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ODB: Reflections
December 31, 2011
READ: Psalm 40:1-5
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit . . . and set my feet upon a rock. —Psalm 40:2
Not long ago, I passed a milestone marking 20 years since I began keeping a spiritual journal. As I reread my first few entries, I was amazed I ever kept it up. But now you couldn’t pay me to stop!
Here are some benefits I have received from journaling: From life experiences, I see that progress and failure are both part of the journey. I’m reminded of God’s grace when I read how He helped me to find a solution to a major problem. I gain insight from past struggles that help with issues I am currently facing. And, most important, journaling shows me how God has been faithfully working in my life.
Many of the psalms are like a spiritual journal. They often record how God has helped in times of testing. In Psalm 40, David writes: “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps” (vv.1-2). Later, David needed only to read that psalm to be reminded of God’s faithful deliverance.
Journaling may be useful to you too. It can help you see more clearly what God is teaching you on life’s journey and cause you to reflect on God’s faithfulness.
— Dennis Fisher
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...ODJ: through the Son
Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us (v.18).
READ: Ephesians 2:11-21
Paul Borthwick was boarding a plane when he saw former American President Gerald Ford being escorted by two dark suited men. Paul wanted to meet him, but he wondered: “Why would he want to meet me?” Then he recalled having met Ford’s son Mike, when he was in seminary. So he boldly approached the former world leader just before the Secret Service men could stop him, and said, “President Ford, I just wanted to meet you. I know your son, Mike.” Ford and Borthwick then shared a brief but pleasant conversation.
Similar to Paul Borthwick gaining access to President Ford by mentioning the name “Mike”, Paul the apostle reminded the Ephesians that through the name of Jesus, God’s Son, they had access to the heavenly Father and the blessings of salvation.
Paul encouraged the Gentile believers to recall how they had been excluded and separated from Jesus. They had been considered foreigners and aliens to all that God had promised His people Israel—without hope and without God in the world. They had been hopelessly alienated from their Creator and His kingdom. Yet in and through Jesus, they now had full citizenship in heaven and were members of the household of God. These former ‘outsiders’ were now given access to the Father and the blessings of salvation by the sacrificial death of His Son.
Whether or not we are able to articulate it, one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul is to belong and have access to our Creator and Saviour. This is achieved only through Jesus. Through Him we have access to salvation (John 10:9), peace with and from God (Romans 5:1-2), genuine fulfilment in life (John 10:10), and confidence to approach our heavenly Father to receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
—Marvin Williams
What are some practical implications of having access to God and the blessing of salvation through Jesus? How can you daily express your appreciation to Him for providing us such blessings?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Playing Your Part
December 30, 2011
READ: Romans 12:1-8
We have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function. —Romans 12:4
For the past several years, my daughter Rosie has been the director of drama at a local middle school. Students come to audition and a few are selected to play the lead roles. But there are still many other important supporting roles that must be cast—roles that are vital to the production.
There are other young people who want to be a part of the show but don’t relish being in the spotlight. They are the ones who will change scenery, open and close the curtains, run the lights, and assist with makeup and costume changes. Then there are the parents from the community who provide pizza and cookies for rehearsals, donate goods, build sets, sew costumes, make signs, and hand out programs.
The success of the performances are the culmination of an intense 4- to 5-month process that is dependent on the hard work of a wide range of dedicated volunteers.
Similarly, for the body of Christ to function fully, each of us must play a part. Every believer is uniquely gifted for service. When these gifts are combined in a cooperative relationship, “every part does its share” (Eph. 4:16), and the separate parts make up the whole (Rom. 12:5).
We need each other. What part are you playing in the life of the church?
— Cindy Hess Kasper
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: man of God
But you, Timothy, are a man of God (v.11).
READ: 1 Timothy 6:11-16, 20-21
Recently a colleague asked me, “What would you like to be?” I replied, “Well, in terms of career planning, I don’t know. But I want to be someone who is wise, compassionate, and humble.”
In Paul’s letter to his protégé, he didn’t instruct Timothy to become an A-list pastor; rather he reminded him that he was a “man of God” (1 Tim. 6:11).
Interestingly, there’s only one person in the New Testament who’s called “a man of God”, and that’s Timothy. However, this term is frequently used in the Old Testament. In fact, it’s used 70 times and always in reference to a spokesman for God—someone whose duty and responsibility is to speak the words of God.
Paul points out four characteristics that mark a man of God:
• He flees. “Run” (v.11). This is the Greek verb fuagay from which we get the word fugitive. In other words, the man of God is a man on the run. He’s constantly fleeing the love of money (6:10), ungodly behaviour (6:20), lust, and sin (2 Timothy 2:22).
• He follows after. The man of God pursues “righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11).
• He fights. Using the truth, the man of God is engaged in daily warfare against the kingdom of darkness. He’s not resting on his laurels.
• He’s faithful. The man of God “[holds] tightly to . . . eternal life” (v.12). He views faithful Christian living and service as his necessary responsibility to God.
If someone were to ask you, “What would you like to be?” would you answer, “I want to be a man of God”? That man personally belongs to God, proclaims His Word accurately, and lives an exemplary life. —Poh Fang Chia
How does your life reveal that you’re a person of God? What needs to change?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...By Grace Through Faith
By Benedict Chua, Singapore In a society that promotes shallow thought, materialism, and hedonism, how can one follow Christ? How can the church rise up to be light and salt in a depraved culture? The answer? It is impossible—as it has been in any other era—apart from abiding in Christ. Jesus said, “Abide in me, [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Yet I Will Rejoice
December 29, 2011
READ: Habakkuk 3:11-19
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. —Habakkuk 3:18
Life in our world can be difficult. At some point, most of us have wondered, Where is God in my trouble? And we may have thought, It seems like injustice is winning and God is silent. We have a choice as to how we respond to our troubles. The prophet Habakkuk had an attitude worth following: He made the choice to rejoice.
Habakkuk saw the rapid increase in Judah’s moral and spiritual failings, and this disturbed him deeply. But God’s response troubled him even more. God would use the wicked nation of Babylon to punish Judah. Habakkuk did not fully understand this, but he could rejoice because he had learned to rely on the wisdom, justice, and sovereignty of God. He concluded his book with a wonderful affirmation: “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (3:18). Though it was not clear how Judah would survive, Habakkuk had learned to trust God amid injustice, suffering, and loss. He would live by his faith in God alone. With this kind of faith came joy in God, despite the circumstances surrounding him.
We too can rejoice in our trials, have surefooted confidence in God, and live on the heights of His sovereignty.
— Marvin Williams
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: exhaust forgiveness?
Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before My suffering begins” (v.15).
READ: Luke 22:7-38
I had a listener call my radio show recently. “I’ve been a Christian for 5 years, but I haven’t always lived like one,” she said anxiously. “I want to know, does there come a time when God won’t forgive us anymore?” I recounted the following story to her: Jesus had arranged a secret location to eat the Passover dinner with His disciples—something He’d been “very eager” to share with them (Luke 22:7-38). Very eager? Just think about whom He ate dinner with and what would soon happen.
In a few short moments Jesus announced that someone sitting at the table would betray Him (vv.21-22). He already knew that Judas was the hired hit man (vv.3-6). Would you feel “eager” to dine with your assassin?
On hearing this news, the disciples didn’t grow concerned for their Friend’s safety; no, they started discussing who the betrayer could be (v.23). The conversation fragmented further as they argued about which of them would be the “greatest” (vv.24-27). Before the dinner was finished, these same friends frustrated and misunderstood Jesus—with disastrous results (vv.49-50). Jesus also broke the news of Peter’s betrayal (vv.33-34).
Immediately following dinner, Judas would betray Jesus (vv.47-48), Peter would disown Him (vv.54-62), the others would abandon Him (Mark 14:50), and Jesus would be crucified. Jesus knew the evil the evening held, yet He was still “very eager” to share it with His disciples. It was to these flawed friends that He gave His kingdom (Luke 22:28-30).
Can you exhaust the forgiveness of God? my caller asked. Not a chance, I replied. Leave your life of sin but don’t doubt the grace of Jesus. If He welcomes flawed friends like His disciples into His kingdom, He’s got a place for us too.
—Sheridan Voysey
Have you ever felt like that caller—worried that God won’t forgive you? Why? Can any sin be beyond Jesus’ forgiveness?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Choices and Consequences
December 28, 2011
READ: Galatians 6:1-10
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. —Galatians 6:7
In the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, England, the devastation of generations of enslaved men, women, and children is remembered. The price innocent people have paid for the greed of others is horrific—but theirs is not the only cost. Engraved in a wall of the museum is a profound observation made by Frederick Douglass, former slave and crusader for human rights, which reads, “No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck.” In the act of dehumanizing others, we dehumanize ourselves.
The apostle Paul put it another way when he wrote, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7). Paul’s words form a stark reminder to us that our choices have consequences—and that includes how we choose to treat others. When we choose to hate, that hate can return to us in the form of consequences that we can never fully prepare for. We can find ourselves alienated from others, angry with ourselves, and hamstrung in our ability to serve Christ effectively.
Instead, let’s choose “not [to] grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap . . . . As we have opportunity, let us do good to all” (vv.9-10).
— Bill Crowder
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: desire for vengeance
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good (v.21).
READ: Romans 12:14-21
I once spoke with a father whose son had been brutally murdered by a family friend. In the years that followed, he talked of his burning desire for revenge. He knew that bitterness had overtaken his heart and crowded out that which was good. Although he wanted to turn this festering burden over to Jesus, he struggled with letting go.
One of the things God put on my heart to share with this man initially shocked him, but it also freed him up to see that he had other options. I told him that his desire for revenge was not completely off target and unchristian. I then reminded him of these words that the apostle Paul wrote to fellow believers in Jesus, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).
Paul’s statement is a surprising promise for revenge. In other words, the apostle was encouraging his readers to be patient because they were going to have their day when vengeance would be God’s . . . and theirs. A time is coming when all believers will have the opportunity to make Satan (who is indirectly and ultimately responsible for all of the evils in life) pay under our feet.
Part of the desire to take revenge is godly, as long as it’s based in God’s righteousness and His timing. In the meantime, He calls us to leave revenge up to Him (12:19) and to work toward conquering evil by “doing good” to those who deeply harm us (v.21). This might include blessing them with the gift of noncondemnation or showing tough love that forces them to own the harm of their sinful choices. Our goal? To help others overcome evil in their lives and to prevent the evil of bitterness from overtaking ours. —Jeff Olson
Without pretending that nothing happened, how can you do what is good for a person who has deeply hurt you? How can doing good to those who have hurt you be a sample of God’s mercy and justice?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
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