Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD September 1, Sunday UNCHANGING James Banks Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  Hebrews 13:8 Psalm 103:13–22 Psalms 135–136; 1 Corinthians 12 My wife, Cari, and I recently traveled to Santa Barbara, California—the city where we met and fell in love thirty-five years ago—to attend our college reunion. We planned to visit several places where we had spent some of the best hours of our youth together. But when we arrived at the location of our favorite Mexican restaurant, we found a building supply store there. A wrought iron plaque hung on the wall commemorating the restaurant and its four decades of service to the community. I gazed on the barren but still familiar sidewalk, once dotted cheerfully with colorful tables and bright umbrellas. So much had changed around us! Yet in the midst of change, God’s faithfulness never changes. David observed poignantly: “The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; t...

OUR DAILY BREAD August 31, Saturday TIGHT CIRCLES Mike Wittmer It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Galatians 5:1 Galatians 5:1, 4–14 Psalms 132–134; 1 Corinthians 11:17–34 A classmate gave my family a registered collie that had become too old to breed puppies. We soon learned this beautiful dog had, sadly, spent much of her life inside a small pen. She would only walk in tight circles. She couldn’t fetch or run in a straight line. And even with a large yard in which to play, she thought she was fenced in. The first Christians, many who were Jews, were used to being fenced in by the Mosaic law. Though the law was good and had been given by God to convict them of sin and lead them to Jesus (Galatians 3:19–25), it was time to live out their new faith based in God’s grace and the freedom of Christ. They hesitated.  After all this time, were they really free? We may have the same problem. Perhaps we grew up in churches with rigid rules that fenced us in. Or ...

OUR DAILY BREAD August 30, Friday GREAT THINGS! Arthur Jackson What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  Romans 8:31 Psalm 126 Psalms 129–131; 1 Corinthians 11:1–16 On November 9, 1989, the world was astonished by the news of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The wall that had divided Berlin, Germany, was coming down and the city that had been divided for twenty-eight years would be united again. Though the epicenter of joy was Germany, an onlooking world shared in the excitement. Something great had taken place! When Israel returned to her homeland in 538 bc after being exiled for almost seventy years, it was also momentous. Psalm 126 begins with an over-the-shoulder look at that joy-filled time in the history of Israel. The experience was marked by laughter, joyful singing, and international recognition that God had done great things for His people (v. 2). And what was the response of the recipients of His...

OUR DAILY BREAD August 29, Thursday USE YOUR VOICE evanmorgan There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.  1 Corinthians 12:4 1 Corinthians 12:1–14 Psalms 126–128; 1 Corinthians 10:19–33 I was invited to meet a world-renowned pianist. Since I grew up immersed in music—playing the violin and piano, and primarily singing solos for church and other events—I was thrilled at the opportunity. When I arrived to meet the pianist, I realized he spoke little English; and to my surprise he provided a cello for me to play—an instrument I’d never touched. He insisted that I play and he would accompany me. I screeched out a few notes, trying to mimic my violin training. Finally admitting that I was lost, we parted ways. I awoke, realizing the scenario had been a dream. But since the musical background presented in my dream was true, in my mind lingered the words,  Why didn’t you tell him you could sing? God equips us to develop our natura...

OUR DAILY BREAD August 28, Wednesday LIVE . PRAY. LOVE. Xochitl Dixon Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  Romans 12:21 Romans 12:9–21 Psalms 123–125; 1 Corinthians 10:1–18 Influenced by parents who were strong believers in Jesus, track star Jesse Owens lived as a courageous man of faith. During the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Owens, one of the few African Americans on the US team, received four gold medals in the presence of hate-filled Nazis and their leader, Hitler. He also befriended fellow athlete Luz Long, a German. Surrounded by Nazi propaganda, Owens’s simple act of living out his faith impacted Luz’s life. Later, Long wrote to Owens: “That hour in Berlin when I first spoke to you, when you had your knee upon the ground, I knew you were in prayer . . . . I think I might believe in God.” Owens demonstrated how believers can answer the apostle Paul’s charge to “hate what is evil” and be “devoted to one another in love” (Romans 12:9–10). Thoug...

OUR DAILY BREAD August 27, Tuesday A REASON TO SING John Blase He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  Psalm 121:4 Psalm 121 Psalms 120–122; 1 Corinthians 9 For a man who lives by a code, so to speak, it felt like a major failure. What’d I do? Well, I fell asleep. Our kids have a curfew to meet when they’re out for the evening. They’re good kids, but my practice is to wait up until I hear their hands turn the front doorknob. I want to know they’re home safe. I don’t have to do this: I choose to. But one night I awoke to my daughter saying through a smile, “Dad, I’m safe. You should go to bed.” Despite our best intentions, sometimes fathers fall asleep at their posts. It was very humbling, and also very human. But that never happens with God. Psalm 121 is a reassuring song about Him as guardian and protector of His children. The psalmist declares that God who watches over us “will not slumber” (v. 3). And for emphasis, he repeats that truth in vers...

OUR DAILY BREAD August 26, Monday ANOTHER CHANCE Patricia Raybon Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!  Micah 7:19 nlt Micah 7:1–3, 18–20 Psalm 119:89–176; 1 Corinthians 8 At the Second Chance Bike Shop near our neighborhood, volunteers rebuild cast-off bicycles and donate them to needy kids. Shop founder Ernie Clark also donates bikes to needy adults, including the homeless, the disabled, and military veterans struggling to make it in civilian life. Not only do the bicycles get a second chance but sometimes the recipients get a new start too. One veteran used his new bike to get to a job interview. Second chances can transform a person’s life, especially when the second chance comes from God. The prophet Micah extoled such grace during a time the nation of Israel groveled in bribery, fraud, and other despicable sins. As Micah lamented, “The godl...