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Showing posts from July 22, 2018

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OUR DAILY BREAD July 29, 2018 Sunday HOPE IN GRIEF Amy Boucher Pye Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.  Luke 24:31 Luke 24:13–32 Psalms 49–50; Romans 1 When I was nineteen, one of my close friends was killed in a car accident. In the following weeks and months, I walked each day in a tunnel of grief. The pain of losing someone so young and wonderful clouded my vision, and at times I even felt unaware of what was going on around me. I felt so blinded by pain and grief that I simply could not see God. In Luke 24, two disciples, confused and brokenhearted after Jesus’s death, didn’t realize they were walking with their resurrected Teacher Himself, even as He explained from Scripture why the promised Savior had to die and rise again. Only when He took bread and broke it was it revealed that this was Jesus (vv. 30–31). Although the followers of Jesus had faced death in all its horror when Jesus died, through H...

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OUR DAILY BREAD July 28, 2018 Saturday BEES AND SNAKES Adam Holz If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!  Matthew 7:11 Matthew 7:7–11 Psalms 46–48; Acts 28 Some problems have Daddy’s name written all over them. For instance, my kids recently discovered bees had moved into a crack in our concrete front porch. So, armed with bug spray, I went out to do battle. I got stung. Five times. I don’t like being stung by insects. But better me than my kids or wife. Taking care of my family’s well-being is at the top of my job description after all. My children recognized a need, and they asked me to address it. They trusted me to protect them from something they feared. In Matthew 7, Jesus teaches that we too should bring our needs to God (v. 7), trusting Him with our requests. To illustrate, Jesus gives a case study in character: “Which of you, if your son asks f...

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OUR DAILY BREAD July 27, 2018 Friday LAVISH EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE Xochitl Dixon You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.  2 Corinthians 9:11 2 Corinthians 9:6–15 Psalms 43–45; Acts 27:27–44 On our wedding anniversary, my husband, Alan, gives me a large bouquet of fresh flowers. When he lost his job during a corporate restructure, I didn’t expect this extravagant display of devotion to continue. But on our nineteenth anniversary, the color-splashed blossoms greeted me from their spot on our dining room table. Because he valued continuing this annual tradition, Alan saved some money each month to ensure he’d have enough for this personal show of affection. My husband’s careful planning exhibited exuberant generosity, similar to what Paul encouraged when he addressed the Corinthian believers. The apostle complimented the church for their intentional and enthusiastic offerings (2 Corinthians 9:2, 5), rem...

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OUR DAILY BREAD July 26, 2018 Thursday UNSELFISH SERVICE Randy Kilgore If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness.  Isaiah 58:10 Isaiah 58:6–12 Psalms 40–42; Acts 27:1–26 A small collection of people stood together, dwarfed by the size of the huge tree lying on the lawn. An elderly woman leaned on her cane and described watching the previous night’s windstorm as it blew down “our majestic old elm tree. Worst of all,” she continued, voice cracking with emotion, “it destroyed our lovely stone wall too. My husband built that wall when we were first married. He loved that wall. I loved that wall! Now it’s gone; just like him.” Next morning, as she peeked out at the tree company workers cleaning up the downed tree; a big smile spread across her face. In between the branches she could just make out two adults and the boy who mowed her lawn carefully measuring and rebuilding her beloved stone w...

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OUR DAILY BREAD July 25, 2018 Wednesday PERFECT IMPERFECTION Monica Brands I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.  Ephesians 3:16 Ephesians 3:8–19 Psalms 37–39; Acts 26 A college professor of mine, picking up on my perfectionism-induced procrastination, gave me some wise advice. “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good,” he said, explaining that striving for perfect performance can prevent the risks necessary for growth. Accepting that my work would always be imperfect would give me the freedom to keep growing. The apostle Paul explained an even more profound reason to let go of our own efforts to perfect ourselves: it can blind us to our need for Christ. Paul had learned this the hard way. After years striving to perfectly obey God’s law, encountering Jesus changed everything (Galatians 1:11–16). Paul realized that if his own efforts were enough to be whole and right with God, “then there was no...

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OUR DAILY BREAD July 24, 2018 Tuesday JESUS KNOWS WHY Alyson Kieda When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching.  Matthew 7:28 Mark 8:22–26 Psalms 35–36; Acts 25 I have friends who’ve received partial healing but still struggle with painful aspects of their diseases. Other friends have been healed of an addiction but still struggle with feelings of inadequacy and self-loathing. And I wonder,  Why doesn’t God heal them completely — once and for all? In Mark 8:22–26, we read the story of Jesus healing a man born blind. Jesus first took the man away from the village. Then He spit on the man’s eyes and “put his hands on him.” The man said he now saw people who looked “like trees walking around.” Then Jesus touched the man’s eyes again, and this time he saw “everything clearly.” In His ministry, Jesus’s words and actions often amazed and baffled the crowd and His followers (Matthew 7:28; Luke 8:10; 11:14) and even drove many of them...

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OUR DAILY BREAD July 23, 2018 Monday WATCHFUL CARE Lisa Samra “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.  Jeremiah 23:24 Jeremiah 23:20–24 Psalms 33–34; Acts 24 Before he raced out the door to school, I asked my son if he had brushed his teeth. Asking again, I reminded him of the importance of telling the truth. Unmoved by my gentle admonishment, he half-jokingly informed me that what I really needed was a security camera in the bathroom. Then I could check for myself if he had brushed his teeth and he wouldn’t be tempted to lie. While the presence of a security camera may help remind us to follow the rules, there are still places we can go unnoticed or ways we can avoid being seen. Although we may evade or trick a security camera, we fool ourselves if we think we are ever outside the gaze of God. God asks, “Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” (Jeremiah 23:24). There is both an encouragement and a warning in His question. The warning ...