RBC Ministries' YMIblogging - A Christian Youth Blog

ODJ: uncertainties

YMIblogging — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:02:13 +0000

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

ODB: united goal

YMIblogging — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:01:04 +0000

The spotted owl has been disappearing in the US. Originally it was believed that old growth logging was its greatest threat. But research shows that one of the owl’s relatives may be the problem. For the past 15 years, the barred owl has been rapidly migrating westward. Barred owls, which used to live exclusively east of the Mississippi, compete for the same food as spotted owls but are more aggressive and adaptable.

In a similar way, our greatest spiritual conflict often comes not from outside the church, but from other Christians. This was happening in the church of Corinth, and Paul took some time to address the divisive spirit that had grown in this congregation. This spirit threatened the unity of the church. Paul, with a pastoral nudge, encouraged the Corinthians to agree on the essentials and not be divided over the nonessentials. People were quarreling because they were aligning themselves with different Christian leaders—Paul, Apollos, Peter, and even Christ. In creating these divisions, they were valuing their favorite leader above unity in Christ.

Paul said the one essential that should unify the church is preaching the good news. That should be our united goal as well. — Marvin Williams

ODJ: hedging bets

YMIblogging — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:02:14 +0000

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