace has triumphed over law!”
This love for one’s neighbor springs from God’s kindness, forbearance, and patience with us. It’s not the law, but the goodness of God that draws men and women to repentance (Rom. 2:4) and to saving faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
— David H. Roper
Source: Our Daily Bread
(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: mediator
We [who believe] are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord (v.21).
READ: Ephesians 2:1-22
As a mom, I frequently have the opportunity to serve in high-risk negotiations in the prevention of “hostile takeovers.” Nearly 3 years apart, my children are as different as night and day. Though things can change at any given moment, they often play very well together. But when they disagree, it usually takes a third party for them to see any side other than their own. Because I love them both—and both bear my image—I don’t enjoy their arguments or hurtful words.
In the body of Christ, we sometimes don’t think twice before tearing down fellow believers. Whether it’s someone within our local church who has frustrated us or other believers who espouse nonessential beliefs different from our own, we are quick to draw territorial lines. Sadly, some cities can trace their church histories not through church planting but in divisional splits.
Like a parent mediating between two fighting children, the Holy Spirit is grieved when we speak harsh and critical words about other believers. While there is a time and place to denounce those who bring a false doctrine of salvation (Romans 16:17-18; Philippians 3:2; 2 Timothy 3:1-7), and though our disagreements with others can sharpen our understanding of the Word, our assessment of others’ doctrine must be based firmly on the Word and not our personal experience or preference.
Without Christ, we all stand accused (Eph.2:3). We didn’t earn His favor, nor did we earn our salvation. And in Him lies no distinction between denominations, family heritage, or liturgical structure (Gal. 3:28).
When it comes to bridging the differences in the body of Christ, Jesus is our Mediator, and we find common ground through His Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3-6,12-13). After all, He’s returning for a whole bride, not a collection of body parts.
—Regina Franklin
In what ways have you minimized the importance of other churches in your area? What can you do to change the way you talk about other believers (either within your church or other churches)?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Fresh Fruit
May 21, 2011
READ: Psalm 92
The righteous . . . shall still bear fruit in old age. —Psalm 92:12,14
I love the old photographs that are often printed on the obituary page of our local newspaper. A grinning young man in a military uniform and words such as: 92 years old, fought for his country in WWII. Or the young woman with sparkling eyes: 89 years young, grew up on a farm in Kansas during the Depression. The unspoken message is: “I wasn’t always old, you know.”
Too often, those who have had a long life feel sidelined when they reach their later years. Psalm 92, however, reminds us that no matter how old we are, we can have a fresh and fruitful life. Men and women who have been “planted” in the rich soil of God’s vineyard will continue to “bear fruit” and be “fresh and flourishing” (v.14). Jesus promised that “he who abides in Me, and I in him,” will continue to bear “much fruit” (John 15:5).
Yes, muscles may ache and joints may hurt, and life may slow down a bit. But inwardly we can be “renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).
I recently saw a T-shirt on a beautiful white-haired woman that said: “I’m not 80. I’m 18 with 62 years experience.” No matter how old we get, we can still be young at heart—but with the benefit of a well-lived lifetime of knowledge and wisdom.
— Cindy Hess Kasper
Source: Our Daily Bread
(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: woof, woof
They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud” (2 Peter 2:22).
READ: Romans 7:14-25
An Old Testament proverb says, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness” (Proverbs 26:11). And I’ll be the first to say, “Woof, woof.” More times than I care to admit, I foolishly feast on my own sinful puke—figuratively speaking. And it always leaves me (and others) feeling sick in the stomach.
What’s the deal? Why do I keep going back?
Apparently, I’m not the only one perplexed by this problem. Speaking about his own personal struggles with sin, the apostle Paul wrote, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate” (Romans 7:15). Paul goes on to say, “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me” (vv.21-23).
When we struggle with returning to our foolishness, let’s admit that believers in Christ are still prone to sin. Refusing to recognize this is simply another form of foolishness. The apostle John wrote, “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth” (1 John 1:8).
So the truth of the matter is this: sin is an ugly reality of life in a broken world. The upside is that we no longer have to be dominated by it. There is an answer! (Romans 7:25).
Paul also said that through our relationship with Jesus and by becoming more of who He intends us to be, we can gain victory over sin and its attempts to control our lives. —Jeff Olson
Where do you tend to foolishly return? What can you do to keep from repeating the same sins over and over again?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Humbly Receive
May 20, 2011
READ: James 1:13-22
Lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls. —James 1:21
While reading the first chapter of James, I was struck by the phrase “humbly accept the Word planted in you, which can save you” (v.21 NIV). A decision with which I’d been struggling came to mind, and I thought: I don’t need to read another book, attend another seminar, or ask another friend about this. I need to obey what the Bible tells me to do. My efforts to be better informed had become a means of resisting God’s instruction rather than receiving it.
James was writing to followers of Christ when he said: “Lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:21-22).
Bible scholar W. E. Vine said that the Greek word used here for receive means “deliberate and ready reception of what is offered.” Meekness is an attitude toward God “in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting.” A humble heart doesn’t fight against God or contend with Him.
God’s powerful Word, implanted in our hearts, is a trustworthy source of spiritual wisdom and strength. It’s available to all who will humbly receive it.
— David C. McCasland
Open your Bible prayerfully, read it carefully, and obey it joyfully.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: sacred spaces
His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him—though He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and move and exist (vv.27-28).
READ: Acts 17:16-34
A torii is a traditional Japanese gate typically painted brilliant red and found at the entrance of Shinto shrines and Japanese Buddhist temples devoted to particular gods. Adherents to those religions believe it marks the point where one leaves the secular world and enters the holy. A large and famous torii stands off the shore of Miyajima Island in the Hiroshima Prefecture of Japan. Visitors are informed it’s “sacred” space.
Sacred sites are common in most religions. Hindus trek to Varanasi, located on the banks of the Ganges River; neopagans make their pilgrimage to Stonehenge. A sacred space is where a god or spiritual power is thought to be unusually present.
To the Greeks of Athens, the apostle Paul stood on sacred ground as he spoke to them on the Areopagus (Mars Hill). With its links to the gods Mars and Ares, the hill also stands a stone’s throw away from the Parthenon—the temple of the goddess Athena. Among a plethora of gods, Paul had seized an opportunity to talk about another “unknown” God (Acts 17:23).
This God, Paul explained, was Creator and Lord of the whole world—rather than parts of it, like the Greek gods (v.24). Greece’s gods had limited powers, but this God controlled the destiny of each individual on the planet (vv.25-26). Greece’s gods had limited spheres of influence, but this God was literally everywhere (v.27).
Paul’s message is important for all believers in Jesus, for we have our own version of sacred space: the church sanctuary. We “meet” God there on Sunday morning and then head into the “secular” world on Monday. But if the one true God is present everywhere, then everywhere is sacred space.
And that makes your workplace, campus, and home a place of worship too.
—Sheridan Voysey
There’s nothing wrong with having a special place where you like to pray. But, in your mind, what’s the difference between such a place and a Japanese shrine?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Never Beyond Connection
By Irene Salomo, Indonesia I often use the software Skype to speak with my loved ones overseas. Hence, not being able to talk to them due to bad Internet connectivity is extremely unsettling. On days like these, technology can be quite a pain. Although this was not the first time that we had to deal [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Broken Relationships
May 19, 2011
READ: Philippians 4:2-7
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. —Philippians 2:3
Iwatched from my balcony as a 20-story apartment building was demolished. The demolition took barely a week to complete. In its place a new building is being constructed. It’s been months now, and despite construction activities going on nights and weekends, it is still incomplete. How much easier it is to tear down than to build up!
What is true for demolition and construction of buildings is also true for personal relationships. In Philippians 4:2, Paul wrote to two women in the church, saying, “I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.” The quarrel between these two women threatened to tear down the witness of the Philippian church if left unresolved. So Paul urged a “true companion” (v.3) to help rebuild that relationship.
Sadly, Christians do quarrel, but we should seek to “live peaceably” with all (Rom. 12:18). Unless our conflicts are resolved, the Christian witness so painstakingly built up can be destroyed. It takes much effort and time to reconcile broken relationships. But it is worth it. Like a new building rising from the ruins, reconciled believers can emerge stronger.
May we seek to build each other up through our words and actions today!
— C. P. Hia
Two Christians are better than one— when they’re one.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...
