Read: Genesis 4:1-8

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 19-21; Luke 11:29-54

Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it. —Genesis 4:7

A Venus flytrap can digest an insect in about 10 days. The process begins when an unsuspecting bug smells nectar on the leaves that form the trap. When the insect investigates, it crawls into the jaws of the plant. The leaves clamp shut within half a second and digestive juices dissolve the bug.

This meat-eating plant reminds me of the way sin can devour us if we are lured into it. Sin is hungry for us. Genesis 4:7 says, “If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you.” God spoke these words to Cain just before he killed his brother Abel.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Resisting the Trap →

Read: James 1:1-8

Bible in a Year: Ruth 1-4; Luke 8:1-25

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault. —James 1:5

On April 4, 1968, American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated, leaving millions angry and disillusioned. In Indianapolis, a largely African-American crowd had gathered to hear Robert F. Kennedy speak. Many had not yet heard of Dr. King’s death, so Kennedy had to share the tragic news. He appealed for calm by acknowledging not only their pain but his own abiding grief over the murder of his brother, President John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy then quoted a variation of an ancient poem by Aeschylus (526–456 bc):

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Wisdom and Grace →

Read: Exodus 31:1-11

Bible in a Year: Judges 19-21; Luke 7:31-50

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. —Colossians 3:23

In 1878, when Scotsman Alexander Mackay arrived in what is now Uganda to serve as a missionary, he first set up a blacksmith forge among a tribe ruled by King Mutesa. Villagers gathered around this stranger who worked with his hands, puzzled because everyone “knew” that work was for women. At that time, men in Uganda never worked with their hands. They raided other villages to capture slaves, selling them to outsiders. Yet here was this foreign man at work forging farming tools.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — The Blacksmith and the King →

Read: Acts 9:1-19

Bible in a Year: Judges 9-10; Luke 5:17-39

I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace. —Ephesians 3:7

A woman from Grand Rapids, Michigan, fell asleep on the couch after her husband had gone to bed. An intruder sneaked in through the sliding door, which the couple had forgotten to lock, and crept through the house. He entered the bedroom where the husband was sleeping and picked up the television set. The sleeping man woke up, saw a figure standing there, and whispered, “Honey, come to bed.” The burglar panicked, put down the TV, grabbed a stack of money from the dresser, and ran out.

The thief was in for a big surprise! The money turned out to be a stack of Christian pamphlets with a likeness of a $20 bill on one side and an explanation of the love and forgiveness God offers to people on the other side. Instead of the cash he expected, the intruder got the story of God’s love for him.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Surprised by Grace →

Read: Psalm 22:1-10

Bible in a Year: Joshua 22-24; Luke 3

Jesus cried out in a loud voice, . . . “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” —Matthew 27:46

Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky said, “The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.” With that in mind, I read an online article describing “The Top 8 Deadliest Prisons in the World.” In one of these prisons every prisoner is held in solitary confinement.

We are intended to live and relate in relationships and community, not in isolation. This is what makes solitary confinement such a harsh punishment.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Never Forsaken →

Read: Ephesians 5:1-16

Bible in a Year: Joshua 7-9; Luke 1:21-38

Live as children of light. —Ephesians 5:8

I know better, but I still keep trying. The instructions on the label are clear: “Needs full sun.” Our yard has mostly shade. It is not suitable for plants that need full sun. But I like the plant. I like its color, the shape of the leaves, the size, the scent. So I buy it, bring it home, plant it, and take really good care of it. But the plant is not happy at my house. My care and attention are not enough. It needs sunlight, which I cannot provide. I thought I could make up for lack of light by giving the plant some other kind of attention. But it doesn’t work that way. Plants need what they need.

And so do people. Although we can survive for a while in less-than-ideal conditions, we can’t thrive. In addition to our basic physical needs, we also have spiritual needs that can’t be met by any substitute.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Full Sun →

Read: John 1:1-14

Bible in a Year: Joshua 4-6; Luke 1:1-20

In the beginning was the Word . . . . Through him all things were made. —John 1:1, 3

Why did Jesus come to Earth before the invention of photography and video? Couldn’t He have reached more people if everyone could see Him? After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

“No,” says Ravi Zacharias, who asserts that a word can be worth “a thousand pictures.” As evidence, he quotes poet Richard Crashaw’s magnificent line, “The conscious water saw its Master and blushed.” In one simple line, Crashaw captures the essence of Jesus’ first miracle (John 2:1-11). Creation itself recognizes Jesus as the Creator. No mere carpenter could turn water to wine.

Another time, when Christ calmed a storm with the words, “Quiet! Be still,” His stunned disciples asked, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Mark 4:39, 41). Later, Jesus told the Pharisees that if the crowd did not praise Him, “the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40). Even the rocks know who He is.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — When the Water Blushed →