Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD February 23, Sunday PIERCED LOVE Elisa Morgan But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.  Isaiah 53:5 Isaiah 53:1–6 Numbers 7–8; Mark 4:21–41 She’d called. She’d texted. Now Carla stood outside her brother’s gated entry, unable to rouse him to answer. Burdened with depression and fighting addiction, her brother had hidden himself away in his home. In a desperate attempt to penetrate his isolation, Carla gathered several of his favorite foods along with encouraging Scriptures and lowered the bundle over the fence. But as the package left her grip, it snagged on one of the gate spikes, tearing an opening and sending its contents onto the gravel below. Her well-intended, love-filled offering spilled out in seeming waste. Would her brother even notice her gift? Would it accomplish the mission of hope she’d intended? She can only hope and pray as she waits for his healing. God so love...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 22, Saturday ANCIENT PROMISES Amy Boucher Pye The Lord bless you and keep you.  Numbers 6:24 Numbers 6:22–27 Numbers 4–6; Mark 4:1–20 In 1979, Dr. Gabriel Barkay and his team discovered two silver scrolls in a burial ground outside the Old City of Jerusalem. In 2004, after twenty-five years of careful research, scholars confirmed that the scrolls were the oldest biblical text in existence, having been buried in 600 bc. What I find particularly moving is what the scrolls contain—the priestly blessing that God wanted spoken over His people: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you” (Numbers 6:24–25). In giving this benediction, God showed Aaron and his sons (through Moses) how to bless the people on His behalf. The leaders were to memorize the words in the form God gave so they would speak to them just as God desired. Note how these w...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 21, Friday A PLACE OF BELONGING Anne Cetas So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  Ephesians 3:17 Ephesians 3:14–21 Numbers 1–3; Mark 3 Some years after the tragic loss of their first spouses, Robbie and Sabrina fell in love, married, and combined their two families. They built a new home and named it  Havilah  (a Hebrew word meaning “writhing in pain” and “to bring forth”). It signifies the making of something beautiful through pain. The couple says they didn’t build the home to forget their past but “to bring life from the ashes, to celebrate hope.” For them, “it is a place of belonging, a place to celebrate life and where we all cling to the promise of a future.” That’s a beautiful picture of our life in Jesus. He pulls our lives from the ashes and becomes for us a place of belonging. When we receive Him, He makes His home in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17). God adopts us into His family through Jesus so that we belong to Hi...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 20, Thursday THE HARDEST PLACES James Banks Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea.  Genesis 41:49 Genesis 41:46–52 Leviticus 26–27; Mark 2 Geoff is a youth pastor today in the same city where he once abused heroin. God transformed both his heart and his circumstances in a breathtaking way. “I want to keep kids from making the same mistakes and suffering the pain I went through,” Geoff said. “And Jesus will help them.” Over time, God set him free from the slavery of addiction and has given him a vital ministry in spite of his past. God has ways of bringing unexpected good out of situations where hope seems lost. Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt and falsely accused and sent to prison, where he was forgotten for years. But God restored him and placed him in a position of authority directly under Pharaoh, where he was able to save many lives—including the lives of his brothers who’d abandoned him. There in Egypt Jose...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 19, Wednesday THE REALITY OF GOD Remi Oyedele The Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he [saw] chariots of fire all around Elisha.  2 Kings 6:17 2 Kings 6:8–17 Leviticus 25; Mark 1:23–45 In C. S. Lewis’  The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,  all of Narnia is thrilled when the mighty lion Aslan reappears after a long absence. Their joy turns to sorrow, however, when Aslan concedes to a demand made by the evil White Witch. Faced with Aslan’s apparent defeat, the Narnians experience his power when he emits an earsplitting roar that causes the witch to flee in terror. Although all seems to have been lost, Aslan ultimately proves to be greater than the villainous witch. Like Aslan’s followers in Lewis’ allegory, Elisha’s servant despaired when he got up one morning to see himself and Elisha surrounded by an enemy army. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 18, Tuesday UNIMAGINABLE Dave Branon Though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.  Psalm 23:4 Psalm 23 Leviticus 23–24; Mark 1:1–22 Bart Millard penned a megahit in 2001 when he wrote, “I Can Only Imagine.” The song pictures how amazing it will be to be in Christ’s presence. Millard’s lyrics offered comfort to our family that next year when our seventeen-year-old daughter, Melissa, died in a car accident and we imagined what it was like for her to be in God’s presence. But  imagine  spoke to me in a different way in the days following Mell’s death. As fathers of Melissa’s friends approached me, full of concern and pain, they said, “I can’t imagine what you’re going through.” Their expressions were helpful, showing that they were grappling with our loss in an empathetic way—finding it  unimaginabl...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 17, Monday EVER-PRESENT PRESENCE Lisa M. Samra Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.  Matthew 28:20 Matthew 28:16–20 Leviticus 21–22; Matthew 28 During the 2018 World Cup, Colombian forward Radamel Falcao scored in the seventieth minute against Poland, securing a victory. The dramatic goal was Falcao’s thirtieth in international play, earning him the distinction of scoring the most goals by a Colombian player in international competition. Falcao has often used his success on the soccer pitch to share his faith, frequently lifting his jersey after a score to reveal a shirt with the words,  Con Jesus nunca estara solo : “With Jesus you’ll never be alone.” Falcao’s statement points us to the reassuring promise from Jesus, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Knowing He was about to return to heaven, Jesus comforted His disciples by assuring t...