Read: Hebrews 9:19-28

Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. —Hebrews 9:22

Mary Ann believed in God and His Son Jesus, but she struggled with why Jesus had to shed His blood to bring salvation. Who would think of cleansing something with blood? Yet the Bible says, “The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood” (Heb. 9:22). That, in Mary Ann’s opinion, was disgusting!

Then one day she had to go to a hospital. A genetic condition had altered her immune system, and doctors became alarmed when the illness started attacking her blood. As she was in the emergency room she thought, If I lose my blood, I will die. But Jesus shed His blood so I can live!

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Lifeblood →

Read: Job 40:1-14

Bible in a Year: Numbers 17-19; Mark 6:30-56

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” —Job 38:4

When I clean my house for a special event, I become discouraged because I think that guests won’t notice what I clean, only what I don’t clean. This brings to mind a larger philosophical and spiritual question: Why do humans more quickly see what’s wrong than what’s right? We are more likely to remember rudeness than kindness. Crimes seem to receive more attention than acts of generosity. And disasters grab our attention more quickly than the profound beauty all around us.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Taking Notice →

Read: Isaiah 46:4-13

Bible in a Year: Numbers 15-16; Mark 6:1-29

I will sustain you and I will rescue you. —Isaiah 46:4

“How are you today, Mama?” I asked casually. My 84-year-old friend, pointing to aches and pains in her joints, whispered, “Old age is tough!” Then she added earnestly, “But God has been good to me.”

“Growing old has been the greatest surprise of my life,” says Billy Graham in his book Nearing Home. “I am an old man now, and believe me, it’s not easy.” However, Graham notes, “While the Bible doesn’t gloss over the problems we face as we grow older, neither does it paint old age as a time to be despised or a burden to be endured with gritted teeth.” He then mentions some of the questions he has been forced to deal with as he has aged, such as, “How can we not only learn to cope with the fears and struggles and growing limitations we face but also actually grow stronger inwardly in the midst of these difficulties?”

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — How to Grow Old →

Read: Numbers 14:39-45

Bible in a Year: Numbers 12-14; Mark 5:21-43

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him. —Psalm 37:7

On January 28, 1986, after five weather-related delays, the space shuttle Challenger lumbered heavenward amid a thunderous overture of noise and flame. A mere 73 seconds later, system failure tore the shuttle apart, and all seven crewmembers perished.

The disaster was attributed to an O-ring seal known to have vulnerabilities. Insiders referred to the fatal mistake as “go fever”—the tendency to ignore vital precautions in the rush to a grand goal.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Go Fever →

Read: Luke 19:1-10

Bible in a Year: Numbers 7-8; Mark 4:21-41

Because he was short he could not see over the crowd. —Luke 19:3

As a child, I loved to climb trees. The higher I climbed, the more I could see. Occasionally, in search of a better view, I might inch out along a branch until I felt it bend under my weight. Not surprisingly, my tree-climbing days are over. I suppose it isn’t very safe—or dignified.

Zacchaeus, a wealthy man, set aside his dignity (and perhaps ignored his safety) when he climbed a tree one day in Jericho. Jesus was traveling through the city, and Zacchaeus wanted to get a look at Him. However, “because he was short he could not see over the crowd” (Luke 19:3). Fortunately, those things did not stop him from seeing and even talking with Christ. Zacchaeus’s plan worked! And when he met Jesus, his life was changed forever. “Salvation has come to this house,” Jesus said (v. 9).

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — A Better View →

Read: Psalm 46

Bible in a Year: Numbers 4-6; Mark 4:1-20

Be still, and know that I am God. —Psalm 46:10

Years ago I responded to letters within a couple of weeks and kept my correspondents happy. Then came the fax machine, and they seemed content with receiving a response within a couple of days. Today, with email, instant messaging, and mobile phones, a response is expected the same day!

“Be still, and know that I am God.” In this familiar verse from Psalm 46 I read two commands of equal importance. First, we must be still, something that modern life conspires against. In this hectic, buzzing world, even a few moments of quiet do not come naturally to us. And stillness prepares us for the second command: “Know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” In the midst of a world that colludes to suppress, not exalt, God, how do I carve out time and allow Him to nourish my inner life?

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Be Still →

Read: Philippians 4:8-13

Bible in a Year: Numbers 1-3; Mark 3

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above. —Colossians 3:1

Our valley in Idaho can be very cold in the winter. Clouds and fog roll in and blanket the ground, trapping frigid air under warmer layers above. But you can get above the valley. There’s a road nearby that winds up the flank of Shafer Butte, a 7,500-foot mountain that rises out of our valley. A few minutes of driving and you break out of the fog and emerge into the warmth and brilliance of a sunlit day. You can look down on the clouds that shroud the valley below and see it from a different point of view.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — The View from the Mountain →

Read: Psalm 77:1-15

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 26-27; Mark 2

I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds. —Psalm 77:12

Joan was struggling with some difficult issues with her children when she sat down for a worship service. Exhausted, she wanted to “resign” from motherhood. Then the speaker began to share encouragement for those who feel like quitting. These four thoughts that Joan heard that morning helped her to keep going:

Look up and pray. Asaph prayed all night long and even expressed feelings that God had forgotten and rejected him (Ps. 77:9-10). We can tell God everything and be honest about our feelings. We can ask Him anything. His answer may not come right away or in the form we want or expect, but He won’t criticize us for asking.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Four Ways to Look →

Read: Luke 9:1-2,10-17

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 23-24; Mark 1:1-22

He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. —Luke 9:11

Comedian Fred Allen said, “A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well-known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.” Fame often brings loss of privacy along with a relentless frenzy of attention.

When Jesus began His public ministry of teaching and healing, He was catapulted into the public eye and thronged by people seeking help. Crowds followed Him wherever He went. But Jesus knew that having regular time alone with God was essential to maintaining strength and perspective.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Solitude and Service →

Read: Hebrews 12:18-29

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 15-16; Matthew 27:1-26

Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. —Hebrews 12:28

Thwip, thwap. Thwip, thwap.

The windshield wipers slamming back and forth trying to keep up with the pelting rain only added to my irritation as I adjusted to driving the used car I had just purchased—an old station wagon with 80,000+ miles and no side-impact airbag protection for the kids.

To get this station wagon, and some badly needed cash for groceries, I had sold the last “treasure” we owned: a 1992 Volvo station wagon with side-impact airbag protection for the kids. By then, everything else was gone. Our house and our savings had all disappeared under the weight of uncovered medical expenses from life-threatening illnesses.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — The Ease of Ingratitude →

Read: 1 Corinthians 12:4-14

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:51-75

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. —1 Corinthians 12:4

Fifteen-year-old Wilson Bentley was captivated by the intricate beauty of snowflakes. He looked with fascination through an old microscope his mother had given him and made hundreds of sketches of their remarkable designs, but they melted too quickly to adequately capture their detail. Several years later, in 1885, he had an idea. He attached a bellows camera to the microscope and, after much trial and error, took his first picture of a snowflake. During his lifetime Bentley would capture 5,000 snowflake images and each one was a unique design. He described them as “tiny miracles of beauty” and “ice flowers.”

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Ice Flowers →

Read: John 8:39-47

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 13; Matthew 26:26-50

If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. —John 8:31

In his book on language, British diplomat Lancelot Oliphant (1881–1965) observed that many students give correct answers on tests but fail to put those lessons into practice. “Such undigested knowledge is of little use,” declared Oliphant.

Author Barnabas Piper noticed a parallel in his own life: “I thought I was close to God because I knew all the answers,” he said, “but I had fooled myself into thinking that was the same as relationship with Jesus.”

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Undigested Knowledge →

Read: Colossians 1:15-20

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 8-10; Matthew 25:31-46

He is before all things. —Colossians 1:17

My friend’s son decided to wear a sports jersey over his school clothing one day. He wanted to show support for his favorite team that would be playing an important game later that night. Before leaving home, he put something on over his sports jersey—it was a chain with a pendant that read, “Jesus.” His simple action illustrated a deeper truth: Jesus deserves first place over everything in our lives.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Jesus Over Everything →