A Hideous Monster
By Jasmine Priya, India Lily: Jane . . . erm, I’m sorry to say this, but, er . . . you might want to consider using a deodorant? Jane: Whaaat?! But I don’t have body odor. Do I? Pride is like body odor. It is difficult to detect by oneself but is utterly noticeable to [...]
ODJ: not today!
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life (v.10).
READ: John 10:1-10
A few years ago, an attempted bank robbery was thwarted when an armed and courageous customer stopped a man who claimed to have a bomb strapped to his chest. Here’s what happened. Shortly after the bank opened, a man approached a teller and threatened to detonate a bomb if she didn’t hand over the money. Another teller, who saw what was going down, alerted long-time customer Nabil Fawzi, who happened to be legally packing a handgun.
Calmly, Fawzi pulled out his concealed pistol, pointed it at the robber and firmly announced, “You are not robbing this bank today!” He then ordered the thief to sit in a chair and held him at gunpoint until police arrived.
Most of us won’t witness a robbery at our local bank, but Jesus warned that we all are in danger of being robbed. When He described Himself as the “Good Shepherd” (John 10:11), Jesus reminded His followers that there is an unseen thief who is out “to steal and kill and destroy” the life He came to restore (John 10:10).
The “thief” Jesus referred to is Satan—the once mightiest of angels who fell when he became arrogant and turned against his Maker (Isaiah 14:12-14). Though God defeated Satan’s attempt to overthrow heaven, Satan and his fallen angels are still active today.
Jesus wants to give us life, and Satan wants to steal it away. The evil one is bent on keeping us from the life with God that he once had but can never get back. It’s imperative that we know this, so that we can be alert and resist him (1 Peter 5:8-9).
Satan is an accomplished thief, but we’re far from helpless. Like Nabil Fawzi, we are armed (but with God’s truth) and can firmly tell him, “Not today!” —Jeff Olson
How has Satan been trying to steal life from you? What has Jesus—your Good Shepherd—provided to help you withstand Satan’s schemes?
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Loading ...ODJ: get low
But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God (v.16 NIV).
READ: 2 Chronicles 26:1-23
Evangelist D. L. Moody once said, “When a man thinks he has a good deal of strength, and is self-confident, you may look for his downfall. It may be years before it comes to light, but it is already commenced.” This was definitely true of King Uzziah. Everything seemed to be going so well in the monarch’s life. He lived in covenant obedience to the Lord and he sought God’s guidance during most of his reign. As long as he asked God for guidance and help, God gave him great success. His success was evidenced by his many accomplishments (2 Chronicles 26:2,7-15). In fact, Uzziah’s life could be considered a human success story—until he became blinded by his power and success, which caused him to be filled with pride. Uzziah’s pride was evidenced in several ways: He challenged God’s holiness by trespassing into the temple and presuming upon a position he would never be able to have (v.16); he viewed God’s power as nice but not absolutely necessary for his leadership and life (vv.5,16); when confronted with his pride, he refused godly correction and counsel; he refused to repent, and he ignored—instead of feared—the consequences of his sin (vv.18-19). Uzziah’s pride motivated him to glorify himself and contend for God’s supremacy. What a tragic ending to a promising life. The story of Uzziah teaches us several important lessons on how to break the pride cycle and start the humility cycle in our lives: View God’s help as absolutely necessary, remember the Source of all our blessings, thank God regularly for those blessings, and accept godly and worthwhile counsel. May we choose, as William Penn says, a “low and level dwelling!” For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). —Marvin Williams
How is pride a contention for the supremacy of God? How has it manifested itself in your life lately? Humility attracts the gaze and grace of God. What is your personal plan for seeking humility?
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(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: into temptation
[Jesus] was tempted by the devil for forty days (v.2).
READ: Luke 4:1-13
One of the most distressing portions of Scripture is the part of Luke’s gospel that tells us Jesus “was led by the Spirit in the wilderness” to be tempted by the devil (4:1). The Spirit took Jesus into the dark wilderness? We think of God as the One who keeps danger at bay, not One who invites us to face difficulties. But God never promises to steer us clear of temptation or intense difficulty. Far better, the Spirit promises to go with us into the mouth of the dragon. God went through the tumultuous waters of the Red Sea with Israel (Isaiah 43), and God was present with the young Hebrew men in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3). God was present with Jesus, and God will be with us. In the wilderness, Satan’s temptation was a multistep ploy to get Jesus to go on His own, separating Himself from the very One who was with Him there. Satan tempted Jesus to: • turn stone to bread (providing for Himself rather than trusting God, v.3). • worship Satan and gain all Satan’s domain (grabbing His own kingdom rather than remaining under God’s rule, v.5). • hurl Himself off the temple’s pinnacle (taking life into His own hands rather than simply trusting God’s goodness, v.9). With each temptation, however, Jesus answered Satan with Scripture—rebuking Satan’s words with God’s words. Jesus knew the truth, and He knew God was with Him even in that vile place. I have a friend who’s angry at God for not averting suffering and pain at a particular moment in his life. I believe Jesus was with my friend, however, even in his pain. If he would trust God’s kind presence, he would discover something far better than release from his painful circumstances. —Winn Collier
Read each temptation in Luke 4. What would be your equivalent temptation of turning stone to bread, worshiping the devil, and testing God by leaping off the temple? How would you handle each temptation?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: too much
Pay attention to these instructions, for anyone who fears God will avoid both extremes (v.18).
READ: Ecclesiastes 7:15-18
The other day I was putting air in my car’s tires. The small wording on the side of the tires warned me, “Maximum pressure: 35 psi.”
I’m no mechanic, but this is good information to know. I’ve been told that too much air in a tire will negatively affect braking, cornering, and overall stability. Less of the tire touches the ground when tire pressure is too high. As a result, a car will tend to bounce around on the road and its tires will lose traction. We all need air in our tires, and we won’t get very far on a tire that is low or flat. But as with many things in life, too much of a good thing can be detrimental.
Take, for example, something as basic as food. We all need to eat. But the Bible clearly warns against the dangers of overeating (Proverbs 23:20-21).
Needing too much of a good thing can also show up in our relationships. For instance, the Old Testament character Leah (Rachel’s older sister and Jacob’s first wife) was a woman who seemed to need her husband’s love too much. From the start of a marriage that was born out of deception, Jacob made no bones about the fact that he loved Rachel much more than Leah (Genesis 29:30).
Coming in second place left Leah heartbroken. Sadly, she thought she could win more of Jacob’s affection and attention by giving him children (29:32,34). But her plan never worked. It only drew her deeper into a jealous rivalry with Rachel that she would never win (30:1-24).
Leah’s desire for her husband’s love was legitimate, but it began to consume her when it became the primary focus of her life. Is there something good in your life you need too much? —Jeff Olson
Is a desire for something good (coffee, blogs, music, a person) consuming you? What would happen if you were consumed with God instead?
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(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: failure
Go and tell His disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see Him there, just as He told you before He died (Mark 16:7).
READ: Matthew 26:69-75
According to columnist Perry Buffington, a licensed psychologist, failure takes on a life of its own because the brain remembers incomplete tasks or failures longer than successes or completed activities. It’s called the “Zeigarnik effect.” Buffington states, “When a project or a thought is completed, the brain . . . no longer gives the project priority or active working status.
. . . But failures have no closure. The brain continues to spin the memory, trying to come up with ways to fix the mess and move it from active to inactive status.”
Peter failed in many ways, but Jesus fixed the mounting mess of the apostle’s failures and moved his blunders from active to inactive status. Peter failed in at least two ways that people most fear: being powerless in a crisis and awkward in a social setting. In the most important times of his life with Jesus—the Caesarea Philippi scene (Matthew 16:20-23), the transfiguration scene (17:1-4), and the foot-washing scene (John 13:4-10)—Peter said the most inappropriate things. He failed because the deluge of his pride overpowered him, and he attempted to blanket himself in his own strength. At the arrest of Jesus, he collapsed and became a pathetic coward (Matthew 26:69-75). His heart deceived him and he denied his Teacher and Lord. But Jesus gave him a second chance and moved his failure from active to inactive (Mark 16:7; John 21:15-17).
Jesus can move our failure to inactive status when we realize that He’s bigger than our failures and He’s willing to give us another chance. If our failures are the result of sin, then we should confess our sins to God and genuinely repent (1 John 1:9). When we fail, we can and should get up again (Proverbs 24:16). And we should press on in Jesus’ power (Acts 3). —Marvin Williams
In what ways have you failed? What truth do you need to accept as you ask Jesus to move your failure from active to inactive status?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: a tree and its fruit
The Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife (v.21).
READ: Genesis 3:1-21
Many of us place a tree in our homes this month, decorating it with colorful ornaments and lights.
And, of course, gifts will be set beneath the tree, waiting to be opened on Christmas morning. What would Christmas be without the iconic Christmas tree!
In the Garden of Eden, there was a tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). Eve willfully took something from that tree and changed the course of human destiny and history. Satan misled Eve to challenge the truth of God’s Word—“You won’t die!” (3:4), created discontent in her heart that God was withholding something better from her (v.5), and convinced her to eat the fruit so that she would “be like God” (vv.5-7). Die? Adam and Eve had no idea what dying meant. Death for human beings was ushered in by their sin. And from that time forward, we have experienced death—both spiritual and physical.
Adam and Eve were asked by God to explain their actions (vv.8-13). Satan was not, because he had no second chance for redemption. Consider the three orders of God’s creation—angels, the universe, and human beings. God had already destined all the evil angels—including Satan—to hell (Matthew 25:41; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6). God will destroy the earth and re-create a new earth (2 Peter 3:7,13; Revelation 21:1). But only people will be redeemed and saved (Hebrews 2:16; 1 Peter 1:12), because they’re precious to God (Psalm 8:3-5; Job 7:17).
The clothes they made for themselves (Genesis 3:7) could not cover their guilt. So God made them clothing from animal skins (v.21). As blood flowed for the very first time, they had a taste of the horrors of death. It was the first dramatic illustration of the ultimate cost to be paid at Calvary, for without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22). —K.T. Sim
God gave us the gift of salvation through Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice on a tree at Calvary. Have you received that gift? How will you celebrate Christmas this year in the shadow of the cross?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: personal weaknesses
They kept demanding an answer, so He stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” (v.7).
READ: John 8:1-11
Last November, the news about Tiger Wood’s numerous extramarital affairs began to leak out. It became evident that the golfer with the squeaky-clean image wasn’t so perfect after all.
Since then, there has been a growing debate over whether or not the media is being too hard on Tiger. Some say he deserves a public shellacking. Others point out that other famous people have been serial womanizers. They question why the media seems to look the other way when it comes to some other celebrities’ sexual indiscretions, while Tiger gets trashed.
John records the account of the morning when a group of Jewish religious leaders tried to draw Jesus into a moral debate (8:1-11). While Jesus was teaching in the temple, they brought in a woman who had committed adultery—publicly accusing her before the people (v.3).
After reminding Jesus that the Law of Moses called for her to be stoned, they asked Him what He thought they should do with her (vv.4-5). John tells us that the religious leaders were looking for Jesus to say something that would discredit Himself (v.6). If He didn’t condemn her, He would be disagreeing with Moses. If He was too harsh, He might take a hit in the eyes of the masses that were attracted to His teaching.
Jesus brilliantly avoided the trap they had set by pointing out the sinfulness of the woman’s accusers. He said, “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” (v.7).
Instead of discussing the moral failures of those who make headline news, let’s remember that we all have weaknesses—places where sin can more easily infiltrate and ruin our lives. By humbly acknowledging our weaknesses to God and others, we can better avoid sins that will destroy us and our witness for Jesus. —Jeff Olson
When was the last time you confided in a Christian friend about one of your own personal weaknesses? What happens when we go into isolation with our sin?
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(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: not an option
Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer” (v.29).
READ: Mark 9:14-29
Last Sunday, we gave our 7-year-old congregation a spiritual challenge—to join together in an on-site, 24-hour prayer chain. Each person was asked to consider signing up to pray for 30 minutes. Nearly 100 people signed up to participate through prayer! We gave our congregation this challenge because, unlike the disciples in Mark 9, we did not want our ministry effort to be an embarrassing failure because it lacked the power of God that comes through prayer.
The scene in Mark 9 opens with Jesus, Peter, James, and John descending from the mountain where Jesus had been transfigured. They came to the foot of the mountain, only to find the scribes arguing with the disciples who had remained behind. What were they arguing about? The argument was probably motivated by the disciples’ failure to cast out a demon from a boy.
No doubt their public failure and subsequent humiliation seemed curious and strange to the disciples, for they had been given authority to cast out demons (3:14-15) and had been successful in doing so (6:7, 12-13). Jesus sighed in frustration at the faithlessness of the disciples, the scribes, the crowd, and the troubled father, and ultimately healed the boy. In the debriefing session, the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast out the demon (9:28-29). Jesus zeroed in on the cause of their failure—they were fruitless in this ministry endeavor because they had failed to pray.
Like the disciples, as believers in Jesus we’re sometimes guilty of self-sufficiency due to our abilities, knowledge, skill, and past successes. But it’s extremely dangerous to do God’s work without His power. To experience the power of God in our lives and spiritual efforts, we must not see prayer as optional, but as an absolute necessity. Let’s depend on God—not on our technique and skill.
—Marvin Williams
On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your prayer life? What are some actions you need to take today to improve it?
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(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: picture of pride
When he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall (v.16).
READ: 2 Chronicles 26:3-21
Hoping to catch a prowler, the South Wales police published his image in a local newspaper. But the burglar was unsatisfied with the photo, so he submitted a better one—featuring him standing in front of a police vehicle! Police later captured and detained the criminal, thanks to his arrogant stunt. You might say his glamour shot led to a mug shot.
Like this bigheaded bandit, King Uzziah’s oversized ego did him in. It’s a shame too, because Uzziah was somewhat of a renaissance man. He defeated the Philistines, cultivated vineyards, fortified Jerusalem, and outfitted his elite military forces with some mighty fine weapons. Aided by God, his fame spread far and wide.
When Uzziah became powerful, “he also became proud, which led to his downfall” (2 Chronicles 26:16). He barged into the temple and personally ignited incense on the altar. Only the priests were allowed to do this, and when they tried to kick him out, Uzziah “became furious” (v.19) and raged at them.
Uzziah wasn’t the only one who was angry—God stepped in to defend the temple workers, zapping Israel’s ruler with a case of leprosy. Instantly, Uzziah’s status changed from famous king to lowly outcast. He lived “in isolation in a separate house” for the rest of his life (v.21), and lost his political power.
Uzziah’s life was a picture of this truth: “[God] will punish the proud” (Isaiah 2:12). Still, like the conceited king, we’re all prone to adopting an inflated view of ourselves and getting angry with people who try to set us straight. Fortunately, when we “humble [ourselves] under the mighty power of God” (1 Peter 5:6), we don’t have to suffer the destruction that ultimately accompanies self-importance (Proverbs 16:18). Picture this—God loves a humble heart! —Jennifer Benson Schuldt
When people confront sin in your life, do you respond in anger? Might this response be linked to pride? How have you experienced a loss of status or power as the result of God’s humbling hand in your life?
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