A Repost From Mart De Haan of Our Daily Bread

A Family In Trouble

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April 23, 2011 — by Mart De Haan

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Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: Malachi 4:4-6; Matthew 1:1-2

He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. —Luke 1:16

Bible in a year:
2 Samuel 16-18; Luke 17:20-37

Many of America’s 30 million white-tailed deer find themselves endangered not by guns, but by the cars of our expanding suburbs. I was reminded of their plight when a mature doe dashed through traffic just ahead of me. As I watched, I wondered what had driven her to take such a chance, and why she then stopped on the other side and looked back over her shoulder. As I drove by her, I turned to follow her gaze and saw two small fawns looking helplessly at their mother across the busy street. Instead of following, they turned and walked back into the woods.

This family is not alone. We too can find ourselves in circumstances of separation and danger we did not anticipate. Reading Malachi and Matthew reminds us that we are troubled children of troubled parents who desperately need the help of our Father in heaven. Sometimes we need His help to see and avoid repeating the sins of our fathers (Neh. 9:2-3). Sometimes we need His help to turn back to the example and care of loving parents (Luke 15:18).

Only from our heavenly Father can we find the perfect forgiveness, example, and inner grace we need. He knows we are all fallen children of fallen parents, and even now He offers us the help of His Spirit and the rescue of His Son.

Each day we learn from yesterday
Of God’s great love and care;
And every burden we must face
He’ll surely help us bear. —D. De Haan

It’s never too soon to turn back to God.

Reposted From Mart De Haan of Our Daily Bread

A Repost From Julie Ackerman Link of Our Daily Bread

Sin Hurts

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April 22, 2011 — by Julie Ackerman Link

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Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: Hebrews 2:10-18

He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many. —Isaiah 53:12

Bible in a year:
2 Samuel 14-15; Luke 17:1-19

Sooner or later we all feel the painful effects of sin. Sometimes it’s the weight of our own sin and the shame and embarrassment of having failed miserably. At other times, it’s the load of someone else’s sin that weighs us down—someone who betrayed, deceived, abandoned, ridiculed, cheated, or made a fool of us.

Think about a time when the weight of that guilt or pain was so heavy that you couldn’t pull yourself out of bed. Now try to imagine the heaviness of the combined grief that everyone’s sin has caused your family, your church, your neighborhood. Add to that all the suffering sin has caused everyone in your city, state, nation, and the world. Now try to imagine the accumulated grief that sin has caused throughout the centuries since creation.

Is it any wonder that the weight of all this sin began squeezing the life out of Jesus on the night He was called to bear it? (Matt. 26:36-44). The next day, even His beloved Father would forsake Him. No other suffering can compare.

Sin put Jesus to the ultimate test. But His love endured it, His strength bore it, and His power overcame it. Thanks to Jesus’ death and resurrection, we know beyond a doubt that sin will not and cannot win.

Is God aloof from human pain
That ravages our mortal frame?
Oh, no, Christ felt our agony
When sin and death He overcame! —D. De Haan

Christ’s empty tomb guarantees our victory over sin and death.

Reposted From Julie Ackerman Link of Our Daily Bread

A Repost From Randy Kilgore of Our Daily Bread

Moving Past Sinful Failure

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April 21, 2011 — by Randy Kilgore

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Read: 2 Samuel 12:1-23

I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. —Isaiah 43:25

Bible in a year:
2 Samuel 12-13; Luke 16

How should we handle moments of faith-failure, when we’ve damaged the kingdom of God in the eyes of our friends and family or dishonored God in our actions?

We can learn from King David after his humiliation in the Bathsheba scandal. Though the terrible consequences of that sin could not be avoided, he found his way back to a relationship with God that made it possible for him to continue to serve Him. We too can find our way back.

David’s pattern in 2 Samuel 12 serves us well: We need to declare our error candidly (v.13) and seek God’s forgiveness. Then we can ask God that others be spared the consequences of our actions (v.16). Finally, we need to recognize that sometimes the consequences simply cannot be avoided and must be endured. While we always mourn those consequences, we can’t allow them to so consume us that we cease to be servants of God (vv.20-23).

Satan not only delights in the moment of our failure but also in the spiritual inactivity that sometimes snares us in our remorse. When we’ve blown our witness, we are and should be humbled. But we should not multiply the damage by retreating into silence and obscurity as ambassadors of Christ. We can move past failure.

Action Suggestion
If after you’ve confessed your sin to God, you still suffer
with guilty feelings, memorize Proverbs 24:16 and
1 John 1:9 and ask God to help you believe His Word.

God forgives our sins completely
to restore us to His presence and service.

Reposted From Randy Kilgore of Our Daily Bread

A Repost From Dave Branon of Our Daily Bread

Knowing God’s Will

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April 20, 2011 — by Dave Branon

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Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: Ephesians 5:17-21

. . . that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. —Romans 12:2

Bible in a year:
2 Samuel 9-11; Luke 15:11-32

A young man facing the future and unsure of what the next year would bring, concluded, “Nobody knows what God’s will is.” Is he right? Does a lack of certainty about the future translate into not knowing God’s will?

The concept of knowing God’s will is often limited to discerning what specific situation we will be in at some future time. Although seeking God’s specific leading is part of it, another aspect that is just as vital is to follow the clearly defined elements of God’s will each and every day.

For instance, it is God’s will for us to be good citizens as a challenge to those opposed to Christ (1 Peter 2:15), to give God thanks no matter what (1 Thess. 5:18), to be sanctified sexually, avoiding immorality (1 Thess. 4:3), to live under the Holy Spirit’s control (Eph. 5:18), to sing to Him (v.19), and to submit to other believers (v.21).

As we submit to God in these and other areas, we are more likely to live in what Romans 12:2 calls God’s “good and acceptable and perfect will.” Living with God’s smile of approval leads to His guidance for the future.

As we seek to know God’s will for the future, we must also act on what we already know now.

Knowing God’s will for the future
Comes when we follow today
What He’s revealed in the Scriptures
As His commands to obey. —Sper

Love and obey the Lord every day, and He will unfold your future.

Reposted From Dave Branon of Our Daily Bread

A Repost From C. P. Hia of Our Daily Bread

The Dividing Wall

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April 19, 2011 — by C. P. Hia

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Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: Ephesians 2:11-22; 4:1-3

He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation. —Ephesians 2:14

Bible in a year:
2 Samuel 6-8; Luke 15:1-10

November 9, 2010, marked the 21st anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. On that day in 1989, an announcement over East German TV informed people that they were free to travel to West Germany. A day later, East German bulldozers began to dismantle the wall that for 28 years had divided East and West Germany.

Jesus Christ “has broken down the middle wall of separation” between Jew and Gentile (Eph. 2:14). But there was an even more impenetrable barrier that separated man from God. Jesus’ death and resurrection made the reconciliation between man and man and between man and God possible (v.16).

All believers are now “members of the household of God” (v.19). Together, we are to grow into “a holy temple in the Lord” (v.21) with God’s Holy Spirit living among and within us (v.22).

But sadly, Christians often re-erect walls between one another. That is why Paul urges us to “walk worthy of the calling . . . , bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (4:1-3). Rather than building walls, let’s work to dismantle what separates us. Let the world see that we are indeed of the same household.

We’re members of Christ’s body,
A blessed family;
So let’s not fight or quarrel,
But live in harmony. —Fitzhugh

Unity among believers comes from their union with Christ.

Reposted From C. P. Hia of Our Daily Bread

A Repost From Joe Stowell of Our Daily Bread

The Purpose Of God’s Goodness

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April 18, 2011 — by Joe Stowell

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Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: Psalm 67

God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us. —Psalm 67:1

Bible in a year:
2 Samuel 3-5; Luke 14:25-35

When I was growing up, we often sang a song in Sunday school that went like this: “God is good to me! God is good to me! He holds my hand and helps me stand! God is good to me!”

I need to say right away that I believe God is good and He takes delight in doing good things for people. He does indeed hold our hand in times of trouble and helps us stand against the onslaught of life’s difficulties. But I wonder if you’ve ever asked yourself, Why is He good? It certainly is not because we deserve it or because He feels the need to buy our love and allegiance with His benefits.

The psalmist prays for God to bless him so that “[the Lord’s] way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations” (Ps. 67:2). God’s daily blessings are proof positive that He is indeed a good God who cares for His own. But how will our world know this about God if we never praise Him for His goodness to us? (v.3).

So, the next time God blesses you, be sure to look for ways to appropriately give Him the credit. Consuming His blessings without communicating His goodness shortchanges the very purpose of His gifts of grace in our lives.

As endless as God’s blessings are,
So should my praises be
For all His daily goodnesses
That flow unceasingly! —Adams

God is good—make sure the people in your world know what He has done in your life.

Reposted From Joe Stowell of Our Daily Bread

A Repost From Jennifer Benson Schuldt of Our Daily Bread

Who Is This?

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April 17, 2011 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt

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Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: Luke 19:28-40

Blessed is [He] who comes in the name of the Lord! —Luke 19:38

Bible in a year:
2 Samuel 1-2; Luke 14:1-24

Imagine standing shoulder to shoulder with onlookers by a dirt road. The woman behind you is on her tiptoes, trying to see who is coming. In the distance, you glimpse a man riding a donkey. As He approaches, people toss their coats onto the road. Suddenly, you hear a tree crack behind you. A man is cutting down palm branches, and people are spreading them out ahead of the donkey.

Jesus’ followers zealously honored Him as He entered Jerusalem a few days before His crucifixion. The multitude rejoiced and praised God for “all the mighty works they had seen” (Luke 19:37). Jesus’ devotees surrounded Him, calling out, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” (v.38). Their enthusiastic honor affected the people of Jerusalem. When Jesus finally arrived, “all the city was moved, saying, ‘Who is this?’” (Matt. 21:10).

Today, people are still curious about Jesus. Although we can’t pave His way with palm branches or shout praises to Him in person, we can still honor Him. We can discuss His remarkable works, assist people in need (Gal. 6:2), patiently bear insults (1 Peter 4:14-16), and love each other deeply (v.8). Then we must be ready to answer the onlookers who ask, “Who is Jesus?”

So let our lips and lives express
The holy gospel we profess;
So let our works and virtues shine,
To prove the doctrine all divine. —Watts

We honor God’s name when we call Him our Father
and live like His Son.

Reposted From Jennifer Benson Schuldt of Our Daily Bread