Read: Psalm 119:71–75 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 25–27; John 16

I know, Lord, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. Psalm 119:75

During World War II my dad served with the US Army in the South Pacific. During that time Dad rejected any idea of religion, saying, “I don’t need a crutch.” Yet the day came when his attitude toward spiritual things would change forever. Mom had gone into labor with their third child, and my brother and I went to bed with the excitement of soon seeing our new brother or sister. When I got out of bed the next morning, I excitedly asked Dad, “Is it a boy or a girl?” He replied, “It was a little girl but she was born dead.” We began to weep together at our loss.

For the first time, Dad took his broken heart to Jesus in prayer. At that moment he felt an overwhelming sense of peace and comfort from God, though his daughter would always be irreplaceable. Soon he began to take an interest in the Bible and continued to pray to the One who was healing his broken heart. His faith grew through the years. He became a strong follower of Jesus—serving Him as a Bible-study teacher and a leader in his church.

Brokenness can lead to wholeness.

Jesus is not a crutch for the weak. He is the source of new spiritual life! When we’re broken, He can make us new and whole (Ps. 119:75).

What is on your heart that you need to talk with God about? Bring Him your brokenness and ask Him to make you whole.

Brokenness can lead to wholeness.

INSIGHT:

A commonly understood characteristic of Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, is that it celebrates the goodness and usefulness of God’s commandments. Referring to these laws by various names, the author suggests that God’s commands are the very core of how life is meant to be lived. The thought is simple yet intriguing—God’s laws help us to live in the way that we were created and intended to live. They are not restrictive; they are freeing. That helps us understand why the psalmist had such a high regard of God’s laws.

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Read: John 17:1–5 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 23–24; John 15

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God. John 17:3

The glory of the Roman Empire offered an expansive backdrop for the birth of Jesus. In 27 bc Rome’s first emperor, Caesar Augustus, ended 200 years of civil war and began to replace rundown neighborhoods with monuments, temples, arenas, and government complexes. According to Roman historian Pliny the Elder, they were “the most beautiful buildings the world has ever seen.”

Yet even with her beauty, the Eternal City and its empire had a history of brutality that continued until Rome fell. Thousands of slaves, foreigners, revolutionaries, and army deserters were crucified on roadside poles as a warning to anyone who dared to defy the power of Rome.

The Lamb who died is the Lord who lives!

What irony that Jesus’s death on a Roman cross turned out to reveal an eternal glory that made the pride of Rome look like the momentary beauty of a sunset!

Continue reading Our Daily Bread – The Beauty of Rome →

You Have Purpose

Read: 1 Peter 4:7–11 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 21–22; John 14

If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 4:11

On a hot day in western Texas, my niece Vania saw a woman standing by a stoplight and holding up a sign. As she drove closer, she tried to read what the sign said, assuming it was a request for food or money. Instead, she was surprised to see these three words:

We are “fearfully and wonderfully made” to bring glory to our Creator (Psalm 139:14).

God has created each of us for a specific purpose. Primarily that purpose is to bring honor to Him, and one way we do that is by meeting the needs of others (1 Peter 4:10–11).

Continue reading Our Daily Bread – You Have Purpose →

Read: Psalm 119:89-96

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

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. —Matthew 24:35

At the beginning of World War II, aerial bombings flattened much of Warsaw, Poland. Cement blocks, ruptured plumbing, and shards of glass lay strewn across the great city. In the downtown area, however, most of one damaged building still stubbornly stood. It was the Polish headquarters for the British and Foreign Bible Society. Still legible on a surviving wall were these words: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matt. 24:35).

Jesus made that statement to encourage His disciples when they asked Him about the “end of the age” (v. 3). But His words also give us courage in the midst of our embattled situation today. Standing in the rubble of our shattered dreams, we can still find confidence in God’s indestructible character, sovereignty, and promises.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — God’s Enduring Word →

Read: Romans 8:19-27

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

The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. —Romans 8:26

Until recently, many towns in rural Ireland didn’t use house numbers or postal codes. So if there were three Patrick Murphys in town, the newest resident with that name would not get his mail until it was first delivered to the other two Patrick Murphys who had lived there longer. “My neighbors would get it first,” said Patrick Murphy (the newest resident). “They’d have a good read, and they’d go, ‘No, it’s probably not us.’ ” To end all this mail-delivery confusion, the Irish government recently instituted its first postal-code system which will ensure the proper delivery of the mail.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — The Spirit Delivers →

Read: John 11:1-4, 38-44

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

The sting of death is sin. . . . But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. —1 Corinthians 15:56-57

I was engrossed in a book when a friend bent over to see what I was reading. Almost immediately, she recoiled and looked at me aghast. “What a gloomy title!” she said. I was reading “The Glass Coffin” in Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and the word coffin disturbed her. Most of us don’t like to be reminded of our mortality. But the reality is that out of 1,000 people, 1,000 people will die.

Death always elicits a deep emotional response. It was at the funeral of one of His dear friends that Jesus displayed strong emotions. When He saw Mary, whose brother had recently died, “he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled” (John 11:33). Another translation says, “a deep anger welled up within him” (nlt).

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Jesus Wept →

Read: Psalm 42

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

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. —Psalm 42:2

Nezahualcoyotl (1402-1472) may have had a difficult name to pronounce, but his name is full of significance. It means “Hungry Coyote,” and this man’s writings show a spiritual hunger. As a poet and ruler in Mexico before the arrival of the Europeans, he wrote, “Truly the gods, which I worship, are idols of stone that do not speak nor feel. . . . Some very powerful, hidden and unknown god is the creator of the entire universe. He is the only one that can console me in my affliction and help me in such anguish as my heart feels; I want him to be my helper and protection.”

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — The God Who Paints →

Read: 2 Chronicles 20:1-13

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

We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. —2 Chronicles 20:12

In 1980, a woman hopped on a subway during the Boston Marathon. No big deal, except for one small detail. She was supposed to be running the marathon! Later, witnesses saw her jump into the race less than a mile from the finish line. She finished well ahead of all the other female runners, and oddly, she wasn’t winded or even sweating much. For a brief time she looked like the winner.

In a conflict long ago, a people who were losing a battle found a more honorable way to win. When messengers told King Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom,” he was terrified (2 Chron. 20:2-3). But instead of turning to typical military tactics, Jehoshaphat turned to God. He acknowledged God’s supremacy and admitted his own fear and confusion. “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (v. 12). Then the king chose singers to lead the army into battle. Instead of a war cry, they sang of God’s love (v. 21). The result was startling. Their enemies turned on each other (vv. 22-24). In the end, “The kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side” (v. 30).

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Unconventional Tactics →

Read: Acts 2:42-47

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

Every day they continued to meet together. —Acts 2:46

When we think of the chameleon, we probably think of its ability to change color according to its surroundings. But this lizard has another interesting characteristic. On several occasions I’ve watched a chameleon walk along a pathway and wondered how it ever reached its destination. Reluctantly, the chameleon stretches out one leg, seems to change its mind, attempts again, and then carefully plants a hesitant foot, as if afraid the ground will collapse under it. That was why I couldn’t help laughing when I heard someone say, “Do not be a chameleon church member who says, ‘Let me go to church today; no, let me go next week; no, let me wait for a while!’”

“The house of the Lord” at Jerusalem was King David’s place of worship, and he was far from being a “chameleon” worshiper. Rather, he rejoiced with those who said, “Let us go to the house of the Lord” (Ps. 122:1). The same was true for believers in the early church. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. . . . Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts” (Acts 2:42, 46).

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Chameleon Crawl →