Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD February 3, 2019 Sunday EARS WERE MADE FOR LISTENING John Blase Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.  Jeremiah 5:21 Jeremiah 5:18–23 Exodus 31–33; Matthew 22:1–22 Actress Diane Kruger was offered a role that would make her a household name. But it required her to play a young wife and mother experiencing the loss of her husband and child, antd she had never personally suffered loss to such a degree. She didn’t know if she could be believable. But she accepted, and in order to prepare, she began attending support meetings for people walking through the valley of extreme grief. Initially she offered suggestions and thoughts when those in the group shared their stories. She, like most of us, wanted to be helpful. But gradually she stopped talking, and simply started listening. It was only then she began truly learning to walk a mile in their shoes. And her realization came by using her ear...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 2, 2019 Saturday RESTORED Kirsten Holmberg I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.  Joel 2:25 Joel 2:18–27 Exodus 29–30; Matthew 21:23–46 A 2003 infestation of Mormon crickets caused more than $25 million in lost crops. The crickets came in such numbers that people couldn’t so much as take a step without finding one underfoot. The grasshopper-like insect, named for attacking the crops of the Utah pioneers in 1848, can eat an astounding thirty-eight pounds of plant material in their lifetimes, despite being merely two to three inches long. The impact of infestations on famers’ livelihoods—and the overall economy of a state or country—can be devastating. The Old Testament prophet Joel described a horde of similar insects ravaging the entire nation of Judah as a consequence for their collective disobedience. He foretold an invasion of locusts (a metaphor for a foreign army, in the minds of some Bible scholars) like nothing previous gene...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 1,2019 Friday DEEPER LOVE James Banks God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:8 1 Peter 4:7–11 Exodus 27–28; Matthew 21:1–22 When they first met, Edwin Stanton snubbed US president Abraham Lincoln personally and professionally—even referring to him as a “long-armed creature.” But Lincoln appreciated Stanton’s abilities and chose to forgive him, eventually appointing Stanton to a vital cabinet position during the Civil War. Stanton later grew to love Lincoln as a friend. It was Stanton who sat by Lincoln’s bed throughout the night after the president was shot at Ford’s Theater and whispered through tears on his passing, “Now he belongs to the ages.” Reconciliation is a beautiful thing. The apostle Peter pointed followers of Jesus there when he wrote, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). Peter’s words cause me to wonder if he...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 31, 2019 Thursday ADOPTED Mike Wittmer God sent his Son . . . that we might receive adoption to sonship.  Galatians 4:4–5 Galatians 4:1–7 Exodus 25–26; Matthew 20:17–34 I’m glad when a philanthropist builds an orphanage for homeless children. I’m thrilled when that person gives even more and adopts one of them. Most orphans would be delighted merely to have a patron. But then to learn the sponsor isn’t content merely to help me but also  wants me.  How must that feel? If you’re a child of God you already know, because it’s happened to you. We couldn’t complain if God had merely loved us enough to send His Son that we might “not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). It would be enough for us. But not for God. He “sent his Son . . . to redeem” us, not as an end in itself, but “that we might receive adoption to sonship” (Galatians 4:4–5). The apostle Paul refers to us as “sons” because in his day it was common for sons to inherit thei...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 30, 2019 Wednesday ALGAE AND DIATOMS Julie Schwab Stop and consider God’s wonders.  Job 37:14 Job 37:14–24 Exodus 23–24; Matthew 20:1–16 “What’s a diatom?” I asked my friend. I was leaning over her shoulder looking at pictures on her cell phone she had taken through a microscope. “Oh, it’s like algae, but it’s harder to see. Sometimes you need a drop of oil on the lens or they have to be dead to see them,” she explained. I sat amazed as she scrolled through the pictures. I couldn’t stop thinking about the intricate detail God put into life that we can only see with a microscope! God’s creation and works are endless. In the book of Job, one of Job’s friends, Elihu, points this out to Job as he struggles through his loss. Elihu challenges his friend, “Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders. Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes hi...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 29, 2019 Tuesday RIP THE HEAVENS Winn Collier Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down.  Isaiah 64:1 Isaiah 64:1–8 Exodus 21–22; Matthew 19 In a recent conversation, where a friend shared with me that she’d abandoned her faith, I heard a familiar complaint:  How can I believe in a God who doesn’t ever seem to do anything?  This gut-wrenching question appears for most of us at one point or another, as we read of violence in the news and as we carry our own heartbreak. My friend’s distress revealed her intense need for God to act on her behalf, a longing we’ve all likely felt. Israel knew this terrain well. The Babylonian Empire overwhelmed Israel, crushing them with an iron fist and turning Jerusalem into smoldering rubble. The prophet Isaiah put words to the people’s dark doubt:  Where is the God who’s supposed to rescue us?  (Isaiah 63:11–15). And yet from precise...

OUR DAILY BREAD January 28, 2019 Monday THE MOOD MENDER Linda Washington When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.  Psalm 94:19 Psalm 94:2, 16–23 Exodus 19–20; Matthew 18:21–35 As I waited at the train station for my weekly commute, negative thoughts crowded my mind like commuters lining up to board a train—stress over debt, unkind remarks said to me, helplessness in the face of a recent injustice done to a family member. By the time the train arrived, I was in a terrible mood. On the train, another thought came to mind: write a note to God, giving Him my lament. Soon after I finished pouring out my complaints in my journal, I pulled out my phone and listened to the praise songs in my library. Before I knew it, my bad mood had completely changed. Little did I know that I was following a pattern set by the writer of Psalm 94. The psalmist first poured out his complaints: “Rise up, Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what ...