A Safe Place November 6, 2016

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:9–11; 13:4–7 Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 37–39; Hebrews 3 That is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.—1 Corinthians 6:11 A young Japanese man had a problem—he was afraid of leaving his house. To avoid other people, he slept through the day and stayed up all night watching TV. He was a hikikomori or a modern-day hermit. The problem began when he stopped going to school because of poor grades. The longer he remained apart from society, the more he felt like a social misfit. Eventually he broke off all communication with his friends and family. He was helped on his journey to recovery, though, by visiting a youth club in Tokyo known as an ibasho—a safe place where broken people could start reintroducing themselves to society. What if we thought of the church as an ibasho—and far more? Without a doubt, we are a community of broken people. When the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth he described their former way of life as anti-social, harmful, and dangerous to themselves and others (1 Cor. 6:9-10). But in Jesus they were being transformed and made whole. And Paul encouraged these rescued people to love one another, to be patient and kind, not to be jealous or proud or rude (13:4-7). The church is to be an ibasho where all of us, no matter what struggles or brokenness we face, can know and experience God’s love. May the hurting world experience the compassion of Christ from all who follow Him. —Poh Fang Chia Dear Lord, thank You for paying the penalty for my sins by Your death and resurrection and giving me new life. Help me to live a life that honors Your holy name and to love others as You have loved me. Only God can transform a sin-stained soul into a masterpiece of grace. INSIGHT: Without the correct biblical frame of reference, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 could lead us to believe certain kinds of sins are unforgivable. Does today’s Bible reading actually teach that certain sinners are beyond redemption? The answer lies in the contrasting sentence that provides us with a clearer picture of what the apostle is saying: “And that is what some of you were [emphasis mine]. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (v. 11). It is not the committing of sins that condemns irrevocably. It is the continuous lifestyle of sin that indicates a person has not experienced regeneration through faith in Christ. Dennis Fisher Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

You can make a difference. Even the smallest donation helps reach people around the world with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible. DONATE

Share With Your Friends

Featured Video

Our mission is to make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all. Our vision is to see people of all nations experiencing a personal relationship with Christ, growing to be more like Him, and serving in a local body of His family. To read today's Our Daily Bread online visit www.odb.org. Copyright © 2016, Our Daily Bread Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI 49555 USA. Written permission must be obtained from Our Daily Bread Ministries for any further posting or distribution. Scriptures taken from Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved.   Our Daily Bread Ministries | 3000 Kraft Ave | Grand Rapids, MI 49512 Manage Your Subscription.

Love in Action November 5, 2016

Read: Philippians 1:27–2:4 Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 34–36; Hebrews 2 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.—Philippians 2:3 “Do you have a few items you’d like me to wash?” I asked a visitor to our home in London. His face lit up, and as his daughter walked by, he said, “Get your dirty clothes—Amy’s doing our laundry!” I smiled, realizing that my offer had been extended from a few items to a few loads. Later as I hung clothes outside on the line, a phrase from my morning’s Bible reading floated through my mind: “In humility value others above yourselves” (Phil. 2:3). I had been reading Paul’s letter to the people of Philippi, in which he exhorts them to live worthy of Christ’s calling through serving and being united with others. They were facing persecution, but Paul wanted them to be of one mind. He knew that their unity, birthed through their union with Christ and expressed through serving each other, would enable them to keep strong in their faith. We might claim to love others without selfish ambition or vain conceit, but the true state of our hearts isn’t revealed until we put our love into action. Though I felt tempted to grumble, I knew that as a follower of Christ, my call was to put my love for my friends into practice—with a clean heart. May we find ways to serve our family, friends, and neighbors for God’s glory. —Amy Boucher Pye Read Luke 22:22–27 and consider how you can pattern yourself after Jesus the servant, looking especially at the words, “But I am among you as one who serves.” The gift of unity can result from serving each other. INSIGHT: Philippians was written by the apostle Paul to a group of Christians in the ancient city of Philippi. Paul had met many of these church members several years earlier when he visited this Roman colony in the heart of Macedonia. The church had begun with the conversion of a small group of women—including a wealthy Thyatiran clothing dealer named Lydia—who met to worship God on the banks of the Krenides River outside the city gates (Acts 16:11-15). Now many years later Paul wrote to these friends from prison. He was unsure he would ever see them again to deliver his message in person (1:27). What was the content of this message? Stand firm; stand together; be joyful; there is hope in Christ! Dennis Moles Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

You can make a difference. Even the smallest donation helps reach people around the world with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible. DONATE

Share With Your Friends

Featured Video

Our mission is to make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all. Our vision is to see people of all nations experiencing a personal relationship with Christ, growing to be more like Him, and serving in a local body of His family. To read today's Our Daily Bread online visit www.odb.org. Copyright © 2016, Our Daily Bread Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI 49555 USA. Written permission must be obtained from Our Daily Bread Ministries for any further posting or distribution. Scriptures taken from Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved.   Our Daily Bread Ministries | 3000 Kraft Ave | Grand Rapids, MI 49512 Manage Your Subscription.

Strong Conqueror November 4, 2016

Read: John 18:10–14, 36–37 Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 32–33; Hebrews 1 My kingdom is from another place.—John 18:36 Most of us hope for good government. We vote, we serve, and we speak out for causes we believe are fair and just. But political solutions remain powerless to change the condition of our hearts. Many of Jesus’s followers anticipated a Messiah who would bring a vigorous political response to Rome and its heavy-handed oppression. Peter was no exception. When Roman soldiers came to arrest Christ, Peter drew his sword and took a swing at the head of the high priest’s servant, lopping off his ear in the process. Jesus halted Peter’s one-man war, saying, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (John 18:11). Hours later, Jesus would tell Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders” (v. 36). The Lord’s restraint in that moment, as His life hung in the balance, astonishes us when we ponder the scope of His mission. On a future day, He will lead the armies of heaven into battle. John wrote, “With justice he judges and wages war” (Rev. 19:11). But as He endured the ordeal of His arrest, trial, and crucifixion, Jesus kept His Father’s will in view. By embracing death on the cross, He set in motion a chain of events that truly transforms hearts. And in the process, our Strong Conqueror defeated death itself. —Tim Gustafson Father, how prone I am to reacting quickly rather than wisely. Show me Your will for my life so that I will purposefully choose the path You have for me. Real restraint is not weakness, for it arises out of genuine strength. INSIGHT: At Gethsemane Jesus restrained and conquered (or overcame) His own natural inclinations that wished He would not have to undergo the excruciating agony of crucifixion (Luke 22:42). Restraint is not always a high priority in our lives, but we all need help to overcome our natural inclinations. One aspect of the Spirit’s control over us, according to Galatians 5:23, is self-control. Peter tended to be an “open-mouth-insert-foot” kind of guy (Matt. 16:22; 17:4-5). And on impulse he cut off an opponent’s ear (John 18:10). Even as a stallion must be harnessed to do its master’s bidding, so Peter had a lesson to teach us about the value of restraint. Jim Townsend Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

You can make a difference. Even the smallest donation helps reach people around the world with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible. DONATE

Share With Your Friends

Featured Video

Our mission is to make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all. Our vision is to see people of all nations experiencing a personal relationship with Christ, growing to be more like Him, and serving in a local body of His family. To read today's Our Daily Bread online visit www.odb.org. Copyright © 2016, Our Daily Bread Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI 49555 USA. Written permission must be obtained from Our Daily Bread Ministries for any further posting or distribution. Scriptures taken from Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved.   Our Daily Bread Ministries | 3000 Kraft Ave | Grand Rapids, MI 49512 Manage Your Subscription.

Leading with Love November 3, 2016

Read: Philemon 8–18 Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 30–31; Philemon I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love.—Philemon 9 In his book Spiritual Leadership, J. Oswald Sanders explores the qualities and the importance of tact and diplomacy. “Combining these two words,” Sanders says, “the idea emerges of skill in reconciling opposing viewpoints without giving offense and without compromising principle.” During Paul’s imprisonment in Rome, he became the spiritual mentor and close friend of a runaway slave named Onesimus, whose owner was Philemon. When Paul wrote to Philemon, a leader of the church in Colossae, asking him to receive Onesimus as a brother in Christ, he exemplified tact and diplomacy. “Although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. . . . [Onesimus] is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord” (Philem. 8-9, 16). Paul, a respected leader of the early church, often gave clear commands to the followers of Jesus. In this case, though, he appealed to Philemon on the basis of equality, friendship, and love. “I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary” (v. 14). In all our relationships, may we seek to preserve harmony and principle in the spirit of love. —David McCasland Father in heaven, in all our relationships, give us grace and wisdom to be wise leaders, parents, and friends. Leaders who serve will serve as good leaders. INSIGHT: Paul’s appeal of love to Philemon was rooted in his spiritual parenthood. In other letters, Paul spoke of himself as a father to those he brought to Christ (1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2; Titus 1:4; Gal. 4:19). In this personal letter, Paul noted that Onesimus had become his spiritual son (v. 10). Then at the end of his letter, to reinforce his appeal, Paul reminded Philemon that he too was his spiritual son (v. 19). Paul used his fatherly authority to bring about reconciliation. It was the appeal of a father’s love and an appeal to family love for the reconciliation of two spiritual siblings. Sim Kay Tee Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

You can make a difference. Even the smallest donation helps reach people around the world with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible. DONATE

Share With Your Friends

Featured Video

Our mission is to make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all. Our vision is to see people of all nations experiencing a personal relationship with Christ, growing to be more like Him, and serving in a local body of His family. To read today's Our Daily Bread online visit www.odb.org. Copyright © 2016, Our Daily Bread Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI 49555 USA. Written permission must be obtained from Our Daily Bread Ministries for any further posting or distribution. Scriptures taken from Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved.   Our Daily Bread Ministries | 3000 Kraft Ave | Grand Rapids, MI 49512 Manage Your Subscription.