ODB: Lost And Found
June 30, 2011 READ: Luke 15:1-10 Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost! —Luke 15:6 Until the day I was found, I didn’t know I was lost. I was going about business as usual, moving from task to task, distraction to distraction. But then I received an e-mail with the [...]
A Day at School with Cheerleaders and Cotton Candy
By Ian Gustafson, 19, USA Loud music boomed from the nearby speakers, and dozens of sports were being played left and right. Representatives from clubs, organizations, and sports teams hounded the student body, doing their best to get the freshmen involved in one thing or another. Such is the scene of any university or college [...]
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Loading ...ODJ: salty flavor
You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless (v.13).
READ: Matthew 5:13-16
In his book Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, George Barna reveals this interesting research statistic: Children are eight times more likely to accept Jesus as their Savior than teenagers and adults.
Barna’s findings are important. Along with the practical implication of needing to present God’s truth to the young, it made me wonder if we shouldn’t take a step back and consider why there’s such a significant drop in the percentage of teenagers and adults coming to faith in Christ. Obviously, the fact that they’re not as open-minded as children is a big part of the reason. Still, I’m wondering if the drop-off isn’t partly due to a misunderstanding of what it means to be the “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13).
Salt has many uses. But what did Jesus have in mind? The Christian circles I grew up in interpreted salt to be a preservative. From this I was taught that our role is to be the moral police force and preserve morality in our culture. But if you listen to Jesus’ own words, it’s plain to see that He meant something entirely different—“But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor?” (v.13).
To be salty, as Jesus intended, is to add flavor. It is about enhancing taste, leaving others wanting more. God may call some of us to speak against immorality in terms of the harm it causes others. But I wonder how many of us wag our fingers at the depravity of our world to such a harsh degree that it keeps us from lifting up what life with Jesus has to offer in its place?
Jesus, free us to offer a tasty sampling of Your real life that will leave teens and adults wanting more of all that is found in You. —Jeff Olson
What are some tangible ways you can live a more “salty” life? How will you flavor your relationships with God’s reality today?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: No Hope But God
June 29, 2011
READ: Romans 5:1-5
But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. —Romans 8:25
In his book Through the Valley of the Kwai, Scottish officer Ernest Gordon wrote of his years as a prisoner of war during World War II. The 6' 2" man suffered from malaria, diphtheria, typhoid, beriberi, dysentery, and jungle ulcers, and the hard labor and scarcity of food quickly plunged his weight to less than 100 pounds.
The squalor of the prison hospital prompted a desperate Ernest to request to be moved to a cleaner place—the morgue. Lying in the dirt of the death house, he waited to die. But every day, a fellow prisoner came to wash his wounds and to encourage him to eat part of his own rations. As the quiet and unassuming Dusty Miller nursed Ernest back to health, he talked with the agnostic Scotsman of his own strong faith in God and showed him that—even in the midst of suffering—there is hope.
The hope we read about in Scripture is not a vague, wishy-washy optimism. Instead, biblical hope is a strong and confident expectation that what God has promised in His Word He will accomplish. Tribulation is often the catalyst that produces perseverance, character, and finally, hope (Rom. 5:3-4).
Seventy years ago, in a brutal POW camp, Ernest Gordon learned this truth himself and said, “Faith thrives when there is no hope but God” (see Rom. 8:24-25).
— Cindy Hess Kasper
Christ, the Rock, is our sure hope.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: the xy factor
The Lord will march forth like a mighty hero; He will come out like a warrior, full of fury. He will shout His battle cry and crush all His enemies (v.13)
READ: Isaiah 42:1-13
Strategy games have never been my desire on game night. I remember the first time my husband taught me how to play RISK. Being a strong melancholy woman, I was devastated when after 2 hours of playing I had only a handful of soldiers to show for my efforts. In contrast, my husband had amassed a huge army—wiping me off the board in his campaign to conquer every continent. I think I’ll be content with playing Scrabble; I’ll let my hubby and others contend for world domination.
Satan and his forces work hard to emasculate the warrior heart of every man—promoting the lies that men must be like women or by taking men prisoner through pornography. Unsure of what real strength looks like, many men subconsciously succumb to the false idea that playing the conquering hero on a video game is the greatest measurement of manhood.
They couldn’t be further from the truth.
Although a woman appreciates it when a guy understands what she needs, a man’s highest calling isn’t found in learning to make a woman happy. The greatest goal for a man is to give his life willingly and unreservedly for God’s glory (Ps. 86:12; Rom. 6:13).
While Jesus is compassionate, merciful, and gentle, we must also remember that He is the epitome of a warrior (v.13). God didn’t create men to be in bondage to their sexual appetites or their passivity. Neither did He create them to be women. In every seemingly ordinary moment, the battle between light and darkness rages. Men were made to fight for what is right.
For the body of Christ to function as God intended, the church must:
• Realize that God places a unique calling on men.
• Challenge men to lead strongly as they live selflessly.
• Teach men that true strength is found in godly surrender. —Regina Franklin
What fallout do we see in families as the result of a wrong understanding of what manhood means? In what ways can the church instill in men an understanding of the strategic calling God has placed on their lives?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Looking Ahead
June 28, 2011
READ: Hebrews 11:23-31
Moses . . . refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction. —Hebrews 11:24-25
During the Cold War (1947–1991), a time of tension between the world’s superpowers, Albert Einstein said, “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” It was a moment of clarity that focused on the consequences of the choice to fight a nuclear war. Regardless of the motives for making such a choice, the results would be devastating.
Unfortunately, we don’t always see ahead with such clarity. Sometimes the implications of our choices are hard to anticipate. And sometimes we are thinking only in the moment.
According to Hebrews 11:24-26, Moses looked ahead and made a choice based on possible consequences. “By faith Moses, when he became of age, . . . [chose] rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.”
Moses’ choice wasn’t easy, but its rightness was made clear because he knew that the troubles he faced for godly living were made bearable by his coming reward. As we look ahead, are we willing to bear “the reproach of Christ”—the tough times that come with being associated with Jesus—in exchange for the promised reward of pleasing God?
— Bill Crowder
If we depend on Christ for everything, we can endure anything.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: what do you see?
Then Jesus placed His hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly (v.25).
READ: Mark 8:22-30
You can look at a window and see its glass and frame or you can look through a window and see the mountain vista it’s there to reveal. Today’s passage is a little like that. A superficial reading will miss the beauty of all that we’re meant to understand.
On first glance we see just another healing story about Jesus—albeit an unconventional one. Jesus takes a blind man and spits on his eyes in an attempt to heal him (Mark 8:22-26). “Can you see anything now?” Jesus asks afterward. “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly,” the man replies. A second action completes the healing and his eyes are opened.
But what do you see in this story? Let’s widen our view. Mark’s gospel presents Jesus’ disciples as spiritually short-sighted. They missed the significance of Jesus’ two feeding miracles (6:52, 8:19-21), leading Jesus to say to them in frustration, “You have eyes—can’t you see?” (8:18). They hadn’t grasped what these miracles revealed about Him.
Now look at the story following the blind man’s healing (vv.27-29). The community doesn’t see who Jesus is either, thinking that He was a returned prophet. But when Peter utters that monumental phrase, “You are the Messiah” (v.29), Jesus’ identity is finally revealed.
This, says biblical scholar Ben Witherington, is what the two-stage healing of the blind man is really about. It mimicked the disciples’ early blindness to Jesus, their partial sight about Him, and then their full understanding.
What a parable of modern belief! We too start off blind about Jesus, gain partial sight (perhaps when we acknowledge Him as “a prophet”?), then finally see Him for who He really is—the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God, and the One to whom we owe our lives. —Sheridan Voysey
How does this story match your own growth in understanding who Jesus is? What might the story tell us about how people come to know Him today?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: What Are You Known For
June 27, 2011
READ: Philippians 2:25-30
Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier. —Philippians 2:25
In the Roman Empire, pagans would often call on the name of a god or goddess as they placed bets in a game of chance. A favorite deity of the gambler was Aphrodite, the Greek word for Venus, the goddess of love. During the roll of the dice, they would say “epaphroditus!” literally, “by Aphrodite!”
In the book of Philippians we read of a Greek convert to the Christian faith by the name of Epaphroditus. He was a close companion of Paul who served him well in his missionary enterprise. Of his friend, Paul wrote: “Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier” (Phil. 2:25).
Epaphroditus was a spiritual brother in Christ, a faithful worker who shared ministry efforts, a brave soldier of the faith, and the carrier of the inspired letter to the church at Philippi. He modeled brotherhood, a work ethic, spiritual endurance, and service. Certainly, Epaphroditus had a well-deserved reputation that showed he did not live by a pagan deity but by faith in Jesus Christ.
Even more important than our name are the Christian qualities that are seen in our life: dependability, care, encouragement, and wisdom. What words would you like others to use to describe you?
— Dennis Fisher
Source: Our Daily Bread
(2 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5) Loading ...Labor Of Love
By Rohit Chacko, India Love—the craving of any man, The culmination of which Gave birth to masterpieces, Like Romeo and Juliet And the magnificent Taj Mahal. But the perfect incarnation of love, Is on the cross at Golgotha Where the Son of God gave up His life, And took the punishment of sinful men. Seasons [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: what follows…
If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive (v.3).
READ: Luke 17:1-10
Someone close to me (and to those I love) recently made some poor decisions that affected us all, and what followed wasn’t pretty. Pain. Grief. Suffering. Those words capture the essence of the bitter sting brought by foolish choices.
You’ve been there. We all have. Broken and strained relationships can haunt our days with all the ragged emotions and troubled thoughts that they foster.
Fortunately, Jesus provides some words of instruction that can help us deal with this prickly issue. Let’s follow along as He takes us from heartache to potential hope and healing:
1. Believers in Jesus will be tempted and will sin against us (Luke 17:1). Although it is never pleasant or desired, our friends and family will sin against us and fail us in this life.
2. We must lovingly confront the person who has sinned against us (v.3). It’s not loving to ignore the offense and simmer in our anger or to return the person’s attacks with a volley of our own. We must show the radical love of Jesus as we address the offense with the offender.
3. If the person genuinely repents, we must forgive him (vv.3-4). True forgiveness can only be extended if the person who has sinned against us repents. In his book Jesus and the Gospels, theologian Craig Blomberg writes that this means individuals must “change their behavior rather than just apologize.” That’s real repentance.
But what should you do when the person who has sinned against you refuses to repent? Jesus gives us a single word to take to heart: obey (v.10). As we continue to deal with those who sin against us, we can turn the person over to God and simply obey and follow His Word.
We can’t stop someone from making poor and foolish choices, but we can make godly choices in what follows. —Tom Felten
How did you respond recently to a believer in Jesus who sinned against you? What will you do today to follow Jesus and His instruction as you deal with this broken relationship?
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