Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD September 22, SUNDAY GROWING TO KNOW James Banks I can do all this through him who gives me strength.  Philippians 4:13 Philippians 4:10–13 Ecclesiastes 10–12; Galatians 1 “You’re going to be an exchange student!” I was seventeen and thrilled to hear I was approved to study in Germany. But it was only three months before my departure, and I had never taken a class in German. The days that followed found me cramming—studying for hours and even writing words on my hands to memorize them. Months later I was in a classroom in Germany, discouraged because I didn’t know more of the language. That day a teacher gave me wise advice. “Learning a language is like climbing a sand dune. Sometimes you feel like you’re not getting anywhere. But just keep going and you will.”            Sometimes I reflect on that insight when I consider what it means to grow as a follower of Jesus. The apostle Paul recalled, “ I ...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 21, Saturday NAME OF NAMES Mart DeHaan God exalted [Jesus] to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.  Philippians 2:9 Exodus 6:1–8 Ecclesiastes 7–9; 2 Corinthians 13 The name of Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) is legendary in the world of music. His violins, cellos, and violas are so treasured for their craftsmanship and clarity of sound that many have been given their own names. One of them, for instance, is known as the Messiah-Salabue Stradivarius. After violinist Joseph Joachim (1831–1907) played it, he wrote, “The sound of the Strad, that unique ‘Messie,’ turns up again and again in my memory, with its combined sweetness and grandeur.” Even the name and sound of a Stradivarius, however, doesn’t deserve to be compared to the work of a far greater Source. From Moses to Jesus, the God of gods introduces Himself with a name above all names. For our sake, He wants the wisdom and work of His own hand to be recognized, va...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 20, Friday IN THE VINE Amy Boucher Pye No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  John 15:4 John 15:1–8 Ecclesiastes 4–6; 2 Corinthians 12 One spring after a particularly dreary winter during which she helped a family member through a long illness, Emma found encouragement each time she walked past a cherry tree near her home in Cambridge, England. Bursting out at the top of the pink blossoms grew blossoms of white. A clever gardener had grafted into the tree a branch of white flowers. When Emma passed the unusual tree, she thought of Jesus’s words about being the Vine and His followers the branches (John 15:1–8). By calling Himself the Vine, Jesus was speaking of an image familiar to the Israelites in the Old Testament, for there the vine symbolized God’s people (Psalm 80:8–9; Hosea 10:1). Jesus extended this symbolism to Himself, saying He was the Vine and that His follo...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 19, Thursday FEELING SMALL Bill Crowder What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?  Psalm 8:4 Matthew 6:25–32 Ecclesiastes 1–3; 2 Corinthians 11:16–33 Many movie critics consider David Lean’s  Lawrence of Arabia  one of the greatest films of all time. With its seemingly endless vistas of the Arabian deserts, it has influenced a generation of filmmakers—including Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg. “I was inspired the first time I saw  Lawrence ,” said Spielberg. “It made me feel puny. It still makes me feel puny. And that’s one measure of its greatness.” What makes me feel small is creation’s vastness—when I gaze at an ocean, fly over the polar ice cap, or survey a night sky sparkling with a billion stars. If the created universe is so expansive, how much greater must be the Creator who spoke it into being! God’s greatness and our feelings of insignificance are echoed by David ...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 18, Wednesday TURN AND RUN Alyson Kieda Resist [the devil], standing firm in the faith.  1 Peter 5:9 1 Peter 5:8–10 Proverbs 30–31; 2 Corinthians 11:1–15 Ali was a beautiful, smart, and talented teenager with loving parents. But after high school something prompted her to try heroin. Her parents noticed changes in her and sent her to a rehabilitation facility after Ali eventually admitted the impact it was having on her. After treatment, they asked what she would tell her friends about trying drugs. Her advice: “Just turn and run.” She urged that “just saying no” wasn’t enough. Tragically, Ali relapsed and died at age twenty-two of an overdose. In an attempt to keep others from the same fate, her heartbroken parents appeared on a local news program encouraging listeners to “run for Ali” by staying far from situations where they could be exposed to drugs and other dangers. The apostle Paul urged his spiritual son Timothy (and us) to run fr...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 17, Tuesday MORE THAN WATER Peter Chin All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  Galatians 3:27 Galatians 3:23–29 Proverbs 27–29; 2 Corinthians 10 One of my earliest childhood memories of church was a pastor walking down the aisle, challenging us to “remember the waters of our baptism.”  Remember the waters?  I asked myself.  How can you remember water?  He then proceeded to splash everyone with water, which as a young child both delighted and confused me. Why should we think about baptism? When a person is baptized, there’s so much more to it than water. Baptism symbolizes how through faith in Jesus, we’ve become “clothed” with Him (Galatians 3:27). Or in other words, it’s celebrating that we belong to Him and that He lives in and through us. As if that weren’t significant enough, the passage tells us that if we’ve been clothed with Christ our identity is found in Him. We’...

OUR DAILY BREAD September 16, Monday DON’T FEED THE TROLLS Monica Brands Make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace.  Colossians 4:5–6 Proverbs 26:4–12 Proverbs 25–26; 2 Corinthians 9 Ever heard the expression, “Don’t feed the trolls”? “Trolls” refers to a new problem in today’s digital world—online users who repeatedly post intentionally inflammatory and hurtful comments on news or social media discussion boards. But ignoring such comments—not “feeding” the trolls—makes it harder for them to derail a conversation. Of course, it’s nothing new to encounter people who aren’t genuinely interested in productive conversation. “Don’t feed the trolls” could almost be a modern equivalent of Proverbs 26:4, which warns that arguing with an arrogant, unreceptive person risks stooping to their level. And yet . . . even the mos...