Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD January 6, 2018 Saturday THE GIFT OF THE MAGI We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.  Matthew 2:2 Matthew 2:1–12 Bible in a year: Genesis 16–17; Matthew 5:27–48 A young married couple had more love than money. As Christmas neared, both struggled to find a gift that would show how much they cared for the other. Finally, on Christmas Eve, Della sold her long, knee-length hair to buy Jim a platinum chain for the watch he’d inherited from his father and grandfather. Jim, however, had just sold the watch to buy a set of expensive combs for Della’s hair. Author O. Henry called the couple’s story  The Gift of the Magi.  His creation suggests that even though their gifts became useless and may have caused them to look foolish on Christmas morning, their love made them among the wisest of those who give gifts. The wise men of the first Christmas story also could have looked foolish to some as they arr...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 5, 2018 Friday JUST LIKE MY FATHER It is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”  1 Peter 1:16 1 Peter 5:8–12 Bible in a year: Genesis 13–15; Matthew 5:1–26 My father’s dusty, heeled-over, cowboy boots rest on the floor of my study, daily reminders of the kind of man he was. Among other things, he raised and trained cutting horses—equine athletes that move like quicksilver. I loved to watch him at work, marveling that he could stay astride. As a boy, growing up, I wanted to be just like him. I’m in my eighties, and his boots are still too large for me to fill. My father’s in heaven now, but I have another Father to emulate. I want to be just like Him—filled with His goodness, fragrant with His love. I’m not there and never will be in this life; His boots are much too large for me to fill. But the apostle Peter said this: “The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glor...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 4, 2018 Thursday WHAT DO THE EXPERTS SAY? These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.  John 5:39–40 John 5:31–40 Bible in a year: Genesis 10–12; Matthew 4 Boston Globe  columnist Jeff Jacoby writes of the “uncanny ability of experts to get things hopelessly, cataclysmically wrong.” A quick glance at recent history shows he’s right. The great inventor Thomas Edison, for instance, once declared that talking movies would never replace silent films. And in 1928, Henry Ford declared, “People are becoming too intelligent ever to have another war.” Countless other predictions by “experts” have missed the mark badly. Genius obviously has its limits. Only one Person is completely reliable, and He had strong words for some so-called experts. The religious leaders of Jesus’s day claimed to have the truth. These scholars and theologians...

OUR DAILY BREAD  January 3,2017 Wednesday  BREATHTAKING GLORY Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor.  1 Chronicles 29:11 1 Chronicles 29:10–13 Bible in a year:  Genesis 7–9; Matthew 3 One of the pleasures of a trip to Europe is visiting the grand cathedrals that dot the landscape. They are breathtakingly beautiful as they soar toward the heavens. The architecture, art, and symbolism found in these amazing buildings present a spellbinding experience of wonder and magnificence. As I thought about the fact that these structures were built to reflect God’s magnificence and His all-surpassing splendor, I wondered how we could possibly recapture in our hearts and minds a similar feeling of God’s grandeur and be reminded again of His greatness. One way we can do that is to look beyond man’s grand, regal structures and contemplate the greatness of what God Himself has created. Ta...

OUR DAILY BREAD  January 2, 2018 Tuesday  PRESSING ON I press on toward the goal to win the prize.  Philippians 3: 14 Philippians 3:7–14 Bible in a year:  Genesis 4–6; Matthew 2 As I walked past an outside wall of the office building where I work, I was amazed to see a beautiful flower growing up through a crack between concrete slabs covering the ground. Despite its deprived circumstance, the plant had found a foothold, rooted itself in the dry crevice, and was flourishing. Later, I noticed that an air-conditioning unit located directly above the plant dropped water on it throughout the day. While its surroundings were hostile, the plant received the help it needed from the water above. Growing in the Christian life can sometimes be difficult, but when we persevere with Christ, barriers are surmountable. Our circumstances may be unfavorable and discouragement may seem like an obstacle. Yet if we press on in our relationship with the Lord, we can ...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 1, 2018 Monday BEGINNING AGAIN Everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem.  Ezra 1:5 Ezra 1:1–11 Bible in a year : Genesis 1–3; Matthew 1 After Christmas festivities conclude at the end of December, my thoughts often turn to the coming year. While my children are out of school and our daily rhythms are slow, I reflect on where the last year has brought me and where I hope the next will take me. Those reflections sometimes come with pain and regret over the mistakes I’ve made. Yet the prospect of starting a new year fills me with hope and expectancy. I feel I have the opportunity to begin again with a fresh start, no matter what the last year held. My anticipation of a fresh start pales in comparison to the sense of hope the Israelites must have felt when Cyrus, the king of Persia, released them to return to their homeland in Judah after seventy long years of capt...