Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD June 30 THROUGH A NEW LENS Julie Schwab God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.  Romans 1:20 Exodus 25:31–40 Job 17–19; Acts 10:1–23 “It must be amazing to look at a tree and see the individual leaves instead of just a blur of green!” my dad said. I couldn’t have said it better. I was eighteen at the time and not a fan of my new need to wear glasses, but they changed the way I saw everything, making the blurry beautiful! When reading Scripture, I view certain books like I do when I look at trees without my glasses. There doesn’t seem to be much to see. But noticing details can reveal the beauty in what might seem to be a boring passage. This happened to me when I was reading Exodus. God’s directions for building the tabernacle—His temporary dwelling place among the Israelites­—can seem like a blur of boring details. But I paused at the end of chapter 25 where God gave ...

OUR DAILY BREAD June 29, Saturday WHEN SHARKS WON’T BITE Jennifer Benson Schuldt One who is full loathes honey from the comb.  Proverbs 27:7 Proverbs 27:1–10 Job 14–16; Acts 9:22–43 My children were thrilled, but I felt uneasy. During a vacation, we visited an aquarium where people could pet small sharks kept in a special tank. When I asked the attendant if the creatures ever snapped at fingers, she explained that the sharks had recently been fed and then given  extra  food. They wouldn’t bite because they weren’t hungry. What I learned about shark petting makes sense according to a proverb: “One who is full loathes honey from the comb, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet” (Proverbs 27:7). Hunger—that sense of inner emptiness—can weaken our discernment as we make decisions. It convinces us that it’s okay to settle for anything that fills us up, even if it causes us to take a bi...

OUR DAILY BREAD June 28, Friday DIVINE DIVERSIONS Arthur Jackson They tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.  Acts 16:7 Acts 16:6–10 Job 11–13; Acts 9:1–21 It can be difficult when we’re told “no” or “not now,” especially when we sense God has opened a door for us to serve others. Early in my ministry, two opportunities came my way where I thought my gifts and skills matched the churches’ needs, but both doors eventually closed. After these two disappointments, another position came along, and I was selected. With that ministry call came thirteen years of life-touching pastoral labors. Twice in Acts 16 Paul and company were redirected by God. First, they were “kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia” (v. 6). Then, “When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to” (v. 7). Unknown to them, God had other plans that would be right for His wor...

OUR DAILY BREAD June 27 Thursday UNTYING THE ROPE Amy Boucher Pye But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.  Genesis 33:4 Genesis 33:1–11 Job 8–10; Acts 8:26–40 One Christian organization’s mission is to promote the healing nature of forgiveness. One of their activities involves a skit in which a person who has been wronged is strapped back to back with a rope to the wrongdoer. Only the one sinned against can untie the rope. No matter what she does, she’s got someone on her back. Without forgiveness—without untying the rope—she cannot escape. Offering forgiveness to someone who comes to us in sorrow for their wrongdoing begins the process of releasing us and them from the bitterness and pain that can cling to us over wrongs we’ve suffered. In Genesis, we see two brothers separated for twenty years after Jacob stole Esau’s birthright. After this long time, God told Jacob to return to his homeland (...

OUR DAILY BREAD June 26, Wednesday YOUR EULOGY Mike Wittmer Death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.  Ecclesiastes 7:2 Ecclesiastes 7:1–6 Job 5–7; Acts 8:1–25 My heart is full from attending the funeral of a faithful woman. Her life wasn’t spectacular. She wasn’t known widely outside her church, neighbors, and friends. But she loved Jesus, her seven children, and her twenty-five grandchildren. She laughed easily, served generously, and could hit a softball a long way. Ecclesiastes says, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting” (7:2). “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning” because there we learn what matters most (7:4).  New York Times  columnist David Brooks says there are two kinds of virtues: those that look good on a résumé and those you want said at your funeral. Sometimes these overlap, though often they seem to compete. When in doubt, always choose the eulogy virtues. The wom...

OUR DAILY BREAD June 25 VANITY ON FIRE Remi Oyedele Create in me a pure heart, O God.  Psalm 51:10 Matthew 5:21–30 Job 3–4; Acts 7:44–60 In February 1497, a Monk named Girolamo Savonarola started a fire. Leading up to this, he and his followers spent several months collecting items that they thought might entice people to sin or neglect their religious duties—including artwork, cosmetics, instruments, and dresses. On the appointed day, thousands of vanity items were gathered at a public square in Florence, Italy, and set on fire. The event has come to be known as the Bonfire of the Vanities. Savonarola might have found inspiration for his extreme actions in some shocking statements from the Sermon on the Mount. “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away,” said Jesus. “And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away” (Matthew 5:29–30). But if we interpret Jesus’s words literally, we miss the point of the message. The...

OUR DAILY BREAD June 24, Monday PLAYING WITH JOY David H. Roper The fruit of the Spirit is . . . joy.  Galatians 5:22 Galatians 5:22–26 Job 1–2; Acts 7:22–43 One of our sons, Brian, is a high school basketball coach. One year, as his team was dribbling its way through the Washington State Basketball Tournament, well-meaning folks around town asked, “Are you going to win it all this year?” Both players and coaches felt the pressure, so Brian adopted a motto: “Play with joy!” I thought of the apostle Paul’s last words to the elders of Ephesus: “That I may finish my race with joy” (Acts 20:24 nkjv). His aim was to complete the tasks Jesus had given him. I have made these words my motto and my prayer: “May I run and finish my race with joy.” Or as Brian says, “May I play with joy!” And by the way, Brian’s team did win the state championship that year. We all have good rea...