ODJ: wife carrying
We also pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power (v.11). READ: Colossians 1:3-14 Contestants in the Wife Carrying World Championships meet in the Finnish town of Sonkajärvi. During the contest, men tote their wives a full 831 feet through gravel, grass, and sand, over two obstacles and through water. Dropping your wife [...]
ODB: A Craftsman’s Touch
November 21, 2011
READ: Exodus 31:1-5
We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. —Ephesians 2:10
I recently saw a documentary about the making of a Steinway piano. It traced the meticulous care that goes into crafting this fine instrument. From the cutting of trees until the piano appears on a showroom floor, it goes through countless delicate adjustments by skilled craftsmen. When the year-long process is complete, accomplished musicians play the piano and often comment on how the same rich sounds could never be produced by a computerized assembly line. The secret to the final product is the craftsman’s touch.
When the tabernacle was built, we see that God also valued the craftsman’s touch. He chose the craftsman Bezalel and said of him: “I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood” (Ex. 31:3-5).
Today God dwells in the hearts of believers. Yet the call to craftsmanship has not ended. Now each individual believer is God’s “workmanship” (Eph. 2:10). The Master Craftsman is the Holy Spirit, who chips away at flaws in our character to make each of us like Jesus (Rom. 8:28-29). And as we yield to His workmanship, we will find that the secret to the final product is the Craftsman’s touch.
— Dennis Fisher
Source: Our Daily Bread
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Loading ...Love Story Through A Window
By Priscila Stevanni, Indonesia Lately, when I am not driving, I would look out the bus windows rather than fall asleep. I have come to realize that one could learn many life lessons by simply observing what goes on outside the window. Here is one unforgettable scene that I’ve seen: While on my way to [...]
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: cheaters
Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated Me! But you ask, “What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?” You have cheated Me of the tithes and offerings due to Me (vv.8-9).
READ: Malachi 3:6-12
Business professor Richard Quinn was disgusted. By careful analysis, he discovered that many of his students had cheated on their midterm exam. So he did what professors do best—he gave the students a lecture . . . on ethics. His message? Confess that you have cheated, and then the remainder of your classwork will determine your grade. You’ll also need to take a 4-hour course in ethics. There will be no permanent record of your cheating. More than 200 students admitted they had cheated.
God called for the people of Judah to come clean. He condemned them for cheating Him (Malachi 3:8-9). The people, having returned from exile in Babylon, were apathetic in their worship of God and unfaithful in their relationship with Him. So He made it plain that their sinning would result in some serious refining (v.2).
The feeble tithes and offerings they were tossing God’s way reflected their hard hearts (vv.8-9). They knew that a tenth of the crops they cultivated were to be presented to God (Deuteronomy 12:6,11,17). But neither the quantity nor the quality of their tithes and offerings (material stuff like clothing, building materials, gold, silver, gems) was up to snuff. Instead of the cream of the crop, they were giving the bottom-of-the-barrel dregs.
You can almost hear the people of Judah respond out of self-pity, Yo, God, we’ve been through some tough times lately. Cut us some slack, huh? Perhaps you and I have responded the same way—allowing tough times to cause us to offer God second-rate worship and offerings.
God, in His grace, told His people that He would “open the windows of heaven” and richly bless them if they would “return” (repent and renew their true worship) to Him (Malachi 3:7,10). And He will do the same for you and me. No ethics class required. —Tom Felten
How have you been cheating God? What will you do to “return” to Him?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: A Family Trait
November 20, 2011
READ: Matthew 5:9,38-48
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. —Matthew 5:9
There’s an old Sunday school song that periodically comes back to my mind. Its words testify to the blessing of the peace that Jesus so generously gives: “I have the peace that passes understanding down in my heart—down in my heart to stay!”
There is something missing in that well-intentioned song, however. The peace of God is truly a gift we enjoy in our hearts as we fellowship in His presence (John 14:27; 16:33). But He never intended for us to keep all of that peace to ourselves. Peace is a gift to be shared with those around us. As Christians, it should mark our relationships and characterize the environment of our churches.
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matt. 5:9), which indicates that we are to be intentional about bringing peace to our relationships. Since we are prone to be troublemakers instead of peacemakers, this is important advice. So, what does peacemaking look like? Peacemakers are those who turn the other cheek (v.39), go the extra mile (v.41), and love their enemies while praying for those who persecute them (v.44).
Why should we do this? Because God is a peacemaker, and when we make peace we are “called sons of God” (v.9). Peacemaking is a family trait.
— Joe Stowell
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 1.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: save him first
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin (v.21).
READ: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
Last January, flash floods hammered Australia. Many people lost their lives. One was a 13-year-old boy named Jordan Rice. Jordan, his mother, and 10-year-old brother Blake were trapped in their car as the water rose. Jordan’s dad recounted how “all these people were just standing around until an old scrawny guy grabbed a bit of rope, wrapped it around himself and jumped in.”
He reached the car and grabbed the 13-year-old, but Jordan, who could not swim, insisted, “Save my brother first.” The man pulled Blake out, but before he could return, the car flipped, drowning Jordan and his mom.
We’re profoundly moved by selfless acts, a person abandoning himself for the good of another. This self-abandonment is precisely what Jesus did in order to rescue humanity from the ravages of sin and the grip of death.
The deepest human problem is not our inability to get along with one another or our penchant for destroying whatever we touch (our society, our environment, you name it). Our deepest dilemma is that we have run from God. Because of love, however, God came after us. He set out to bring us “back to Himself through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:18). God came to us in Jesus and began the long work of “reconciling the world to Himself” (v.19).
But this reconciliation cost Jesus everything. Jesus surrendered Himself, abandoned His own well-being, and entered the fray of our sinfulness. In Jesus, God took on our chains so that we could be free. Jesus willingly took on death “so that we could be made right with God” (v.21).
God’s love does not come cheaply. The cost for God to love is high indeed. Rather than saving Himself, Jesus intended to save us. And when Jesus died, He did just that. —Winn Collier
How does Jesus’ selfless love affect the way you view God’s posture toward you? What is your response to His amazing love?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: When God Cleans House
November 19, 2011
READ: Jonah 1
Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. —Ephesians 4:31
God did some fall housecleaning this week. He sent a mighty wind through our neighborhood that made the trees tremble and shake loose their dead branches. When it finished, I had a mess to clean up.
In my own life, God sometimes works in a similar way. He will send or allow stormy circumstances that shake loose the “lifeless branches” I’ve been refusing to release. Sometimes it’s something that once was good, like an area of ministry, but is no longer bearing fruit. More often it’s something that’s not good, like a bad habit I’ve slid into or a stubborn attitude that prevents new growth.
The Old Testament prophet Jonah discovered what can happen when one refuses to get rid of a stubborn attitude. His hatred for the Ninevites was stronger than his love for God, so God sent a great storm that landed Jonah in a giant fish (Jonah 1:4,17). God preserved the reluctant prophet in that unlikely place and gave him a second chance to obey (2:10; 3:1-3).
The lifeless limbs in my yard caused me to think of attitudes that God expects me to dispose of. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians lists some of them: bitterness, anger, and evil speech (4:31). When God shakes things up, we need to get rid of what He shakes loose.
— Julie Ackerman Link
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: His standards, not ours
I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to Himself through the loving mercy of Christ. . . . You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth (vv.6-7).
READ: Galatians 1:1-12
When I was a kid, one of my favorite board games was called “Aggravation.” I would even set up multiple players (all played by me of course) if others weren’t available to join me in a game. Playing it at my aunt and uncle’s house was a special treat. When I returned home, however, my parents would have to set me straight on the official rules, as my aunt and uncle played the game according to their own “house rules.”
Jude 3 reminds us that efforts to undo the absolutes of Scripture have occurred throughout history. When Satan first tempted man to disobey God, the evil one twisted the truth to suit his own purposes (Genesis 2:16-17, 3:1). Even Jesus wasn’t exempt from the devil’s perverse attacks against truth (Matthew 4:6). So we shouldn’t be surprised that the call to “defend the faith” (Jude 3) rests on us as well.
We set ourselves up for danger when we believe that we’re too wise to be caught in Satan’s lies (2 Cor. 11:3). Deception doesn’t come with glaring lights and sirens. It creeps in with quiet craftiness and blurred lines. It comes when we care about man’s opinions more than God’s.
For some, the door to deception swings open when they reason away the lines of clarity drawn by Scripture. The tide of public opinion—and their need for acceptance—drives them to compromise. To others, deception has a standing invitation when—through willfulness—they choose to enthrone their opinion above that of heaven’s. Whatever our justifications for allowing the truth to be muddied, grace and truth are inseparable.
God sets the standards, not us. Anything less isn’t good news, and it’s guaranteed to lead us to a losing game of spiritual aggravation. —Regina Franklin
How have you recently been tempted to bend what God’s Word says? Why does God hold such firm standards when it comes to the truth of His gospel?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Becoming Bilingual
November 18, 2011
READ: Acts 17:19-31
In Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, “For we are also His offspring.” —Acts 17:28
Is it possible—in a society that seems increasingly indifferent to the gospel—to communicate the Good News to people who don’t share our faith?
One way to connect with people who are unfamiliar with the things of Christ is to become culturally “bilingual.” We do this by communicating in ways people can easily relate to. Knowing about and discussing music, film, sports, and television, for example, can offer just such an opportunity. If people hear us “speak their language,” without endorsing or condoning the media or events we refer to, it could open the door to sharing the timeless message of Christ.
Paul gave us an example of this in Acts 17. While visiting the Areopagus in Athens, he spoke to a thoroughly secular culture by quoting pagan Greek poets as a point of reference for the spiritual values he sought to communicate. He said, “In Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring’” (Acts 17:28). Just as Paul addressed that culture by knowing what they were reading, we may have greater impact for the gospel by relating it to people in terms they can readily embrace.
Are you trying to reach a neighbor or a co-worker with the gospel? Try becoming bilingual.
— Bill Crowder
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: forget the devil?
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil (Ephesians 6:11).
READ: 1 Peter 5:8-9
Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said: “I am certain that one of the main causes of the ill state of the church today is the fact that the devil is being forgotten. We have become so psychological in our attitude and thinking. We are ignorant of this great objective fact—the being, the existence of the devil, the adversary, the accuser.”
While we shouldn’t be overly interested in Satan, we do need to be aware of the way he works as the enemy of God. The Bible reveals who he is and what he does. Who is Satan?
• The Preventer. One of Satan’s jobs is to prevent unbelievers from believing in Jesus. He does this by veiling their eyes so they can’t understand all God has done for them in Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:4).
• The Instigator. Behind every murderous heart and lying tongue is the evil influence of the enemy. For he was a murderer from the beginning and he has no truth in him at all (John 8:44).
• The Destroyer. He seeks to completely ruin the life and influence of the followers of Jesus (1 Peter 5:8-9). • The Accuser. When believers sin, he tries to make them feel guilty by accusing them before God (Revelation 12:10).
• The Deceiver. He tries to cause people to be mistaken about God and wander through life aimlessly (v.9).
We can resist and defeat the dark forces of Satan by . . . standing firm in the One who crushed his head at Calvary; being aware of his schemes (Ephesians 6:10-11; 1 Peter 5:8); using the Word of God (Matthew 4:1-11); putting on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17); getting closer to God (James 4:7); and praying in the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6:18). —Marvin Williams
In what ways has Satan tried to influence you lately? What area(s) of your spiritual life do you need to shore up so you can be stronger in your stand against him?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
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