ODJ: words that build up
Since you are so eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives, seek those that will strengthen the whole church (v.12). READ: 1 Corinthians 14:1-19 良言一语三冬暖，恶语伤人六月寒。 Imagine if I were to continue writing this article in Simplified Chinese script. Even if I were to write in excellent prose and share some inspiring truths, it wouldn’t [...]
ODB: Daddy!
September 18, 2011
READ: 2 Kings 19:10-19
Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see. —2 Kings 19:16
Twenty-month-old James was leading his family confidently through the hallways of their large church. His daddy kept an eye on him the whole time as James toddled his way through the crowd of “giants.” Suddenly the little boy panicked because he could not see his dad. He stopped, looked around, and started to cry, “Daddy, Daddy!” His dad quickly caught up with him and little James reached up his hand, which Daddy strongly clasped. Immediately James was at peace.
Second Kings tells the story of King Hezekiah who reached up to God for help (19:15). Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, had made threats against Hezekiah and the people of Judah, saying, “Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you . . . . You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered?” (vv.10-11). King Hezekiah went to the Lord and prayed for deliverance so “that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God” (vv.14-19). In answer to his prayer, the angel of the Lord struck down the enemy, and Sennacherib withdrew (vv.20-36).
If you’re in a situation where you need God’s help, reach up your hand to Him in prayer. He has promised His comfort and help (2 Cor. 1:3-4; Heb. 4:16).
— Anne Cetas
Source: Our Daily Bread
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Loading ...ODJ: so close, yet so far
Work for the peace and prosperity of the city (v.7).
READ: Jeremiah 29:1-7
Tom Shadyac, the director of the films Patch Adams, Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar, and the Ace Ventura series, recently purchased an old downtown church building in my hometown. He converted it into a shelter for the homeless. When I asked him about his impulse to create The Haven, Tom recounted his college years in Charlottesville, Virginia and how he didn’t understand back then that many of the university workers he encountered were struggling to pay their bills. But when he returned years later for a film shoot, Tom says, “I became awake to all of this,” and he felt compelled to work for the good of the city. The prophet Jeremiah lived during one of Israel’s most difficult eras. God’s people had been captured and were being carried off as slaves to Babylon. Jeremiah gave them God’s instructions for the harsh days to come. What do you think His message should have been? What should God’s people have done in a pagan land, under the rule of cruel oppressors? Should they have gone on strike? Should they have initiated guerilla warfare? On the contrary, the prophet told them to “work for the peace and prosperity of the city” (Jeremiah 29:7). They were to work for the good of Babylon. They were not only to work for Babylon, but also to pray for Babylon. Even more, they were to work and live as if their own well-being was enmeshed with their captor’s well-being—because it was. “Pray to the Lord for [the city],” says Jeremiah, “for its welfare will determine your welfare” (v.7). God’s call to His people, wherever we find ourselves, is to love and bless and pray for the city (the people, the communities) where God has placed us. He is looking for people who will seek the peace of their home—their city.
—Winn Collier
What do you identify as your city, your neighborhood, your place? How would God have you seek the peace and prosperity of it?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: No Reverse
September 17, 2011
READ: Exodus 16:1-12
You shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt. —Exodus 16:6
The first time I saw her, I fell in love. She was a beauty. Sleek. Clean. Radiant. As soon as I spied the 1962 Ford Thunderbird at the used-car lot, her shiny exterior and killer interior beckoned me. I knew this was the car for me. So I plunked down $800 and purchased my very first car.
But there was a problem lurking inside my prized possession. A few months after I bought my T-Bird, it suddenly became particular about which way I could go. It allowed me to go forward, but I couldn’t go backward. It had no reverse.
Although not having reverse is a problem in a car, sometimes it’s good for us to be a little like my old T-Bird. We need to keep going forward—without the possibility of putting life into reverse. In our walk with Jesus, we need to refuse to go backward. Paul said it simply: We need to “press toward the goal” (Phil. 3:14).
Perhaps the children of Israel could have used my T-Bird’s transmission. We read in Exodus 16 that they were in danger of putting life into reverse. Despite the many miracles God had performed, they longed for Egypt and failed to trust that He could guide them forward.
We need to keep moving ahead in our walk with God. Don’t back up. Look forward. Press on.
— Dave Branon
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: radical generosity
Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions” (v.43).
READ: Mark 12:41-44
I never cease to be amazed at the people Jesus put forward as role models. He said children were role models for trust (Mark 10:15); He presented a “sinful woman” as a role model for love (Luke 7:47); He no doubt scandalized His Jewish friends when He suggested a pagan soldier was a role model for faith (vv.1-9). So when Jesus gave His followers a role model for generosity, He again chose the unexpected.
After some intense debates with the religious elite, Jesus was resting near the Court of the Women in the Jewish temple. Along the court’s colonnade stood 13 trumpet-shaped collection boxes, into which money was received for the temple’s needs. Jesus watched the rich throwing in their large donations. Then He observed a poor widow dropping in two lepta coins. That’s when He called His disciples together for a lesson.
“I tell you the truth,” He said, “this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions” (Mark 12:43). In literal terms this was incorrect. The lepta was the smallest valued coin of the day, amounting to one-128th of a denarius (a day’s wage). Jesus was clearly calculating value on different terms. Her offering was grand, He said, because while others gave their spare change, she gave “everything she had to live on” (v.44).
What a role model this widow is! How many of us truly give sacrificially—down to the last few cents that we own? Most of the time I hardly miss the money I give to others or place in the offering at church. I resemble the rich people Jesus was watching, not the radically generous widow.
True generosity costs something. It leaves us vulnerable, with arms outstretched to God, who alone can meet our needs. Just like a poor, humble widow. —Sheridan Voysey
When was the last time you gave money so generously that you sacrificed your own wants or needs? What need or cause is God asking you to donate to this week?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Be An Armor-Bearer
September 16, 2011
READ: 1 Samuel 14:1-14
Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you. —1 Samuel 14:7
The Israelites and the Philistines were at war. While Saul relaxed under a pomegranate tree with his men, Jonathan and his armor-bearer left camp quietly to see if the Lord would work on their behalf, believing that “nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few” (1 Sam. 14:6).
Jonathan and his helper were about to cross a path between two high cliffs. Armed enemy soldiers were stationed above them on both sides. They were two men against who knows how many. When Jonathan suggested they climb up after them, the armor-bearer never flinched. “Do all that is in your heart,” he told Jonathan. “I am with you, according to your heart” (v.7). So the two climbed the cliff, and with God’s help they overcame the enemy (vv.8-14). We have to admire this courageous young armor-bearer. He lugged the armor up that cliff and stayed with Jonathan, following along behind and killing those Jonathan wounded.
The church needs strong leaders to face our spiritual foes, but they must not be left to face them alone. They need the help and support of everyone in the congregation—loyal “armor-bearers” like you and me who are willing to join them in battle against the “enemy of our souls.”
— David C. Egner
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Question Time?
By Chris Wale Timo Tagaloa, a retired Western Samoa winger, remembers being dumbstruck by two questions asked by a young Christian. The man asked: “Timo, if you were to die tonight, on a scale of 0 to 100, how sure are you that you would spend eternity with God?” And then he asked, “Timo, if [...]
(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: active faith
Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works (v.26).
READ: James 2:14-26
Did you know that?!” When my student responded with disbelief at what he had learned in researching his social justice project, my heart leapt with excitement. Teaching in a private prep school, I look for ways to help my students see beyond their somewhat sheltered world. My delight was short-lived, however, when he continued by saying that although he felt bad for those who suffered, he wouldn’t change his buying habits. You see, one of the companies that uses sweatshops also happens to make his favorite clothing.
We don’t earn salvation; nor do we earn our way into the favor and blessing of God. But in his letter to the early church, James is clear. Faith requires action, or it is not faith at all.
How this plays out in our daily lives, though, is another question altogether. While Christians can easily be labeled for their protests and boycotts, knowledge creates an interesting dilemma in our understanding of faith and works. From the choices we make about media, the way we act in everyday situations, to our interest in the suffering of those near and far, our lives should reveal an intimate relationship with the Son of God who willingly gave His life for our well-being (Philippians 2:5-8).
The Bible says, “For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). In the same way, our works—motivated by our faith in the goodness of God—should emanate from a heart of love (1 Corinthians 13:3).
A necessary component of our relationship with God (Hebrews 11:6), faith becomes an opportunity for the love of God to be made visible—through us.
—Regina Franklin
In what part of your life have you struggled to make your faith active? How can you keep a God-centered focus as you live out your faith?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Heavy Lifting
September 15, 2011
READ: Matthew 11:25-30
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden. —Matthew 11:28
One day I found my son straining to lift a pair of four-pound barbells over his head—an ambitious feat for a toddler. He had raised them only a few inches off the ground, but his eyes were determined and his face was pink with effort. I offered to help, and together we heaved the weight up toward the ceiling. The heavy lifting that was so hard for him was easy for me.
Jesus has this perspective on the stuff that’s hard for us to manage. When life seems like a carousel of catastrophes, Jesus isn’t fazed by a fender-bender, troubled by a toothache, or harassed by a heated argument—even if it all happens in one day! He can handle anything, and that is why He said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden” (Matt. 11:28).
Are you worn out from ongoing problems? Are you weighed down with stress and worry? Jesus is the only real solution. Approaching the Lord in prayer allows us to cast our burdens on Him so that He can sustain us (Ps. 55:22). Today, ask Him to assist you with everything. By helping you with your burdens, He can supply rest for your soul, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt. 11:29-30).
— Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Source: Our Daily Bread
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: oh well
What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? (James 4:1).
READ: Genesis 26:12-25
I would rather work with pagans than with other Christians!”
My friend’s statement wouldn’t be particularly surprising for an agnostic or atheist to make. But he’s a minister. Why can believers in Jesus sometimes be so difficult and nasty? How does that resonate with the way Jesus told us to resolve conflict?
In ancient Mesopotamia, Abraham’s son Isaac showed a gracious way to deal with conflict that foreshadowed the radically peaceful ways of the not-yet-born Messiah. Although Isaac was an outsider in the land of the Philistines, he had become conspicuously wealthy. Out of spite, the locals filled in his wells. (That’s a big problem in an arid country!) To keep the peace, King Abimelech ordered Isaac to hit the trail (Genesis 26:16).
So Isaac moved and reopened wells his father had dug. The locals squawked about that too. But rather than fight, Isaac moved again. And again he experienced conflict with the residents over water rights. Finally, after a third move, Isaac found water and peace. Eventually, he would prosper more than ever.
It’s often difficult to know when to fight and when to move on. Jesus was a man of peace, who willingly sacrificed His life for us. Isaiah 53 prophesied how He would be “unjustly condemned” (v.8). He was “led like a lamb to the slaughter,” yet “He did not open His mouth” (v.7). But another Scripture states that there is also “a time for war” (Ecclesiastes 3:8).
For now, the apostle Paul gives us a worthy goal: “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).
Lord, please help us to know when it’s time to dig in our heels for a noble cause, and when it’s time to relinquish what is rightfully ours, pack up, and dig another well. —Tim Gustafson
What is causing conflict in your life today? Is it something worth fighting for? Are your motives pure regarding this matter?
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