Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD October 28, 2018 Sunday YOUR WAY, NOT MINE James Banks Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  Proverbs 3:5 Luke 22:39–46 Jeremiah 15–17; 2 Timothy 2 Kamil and Joelle were devastated when their eight-year-old daughter Rima was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. The disease led to meningitis and a stroke, and Rima lapsed into a coma. The hospital medical team counseled her parents to make arrangements for Rima’s funeral, giving her less than a one percent chance of survival. Kamil and Joelle fasted and prayed for a miracle. “As we pray,” Kamil said, “we need to trust God no matter what. And pray like Jesus—not my way, Father, but Yours.” “But I want so much for God to heal her!” Joelle answered honestly. “Yes! And we should ask!” Kamil responded. “But it honors God when we give ourselves to Him even when it’s hard, because that’s what Jesus did.” Before Jesus went to the cross, He prayed: “Father, i...

OUR DAILY BREAD October 27, 2018 Saturday UNEXPECTED KINDNESS Amy Boucher Pye For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.  Ephesians 2:10 Ephesians 2:1–10 Jeremiah 12–14; 2 Timothy 1 My friend was waiting to pay for her groceries when the man in front of her turned around and handed her a voucher for £10 ($14) off her bill. Short on sleep, she burst into tears because of his kind act; then she started laughing at herself for crying. This unexpected kindness touched her heart and gave her hope during a period of exhaustion. She gave thanks to the Lord for His goodness extended to her through another person. The theme of giving was one the apostle Paul wrote about in his letter to gentile Christians in Ephesus. He called them to leave their old lives behind and embrace the new, saying that they were saved by grace. Out of this saving grace, he explained, flows our desire to “do good works,” for we have been created...

OUR DAILY BREAD October 26, 2018 Friday THE GREAT CRESCENDO Bill Crowder The Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  1 John 4:14 1 John 4:14–21 Jeremiah 9–11; 1 Timothy 6 My parents taught me to love all sorts of music—from country to classical. So my heart beat rapidly as I walked into the Moscow Conservatory, one of Russia’s great music halls, to hear the Moscow National Symphony. As the conductor drove the musicians through a masterful Tchaikovsky piece, themes developed that gradually built to a powerful crescendo—a profound and dramatic musical climax. It was a magical moment, and the audience stood to roar its approval. The Scriptures move toward the most powerful crescendo of history: the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the moments following Adam and Eve’s fall into sin in the garden of Eden, God promised that a Redeemer would come (Genesis 3:15), and throughout the Old Testament that theme moved forward. The promise rang ou...

OUR DAILY BREAD October 25, 2018 Thursday WHERE IS PEACE? Tim Gustafson We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Romans 5:1 Jeremiah 8:8–15 Jeremiah 6–8; 1 Timothy 5 “Do you still hope for peace?” a journalist asked Bob Dylan in 1984. “There is not going to be any peace,” Dylan replied. His response drew criticism, yet there’s no denying that peace remains ever elusive. About 600 years before Christ, most prophets were predicting peace. God’s prophet wasn’t one of them. Jeremiah reminded the people that God had said, “Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people” (Jeremiah 7:23). Yet they repeatedly ignored the Lord and His commands. Their false prophets said, “Peace, peace” (8:11), but Jeremiah predicted disaster. Jerusalem fell in 586 bc. Peace is rare. But amid Jeremiah’s book of dire prophecies we discover a God who loves relentlessly. “I have loved you with an everlasting love,” the Lord told His rebellious people. “I will build you u...

OUR DAILY BREAD October 24, 2018 Wednesday IMPOSSIBLE TO HOLD Jennifer Benson Schuldt It was impossible for death to keep its hold on [Jesus].  Acts 2:24 Acts 2:22–36 Jeremiah 3–5; 1 Timothy 4 Swimming with friends in the Gulf of Mexico, Caitlyn encountered a shark, which grabbed her legs and pulled at her body. To counter the attack, Caitlyn punched the shark in the nose. The predator unclenched its jaws and swam away in defeat. Although its bite caused multiple wounds, which required over 100 stitches, the shark was unable to keep Caitlyn in its grasp. This story reminds me of the fact that Jesus delivered a blow to death, ending its power to intimidate and defeat His followers. According to Peter, “It was impossible for death to keep its hold on [Jesus]” (Acts 2:24). Peter said these words to a crowd in Jerusalem. Perhaps many of them had been the ones yelling out, “Crucify him!” to condemn Jesus (Matthew 27:22). As a result, Roman s...

OUR DAILY BREAD October 23, 2018 Wednesday CHOOSING THE TRAIL David C. McCasland Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.  Matthew 7:14 Matthew 7:13–14 Jeremiah 1–2; 1 Timothy 3 I have a beautiful autumn photograph of a young man on horseback in the Colorado mountains as he contemplates which trail ahead to follow. It reminds me of Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken.” In it, Frost ponders two pathways that lie before him. Both are equally inviting, but he doubts he will return to this place again, and he must choose one. Frost wrote, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”   In Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), the Lord told His listeners, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few...

OUR DAILY BREAD October 23, 2018 Tuesday CHOOSING THE TRAIL David C. McCasland Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.  Matthew 7:14 Matthew 7:13–14 Jeremiah 1–2; 1 Timothy 3 I have a beautiful autumn photograph of a young man on horseback in the Colorado mountains as he contemplates which trail ahead to follow. It reminds me of Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken.” In it, Frost ponders two pathways that lie before him. Both are equally inviting, but he doubts he will return to this place again, and he must choose one. Frost wrote, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”   In Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), the Lord told His listeners, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few f...

OUR DAILY BREAD October 22, 2018 Monday TREASURE IN A PUMPKIN Kirsten Holmberg We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  2 Corinthians 4:7 2 Corinthians 4:7–18 Isaiah 65–66; 1 Timothy 2 As a young mother, I was determined to document my daughter’s first year of life. Each month, I took photos of her to illustrate how she had changed and grown. In one of my favorite pictures, she is gleefully sitting in the belly of a hollowed-out pumpkin I purchased from a local farmer. There she sat, the delight of my heart, contained in an overgrown squash. The pumpkin withered in the ensuing weeks, but my daughter continued to grow and thrive. The way Paul describes knowing the truth of who Jesus is reminds me of that photo. He likens the knowledge of Jesus in our heart to a treasure stored in a clay pot. Remembering what Jesus did for us gives us the courage and strength to persevere through struggles in spite of being “...