Tag Archives: Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Stray Hearts

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Our Daily Bread

Exodus 32:21-35

These people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! —Exodus 32:31

Last fall, an expressway in my city was shut down for several hours because a cattle truck had overturned. The cattle had escaped and were roaming across the highway. Seeing this news story about stray cattle made me think of something I had recently studied in Exodus 32 about the people of God who strayed from Him.

In the divided kingdom of ancient Israel, King Jeroboam erected two golden calves for the people to worship (1 Kings 12:25-32). But the idea of worshiping hunks of gold had not originated with him. Even after escaping brutal slavery and having seen the Lord’s power and glory mightily displayed, the Israelites had quickly allowed their hearts to stray from Him (Ex. 32). While Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the law from the Lord, his brother Aaron helped God’s people stray by constructing an idol in the shape of a golden calf. The writer of Hebrews reminds us of God’s anger over this idolatry and those who “go astray in their heart” (Heb. 3:10).

God knows that our hearts have a tendency to stray. His Word makes it clear that He is the Lord and that we are to worship “no other gods” (Ex. 20:2-6).

“The LORD is the great God, and the great King above all gods” (Ps. 95:3). He is the one true God! —Cindy Hess Kasper

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above. —Robinson

As long as you want anything very much, especially more than you want God, it is an idol. —A. B. Simpson

Bible in a year: Isaiah 59-61; 2 Thessalonians 3

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — How Long?

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Our Daily Bread

Psalm 13

How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? —Psalm 13:1

For 9 long years, Saul hounded David as “one hunts a partridge in the mountains” (1 Sam. 26:20). “How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever?” David prayed. “How long will You hide Your face from me? . . . How long will my enemy be exalted over me?” (Ps. 13:1-2).

Prolonged affliction often vexes us as well. We want a sudden solution, a quick fix. But some things can’t be fixed. They can only be borne.

But we can complain to God in our troubles. We have a heavenly Father who wants us to engage with Him in our struggles. He understands His children as no one else can.

When we turn to Him with our complaints, we come to our senses. In David’s case, his thoughts went back to life’s certainty: God’s love. David reminded himself: “I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me” (vv.5-6). Sufferings may persist, but David could sing in the midst of his trials, for he was God’s beloved child. That’s all he needed to know.

A. W. Thorold writes, “The highest pinnacle of the spiritual life is not happy joy in unbroken sunshine, but absolute and undoubting trust in the love of God.”

Even in our troubles, God’s love can be trusted. —David Roper

O yes, He cares; I know He cares,

His heart is touched with my grief;

When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,

I know my Savior cares! —Graeff

God’s love stands when all else fails.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 56-58; 2 Thessalonians 2

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The End?

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Our Daily Bread

1 Corinthians 15:50-58

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. —1 Corinthians 15:57

Everything in this world eventually comes to an end, which at times can be disheartening. It’s the feeling you get when you read a book that’s so good you don’t want it to end. Or when you watch a movie that you wish would go on a little while longer.

But all things—good and bad—do come to “The End.” In fact, life ultimately does come to the end—sometimes sooner than we expect. All of us who have stood by the casket of a loved one know the painful emptiness of a heart that wishes it wasn’t over yet.

Thankfully, Jesus steps into the fray of terminal disappointments, and, through His death and resurrection, He interjects hope for us. In Him “the end” is a prelude to a death-free eternity, and words like “it’s over” are replaced by a joy-filled “forever.” Since our bodies are not an eternal reality, Paul assures us that “we shall all be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51) and reminds us that because of Christ’s conquering work we can confidently say, “O Death, . . . where is your victory?” (v.55).

So let not your heart be troubled. Our sorrow is real, but we can be filled with gratitude because God “gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (v.57). —Joe Stowell

Lord, keep our eyes and hearts fixed not on the

temporary joys or disappointments but on the victorious

realities of eternity. Thank You for Your death and

resurrection that guarantee our forever future.

In Christ, the end is only the beginning.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 53-55; 2 Thessalonians 1

 

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Barrier-Free Love

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Our Daily Bread

Matthew 23:37-39

O Jerusalem . . . ! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! —Matthew 23:37

Not long ago I heard the distressed chirping of a bird coming from the side of my neighbor’s house. I discovered that a nest of baby birds was inside a vent covered by a screen, placing a barrier between the mother bird who was trying to feed her hungry chicks. After I told the neighbors, they removed the screen and took the nest and chicks to a safe place to be cared for.

Few things are as heartbreaking as a barrier to love. Christ, the long-awaited Messiah of Israel, experienced a barrier to His love when His chosen people rejected Him. He used the word picture of a hen and her baby chicks to describe their unwillingness to receive it: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . ! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matt. 23:37).

Our sin is a barrier that separates us from God (Isa. 59:2). But “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Jesus took care of the barrier to God’s love by His sacrificial death on the cross and His resurrection (Rom. 5:8-17; 8:11). Now He longs for us to experience His love and accept this gift. —Dennis Fisher

My heart is stirred whene’er I think of Jesus,

That blessed Name that sets the captive free;

The only Name through which I find salvation,

No name on earth has meant so much to me. —Eliason

Through His cross, Jesus rescues and redeems.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 50-52; 1 Thessalonians 5

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Coade Stone

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Our Daily Bread

1 Peter 2:1-10

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. —1 Peter 2:4

Throughout London, there are statues and other items made from a unique building material called Coade stone. Developed by Eleanor Coade for her family business in the late 1700s, this artificial stone is virtually indestructible and has the capacity to withstand time, weather, and man-made pollution. Though it was a marvel during the Industrial Revolution, Coade stone was phased out in the 1840s following Eleanor’s death, and it was replaced by Portland cement as a building material. In spite of that, however, there remain today dozens of examples of this sturdy, ceramic-like stone that have withstood the harsh London environment for over 150 years.

The apostle Peter described Jesus as a living stone. He wrote, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:4-5). Precious in the eyes of the Father is the sacrifice of the Rock of our salvation. Christ is the enduring stone upon which the Father has built our salvation and the only foundation for meaningful life (1 Cor. 3:11).

It is only as our lives are built upon His strength that we will be able to endure the harshness of life in a fallen world. —Bill Crowder

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. —Mote

We have nothing to fear if we stay close to the Rock of Ages.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 47-49; 1 Thessalonians 4

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Dreams Of Childhood

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Our Daily Bread

Psalm 8

Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength. —Psalm 8:2

Years ago, I asked fifth-grade students to prepare a list of questions to ask Jesus if He were to show up in person the following week. I also asked groups of adults to do the same thing. The results were startlingly different. The kids’ questions ranged from adorable to poignant: “Will we have to sit around in robes and sing all day in heaven? Will my puppy be in heaven? Were the whales in or out of the ark? How’s my grandpa doing up there with You?” Almost without fail, their questions were free from doubt that heaven existed or that God acts supernaturally.

Adults, on the other hand, featured a completely different line of questioning: “Why do bad things happen to good people? How do I know You’re listening to my prayers? Why is there only one way to heaven? How could a loving God let this tragedy happen to me?”

For the most part, children live life unfettered by the cares and sorrows that burden adults. Their faith lets them trust God more readily. While we adults often get lost in trials and sorrows, children retain the psalmist’s view of life—an eternal perspective that sees the greatness of God (Ps. 8:1-2).

God can be trusted, and He longs for us to trust Him the way children do (Matt. 18:3). —Randy Kilgore

O Father, may I find again the dreams of childhood

when thoughts of You filled me with peace

and I longed to know You more. Give me

a faith that trusts You implicitly.

An intimate walk with God lifts our eyes from today’s trials and into eternity’s triumphs.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 45-46; 1 Thessalonians 3

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Seeds & Soils

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Our Daily Bread

Matthew 13:1-9

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. —2 Peter 3:18

If you like growing pumpkins, you have probably heard of Dill’s Atlantic Giant variety of premium pumpkin seeds. Developed on a family farm in Atlantic Canada, the pumpkins grown from these seeds have set records around the world. In 2011, a pumpkin grown in Quebec set a new world record at 1,818.5 pounds (825 kg). That size of pumpkin could yield almost 1,000 pieces of pie!

When news reporters asked how this pumpkin could grow to such a size, the farmer replied that it had to do with the soil. The seeds were of a special large variety, but the soil still had to be right or the pumpkin wouldn’t grow properly.

The Lord Jesus used an illustration in which He compared different types of ground to a person’s response to God’s Word (Matt. 13). Some seeds were eaten by the birds, others started to grow but were choked by the weeds, and some grew up instantly but had no soil to further their growth. But the seeds that fell on the good soil “yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (v.8).

Each of us needs to ask, “What kind of soil am I?” The Lord wants to plant His Word in our hearts so we can grow in our knowledge of Him. —Brent Hackett, RBC Canada Director

More about Jesus let me learn,

More of His holy will discern;

Spirit of God, my teacher be,

Showing the things of Christ to me. —Hewitt

The fruit of the Spirit grows in the soil of obedience.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 43-44; 1 Thessalonians 2

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Facing Our Past

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Our Daily Bread

Acts 9:20-30

He tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. —Acts 9:26

Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, spent 40 years helping people hear and understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. When he died in April 2012, one newspaper article carried the headline, “Charles Colson, Nixon’s ‘dirty tricks’ man, dies at 80.” It seemed surprising that a man so transformed by faith should be identified with things he did as a politically ruthless presidential aide decades earlier before he knew the Savior.

The apostle Paul’s conversion and his early Christian witness were greeted with skepticism and fear. When he began preaching that Jesus is the Son of God, people said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose?” (Acts 9:21). Later when Paul went to Jerusalem and tried to join the disciples, they were afraid of him (v.26). In years to come, Paul never ignored his past, but spoke of it as evidence of the mercy of God (1 Tim. 1:13-14).

Like Paul, we don’t need to parade our failures or to pretend they didn’t happen. Instead, we can thank the Lord that through His grace and power, our past is forgiven, our present is changed, and our future is bright with hope for all He has prepared for us. —David McCasland

Transformed by grace divine,

The glory shall be Thine;

To Thy most holy will, O Lord,

We now our all resign. —Burroughs

Only Jesus can transform our life.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 41-42; 1 Thessalonians 1

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — I’m Invisible

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Our Daily Bread

Isaiah 40:25-31

[The Lord] gives power to the weak. —Isaiah 40:29

My friend Jane said something at a work meeting and no one responded. So she repeated it and again no one responded; her co-workers just ignored her. She realized that her opinion didn’t matter much. She felt disregarded and invisible. You may know what that’s like as well.

The people of God felt that way as a nation (Isa. 40). Only they believed it was God Himself who didn’t see or understand their daily struggle to survive! The southern kingdom had been carried away captive into Babylon, and the exiled nation complained: “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my just claim is passed over by my God” (v.27).

While Isaiah agreed that compared to God “the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales” (v.15), he also wanted the people to know that God gives power to the weak and strength to those who need it (v.29). If they waited on the Lord, Isaiah said, He would renew their strength. They would mount up with wings like eagles; they would run and not be weary (v.31).

When you’re feeling invisible or disregarded, remember that God does see you and He cares. Wait on Him, and He’ll give you renewed strength. —Anne Cetas

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,

In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail.

Thy mercies how tender! How firm to the end!

Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend. —Grant

Even when we don’t sense God’s presence, His loving care is all around us.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 39-40; Colossians 4

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — “Gorgeous Inside”

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Our Daily Bread

Romans 8:1-11

To be spiritually minded is life and peace. —Romans 8:6

It’s a rather nondescript house that sits on a busy thoroughfare. With no distinctive characteristics, this rather plain home is easy to ignore. But as I drove past it the other day, I noticed a “For Sale” sign in the yard. Attached to the sign was a smaller notice that happily announced: “I’m gorgeous inside.” While I’m not in the market for a new house, that sign intrigued me. What could make this otherwise forgettable house gorgeous inside?

It also made me wonder: Could that sign apply to us as followers of Jesus? Think about it. No matter what we look like on the outside, shouldn’t there be within us a beauty that reveals God’s love and work in our lives?

What does the Bible say about inner beauty? We might start with Romans 7:22, which says, “In my inner being I delight in God’s law” (NIV). A few verses later in Romans 8:6, Paul speaks of a Spirit-controlled mind that is characterized by “life and peace.” And in Galatians, we see that letting the Spirit take charge of our inner being will build in us the “fruit of the Spirit” (5:22), a beautiful array of qualities such as love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness.

Delighting in Scripture and allowing the Spirit to work in our heart will make us look good on the inside—and will pay off in a life that honors God. —Dave Branon

Dear Lord, I pray that through the work of Your

Spirit dwelling within me I will be transformed

into a grand display of the fruit that will attract

others to You and reflect glory back to You.

Righteousness in your heart produces beauty in your character.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 37-38; Colossians 3

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Being A Witness

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Our Daily Bread

Acts 1:1-9

You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me. —Acts 1:8

When I was a teen, I witnessed an auto accident. It was a shocking experience that was compounded by what followed. As the only witness to the incident, I spent the ensuing months telling a series of lawyers and insurance adjustors what I had seen. I was not expected to explain the physics of the wreck or the details of the medical trauma. I was asked to tell only what I had witnessed.

As followers of Christ, we are called to be witnesses of what Jesus has done in us and for us. To point people to Christ, we don’t need to be able to explain every theological issue or answer every question. What we must do is explain what we have witnessed in our own lives through the cross and the resurrection of the Savior. Even better is that we don’t have to rely on ourselves alone to do this. Jesus said, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

As we rely on the Spirit’s power, we can point a hurting world to the redeeming Christ. With His help, we can witness to the life-changing power of His presence in our lives! —Bill Crowder

I love to tell the story of unseen things above,

Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.

I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true;

It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do. —Hankey

Our testimony is the witness of what God has done for us.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 34-36; Colossians 2

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Life Without Bread

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Our Daily Bread

John 6:25-35

I am the bread of life. —John 6:48

In cultures with an abundance of food choices, bread is no longer a necessary part of the diet so some choose to live without it for various reasons. In the first century, however, bread was viewed as an essential staple. A diet without bread was a foreign concept.

One day a crowd of people sought out Jesus because He had performed the miracle of multiplying loaves of bread (John 6:11,26). They asked Him to perform a sign like the manna from heaven that God had provided for His people in the desert (6:30-31; Ex. 16:4). When Jesus said He was “the true bread from heaven” (John 6:32), the people didn’t understand. They wanted literal daily bread. But Jesus was saying that He had been sent to be their spiritual bread; He would supply their daily spiritual needs. If they, by faith, applied and took His words and life into their very souls, they would experience everlasting satisfaction (v.35).

Jesus doesn’t want to be an optional commodity in our diets; He desires to be the essential staple in our lives, our “necessary” food. As first-century Jews could never imagine life without physical bread, may we never attempt to live without Jesus, our spiritual bread! —Marvin Williams

FOR FURTHER THOUGHT

What are some ways you can let Jesus, the

Bread of Life, and His words satisfy the

hunger pangs of your soul today?

Only spiritual bread satisfies the hunger of the soul.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 32-33; Colossians 1

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — God Provides, But How?

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Our Daily Bread

Deuteronomy 24:19-22

He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread. —Proverbs 12:11

Outside my office window, the squirrels are in a race against winter to bury their acorns in a safe, accessible place. Their commotion amuses me. An entire herd of deer can go through our back yard and not make a sound, but one squirrel sounds like an invasion.

The two creatures are different in another way as well. Deer do not prepare for winter. When the snow comes they eat whatever they can find along the way (including ornamental shrubs in our yard). But squirrels would starve if they followed that example. They would be unable to find suitable food.

The deer and the squirrel represent ways that God cares for us. He enables us to work and save for the future, and He meets our need when resources are scarce. As the wisdom literature teaches, God gives us seasons of plenty so that we can prepare for seasons of need (Prov. 12:11). And as Psalm 23 says, the Lord leads us through perilous places to pleasant pastures.

Another way that God provides is by instructing those with plenty to share with those in need (Deut. 24:19). So when it comes to provision, the message of the Bible is this: Work while we can, save what we can, share what we can, and trust God to meet our needs. —Julie Ackerman Link

Thank You, Lord, for the promise that You will

meet our needs. Help us not to fear or doubt.

We’re grateful that You’re watching over us

and that our cries for help reach Your ear.

Our needs will never exhaust God’s supply.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 30-31; Philippians 4

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Public Praise

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Our Daily Bread

Psalm 96

Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. —Psalm 96:3

I love the YouTube video of people in a food court of a mall, who in the midst of their ordinary lives were suddenly interrupted by someone who stood up and boldly began singing the “Hallelujah Chorus.” To the surprise of everyone, another person got up and joined the chorus, and then another, and another. Soon the food court was resounding with the celebrative harmonies of Handel’s masterpiece. A local opera company had planted their singers in strategic places so that they could joyfully interject the glory of God into the everyday lives of lunching shoppers.

Every time I watch that video, it moves me to tears. It reminds me that bringing the glory of God into the ordinary situations of our world through the beautiful harmonies of Christlikeness is exactly what we are called to do. Think of intentionally interjecting God’s grace into a situation where some undeserving soul needs a second chance; of sharing the love of Christ with someone who is needy; of being the hands of Jesus that lift up a weary friend; or of bringing peace to a confusing and chaotic situation.

As the psalmist reminds us, we have the high and holy privilege of declaring “His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples” (Ps. 96:3). —Joe Stowell

Thank You, Lord, for filling us with the capacity to take

Your glory “public” through the way we act and react

toward others. Give us the grace to interject the surprising

beauty of Your wonderful ways into each encounter.

Surprise your world with the wonders of Christ shining through you!

Bible in a year: Isaiah 28-29; Philippians 3

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — A Dangerous Challenge

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Our Daily Bread

2 Chronicles 20:1, 15-22

The battle is not yours, but God’s. —2 Chronicles 20:15

While millions watched on television, Nik Wallenda walked across Niagara Falls on a 1,800-foot wire that was only 5 inches in diameter. He took all the precautions he could. But adding to the drama and danger of both the height and the rushing water below, a thick mist obscured Nik’s sight, wind threatened his balance, and spray from the falls challenged his footing. Amid—and perhaps because of—these perils, he said that he “prayed a lot” and praised God.

The Israelites also praised God in the middle of a dangerous challenge. Theirs involved a large group of warriors who had gathered to fight them (2 Chron. 20:2). After humbly asking God for help, King Jehoshaphat appointed a choir to march out into battle in front of the Israelite army. The worshipers sang: “Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever” (v.21). When they began to sing, the Lord caused the enemy forces to attack and destroy each other.

Praising God in the midst of a challenge may mean overriding our natural instincts. We tend toward self-protection, strategizing, and worry. However, worshiping can guard our hearts against troubling thoughts and self-reliance. It reminds us of the lesson the Israelites learned: “The battle is not [ours], but God’s” (v.15). —Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Lord, I praise You, for Your mercy is everlasting.

Help me to remember that every battle in

this life is Yours. The outcome belongs to

You because You are sovereign.

No matter what is in front of us, God is always behind us.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 26-27; Philippians 2

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Value Of One

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Our Daily Bread

Luke 15:1-10

What man . . . having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost? —Luke 15:4

Only hours before Kim Haskins’ high school graduation, an auto accident took the life of her father and left Kim and her mother hospitalized. The next day, Joe Garrett, Kim’s high school principal, visited her at the hospital and said they wanted to do something special for her at the school. The Gazette (Colorado Springs) article by James Drew described the outpouring of love and support as the teachers, administrators, and classmates—deeply touched by Kim’s loss—filled the high school auditorium a few days later at a graduation ceremony just for her.

Principal Garrett said, “We talk a lot in education about no child left behind. In the military, they talk about no soldier left behind. Today, this is about no graduate left behind.”

Jesus underscored the importance of every person to God with three stories about something lost—a sheep, a coin, and a son (Luke 15). In each story, a person has lost something of great value. When it is found, friends and neighbors are called to celebrate and rejoice together.

The point is clear: We are all of great value to God, who offers us forgiveness and new life through Christ. And He faithfully pursues us with His love and grace. There is great joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (v.7). —David McCasland

I was lost but Jesus found me—

Found the sheep that went astray,

Threw His loving arms around me,

Drew me back into His way. —Rowley

Our value is measured by what God has done for us.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 23-25; Philippians 1

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Immeasurably More

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Our Daily Bread

Ephesians 3:14-21

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. —1 John 4:4

“It’s not going to happen, Aunt Julie. You might as well erase that thought from your mind.”

“I know it’s unlikely,” I said. “But it’s not impossible.”

For several years, my niece and I have had variations of that conversation regarding a situation in our family. The rest of the sentence, which I said only occasionally, was this: “I know it can happen because I hear stories all the time about how God makes impossible things happen.” The part of the sentence I said only to myself was this: “But they happen only in other people’s families.”

Recently my pastor has been preaching from the book of Ephesians. At the end of every service we say this benediction: “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Eph. 3:20-21 NIV).

This was the year God chose to do “immeasurably more” in my family. He replaced indifference with love. How did He do it? Beats me. But I saw it happen. And why should I be surprised? If Satan can turn love into indifference, certainly God can change indifference back into love. —Julie Ackerman Link

Lord, thank You for doing immeasurably more in

our lives than we could ever imagine.

I am so thankful that You are able and often

do make impossible situations possible.

God’s power to restore is stronger than Satan’s power to destroy.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 20-22; Ephesians 6

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Gift Of Presence

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Our Daily Bread

John 11:14-27

Many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. —John 11:19

A number of years ago, when I was a new human resource manager for a company, I attended the visitation and funeral of a long-time employee I had never met. The worker, a bricklayer, was loved by his co-workers, yet very few came to see his widow. I listened to someone trying to console her by saying that many people stay away because they are afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing and making the family more miserable.

In times of distress, however, people rarely remember what we say. What they most remember is that we were there. Familiar faces offer strength beyond description; they provide comfort for the deep feelings of loneliness setting in from the loss. This “gift of presence” is one we’re all capable of offering, even if we’re tongue-tied or uncomfortable.

Martha and Mary were surrounded by friends and mourners who comforted them when their brother Lazarus died (John 11:19). Then the One they most longed to see—Jesus—came and wept with them (vv.33-35). The people responded, “See how He loved him!” (v.36).

In loss of any kind, Jesus always gives His comforting presence, and we have the ability to give deeply of His compassion simply by the gift of our presence. —Randy Kilgore

O may I never fail to see

The comfort you may need from me;

And may you know that I am there

To bind our souls as grief we share. —Kilgore

Often the best comfort is just being there.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 17-19; Ephesians 5:17-33

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Married To Royalty

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Our Daily Bread

Revelation 19:6-9

The marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. —Revelation 19:7

The book To Marry an English Lord chronicles the 19th-century phenomenon of rich American heiresses who sought marriages to British aristocracy. Although they were already wealthy, they wanted the social status of royalty. The book begins with Prince Albert, son of Queen Victoria, going to the United States to pay a social call. A mass of wealthy heiresses flood into a ball arranged for Prince Albert, each hoping to become his royal bride.

Believers in Christ don’t have to just hope—they are assured of a royal marriage in heaven. John talks about it in the book of Revelation: “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (19:7-8). Jesus is the Lamb, who is the Bridegroom talked about in that Scripture, and believers are His bride.

As the bride of Christ, we are to make ourselves “ready” for that day by striving to live close to Him now in anticipation of our future with Him in heaven. There we will “be glad and rejoice and give . . . glory” (v.7) to the King of kings and Lord of lords! —Dennis Fisher

Jesus, we look forward to that day when we will

be with You! We want to be ready, but we know

we can’t live a life that is pure unless You are

in us and help us. Change us and fill us.

There is no greater privilege than to know the King of kings.

Bible in a year: 1-16

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Hubble, Zoos, And Singing Children

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Our Daily Bread

Psalm 148

Praise Him, all you stars of light! —Psalm 148:3

What do the Hubble Space Telescope, a zoo, and singing children have in common? According to the teaching of Psalm 148, we could conclude that they all point to God’s magnificent creation.

The idea that God created our world is often questioned, so perhaps it’s a good time for a reminder of the praise we and all creation should heap on our heavenly Father for His magnificent handiwork.

Hubble can help us with that through its eye-popping pictures of our universe. Every one of those brilliant photos points to stars that focus attention on God’s creative majesty. “Praise Him, all you stars of light!” says verse 3.

A visit to a zoo points us to the great diversity of wildlife God created. We look at verses 7 and 10 and say thank you to God for sea creatures, wild animals, insects, and birds.

And a few minutes of watching little children singing uninhibited praises to God symbolizes the truth that all people of earth should lift their voices in honor of our Creator (vv.11-13).

Stars, animals, and children: “Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted” (v.13). Let’s join in saying thanks for His creation. “Praise the Lord!” —Dave Branon

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!

O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!

All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;

Join me in glad adoration! —Neander

Creation displays God’s power.

Bible in a year: saiah 11-13; Ephesians 4