ODJ: jealous?
[Rachel] became jealous of her sister (v.1). READ: Genesis 30:1-24 You know the feeling—the jolt of recognition. Could it be? You inhale. Why, that’s so-and-so from high school! She grew her hair out, and now she’s a blonde! Somehow, the Internet has made it possible for you to contact her. But, should you open that door? [...]
ODB: Beyond the Status Quo
September 22, 2011
READ: John 5:35-47
But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. —John 5:40
Dr. Jack Mezirow, professor emeritus at Columbia Teachers College, believes that an essential element in adult learning is to challenge our own ingrained perceptions and examine our insights critically. Dr. Mezirow says that adults learn best when faced with what he calls a “disorienting dilemma”—something that “helps you critically reflect on the assumptions you’ve acquired” (Barbara Strauch, The New York Times). This is the opposite of saying, “My mind is made up—don’t confuse me with the facts.”
When Jesus healed on the Sabbath, He challenged the deeply held beliefs of many religious leaders, and they sought to silence Him (John 5:16-18). Jesus said to them: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (vv.39-40).
Oswald Chambers observed, “God has a way of bringing in facts which upset a man’s doctrines if these stand in the way of God getting at his soul.”
Unsettling experiences that cause us to question our assumptions about the Lord can also lead us to a deeper understanding and trust in Him—if we’re willing to think it through and come to Him.
— David C. McCasland
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...ODJ: down here
You go before me and follow me. You place Your hand of blessing on my head (v.5).
READ: Psalm 139
Last October, the world rejoiced with the people of Chile as they celebrated the successful rescue of 33 miners who had been buried 700 meters (2,300 feet) underground. The miners, who had been trapped in a copper-gold mine for 69 days, were safely lifted out of its depths. In a letter sent to the surface prior to the rescue, 19-year-old miner Jimmy Sanchez wrote, “There are actually 34 of us, because God has never left us down here.”
Hemmed in by life’s pains and problems, David expressed a similar thought in Psalm 139. Convinced that God is all-knowing (vv.1-4), ever-present (vv.5-12), and all-powerful (vv.13-18), David’s spirit was bolstered by God’s loving care for him—something that began even before he was born (vv.13-16).
God is all-knowing (vv.1-4). David declared, “O Lord, You . . . know everything about me!” (v.1). You know how I feel (v.1), how I think (v.2), what I do (v.3), what I say (v.4), and where I go (v.5). God knows you completely and intimately.
God is ever-present (vv.5-12). David was sure that God has never left us down here. He wrote, “I can never get away from Your presence! If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I go down to the grave, You are there” (vv.7-8).
God is all-powerful (vv.13-18). Your human body is the masterpiece of the all-powerful Creator God (vv.13-15). God’s sovereignty and all-powerful care is guaranteed: “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (v.16).
How will you respond to God and His loving care for you? David affirmed his commitment to God (vv.19-22), and asked Him to “lead [him] along the path of everlasting life” (vv.23-24). —K.T. Sim
How have you been hemmed in by life’s trials and troubles? Refresh yourself with knowing who God really is. He knows and He cares. Pray, “Even there Your hand will guide me, and Your strength will support me” (Psalm 139:10).
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: A Lesson in Crying
September 21, 2011
READ: Revelation 21:1-7
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. —Matthew 5:4
Has your heart ever been broken? What broke it? Cruelty? Failure? Unfaithfulness? Loss? Perhaps you’ve crept into the darkness to cry.
It’s good to cry. “Tears are the only cure for weeping,” said Scottish preacher George MacDonald. A little crying does one good.
Jesus wept at His friend Lazarus’ grave (John 11:35), and He weeps with us (v.33). His heart was broken as well. Our tears attract our Lord’s lovingkindness and tender care. He knows our troubled, sleepless nights. His heart aches for us when we mourn. He is the “God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation” (2 Cor. 1:3-4). And He uses His people to comfort one another.
But tears and our need for comfort come back all too frequently in this life. Present comfort is not the final answer. There is a future day when there will be no death, no sorrow, no crying, for all these things will “have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). There in heaven God will wipe away every tear. We are so dear to our Father that He will be the one who wipes the tears away from our eyes; He loves us so deeply and personally.
Remember, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4).
— David H. Roper
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: give up
God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it (vv.8-9).
READ: Ephesians 2:1-10
Wildlife officials in my town tried in vain to save a duck that had an arrow sticking through its breast. She flew away whenever their nets came close. It’s hard to blame the frightened fowl. She didn’t understand that the same self-reliance that normally kept her alive was now preventing her from receiving the help she needed.
We are that duck. Crippled by the self-inflicted wound of our sin, we stubbornly think we can survive by trying harder. But every flap of our wings sucks the arrow in deeper, and if we don’t get the help we need we will die in our sin.
The first step to being a Christian is admitting that we can’t fix ourselves. John Calvin observed, “The one who has been completely reduced to nothing and has given up . . . is fitly prepared to receive the fruits of God’s mercy. For in proportion as someone relies on himself, by so much he puts obstacles to God’s grace.”
Salvation is for “quitters.” Only those who give up on their ability to please God are ready to embrace the gospel. The gospel is not about what we can do for God but what God has done for us. It’s the good news that “Christ died for our sins . . . was buried, and . . . was raised from the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). But we won’t trust this work of Jesus unless we concede that we’re spiritually bankrupt, hopelessly “dead because of our sins” (Ephesians 2:5). We won’t give ourselves to Christ until we first give up on ourselves.
The gospel is counter-intuitive. What serves us well in most areas of life can be a disaster in our walk with Jesus. The normal secret to success is to try harder. The secret of salvation is to stop trying to do it by ourselves. —Mike Wittmer
Why is it hard to depend on Christ alone? What can you do to internalize the gospel—to feel in your heart that your salvation rests entirely on what Jesus has already done?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Study No. 2 – A Personal Relationship With God
Reflect: W. H. Griffith Thomas wrote, “Everything we know of God, and everything we need from Him, is deeply affected by our attitude toward Christ”. How would you describe your attitude toward Christ? In what ways would you like it to change?
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODB: Are You Ready?
September 20, 2011
READ: 2 Peter 3:1-13
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise. —2 Peter 3:9
Many will remember the fall season of 2008 as the beginning of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of 1929. In the months to follow, many lost their jobs, homes, and investments. In a BBC interview a year later, Alan Greenspan, former head of the US Federal Reserve, indicated that the average person doesn’t believe it will happen again. He said, “That is the unquenchable capability of human beings when confronted with long periods of prosperity to presume that it will continue.”
Assuming that things will continue as they always have is not just 21st-century-type thinking. In the first century, Peter wrote of people who thought that life would continue as it was and that Jesus would not return. He said, “Since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:4). Jesus said He would come back, but the people continued to live in disobedience as though He would never return. But His delay is only because of God’s patience with us, for He is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (v.9).
Paul tells us that Christians ought to live “soberly, righteously, and godly” in the light of Christ’s certain return. (Titus 2:12). Are you ready to meet Him?
— C. P. Hia
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: love and grief
Then Jesus wept (v.35).
READ: John 11:1-44
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the second to last movie in the epic series, Dobby, a house-elf whom Harry once helped free from his cruel masters, is killed as he comes to the rescue of Harry and his companions. Dobby’s death leaves Harry stunned and speechless. Only his friend Luna is able to put into words the deep loss Harry and the others felt: “Thank you so much, Dobby. . . . It’s so unfair that you had to die, when you were so good and brave.”
Heartbroken, Harry digs Dobby’s grave. Grief consumes his soul to such a degree that it keeps Voldemort (the evil villain figure) from intruding into his thoughts. (In the book version, the author makes it clear that it was Harry’s “love” for Dobby that occupied his heart and mind.)
Those who watched Jesus weep at the tomb of His dear friend Lazarus also witnessed a connection between grief and love. After Jesus arrived at the place where Lazarus was buried, He “wept” (John 11:35). He was deeply grieved even though He knew He would raise His close friend from the dead just a few minutes later (vv.43-44). The people watching Jesus in the throes of grief said to each other, “See how much He loved him!” (v.36).
In the throes of our own loss, grief is an expression of the love we have for another person. To put it another way, only those who first love can ever truly grieve. This is a bittersweet truth that we sometimes forget.
Thankfully, as believers in Jesus, we don’t grieve like people who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). In light of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we do grieve, but with the hope of one day being reunited with those we loved so dearly (v.14). —Jeff Olson
How has God’s love helped you in the loss of someone you loved? What is your future hope, even as you feel the pangs of grief?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Seasons of Ups and Downs
September 19, 2011
READ: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. —Ecclesiastes 3:4
Most of us would agree that life has its ups and downs. Wise King Solomon believed this and reflected on our responses to fluctuating circumstances. In Ecclesiastes, he wrote: “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: . . . a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (3:1-4).
Solomon’s father, David, was called “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22). Yet David’s life illustrates how life is filled with seasons of ups and downs. David wept over his and Bathsheba’s first child who was fatally ill (2 Sam. 12:22). Yet he also wrote songs of praise and joyous laughter (Ps. 126:1-3). With the death of his rebellious son Absalom, David experienced a time of deep mourning (2 Sam. 18:33). And when the ark was brought to Jerusalem, David, in spiritual ecstasy, danced before the Lord (2 Sam. 6:12-15).
We do a disservice to ourselves and others when we portray the Christian life as peaceful and happy all the time. Instead, the Bible portrays the believer’s life as consisting of seasons of ups and downs. In what season are you? Whether a time of joy or sadness, each season should motivate us to seek the Lord and trust Him.
— Dennis Fisher
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Bolting Back from Life’s Hurdles
By Tracy Phua, Singapore With the World Athletics Championships going on now, South Korea is once again thrust into the global media’s spotlight. However, no athlete looks to be shining brighter than Usain Bolt, the 25-year-old Jamaican who has captured the eyes of the mass media around the world. Bolt’s journey has been fascinating, even [...]
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