Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD February 11, Sunday FAULT LINES Tim Gustafson They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread.  Acts 6:6–7 Acts 6:1–7 Bible in a year: Leviticus 11–12; Matthew 26:1–25 An influx of refugees to our community has led to new growth in area churches. That growth brings challenges. Church members must learn how to welcome these newcomers as they adjust to a strange culture, new language, and different worship styles. All this change can create some awkward situations. Misunderstandings and disagreements occur everywhere we find people. Church is no exception. If we don’t handle our differences in a healthy way, they can harden into divisions. The early church in Jerusalem was growing when a dispute arose that broke along a cultural fault line. The Greek-speaking Jews (the Hellenists) had a complaint against those Jews who spoke Aramaic. The Hellenist widows “were be...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 10, Saturday Everywhere and Nowhere Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?  Psalm 139:7 Psalm 139:7–12 Bible in a year: Leviticus 8–10; Matthew 25:31–46 A family friend who, like us, lost a teenager in a car accident wrote a tribute to her daughter, Lindsay, in the local paper. One of the most powerful images in her essay was this: After mentioning the many pictures and remembrances of Lindsay she had put around their house, she wrote, “She is everywhere, but nowhere.” Although our daughters still smile back at us from their photos, the spirited personalities that lit up those smiles are nowhere to be found. They are everywhere—in our hearts, in our thoughts, in all those photos—but nowhere. But Scripture tells us that, in Christ, Lindsay and Melissa are not really nowhere. They are in Jesus’s presence, “with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). They are with t...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 9, Friday UNLIKELY FRIENDS The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together.  Isaiah 11:6 Isaiah 11:1–10 Bible in a year: Leviticus 6–7; Matthew 25:1–30 My Facebook friends often post endearing videos of unlikely animal friendships, such as a recent video I watched of an inseparable pup and pig, another of a deer and cat, and yet another of an orangutan mothering several tiger cubs. When I view such heartwarmingly unusual friendships, it reminds me of the description of the garden of Eden. In this setting, Adam and Eve lived in harmony with God and each other. And because God gave them plants for food, I imagine even the animals lived peacefully together (Genesis 1:30). But this idyllic scene was disrupted when Adam and Eve sinned (3:21–23). Now in both human relationships and the creation, we see constant struggle and conflict. Yet the prophet Isaiah r...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 8, Thursday THE PROBLEM WITH PRIDE David C. McCasland Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.  Proverbs 16:18 Proverbs 16:16–22 Bible in a year: Leviticus 4–5; Matthew 24:29–51 People who achieve an extraordinary level of fame or reputation while they are still alive are often called “a legend in their own time.” A friend who played professional baseball says he met many people in the world of sports who were only “a legend in their own mind.” Pride has a way of distorting how we see ourselves while humility offers a realistic perspective. The writer of Proverbs said, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (16:18). Viewing ourselves in the mirror of self-importance reflects a distorted image. Self-elevation positions us for a fall. The antidote to the poison of arrogance is true humility that comes from God. “Better to be lowly in spirit alo...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 7, 2018 A BLANKET FOR EVERYONE Arthur Jackson Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.  1 Peter 4:8 John 18:15–27 Bible in a year: Leviticus 1–3; Matthew 24:1–28 Linus Van Pelt, better known as simply “Linus,” was a mainstay in the  Peanuts comic strip. Witty and wise, yet insecure, Linus constantly carried a security blanket. We can identify. We have our fears and insecurities too. The disciple Peter knew something about fear. When Jesus was arrested, Peter displayed courage by following the Lord into the courtyard of the high priest. But then he began to show his fear by lying to protect his identity (John 18:15–26). He spoke disgraceful words that denied his Lord. But Jesus never stopped loving Peter and ultimately restored him (see John 21:15–19). Peter’s emphasis on love in 1 Peter 4:8 came from one who had experienced the deep love of Jesus. And he, ...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 6, Tuesday PRAISING THROUGH PROBLEMS Linda Washington Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?  Job 2:10 Job 1:13–22 Bible in a year: Exodus 39–40; Matthew 23:23–39 “It’s cancer.” I wanted to be strong when Mom said those words to me. But I burst into tears. You never want to hear those words even one time. But this was Mom’s third bout with cancer. After a routine mammogram and biopsy, Mom learned that she had a malignant tumor under her arm. Though Mom was the one with bad news, she had to comfort me. Her response was eye-opening for me: “I know God is always good to me. He’s always faithful.” Even as she faced a difficult surgery, followed up by radiation treatments, Mom was assured of God’s presence and faithfulness. How like Job. Job lost his children, his wealth, and his health. But after hearing the news, Job 1:20 tells us “he fell to the ground in worship....

OUR DAILY BREAD February 5, Monday LISTENING TO HIS VOICE David H. Roper My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  John 10:27  nkjv John 10:25–30 Bible in a year: Exodus 36–38; Matthew 23:1–22 I’m hard of hearing—“deaf in one ear and can’t hear out of the other,” as my father used to say. So I wear a set of hearing aids. Most of the time the devices work well, except in environments where there’s a lot of surrounding noise. In those settings, my hearing aids pick up every voice in the room and I cannot hear the person in front of me. So it is with our culture: a cacophony of sounds can drown out God’s quiet voice. “Where shall the Word be found, where will the Word resound?” poet T.S. Eliot asks. “Not here, there is not enough silence.” Fortunately, my hearing aids have a setting that cuts out the surrounding sounds and enables me to hear only the voices I want to ...