ODJ: uncertainties
March 12, 2010
READ: Philippians 4:6-9
You will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus (v.7).
Due to the recent economic downturn, the university my brother-in-law attends will no longer provide any paid academic teaching or research opportunities for students who have been in the program for more than 5 years. This change has affected him big-time. He was set to graduate with his doctorate degree next year. But now new plans have to be made.
My sister referenced Romans 8:28 as she wrote in an e-mail: “Though these are uncertainties, we have peace in our hearts as we know that God works for the good of those who love Him.”
It’s evident that believers in Jesus can have peace in the midst of uncertainties. But how? In Philippians 4:6, Paul tells the believers in Philippi not to worry about anything but to pray about everything. Why? The heavenly Father loves His children and cares for their needs (Matthew 6:25-34). We can bring all our concerns to Him with an attitude of thankfulness—trusting Him to meet our needs.
To say the peace of God surpasses all understanding reveals that we can’t explain it, but we can experience it as He guards our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:7). The word guard means to set up a sentinel or “to watch over.” God not only guards our hearts from anxiety, He also guards our minds from spiraling downward.
In verses 8 and 9, Paul gives us 10 things to focus on and do that replace worry. We are told to “fix our thoughts” on them, and to “keep putting [them] into practice.”
Our peace comes from being confident that God is in control. He alone provides the peace that settles our nerves, fills our minds with hope, and allows us to relax even in the midst of changes and challenges. —Poh Fang Chia
Do you lack peace in some area of your life? What will happen if you fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise?
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Loading ...ODJ: hedging bets
March 11, 2010
READ: 1 Kings 18
Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” (v.21).
Millions of people say they believe in God, but to guarantee the good life they also put their trust in capitalism, science, or immoral pleasures. Recently, however, we’ve seen further proof that these gods cannot deliver. Free markets have collapsed, sending the economies of most countries into deep recessions. Scientific breakthroughs have produced cloning and greenhouse gasses. And the sexual revolution left us with AIDS and increased divorce.
Our predicament is not unlike Old Testament Israel, which hedged its worship of Yahweh by betting on Baal, the god of fertility. Baal was the storm god who, with lightning in one hand and thunder in the other, promised to send rain on the Israelites’ fields and make them rich.
God responded by striking Israel at their point of compromise. You worship Baal for the rain he provides? Then “there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!” (1 Kings 17:1).
After 3 years of drought, the parched Israelites agreed to meet Elijah on Mount Carmel for a faceoff between Baal and Yahweh. The prophets of Baal shouted and cut themselves, but they couldn’t persuade Baal to drop a lightning bolt and burn their sacrifice. Elijah scoffed that perhaps the pagan god was “daydreaming” or “relieving himself,” “Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!” (1 Kings 18:27).
When the exhausted Baal worshipers had finally given up, Elijah called down fire on his waterlogged sacrifice, a fire so intense that it consumed even the stones of the altar. Then Elijah seized the prophets of Baal and slew them.
Capitalism, science, and sex are good gifts from God. But if we put our trust in them (instead of Him), He may use these very things to destroy us.
—Mike Wittmer
How can you know when something such as science or money has taken the place of God, instead of being used to serve Him? Why does God take such drastic measures to end idolatry?
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March 10, 2010
READ: Luke 22:24-27
Consider this scenario. You’ve invited the 10 most important people from church to dine with Jesus, people whom you would consider VIPs—your pastor, elders, deacons, or lay leaders, for example. As host, you’re in charge of the seating arrangement. Assuming you have a round table that seats 12 people, where will Jesus sit? And since Jesus’ left- and right-hand sides are places of highest honor, whom would you assign to sit next to Him?
As the disciples entered the upper room to eat the Passover meal, they were all intent on sitting in the places of honor. This was not the first time they had fought over who was numero uno (Matthew 20:20-24; Mark 9:33-35,10:35-37; Luke 9:46). And the jostling surfaced yet again in the midst of the Passover meal (Luke 22:20,24), barely hours before Jesus was crucified.
It was not uncommon for Jesus’ disciples to vie with one another over who would sit at His right and left. But as Christ’s followers, we’re to be different. Those who are truly great Christian examples take the lowest rank and become like a servant (v.26). Jesus Himself “got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel He had around Him” (John 13:4-5). Paul later commented, “Though He was God . . . He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave” (Philippians 2:6-7). Jesus showed us what it takes to be truly great.
When people look at you, do they see a leader in high position exerting authority? Or do they see a servant serving in humility? —K.T. Sim
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Revisit the dinner scenario in today’s article. Where would you be sitting? Would you be sitting on Jesus’ right—in the place of honor? Why or why not?
(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: childhood again
March 9, 2010
READ: Psalm 116:1-14
The Lord protects
those of childlike faith (v.6).
Until today, I thought Davy Crockett was merely a fictitious raccoon hunter. This afternoon, however, fact dislodged my fictitious understanding of the Tennessee native as I read a Crockett biography to my 6-year-old son and 5-year-old foster child.
With the two small boys sitting by my side, I learned that though many myths surround the “King of the Wild Frontier,” beneath the coonskin cap lived a real American hero—a longstanding member of the United States Congress, and a legendary soldier.
Among the most exhilarating gifts that accompany raising children are the opportunities that we, as adults, have to learn and discover. Through children, we have opportunities to master subjects we once considered dull, relish the messages in fairy tales, and delight in simplicity. In terms of faith, though, God doesn’t suggest that we return to thinking and reasoning as a child (1 Cor. 13:11). But He does exhort us to return to “childlike faith” and to simply trust in Jesus.
He longs for our expressions of faith to echo those of the psalmist who declared, “I love the Lord because He hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!” (Psalm 116:1-2).
The same God who “bends down to listen” to us experiences pleasure when we look up to Him. “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank You for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased You to do it this way!” (Matthew 11:25-26).
God desires that we once again view Him with credence versus skepticism, with trust instead of fear, and with hope rather than apprehension.
—Roxanne Robbins
How does your faith today parallel or differ from the confidence you had early in your walk with God? What needs to change for you to return to your childlike faith?
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