Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD August 12, 2018 Sunday HELP FROM HEAVEN Lisa Samra Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!  Joshua 10:14 Joshua 10:6–15 Psalms 84–86; Romans 12 SOS, the Morse code signal, was created in 1905 because sailors needed a way to indicate extreme distress. The signal gained notoriety in 1910 when used by the sinking ship  Steamship Kentucky,  saving all forty-six people aboard. While SOS may be a more recent invention, the urgent cry for help is as old as humanity. We hear it often in the Old Testament story of Joshua, who faced opposition from fellow Israelites (Joshua 9:18) and challenging terrain (3:15–17) for more than fourteen years as the Israelites slowly conquered and settled the land God had promised them. During this struggle “the Lord was with Joshua” (6:27). In Joshua 10, the Israelites go to the aid of the Gibeonites, allies of Israel who were being attacked by five kings. Joshua knew that he needed the Lord’s hel...

OUR DAILY BREAD August 11, 2018 Saturday THAT SMILING MAN Adam Holz Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.  Colossians 3:23 Colossians 3:18–23 Psalms 81–83; Romans 11:19–36 Going to the grocery store isn’t something I particularly enjoy. It’s just a mundane part of life—something that has to be done. But there is one part of this task I’ve unexpectedly come to look forward to: checking out in Fred’s lane. Fred, you see, turns checkout into show time. He’s amazingly fast, always has a big smile, and even dances (and sometimes sings!) as he acrobatically flips (unbreakable) purchases into a plastic bag. Fred clearly enjoys a job that could be seen as one of the most tedious around. And for just a moment, his cheerful spirit brightens the lives of people in his checkout lane. The way Fred does his job has won my respect and admiration. His cheerful attitude, desire...

OUR DAILY BREAD August 10, 2018 Friday A HOPEFUL LAMENT Amy Peterson I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit.  Lamentations 3:55 Lamentations 3:49–58 Psalms 79–80; Romans 11:1–18 To visit Clifton Heritage National Park in Nassau, Bahamas, is to revisit a tragic era in history. Where the land meets the water, stone steps lead up a cliff. Slaves brought to the Bahamas by ship in the eighteenth century would ascend these steps, often leaving family behind and entering a life of inhumane treatment. At the top, there is a memorial to those slaves. Cedar trees have been carved into the shapes of women looking out to sea toward the homeland and family members they’ve lost. Each sculpture is scarred with marks of the slave captain’s whip. These sculptures of women mourning what they’ve lost remind me of the importance of recognizing the injustices and broken systems in the world, and lamenting them. Lamenting does not mean that we are without hope; rather, it’...

OUR DAILY BREAD August 9, 2018 Thursday A GOOD DADDY Xochitl Dixon On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.  Psalm 63:6 Psalm 63 Psalms 77–78; Romans 10 When our son, Xavier, was younger, business trips often pulled my husband away from home. Though his father called often, there were rough nights when the calls alone didn’t comfort Xavier. To help soothe our son when he felt he needed his dad, I’d pull out our photo albums as he prepared for bedtime. I’d point out the images that showed them spending time together and ask, “Do you remember this?” Memory after memory encouraged our son, who often said, “I have a good daddy.” I understood Xavier’s need to be reminded of his father’s love when he couldn’t see him. Whenever I’m going through tough or lonely times, I too long to know I’m loved, especially by my heavenly Father. David proclaimed his deep yearning for God as he hid from his enemies in the desert (Psalm 63:1). Remembering his p...

OUR DAILY BREAD August 8, 2018 Wednesday DEDICATED TO LOVE Tim Gustafson My heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.  Romans 10:1 Romans 9:1–5 Psalms 74–76; Romans 9:16–33 As a convert to Jesus Christ, Nabeel Qureshi has written books to help his readers understand the people in the religion he left. His tone is respectful, and Qureshi always displays a heart of love for his people. Qureshi dedicated one of his books to his sister, who has not yet put her faith in Jesus. The dedication is brief, but powerful. “I am begging God for the day that we can worship him together,” he wrote. We get a sense of that kind of love as we read Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. “My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief,” he said, “for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them...

OUR DAILY BREAD August 7, 2018 Tuesday WHEN THE BOTTOM DROPS OUT Poh Fang Chia Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.  Hebrews 4:16 1 Kings 17:15–24 Psalms 72–73; Romans 9:1–15 During the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, more people were looking for work than there were jobs available. I was one of those job seekers. After nine anxious months, I landed employment as a copywriter. But the company soon fell on bad times and I was jobless again.   Ever been there? It seems like the worst is over when suddenly the bottom drops out on you. The widow at Zarephath could relate (1 Kings 17:12). Due to a famine, she was preparing the last meal for herself and her son when the prophet Elijah requested a bite to eat. She reluctantly agreed and God provided a continuous supply of flour and oil (vv. 10–16). But then her son fell ill. His health declined until he stopped breathing. Th...

OUR DAILY BREAD  August 6, 2018 Monday  THE JOY OF GIVING Leslie Koh Encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  1 Thessalonians 5:14 1 Thessalonians 5:12–24 Psalms 70–71; Romans 8:22–39 It was a dreary week. I had been feeling lethargic and listless, although I couldn’t figure out why. Near the end of the week, I found out that an aunt had kidney failure. I knew I had to visit her—but to be honest, I felt like postponing the visit. Still, I made my way to her place, where we had dinner, chatted, and prayed together. An hour later, I left her home feeling upbeat for the first time in days. Focusing on someone else rather than myself had somehow improved my mood. Psychologists have found that the act of giving can produce satisfaction, which comes when the giver sees the recipient’s gratitude. Some experts even believe that humans are wired to be generous! Perhaps that’s why Paul, when encouraging the church in Thessalonica to build...

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God And His righteousness And all these things shall be added unto you Hallelu, Hallelujah! Man shall not live by bread alone But by every word That proceeds from the mouth of God Hallelu, Hallelujah! Ask and it shall be given unto you Seek and ye shall find Knock and the door shall be opened unto you Hallelu, Hallelujah! If the Son shall set you free Ye shall be free indeed Ye shall know the truth, and it shall set you free Hallelu, Hallelujah! Let your light so shine before men that they may see Your good works and glorify Your Father in heaven Hallelu, Hallelujah! Trust in the Lord with all thine heart He shall direct thy paths In all thy ways acknowledge Him Hallelu, Hallelujah!

                                                               SIS TOLU BUSARI Theme of the year: New Heights (Lev 26:13, Phil 3:13,14) Theme of the Month: Family and Kingdom Expansion (Joshua 24:16) Topic: Family Influence in Spreading the Gospel Family is the basic unit of a society consisting of father and mother who co-operatively live together and care for their biological or adopted children. God in His design for mankind places special care and attention on family. This was demonstrated by God right from the creation. After God created man He went ahead to provide a woman as companion for him so that he will not be alone and also for the man to be able to effectively fulfil his purpose of existence. God created the first home. He formed Adam from the dust of the ground. What was dust became life as God breath...