Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD June 16, Sunday THE SAVIOR WHO KNOWS US Adam Holz “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.  John 1:48 John 1:43–51 Nehemiah 4–6; Acts 2:22–47 “Dad, what time is it?” my son asked from the back seat. “It’s 5:30.” I knew exactly what he’d say next. “No, it’s 5:28!” I watched his face light up.  Gotcha ! his beaming smile said. I felt delight too—the kind that comes from knowing your child the way only a parent can. Like any attentive parent, I know my children. I know how they’ll respond when I wake them up. I know what they’ll want in their lunches. I know countless interests, desires, and preferences. But for all that, I’ll never know them perfectly, inside and out, the way our Lord knows us. We catch a glimpse of the kind of intimate knowledge Jesus has of His people in John 1. As Nathanael, who Philip had urged to meet Jesus, moved toward Him, Jesus pronounced, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit” (v. 47). Startled, Nathanael resp...

OUR DAILY BREAD June 15, Saturday WORDS THAT WOUND Alyson Kieda The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.  Proverbs 12:18 1 Samuel 1:1–8 Nehemiah 1–3; Acts 2:1–21 “Skinny bones, skinny bones,” the boy taunted. “Stick,” another chimed. In return, I could have chanted “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” But even as a little girl, I knew the popular rhyme wasn’t true. Unkind, thoughtless words did hurt—sometimes badly, leaving wounds that went deeper and lasted much longer than a welt from a stone or stick. Hannah certainly knew the sting of thoughtless words. Her husband, Elkanah, loved her, but she had no children, while his second wife, Peninnah, had many. In a culture where a woman’s worth was often based on having children, Peninnah made Hannah’s pain worse by continually “provoking her” for being childless. She kept it up until Hannah wept and couldn’t eat (1 Samuel 1:6–7). And Elkanah p...

OUR DAILY BREAD June 14 Friday CLEAR COMMUNICATION Bill Crowder The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.  Romans 8:26 Romans 8:18–27 Ezra 9–10; Acts 1 While traveling in Asia, my iPad (containing my reading material and many work documents) suddenly died, a condition described as “the black screen of death.” Seeking help, I found a computer shop and encountered another problem—I don’t speak Chinese and the shop’s technician didn’t speak English. The solution? He pulled up a software program in which he typed in Chinese, but I could read it in English. The process reversed as I responded in English and he read in Chinese. The software allowed us to communicate clearly, even in different languages. At times, I feel like I’m unable to communicate and express my heart when I pray to my heavenly Father—and I’m not alone. Many of us struggle sometimes with prayer. But t...

OUR DAILY BREAD June 13, Thursday ONLY A GYPSY BOY Estera Pirosca Escobar You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession.  1 Peter 2:9 1 Peter 2:4–10 Ezra 6–8; John 21 “Oh, it’s only a gypsy boy,” someone whispered with disgust when Rodney Smith walked to the front of the chapel to receive Christ during a service in 1877. Nobody thought much of this teenager, the son of uneducated gypsy parents. Yet, Rodney didn’t listen to those voices. He was certain that God had a purpose for his life so he bought himself a Bible and an English dictionary and taught himself how to read and write. He once said, “The way to Jesus is not by Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, or the poets. It is . . . an old-fashioned hill called Calvary.” Against all odds, Rodney became an evangelist who God used to bring many to Jesus in the UK and US. Peter too was just a simple man—untrained in the religious rabbinic schools (Acts 4:13), a fisherman from Galilee—when Jesus c...

OUR DAILY BREAD June 12, Wednesday DESTROYING THE SHROUD Winn Collier [God] will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples.  Isaiah 25:7 Isaiah 25:1–9 Ezra 3–5; John 20 A brutal car wreck devastated Mary Ann Franco. Though she survived, the injuries left her completely blind. “All I could see was blackness,” Franco explained. Twenty-one years later, she injured her back in a fall. After waking from surgery (which had nothing to do with her eyes), miraculously, her sight had returned! For the first time in more than two decades, Franco saw her daughter’s face. The neurosurgeon insisted there was no scientific explanation for her restored vision. The darkness that seemed so final gave way to beauty and light. The Scriptures, as well as our experience, tell us that a shroud of ignorance and evil covers the world, blinding all of us to God’s love (Isaiah 25:7). Selfishness and greed, our self-sufficiency, our lust for power or image—...

OUR DAILY BREAD June 11, Tuesday GOD OF ALL PEOPLE Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.  Acts 2:5 Acts 2:1–12 Ezra 1–2; John 19:23–42 Former Newsboys lead vocalist Peter Furler describes the performance of the band’s praise song “He Reigns.” The song paints a vivid picture of believers from every tribe and nation coming together to worship God in unity. Furler observed that whenever the Newsboys sang it he could sense the moving of the Holy Spirit in the gathering of believers. Furler’s description of his experiences with “He Reigns” would likely have resonated with the crowds who converged on Jerusalem at Pentecost. When the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4), things began to happen beyond anyone’s experience. As a result, Jews representing every nation came together in confusion, because each one heard their own language being spoken to make God’s wonders known (vv. 5–6, 11). Peter exp...

OUR DAILY BREAD June 10, Monday SHARING SLICES Kirsten Holmberg A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.  Proverbs 11:25 Proverbs 11:23–31 2 Chronicles 34–36; John 19:1–22 Steve, a sixty-two-year-old homeless military veteran, made his way to a warm climate where sleeping outdoors was tolerable year-round. One evening, as he displayed his hand-drawn art—his attempt to earn some money—a young woman approached and offered him several slices of pizza. Steve gratefully accepted. Moments later, Steve shared his bounty with another hungry, homeless person. Almost immediately, the same young woman resurfaced with another plate of food, acknowledging that he had been generous with what he’d been given. Steve’s story illustrates the principle found in Proverbs 11:25 that when we’re generous with others, we’re likely to experience generosity as well. But we shouldn’t give with e...