Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD March 24, SUNDAY SINGING IN THE SPIRIT Mart DeHaan Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.  Ephesians 5:18–19 2 Chronicles 5:7–14 Joshua 16–18; Luke 2:1–24 During the Welsh Revivals of the early twentieth century, Bible teacher and author G. Campbell Morgan described what he observed. He believed the presence of God’s Holy Spirit was moving on “billowing waves of sacred song.” Morgan wrote that he had seen the unifying influence of music in meetings that encouraged voluntary prayers, confession, and spontaneous singing. If someone got carried away by their feelings and prayed too long, or spoke in a way that didn’t resonate with others, someone would begin to softly sing. Others would gently join in, the chorus swelling in volume until drowning out all other sound. The renewal in song that Morgan describes has its story in the Scriptures, where music plays a prominent role. Music was used to cele...

OUR DAILY BREAD MARCH 23, SATURDAY OBSCURED BY CLOUDS Amy Boucher Pye We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  2 Corinthians 4:18 2 Corinthians 4:16–18 Joshua 13–15; Luke 1:57–80 A rare supermoon appeared in November 2016—the moon in its orbit reached its closest point to the earth in over sixty years and so appeared bigger and brighter than at other times. But for me that day the skies were shrouded in gray. Although I saw photos of this wonder from friends in other places, as I gazed upward I had to trust that the supermoon was lurking behind the clouds. The apostle Paul faced many hardships but believed that what is unseen will last forever. He said how his “momentary troubles” achieve “an eternal glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Thus he could fix his eyes “not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,” because what is unseen is eternal (v. 18). Paul yearned that the Corinthians and our faith would grow, and although we suffer, that we too would trust in ...

OUR DAILY BREAD March 22, Friday BEARING THE BURDEN OF WRONGS Winn Collier Do not repay evil with evil.  1 Peter 3:9 1 Peter 3:8–14 Joshua 10–12; Luke 1:39–56 On January 30, 2018, almost thirty-eight years after his conviction, Malcolm Alexander walked out of prison a free man. DNA evidence cleared Alexander, who had steadfastly maintained his innocence amid a myriad of court proceedings that were tragically unjust. An incompetent defense attorney (later disbarred), shoddy evidence, and dubious investigative tactics all put an innocent man in prison for nearly four decades. When he was finally released, however, Alexander showed immense grace. “You cannot be angry,” he said. “There’s not enough time to be angry.” Alexander’s words evidence a deep grace. If injustice robbed us of thirty-eight years of our lives and destroyed our reputations, we would likely be angry, furious. Though Alexander spent many long, heartbreaking years bearing the burden of wrongs infli...

OUR DAILY BREAD March 20, Wednesday FROM WAILING TO WORSHIP Xochitl Dixon You turned my wailing into dancing; you . . . clothed me with joy.  Psalm 30:11 Psalm 30 Joshua 4–6; Luke 1:1–20 Kim began battling breast cancer in 2013. Four days after her treatment ended, doctors diagnosed her with a progressive lung disease and gave her three to five years to live. She grieved, sobbing prayers as she processed her emotions before God for the first year. By the time I met Kim in 2015, she had surrendered her situation to Him and radiated contagious joy and peace. Though some days are still hard, God continues to transform her heart-wrenching suffering into a beautiful testimony of hope-filled praise as she encourages others. Even when we’re in dire circumstances, God can turn our wailing into dancing. Though His healing won’t always look or feel like we’d hoped or expected, we can be confident in God’s ways (Psalm 30:1–3). No matter how tear-stained our path may be, we have...

OUR DAILY BREAD March 19, Tuesday MARKED BY MOMMA Arthur Jackson Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it.  2 Timothy 3:14 2 Timothy 1:3–7 Joshua 1–3; Mark 16 Her name was long but her years were even longer. Madeline Harriet Orr Jackson Williams lived to be 101 years old, outliving two husbands. Both were preachers. Madeline was my grandmother, and we knew her as Momma. My siblings and I got to know her well; we lived in her home until her second husband whisked her away. Even then she was less than fifty miles away from us. Our grandmother was a hymn-singing, catechism-reciting, piano-playing, God-fearing woman, and my siblings and I have been marked by her faith. According to 2 Timothy 1:3–7, Timothy’s grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice had a huge impact on his life. Their living and teaching were rooted in the soil of Scripture (v. 5; 2 Timothy 3:14–16) and eventually their faith blossomed ...

OUR DAILY BREAD March 18, Monday JOY IN HARD PLACES Kirsten Holmberg Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.  Habakkuk 3:18 Habakkuk 3:16–19 Deuteronomy 32–34; Mark 15:26–47 Whenever she was unable to take my phone call, my friend’s voicemail recording invited me to leave her a message. The recording cheerfully concluded, “Make it a great day!” As I reflected on her words, I realized that it’s not within our power to make every day “great”—some circumstances truly are devastating. But a closer look might reveal something redeeming and beautiful in my day, whether things are going well or poorly. Habakkuk wasn’t experiencing easy circumstances. As a prophet, God had shown him coming days when none of the crops or livestock—on which God’s people depended—would be fruitful (3:17). It would take more than mere optimism to endure the coming hardships. As a people group, Israel would be in extreme poverty. Habakkuk experienced heart-pou...