Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD December 2, 2018 Sunday  A SAFE PLACE Bill Crowder I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.  Psalm 17:6 Psalm 17:1–9 Ezekiel 42–44; 1 John 1 My brothers and I grew up on a wooded hillside in West Virginia that provided a fertile landscape for our imaginations. Whether swinging from vines like Tarzan or building tree houses like the Swiss Family Robinson, we played out the scenarios we found in the stories we read and movies we watched. One of our favorites was building forts and then pretending we were safe from attack. Years later, my kids built forts out of blankets, sheets, and pillows—constructing their own “safe place” against imaginary enemies. It seems almost instinctive to want a hiding place where you can feel safe and secure. When David, the singer-poet of Israel, sought a safe place, he looked no further than God. Psalm 17:8 asserts, “[God,] keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shad...

OUR DAILY BREAD December 1, 2018 Saturday GOD HEARS Alyson Kieda Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Romans 12:12 Romans 12:9–21 Ezekiel 40–41; 2 Peter 3 Diane listened as the others in the group asked for prayers for their family members and friends facing challenges or illness. She had a family member who had been struggling with an addiction for years. But Diane kept her request silent. She couldn’t bear to see the looks on people’s faces or hear the questions or advice that often followed whenever she spoke the words aloud. She felt that this request was usually better left unspoken. Others simply didn’t understand how her loved one could be a believer in Jesus and still struggle daily. Although Diane didn’t share her request with that group, she did have a few trusted friends she asked to pray with her. Together they asked God to set her loved one free from the very real bondage of addiction that he might experience freedom in Christ—and...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 30, 2018 Friday HONORING GOD WITH THANKS Patricia Raybon Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.  Psalm 50:15 Psalm 50:8–15 Ezekiel 37–39; 2 Peter 2 The doctor wasn’t frowning, despite talking to my husband about his recent cancer diagnosis. Smiling, she offered a suggestion: start each day by giving thanks. “For at least three things,” the doctor said.  Dan agreed, knowing that gratitude opens our hearts to find encouragement in God’s goodness. Thus, Dan starts each day with words of praise.  Thank You, God, for a good night’s sleep. For my clean bed. For sunshine. For breakfast on the table. For a smile on my lips. Each word is heartfelt. But could it sound trivial? Does our praise in life’s small details matter to Almighty God? In Psalm 50, David’s chief musician, Asaph, offers a clear answer. God has “no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens” (v. 9). Instead of these once-formal...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 29, 2018 Thursday LORD OF THE MOMENT James Banks In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.  Proverbs 16:9 2 Kings 8:1–6 Ezekiel 35–36; 2 Peter 1 Not long ago I was working on a construction project at my son’s home three hours away. The job took days longer than expected, and each morning I prayed we would finish by sunset. But every evening there was more to be done. I wondered why. Could there be a reason for the delay? An answer came the next morning. I was picking up a tool when my phone rang and a stranger’s voice spoke urgently: “Your daughter was injured in an accident. You need to come immediately.” She lived near my son, so it took just fourteen minutes to reach her. If I had been home, I would have been three hours away. I followed the ambulance to the hospital and comforted her before surgery. As I sat holding her hand I realized if my project hadn’t been delayed, I wouldn’t have been ther...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 28, 2018 Wednesday A SOLID FOUNDATION Amy Peterson Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  Matthew 7:24 Matthew 7:24–27 Ezekiel 33–34; 1 Peter 5 Last summer my husband and I toured Fallingwater, a house in rural Pennsylvania designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Wright wanted to create a home that rose organically out of the landscape, as if it could have grown there—and he accomplished his goal. He built the house around an existing waterfall, and its style mirrors the neighboring rock ledges. Our tour guide explained what made the construction safe: “The whole vertical core of the house,” she said, “rests on boulders.” Hearing her words, I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’s words to His disciples. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told them that what He was teaching would be the sure foundation for their l...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 27, 2018 Tuesday PUTTING UP HAY David H. Roper Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven.  Romans 4:7 Luke 15:11–24 Ezekiel 30–32; 1 Peter 4 When I was in college, I worked a summer on a ranch in Colorado. One evening, tired and hungry after a long day of mowing hay, I drove the tractor into the yard. Acting like the hot shot I thought I was, I cranked the steering wheel hard left, stamped on the left brake, and spun the tractor around.  The sickle was down and swept the legs out from under a 500-gallon gasoline tank standing nearby. The tank hit the ground with a resounding boom, the seams split, and all the gasoline spewed out. The rancher stood nearby surveying the scene. I got off the tractor, stammered an apology, and—because it was the first thing that popped into my mind—offered to work the rest of the summer without pay.  The old rancher stared at the wreckage for a moment and turned toward the house. “Let’s go have...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 26, 2018 Monday GOD IS HERE Lisa Samra Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him.  Hosea 6:3 Hosea 6:1–6 Ezekiel 27–29; 1 Peter 3 A plaque in our home states “Bidden or not bidden, God is present.” A modern version might read, “Acknowledged or unacknowledged, God is here.” Hosea, an Old Testament prophet who lived in the late eighth century bc (755–715), wrote similar words to the Hebrew nation. He encouraged the Israelites to “press on” (Hosea 6:3) to acknowledge God because they had forgotten Him (4:1). As the people forgot God’s presence, they began to turn away from Him (v. 12) and before long there was no room for God in their thoughts (see Psalm 10:4). Hosea’s simple but profound insight to acknowledge God reminds us He’s near and at work in our lives, in both the joys and struggles. To acknowledge God might mean that when we get a promotion at work, we recognize God gave us insight to finish...