ODB: A Teachable Spirit
August 31, 2011
READ: Proverbs 2:1-9
Do not be wise in your own eyes. —Proverbs 3:7
Just before our church service began, I overheard a young man behind me talking with his mother. They were reading an announcement in the bulletin about a challenge to read one chapter of Proverbs each day for the months of July and August. He asked his mom, “What will we do with chapter 31 in August since there are only 30 days?” She said she thought there were 31 days in August. He responded, “No, there are only 30.”
When it was time in the service to greet each other, I turned back toward him and said hello. Then I added, “August does have 31 days.” He insisted, “No, it doesn’t. There can’t be 2 months in a row with 31 days.” The singing started, so I just smiled.
This brief encounter made me think about our need to develop a teachable spirit, seeking wisdom beyond our own. In Proverbs 3, the attitude the father recommends to the son is one of humility: “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord” (v.7). In chapter 2, he says, “Incline your ear to wisdom . . . ; search for her as for hidden treasures” (vv.2,4).
Knowing whether August has 30 or 31 days doesn’t matter much, but having a teachable spirit does. It will help us gain wisdom from God and others. Reading a chapter from Proverbs each day next month may give us a start.
— Anne Cetas
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...ODJ: spotless
Wash yourselves and be clean! (v.16).
READ: Isaiah 1:1-20
I accidentally dropped my cell phone into the garbage can. It slid straight to the bottom, and when I pulled it out, it was covered with some kind of disgusting mystery goo. Horrified, I set to work spraying, scrubbing, and disinfecting. I didn’t stop until the phone was spotless.
God called the people of Israel to “sanitize” themselves. They’d been living as a nation of spiritual renegades (Isaiah 1:4) even as they continued to observe their religious ceremonies. God was seriously fed up with them. He said, “I am sick of your burnt offerings” (v.11), and “When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look” (v.15). God didn’t want an outward show of confession without an inner commitment to act differently.
Fortunately, God outlined a couple of steps to help the nation get right with Him. He began by saying, “Give up your evil ways” (v.16). As believers in Jesus, we have the same responsibility to knock off the sin that separates us from God. Anything less is abusing God’s grace. Paul asked, “Should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not!” (Romans 6:1-2).
Once we discontinue specific sinful actions, it’s important to replace them with activities that please God. Getting clean involves “[learning] to do good” (Isaiah 1:17). Specifically, we can lend a hand to the poor, defend orphans, or champion the rights of widows.
Like the Israelites, many of us sin like crazy, and then supposedly come clean before God every Sunday. With the Holy Spirit’s help (Ezekiel 36:27), we can stop that cycle and align our actions with our repentant hearts. We can follow God’s command: “Wash yourselves!” (Isaiah 1:16), and He will make us truly spotless. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt
How does insincere confession by believers in Jesus affect the way nonbelievers view the Christian faith? Why is it so important to replace sinful habits with God-pleasing actions?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Christ Living In Us
August 30, 2011
READ: Galatians 2:15-21
I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness. —2 Timothy 4:7-8
The Ironman Triathlon consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run. It is not an easy feat for anyone to accomplish. But Dick Hoyt participated in the race and completed it with his physically disabled son Rick. When Dick swam, he pulled Rick in a small boat. When Dick cycled, Rick was in a seat-pod on the bike. When Dick ran, he pushed Rick along in a wheelchair. Rick was dependent on his dad in order to finish the race. He couldn’t do it without him.
We see a parallel between their story and our own Christian life. Just as Rick was dependent on his dad, we are dependent on Christ to complete our Christian race.
As we strive to live a God-pleasing life, we realize that in spite of our best intentions and determination, we often stumble and fall short. By our strength alone, it is impossible. Oh, how we need the Lord’s help! And it has been provided. Paul declares it with these insightful words, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God” (Gal. 2:20).
We cannot finish the Christian race on our own. We have to do so by depending on Jesus living in us.
— Albert Lee
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: perservering
David persisted. . . . The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine! (vv.34,37).
READ: 1 Samuel 17:17-51
The film October Sky tells the remarkable story of a teenage boy’s dream to build rockets. After watching Sputnik, the first earth-orbiting artificial satellite, race across the night sky in 1957, a deep desire was ignited within Homer Hickam to make rockets and become a part of NASA’s space program.
The problem was that nearly everything in Homer’s life was set against his dream. He lived in a tiny West Virginia coal mining town that offered him few opportunities. His friends thought he was nuts. And his father, who pressured his son to become a miner, did everything he could to make sure his desires flamed out. But Homer persevered. He fought through the stiff opposition and eventually realized his dream.
Homer Hickam’s story reminds me of the teenage shepherd boy David. Jesse, David’s father, had sent him out to check on the welfare of his brothers who were fighting on the front lines against the Philistines (1 Samuel 17:17-19). As David talked with his brothers, the Philistine giant Goliath stepped out and challenged any Israelite who had the guts to come out and fight him (v.23).
After learning that Goliath had been taunting Israel for 40 days, a desire to fight the giant sprang up in David. When he made it known that he had heard enough defiant words from the Philistine (v.26), David was confronted by his brother Eliab. Afraid that his little brother would show him up, he accused David of coming only to watch the combat (v.28). But David persevered and withstood the opposition (vv.29-30). He knew God had called and prepared him to fight this epic battle (vv.34-37).
Don’t let others force you into compromising the person you know God has called you to be. Like David and Homer, fight through the opposition—and persevere! —Jeff Olson
What opposition are you facing in becoming the person you were meant to be? How are you persevering in Jesus?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: A Matter Of Perspective
August 29, 2011
READ: Exodus 14:1-14
I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. —Exodus 14:4
Are you part of the problem or part of the solution? Whether that question is posed during a business meeting, a church council, or a family discussion, it often springs from a sense of exasperation in trying to comprehend why someone has acted in a certain way. More often than not, the answer is a matter of perspective.
If we had been among the Israelites leaving Egypt after 400 years of slavery, we would likely have seen Pharaoh as part of the problem—and he was. Yet God saw something more.
Inexplicably, the Lord told Moses to take the people back toward Egypt and camp with their backs to the Red Sea so Pharaoh would attack them (Ex. 14:1-3). The Israelites thought they were going to die, but God said that He would gain glory and honor for Himself through Pharaoh and all his army, “and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord” (vv.4,17-18).
When we simply cannot understand why God allows circumstances that threaten to overwhelm us, it’s good to remember that He has our good and His glory in mind. If we can say, “Father, please enable me to trust and honor You in this situation,” then we will be in concert with His perspective and plan.
— David C. McCasland
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: seeing clearly
Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity (v.12).
READ: 1 Corinthians 13
Mom, turn the mirror so I can see better.” Riding behind me in the car, my son asked me to set the rearview mirror so he could see himself in it. When my adjustments did not allow him a full view of himself, he asked me to try again. After several attempts, I explained that the mirror was designed for my use as the driver (and not for his as the passenger). Satisfied that I had tried, he sat contentedly while looking out the window. As I turned my attention back to the road, I reflected on our exchange.
In life, we want to be able to see our situations in the same way that God does. He allows us to “have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16) and to adjust our view to see life based on His heart. But we aren’t content simply to know His attitude. We want His omniscience—to be all-knowing as He is. Just as a rearview mirror isn’t for the passenger’s use, we weren’t made to know everything. After all, we’re not the driver.
While we live on earth, our view will always be limited. It’s part of our fallen nature. Eve’s desire for knowledge brought her—and all of humanity—into darkness, not the light of revelation (Genesis 3:5-7). So why does the apostle Paul place a reminder about our limited vision at the end of his exhortation on the true nature of love in 1 Corinthians 13? (v.12). He reminds us that in the most stringent limitations of human frailty—a humanity on which God has bestowed precious gifts (2 Corinthians 4:7)—love takes us beyond our base responses rooted in self-preservation.
It helps us see clearly the true security we have in Jesus. —Regina Franklin
In what situation have you been trying to see things from the driver’s seat instead of the passenger’s perspective? How does God’s love keep you at peace?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...‘Look At Me’
By David C. Egner It was one of those split-second exchanges between a 16-year-old girl and her father, but it spoke volumes. While he was out of town, she had broken her curfew and stayed out too late with her boyfriend. Now she had to talk to Dad about it. Embarrassed and afraid, she sat [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Failure To Discipline
August 28, 2011
READ: 1 Samuel 2:27-36
No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. —Hebrews 12:11
We live in the woods, so we get very little prolonged sunlight in the summer. But we love fresh tomatoes, so I decided to try growing them in pots set in a few sunny spots.
The plants started to grow right away and really fast. I was thrilled—until I realized that their fast growth was due to their efforts to reach out to the limited sunlight. By the time I figured out what was happening, the vines were too heavy to support themselves. I found some stakes, lifted the vines carefully, and fastened them in an upright position. Even though I tried to be gentle, one of the twisted vines broke when I tried to straighten it.
This reminded me that discipline must begin before character is permanently bent and twisted.
Eli the priest had two sons whom he failed to discipline. When their wickedness got so bad that he could no longer ignore it, he tried gentle rebuke (1 Sam. 2:24-25). But it was too late, and God announced the dire consequences: “I will judge [Eli’s] house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them” (3:13).
Being straightened out is painful, but being left crooked will ultimately hurt even more.
— Julie Ackerman Link
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5) Loading ...
