Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD November 22, 2017 Wednesday MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.  Psalm 98:4 Psalm 98 Bible in a year : Ezekiel 18–19; James 4 Back when I was searching for a church to attend regularly, a friend invited me to a service at her church. The worship leaders led the congregation in a song I particularly loved. So I sang with gusto, remembering my college choir director’s advice to “Project!” After the song, my friend’s husband turned to me and said, “You really sang loud.” This remark was not intended as a compliment! After that, I self-consciously monitored my singing, making sure I sang softer than those around me and always wondering if the people around me judged my singing. But one Sunday, I noticed the singing of a woman in the pew beside me. She seemed to sing with adoration, without a trace of self-consciousness. Her worship reminded me of the en...

OUR DAILY BREAD  November 21, 2017  Tuesday HELICOPTER SEEDS Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.  John 12:24  John 12:23–33 Bible in a year :  Ezekiel 16–17; James 3 When our children were young, they loved trying to catch the “helicopter seeds” that fell from our neighbor’s silver maple trees. Each seed resembles a wing. In late spring they twirl to the ground like a helicopter’s rotor blades. The seeds’ purpose is not to fly, but to fall to earth and grow into trees. Before Jesus was crucified, He told His followers, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. . . . [U]nless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:23–24). While Jesus’s disciples wanted Him to be honored as the Messiah, He came to give...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 20, 2017 Monday TAKE A NUMBER Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  John 14:27 John 14:15–27 Bible in a year : Ezekiel 14–15; James 2 We have an ancient cherry tree in our backyard that had seen better days and looked like it was dying, so I called in an arborist. He checked it out and declared that it was “unduly stressed” and needed immediate attention. “Take a number,” my wife, Carolyn, muttered to the tree as she walked away. It had been one of those weeks. Indeed, we all have anxious weeks—filled with worries over the direction our culture is drifting or concerns for our children, our marriages, our businesses, our finances, our personal health and well-being. Nevertheless, Jesus has assured us that despite disturbing circumstances we can be at peace. He said, “My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). Jesus’s days were filled with distress and disorder: He was beleaguered...