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Showing posts from April 21, 2019

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OUR DAILY BREAD April 28, Sunday GOD’S RETIREMENT PLAN Ruth O’Reilly-Smith The angel of the Lord appeared to [Moses] in flames of fire from within a bush.  Exodus 3:2 Exodus 3:1–10 1 Kings 3–5; Luke 20:1–26 Archaeologist Dr. Warwick Rodwell was preparing to retire when he made an extraordinary discovery at Lichfield Cathedral in England. As builders carefully excavated part of the floor of the church to make way for a retractable base, they discovered a sculpture of the archangel Gabriel, thought to be 1,200 years old. Dr. Rodwell’s retirement plans were put on hold as his find launched him into an exciting and busy new season. Moses was eighty years old when he made a fiery discovery that would forever alter his life. Though the adopted son of an Egyptian princess, he never forgot his Hebrew lineage and raged at the injustice he witnessed against his kinsmen (Exodus 2:11–12). When Pharaoh learned that Moses had kill...

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OUR DAILY BREAD April 27, Saturday ENJOYING BEAUTY Patricia Raybon He has made everything beautiful in its time.  Ecclesiastes 3:11 Ecclesiastes 3:9–13 1 Kings 1–2; Luke 19:28–48 The painting caught my eye like a beacon. Displayed along a long hallway in a big city hospital, its deep pastel hues and Navajo Native American figures were so arresting I stopped to marvel and stare. “Look at that,” I said to my husband, Dan. He was walking ahead but I hesitated, bypassing other paintings on the wall to gaze only at that one. “Beautiful,” I whispered. Many things in life are beautiful indeed. Master paintings. Scenic vistas. Inspired crafts. But so is a child’s smile. A friend’s hello. A robin’s blue egg. A seashell’s strong ridges. To relieve the burdens life can bring, “[God] has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). In such beauty, Bible scholars explain, we get a glimpse of the perfection of God’s creation—including the glory of His perfect ...

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OUR DAILY BREAD April 26, Friday WHAT GOD SEES Elisa Morgan The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.  2 Chronicles 16:9 2 Chronicles 16:7–9 2 Samuel 23–24; Luke 19:1–27 Early in the morning, I quietly pad past a family-room window overlooking a wilderness area behind our house. Often, I notice a hawk or owl perched in a tree, keeping watch over the area. One morning I was surprised to find a bald eagle boldly balanced on a high branch, surveying the terrain as if the entire expanse belonged to him. Likely he was watching for “breakfast.” His all-inclusive gaze seemed regal. In 2 Chronicles 16, Hanani the seer (God’s prophet) informed a king that his actions were under a royal gaze. He told Asa, king of Judah, “You relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lordyour God” (v. 7). Then Hanani explained, “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose he...

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OUR DAILY BREAD April 25, Thursday NOT LIKE YESTERDAY David H. Roper Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.  Deuteronomy 8:3 Matthew 4:1–11 2 Samuel 21–22; Luke 18:24–43 When our grandson Jay was a child his parents gave him a new T-shirt for his birthday. He put it on right away and proudly wore it all day. When he appeared the next morning in the shirt, his dad asked him, “Jay, does that shirt make you happy?” “Not as much as yesterday,” Jay replied. That’s the problem with material acquisition: Even the good things of life can’t give us the deep, lasting happiness we so strongly desire. Though we may have many possessions, we may still be unhappy. The world offers happiness through material accumulation: new clothes, a new automobile, an update to our phone or watch. But no material acquisition can make us as happy as it did yesterday. That’s...

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OUR DAILY BREAD April 24, Wednesday SERVING THE SMALLEST Mike Wittmer God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things.  1 Corinthians 1:28 Luke 14:15–23 2 Samuel 19–20; Luke 18:1–23 The video showed a man kneeling beside a busy freeway during an out-of-control brush fire. He was clapping his hands and pleading with something to come.  What was it? A dog?  Moments later a bunny hopped into the picture. The man scooped up the scared rabbit and sprinted to safety. How did the rescue of such a small thing make national news?  That’s  why. There’s something endearing about compassion shown to the least of these. It takes a big heart to make room for the smallest creature. Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a man who gave a banquet and made room for everyone who was willing to come. Not just the movers and shakers but also “the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame” (Luke 14:21). I’m thankful that God targets the weak and the s...

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OUR DAILY BREAD April 23, SEEING THE LIGHT Mart DeHaan On those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.  Isaiah 9:2 Matthew 4:12–25 2 Samuel 16–18; Luke 17:20–37 On the streets of Los Angeles, a homeless man struggling with addictions stepped into The Midnight Mission and asked for help. Thus began Brian’s long road to recovery. In the process Brian rediscovered his love for music. Eventually he joined Street Symphony—a group of music professionals with a heart for the homeless. They asked Brian to perform a solo from Handel’s  Messiah  known as “The People That Walked in Darkness.” In words written by the prophet Isaiah during a dark period of Israel’s history, he sang, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” (Isaiah 9:2 kjv). A music critic for  The New Yorker  magazine wrote that Brian “made the text sound as though it had b...

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OUR DAILY BREAD April 22,  Monday SECOND-WIND STRENGTH Arthur Jackson Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28 Isaiah 40:27–31 2 Samuel 14–15; Luke 17:1–19 At the age of fifty-four I entered the Milwaukee marathon with two goals—to finish the race and to do it under five hours. My time would have been amazing if the second 13.1 miles went as well as the first. But the race was grueling, and the second-wind strength I’d hoped for never came. By the time I made it to the finish line, my steady stride had morphed into a painful walk. Footraces aren’t the only things that require second-wind strength—life’s race does too. To endure, tired, weary people need God’s help. Isaiah 40:27–31 beautifully weds poetry and prophecy to comfort and motivate people who need strength to keep going. Timeless words remind fatigued and discouraged people that the Lord isn’t detached or uncaring (v. 27), that our plight doesn’t escape His not...