Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD September 8, Sunday BLUE LINES Kirsten Holmberg I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.  Proverbs 4:11 Proverbs 4:10–27 Proverbs 3–5; 2 Corinthians 1 Downhill skiing racecourses are often marked by swaths of blue paint sprayed across the white, snowy surface. The crude arcs might be a visual distraction for spectators but prove to be vital to both the success and safety of the competitors. The paint serves as a guide for the racers to visualize the fastest line to the bottom of the hill. Additionally, the contrast of the paint against the snow offers racers depth perception, which is critical to their safety when traveling at such high rates of speed. Solomon begs his sons to seek wisdom in hopes of keeping them safe on the racecourse of life. Like the blue lines, wisdom, he says, will “lead [them] along straight paths” and keep them from stumbling (Proverbs 4:11–12). His deepest hope as a father is for his sons to enj...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 7, Saturday WALKING BACKWARD Winn Collier Rather, [Jesus] made himself nothing.  Philippians 2:7 Philippians 2:1–11 Proverbs 1–2; 1 Corinthians 16 I stumbled upon footage from a British newsreel crew who filmed six-year-old Flannery O’Connor on her family farm in 1932. Flannery, who would go on to become an acclaimed US writer, caught the crew’s curiosity because she’d taught a chicken to walk backward. Apart from the novelty of the feat, I thought this glimpse of history was a perfect metaphor. Flannery, due to both her literary sensibilities and her spiritual convictions, spent her thirty-nine years definitely walking backward—thinking and writing in a counter-cultural way. Publishers and readers were entirely baffled by how her biblical themes ran counter to the religious views they expected. A life that runs counter to the norm is inevitable for those who would truly imitate Jesus. Philippians tells us that Jesus, though His “very nature” wa...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 6, Friday I WILL Anne Cetas Love your neighbor as yourself.  Leviticus 19:18 Leviticus 19:9–18 Psalms 148–150; 1 Corinthians 15:29–58 Shirley settled into her recliner after a long day. She looked out the window and noticed an older couple struggling to move a section of old fence left in a yard and labeled “free.” Shirley grabbed her husband, and they headed out the door to help. The four of them wrestled the fence onto a dolly and pushed it up the city street and around the corner to the couple’s home—laughing all the way at the spectacle they must be. As they returned to get a second section of fence, the woman asked Shirley, “You be my friend?” “Yes, I will,” she replied. Shirley later learned that her new Vietnamese friend knew little English and was lonely because her grown children had moved hours away. In Leviticus, God reminded the Israelites that they knew how it felt to be strangers (19:34) and how to treat others (vv. 9–18). God had s...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 5, Thursday THE LAST WORD John Blase If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.  1 Corinthians 15:19 1 Corinthians 15:12–19 Psalms 146–147; 1 Corinthians 15:1–28 Her name was Saralyn, and I sort of had a crush on her back in our school days. She had the most wonderful laugh. I’m not sure whether she knew about my crush, but I suspect she did. After graduation I lost track of her. Our lives went in different directions as lives often do.  I keep up with my graduating class in some online forums, and I was intensely sad when I heard that Saralyn died. I found myself wondering about the direction her life had taken over the years. This is happening more and more the older I grow, this experience of losing friends and family. But many of us tend to avoid talking about it. While we still sorrow, the hope the apostle Paul talks about is that death doesn’t have the final say (1 Corinthians...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 4, Wednesday GUIDING LIGHT Patricia Raybon God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  Genesis 1:3 Genesis 1:1–5 Psalms 143–145; 1 Corinthians 14:21–40 The restaurant was lovely but dark. Only one small candle flickered on every table. To create light, diners used their smartphones to read their menus, look to their tablemates, and even to see what they were eating. Finally, a patron quietly pushed back his chair, walked over to a waiter, and asked a simple question. “Could you turn on the lights?” Before long, a warm ceiling light flashed on and the room erupted with applause. But also with laughter. And happy chatter. And thank-yous. My friend’s husband turned off his phone, picked up his utensils, and spoke for us all. “Let there be light! Now, let’s eat!” Our gloomy evening turned festive with the flick of a switch. But how much more important to know the real sourc...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 3, Tuesday IT’S SLIPPERY OUT HERE! David H. Roper Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil.  Psalm 141:4 Psalm 141 Psalms 140–142; 1 Corinthians 14:1–20 Years ago, when I was learning to ski, I followed my son Josh down what appeared to be a gentle slope. With my eyes on him I failed to notice he turned down the steepest hill on the mountain, and I found myself careening down the slope, completely out of control. I cratered, of course. Psalm 141 shows how we can easily find ourselves slipping down sin’s slope. Prayer is one of the ways we stay alert to those slopes: “Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil” (v. 4) is a plea that echoes the Lord’s Prayer almost exactly: “Lead [me] not into temptation, but deliver [me] from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13). In His goodness, God hears and answers this prayer. And then I find in this psalm another agent of grace: a faithful friend. ...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 2, Monday A LASTING LEGACY Elisa Morgan [Eve] said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.”  Genesis 4:1 Genesis 4:1–2 Psalms 137–139; 1 Corinthians 13 Thomas Edison invented the first practical electric light bulb. Jonas Salk developed an effective polio vaccine. Amy Carmichael penned many of the hymns we sing in worship. But what about you? Why were you put on earth? How will you invest your life? Genesis 4 tells us that Eve “became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.” After holding Cain for the first time, Eve announced, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man” (v. 1). In an effort to explain the surprising experience of the very first birth, Eve uses a phrase dripping with dependency on the sovereign aid of God: “With the help of the Lord.” Eventually, through Eve’s seed, God would provide rescue for His people through an...