Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD March 1, Sunday A GOAL AND A PURPOSE Dave Branon My only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me.  Acts 20:24 Acts 20:17–24 Numbers 23–25; Mark 7:14–37 In 2018, endurance athlete Colin O’Brady took a walk that had never been taken before. Pulling a supply sled behind him, O’Brady trekked across Antarctica entirely alone—a total of 932 miles in 54 days. It was a momentous journey of dedication and courage. Commenting on his time alone with the ice, the cold, and the daunting distance, O’Brady said, “I was locked in a deep flow state [fully immersed in the endeavor] the entire time, equally focused on the end goal, while allowing my mind to recount the profound lessons of this journey.” For those of us who have put our faith in Jesus, that statement might strike a familiar chord. It sounds a lot like our calling as believers: focused on the goal of walking through life...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 29, Saturday THE SECRET Monica La Rose I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.  Philippians 4:12 Philippians 4:10–19 Sometimes I suspect my cat Heathcliff suffers from a bad case of FOMO (fear of missing out). When I come home with groceries, Heathcliff rushes over to inspect the contents. When I’m chopping vegetables, he stands up on his back paws peering at the produce and begging me to share. But when I actually  give  Heathcliff whatever’s caught his fancy, he quickly loses interest, walking away with an air of bored resentment. But it’d be hypocritical for me to be hard on my little buddy. He reflects a bit of my own insatiable hunger for more, my assumption that “now” is never enough. According to Paul, contentment isn’t natural—it’s learned (Philippians 4:11). On our own, we desperately pursue whatever we think will satisfy, moving on to the next ...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 28, Friday THE FAITH TO ENDURE Linda Washington Suffering produces endurance.  Romans 5:3 esv Acts 27:27–38 Numbers 20–22; Mark 7:1–13 Ernest Shackleton (1874–1922) led an unsuccessful expedition to cross Antarctica in 1914. When his ship, aptly named  Endurance , became trapped in heavy ice in the Weddell Sea, it became an endurance race just to survive. With no means of communicating with the rest of the world, Shackleton and his crew used lifeboats to make the journey to the nearest shore—Elephant Island. While most of the crew stayed behind on the island, Shackleton and five crewmen spent two weeks traveling 800 miles across the ocean to South Georgia to get help for those left behind. The “failed” expedition became a victorious entry in the history books when all of Shackleton’s men survived, thanks to their courage and endurance. The apostle Paul knew what it meant to endure. During a...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 27, Thursday UNEXPECTED CHANGE Bill Crowder You do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  James 4:14 James 4:13–17 Numbers 17–19; Mark 6:30–56 In January 1943, warm Chinook winds hit Spearfish, South Dakota, quickly raising the temperatures from –4° to 45°F (–20° to 7°C). That drastic weather change—a swing of 49 degrees—took place in just  two   minutes . The widest temperature change recorded in the USA over a twenty-four-hour period is an incredible 103 degrees! On January 15, 1972, Loma, Montana, saw the temperature jump from −54° to 49°F (–48° to 9°C). Sudden change, however, is not simply a weather phenomenon. It’s sometimes the very nature of life. James reminds us, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do no...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 26, Wednesday THOUGHTS OF JOY Cindy Hess Kasper Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Philippians 4:4 Philippians 4:4–9 Numbers 15–16; Mark 6:1–29 In  What We Keep,  a collection of interviews by Bill Shapiro, each person tells of a single item that holds such importance and joy that he or she would never part with it. This caused me to reflect on the possessions that mean the most to me and bring me joy. One is a simple forty-year-old recipe card in my mom’s handwriting. Another is one of my grandma’s pink teacups. Other people may value treasured memories—a compliment that encouraged them, a grandchild’s giggle, or a special insight they gleaned from Scripture. What we often keep stashed away in our hearts, though, are things that have brought us great unhappiness: Anxiety—hidden, but easily retrieved. Anger—below the surface, but ready to strike. Resentmen...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 25, Tuesday RICH TOWARD GOD Patricia Raybon Godliness with contentment is great gain.  1 Timothy 6:6 1 Timothy 6:6–11 Numbers 12–14; Mark 5:21–43 Growing up during the Great Depression, my parents knew deep hardship as children. As a result, they were hard-working and grateful money stewards. But they were never greedy. They gave time, talent, and treasury to their church, charity groups, and the needy. Indeed, they handled their money wisely and gave cheerfully. As believers in Jesus, my parents took to heart the apostle Paul’s warning: “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9). Paul gave this advice to Timothy, the young pastor of the city of Ephesus, a wealthy city where riches tempted all. “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,” Paul warned. “Some people, e...

OUR DAILY BREAD February 24, Monday LIBERATED BY JESUS Arthur Jackson [He] began to tell . . . how much Jesus had done for him.  Mark 5:20 Mark 5:1–20 Numbers 9–11; Mark 5:1–20 “I lived with my mother so long that she moved out!” Those were the words of KC, whose life before sobriety and surrender to Jesus was not pretty. He candidly admits supporting his drug habit by stealing—even from loved ones. That life is behind him now and he rehearses this by noting the years, months, and days he’s been clean. When KC and I regularly sit down to study God’s Word together, l’m looking at a changed man. Mark 5:15 speaks of a former demon-possessed individual who had also been changed. Prior to his healing,  helpless, hopeless, homeless,  and  desperate  are words that fit the man (vv. 3–5). But all of that changed after Jesus liberated him (v. 13). But, as with KC, his life before Jesus was far from nor...