Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD April 19, SUNDAY THE FORECASTER’S MISTAKE Tim Gustafson Let the one who has my word speak it faithfully.  Jeremiah 23:28 Jeremiah 23:16–22 2 Samuel 6–8; Luke 15:1–10 At noon on September 21, 1938, a young meteorologist warned the U.S. Weather Bureau of two fronts forcing a hurricane northward toward New England. But the chief of forecasting scoffed at Charles Pierce’s prediction. Surely a tropical storm wouldn’t strike so far north. Two hours later, the 1938 New England Hurricane made landfall on Long Island. By 4:00 p.m. it had reached New England, tossing ships onto land as homes crumbled into the sea. More than six hundred people died. Had the victims received Pierce’s warning—based on solid data and his detailed maps—they likely would have survived. The concept of knowing whose word to heed has precedent in Scripture. In Jeremiah’s day, God warned His people against false prophets. “Do not listen [to them],” He said. “They fill you with false hopes. They sp...

OUR DAILY BREAD April 18, Saturday BEING CARED FOR Anne Cetas The  Lord  Almighty is with us.  Psalm 46:11 Psalm 46 2 Samuel 3–5; Luke 14:25–35 Debbie, the owner of a housecleaning service, was always searching for more clients to build up her business. On one call she talked with a woman whose response was, “I won’t be able to afford that now; I’m undergoing cancer treatment.” Right then Debbie decided that “no woman undergoing cancer treatment would ever be turned away. They would even be offered a free housecleaning service.” So in 2005 she started a nonprofit organization where companies donated their cleaning services to women battling cancer. One such woman felt a rush of confidence when she came home to a clean house. She said, “For the first time, I actually believed I could beat cancer.” A feeling of being cared for and supported can help sustain us when we’re facing a challenge. An awareness of God’s presence and support can especially bring hope to encourage ou...

OUR DAILY BREAD April 17, Friday ABLE TO HELP Arthur Jackson Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.  Hebrews 2:18 Hebrews 2:14–18 2 Samuel 1–2; Luke 14:1–24 Joe’s eight-week “break” from his job as a crisis care worker at a New York City church was not a vacation. In his words, it was “to live again among the homeless, to become one of them, to remember what hungry, tired, and forgotten feel like.” Joe’s first stint on the streets had come nine years earlier when he arrived from Pittsburgh without a job or a place to stay. For thirteen days he lived on the streets with little food or sleep. That’s how God had prepared him for decades of ministry to needy people. When Jesus came to earth, He also chose to share the experiences of those He came to save. “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, t...

OUR DAILY BREAD April 16, Thursday HUNGRY FOR GOD Poh Fang Chia When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight.  Jeremiah 15:16 Jeremiah 15:15–21 1 Samuel 30–31; Luke 13:23–35 A new believer in Jesus was desperate to read the Bible. However, he’d lost his eyesight and both hands in an explosion. When he heard about a woman who read Braille with her lips, he tried to do the same—only to discover that the nerve endings of his lips had also been destroyed. Later, he was filled with joy when he discovered that he could feel the Braille characters with his tongue! He had found a way to read and enjoy the Scriptures. Joy and delight were the emotions the prophet Jeremiah experienced when he received God’s words. “When your words came, I ate them,” he said, “they were my joy and my heart’s delight” (Jeremiah 15:16). Unlike the people of Judah who despised His words (8:9), Jeremiah had been obedient and rejoiced in them. His obedience, however, also led to the pr...

OUR DAILY BREAD April 14, Tuesday HEALING WORDS Kirsten Holmberg Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.  Proverbs 16:24 Proverbs 16:20–24 1 Samuel 25–26; Luke 12:32–59 A recent study has shown that encouraging words from a health-care provider can help patients recuperate faster from their ailments. A simple experiment exposed volunteer study participants to a skin allergen to make them itch and then compared the reactions between those who received assurance from their physician and those who didn’t. Patients who received encouragement from their doctors had less discomfort and itching than their counterparts.   The writer of Proverbs knew how important encouraging words are. “Gracious words” bring “healing to the bones,” he wrote (Proverbs 16:24). The positive effect of words isn’t limited to our health: when we heed the wisdom of instruction, we’re also more likely to prosper in our efforts (v. 20). So too encouragement buoys us for...

OUR DAILY BREAD April 13, Monday  SEEKING GOD Dave Branon You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you.  Psalm 63:1 Psalm 63:1–8 1 Samuel 22–24: Luke 12:1–31 It’s inspiring to watch people’s passion and dedication in pursuing their dreams. A young woman I know recently graduated from college in just three years—a task that took total commitment. A friend wanted a particular car, so he worked diligently baking and selling cakes until he reached his goal. Another person who’s in sales seeks to meet one hundred new people every week. While it can be good to earnestly seek something of earthly value, there’s a more important kind of seeking that we must consider. In desperation, struggling in a desert, King David wrote, “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you” (Psalm 63:1). As David cried out to Him, God drew close to the weary king. David’s deep spiritual thirst for God could only be satisfied in His presence. The king remembered meeting with God in His “sanctuary” (v. 2), expe...