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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Power Of Affirmation

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Our Daily Bread

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus. —1 Corinthians 1:4

During a recent study, 200,000 employees were interviewed to discover the missing ingredient in their productivity. The study concluded that appreciation and affirmation topped the list of what they wanted most from their superiors. This research implies that receiving affirmation is a basic human need.

The apostle Paul seemed to realize this basic need in the Corinthian believers, so before he peppered them with firm words of discipline, he showered them with affirmation. As their spiritual leader, Paul began his letter with thanksgiving to God for the grace being displayed in their lives.

Once far from God, these believers were now participating in His grace through the death and resurrection of Christ. United with Jesus, they were drawing their spiritual life from Him, and the fruit of this union was their spiritual growth in godliness (1 Cor. 1:4-7). Paul deliberately and continually thanked God for His work in the Corinthian believers’ lives. I imagine that they were better able to bear firm criticism from Paul because of his tender affirmation.

When we see people who are obeying God, let’s take time to affirm them and to thank God for what He’s doing through them. —Marvin Williams

Lord, You are at work in so many ways in my life

and in the people around me. Help me to encourage

my brothers and sisters in Christ by telling them

how I am blessed to see Your work in them.

Praise loudly—correct softly.

Bible in a year: Proverbs 8-9; 2 Corinthians 3

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — A Slower Pace

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Our Daily Bread

Exodus 20:8-11

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work. —Exodus 20:9-10

When writer Bruce Feiler was diagnosed with bone cancer in his thigh, he couldn’t walk without some help for over a year. Learning to get around on crutches caused him to appreciate a slower pace of life. Feiler said, “The idea of slowing down became the number one lesson I learned from my experience.”

After God’s people were liberated from Egypt, He gave them a commandment that would cause them to slow down and view Him and the world “in pause.” The fourth commandment introduced a dramatic contrast to the Israelites’ slavery under Pharaoh when they had no break in their daily work routine.

The commandment insisted that God’s people set aside one day a week to remember several important things: God’s work in creation (Gen. 2:2), their liberation from Egyptian bondage (Deut. 5:12-15), their relationship with God (6:4-6), and their need for personal refreshment (Exod. 31:12-18). This was not to be a day of laziness, but one where God’s people acknowledged, worshiped, and rested in Him.

We too are called to slow down, to be refreshed physically, mentally, and emotionally, and to behold God in His good creation. —Marvin Williams

Lord, I need spiritual and physical rest. Help me

to deliberately take the time to spend with You.

Please remove any obstacle that keeps me from

having a more balanced rhythm to my life.

Living for God begins with resting in Him.

Bible in a year: Psalms 135-136; 1 Corinthians 12

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Thumbs Up

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Our Daily Bread

Matthew 5:17-20

The entirety of Your Word is truth. —Psalm 119:160

Pandora is one of the musical marvels of the Internet age. It helps you create your own personal radio station by allowing you to “customize” your music. It plays a song and you then click a thumbs up or thumbs down sign to indicate whether or not you like it. You end up with a grouping of only songs that you like.

Unfortunately, sometimes we do that with the Bible too. People may choose some Scripture passages they especially like and ignore others, and so they “customize” it to their preferences. The psalmist looked at God’s Word this way: “The entirety of Your Word is truth” (Ps. 119:160). And the apostle Paul told Timothy, a young pastor, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable” (2 Tim. 3:16).

The Scriptures were important to Jesus (Matt. 5:17-18), but He looked at them differently than the religious leaders of His day. To Him, “You shall not murder” was on the level of being “angry with [a] brother without a cause” (vv.21-22). Far from customizing Scripture, He was concerned about the motivation of people’s hearts in applying all of it.

As we embrace God’s Word more fully, we’ll know Him more deeply and desire to honor Him. —Marvin Williams

Lord, I don’t want to treat Your Word lightly or

to dismiss what seems too difficult. Show me

my heart and help me to obey from the heart

whatever You tell me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

When you open your Bible, ask the Author to open your heart.

Bible in a year: Psalms 110-112; 1 Corinthians 5

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Winding Road

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Our Daily Bread

Psalm 121

He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. —Psalm 121:3

In his book A Sweet and Bitter Providence, John Piper offers these thoughts about God’s providence and guidance: “Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. . . . God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ.”

The Jews journeying to Jerusalem for the annual feasts (Deut. 16:16) had the assurance of knowing that the Lord was plotting their course and managing the winding and troubled roads for them. They expressed this assurance in Psalm 121, a pilgrim song. The question, “From whence comes my help?” did not express doubt but affirmation in the Lord who rules supreme (vv.1-2). Unlike a guard who sometimes slumbered, or the god Baal who needed to be rustled out of his stupor (1 Kings 18:27), the Lord was fully alert and secured the journey of His people with providential care (vv.3-4). The Lord, who rescued Israel, would continue to help, preserve, and walk with His people.

Life is a winding road with unknown perils and troubles, but we can be certain of God’s providence, security, and care. —Marvin Williams

Dear Lord, sometimes life seems to be full of

perilous and winding roads. Thank You for giving

us the assurance that You have our course plotted

and are watching over our every step.

Troubles are unknown; God’s providence is certain.

Bible in a year: Psalms 1-3; Acts 17:1-15

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Our Daily Bread — More Than Information

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John 15:1-13

Abide in Me, and I in you. —John 15:4

How is behavior altered? In his book The Social Animal, David Brooks notes that some experts have said people just need to be taught the long-term risks of bad behavior. For example, he writes: “Smoking can lead to cancer. Adultery destroys families, and lying destroys trust. The assumption was that once you reminded people of the foolishness of their behavior, they would be motivated to stop. Both reason and will are obviously important in making moral decisions and exercising self-control. But neither of these character models has proven very effective.” In other words, information alone is not powerful enough to transform behavior.

As Jesus’ followers, we want to grow and change spiritually. More than two millennia ago, Jesus told His disciples how that can happen. He said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (John 15:4). Jesus is the Vine and we, His followers, are the branches. If we’re honest, we know we’re utterly helpless and spiritually ineffective apart from Him.

Jesus transforms us spiritually and reproduces His life in us—as we abide in Him. —Marvin Williams

Lord, take my life and make it wholly Thine;

Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine.

Take all my will, my passion, self, and pride;

I now surrender, Lord—in me abide. —Orr

A change in behavior begins with Jesus changing our heart.

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Our Daily Bread — No Loose Laces

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Joshua 7:1-12

The children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan . . . took of the accursed things. —Joshua 7:1

One person’s actions can affect an entire group. This truth became clear to journalist Sebastian Junger as he followed a platoon of soldiers. Junger watched a soldier accost another soldier whose bootlaces were trailing on the ground. He didn’t confront him out of concern for his fashion. He confronted him because his loose laces put the entire platoon at risk—he couldn’t be counted on not to trip and fall at a crucial moment. Junger realized that what happens to one happens to everyone.

Achan’s “bootlaces were loose,” and we learn from his story that sin is never private. After the great victory at Jericho, God gave Joshua specific instructions on how to deal with the city and its loot (Josh. 6:18). The people were to “abstain from the accursed things” and to put all the silver and gold “into the treasury of the LORD” (vv.18-19). But they disobeyed his command to them (7:1). The interesting thing is, not all of Israel sinned; only one person did—Achan. But because of his actions, everyone was affected and God was dishonored.

As followers of Jesus, we belong to one another and our individual actions can impact the entire body and God’s name. Let’s “tie up our laces” so that we may individually and together give God the honor He deserves. —Marvin Williams

Lord, we know our sin is never private, though we

may try to hide it. Help us to remember that we

belong to You and to one another and that what we do

individually grieves You and impacts fellow Christians.

Private sins will inevitably have public impact.

 

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Our Daily Bread — Tell The Story

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Psalm 78:1-8

[Tell] to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. —Psalm 78:4

In an interview with Wired magazine, filmmaker George Lucas was asked how he wanted to be remembered. He replied: “I’ll be remembered as a filmmaker. . . . Hopefully some of the stories I told will still be relevant. . . . If you’ve raised children, you know you have to explain things to them, and if you don’t, they end up learning the hard way. . . . So the old stories have to be reiterated again in a form that’s acceptable to each new generation. I don’t think I’m ever going to go much beyond the old stories, because I think they still need to be told.”

In Psalm 78, the psalmist was aware of the possibility of God’s mighty works being forgotten and a generation being lost, so he called God’s people to never tire of telling the old story of His redemptive acts to future generations (v.4). The goal of this perpetual rehearsing of their history wasn’t just for memorizing historical data; it was to inspire faith, obedience, and hope in the Lord (v.7) and to keep future generations from groping in the darkness of unbelief and rebellion like the generations before them (v.8).

Because of God’s mighty power and grace in our lives we desire to be faithful to tell His stories that we might inspire faith and obedience in future generations. —Marvin Williams

I love to tell the story,

For some have never heard

The message of salvation

From God’s own holy Word. —Hankey

Past stories of grace inspire future stories of faith.

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Our Daily Bread — Wait

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1 Samuel 13:7-14

Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you.” —1 Samuel 13:13

In an act of impatience, a man in San Francisco, California, tried to beat traffic by swerving around a lane of cars that had come to a stop. However, the lane he pulled into had just been laid with fresh cement, and his Porsche 911 got stuck. This driver paid a high price for his impatience.

The Scriptures tell of a king who also paid a high price for his impatience. Eager for God to bless the Israelites in their battle against the Philistines, Saul acted impatiently. When Samuel did not arrive at the appointed time to offer a sacrifice for God’s favor, Saul became impatient and disobeyed God’s command (1 Sam. 13:8-9,13). Impatience led Saul to think he was above the law and to take on an unauthorized position of priest. He thought he could disobey God without serious consequences. He was wrong.

When Samuel arrived, he rebuked Saul for his disobedience and prophesied that Saul would lose the kingdom (vv.13-14). Saul’s refusal to wait for the development of God’s plan caused him to act in haste, and in his haste he lost his way (see Prov. 19:2). His impatience was the ultimate display of a lack of faith.

The Lord will provide His guiding presence as we wait patiently for Him to bring about His will. —Marvin Williams

Tune your anxious heart to patience,

Walk by faith where sight is dim;

Loving God, be calm and trustful

And leave everything to Him. —Chambers

 

Patience means awaiting God’s time and trusting God’s love.

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Our Daily Bread — Wholesome Words

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Ephesians 4:25-32

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. —Ephesians 4:29

A while back, an Emmy award-winning actress took a courageous stand and walked out in the middle of the Annual American Music Awards ceremony. Her reason? She grew increasingly upset and disappointed by what she described as “an onslaught of lewd jokes and off-color remarks” and raw and raunchy comments by presenters, performers, and hosts. She said the evening was an affront to anyone with a shred of dignity and self-respect.

Unwholesome speech was a problem even in the apostle Paul’s day. He reminded the Christians at Ephesus that they should put away vulgarity, lewdness, slander, and obscene talk from their lives (Eph. 5:4; Col. 3:8). These were expressions of their old lives (1 Cor. 6:9-11), and it was now out of place with their new identity in Christ. Instead, their lives were to be characterized by wholesome speech. Their good or wholesome words would give grace to the hearers (Eph. 4:29). The Holy Spirit would help guard their speech, convict of any filthy talk, and help them to use words to benefit others (John 16:7-13).

We are called to reflect God with all we are, and that includes our words. May our mouths be filled with thanksgiving and words that benefit others. —Marvin Williams

Holy Spirit, we need Your help. Guard our hearts

and minds today. Help us control our thoughts and

words so that we might lift others up and show them

who You are and what You’ve done in us. Amen.

Wholesome words flow out of a life made new.