Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD April 26, SUNDAY OUR FATHER SINGS Estera Pirosca Escobar He . . . will rejoice over you with singing.  Zephaniah 3:17 Zephaniah 3:14–20 2 Samuel 23–24; Luke 19:1–27 Dandy loves encouraging people by singing to them. One day we were having lunch at his favorite restaurant, and he noticed the waitress was having a hard day. He asked her a few questions and then started quietly singing a catchy, upbeat song to cheer her up. “Well, kind sir, you just made my day. Thank you so much,” she said with a big smile, as she wrote down our food order. When we open the book of Zephaniah, we find that God loves to sing. The prophet masterfully drew a picture with his words in which he described God as a musician who loves to sing for and with His children. He wrote that God “will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (3:17). God promised to be present forever with those who have been transformed by His mercy. B...

OUR DAILY BREAD April 25, Saturday RUN TOWARD CHALLENGE Mike Wittmer He looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.  2 Kings 6:17 2 Kings 6:8–17 2 Samuel 21–22; Luke 18:24–43 Tom chased the young men who were stealing his poor friend’s bike. He didn’t have a plan. He only knew he needed to get it back. To his surprise, the three thieves looked his way, dropped the bike and backed away. Tom was both relieved and impressed with himself as he picked up the bike and turned around. That’s when he saw Jeff, his muscular friend who had been trailing close behind. Elisha’s servant panicked when he saw his town surrounded by an enemy army. He ran to Elisha, “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” Elisha told him to relax. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then God opened the servant’s eyes, and he “saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (vv. 15–17). If you strive to follow Jesus, you may find yourself...

OUR DAILY BREAD April 24, Friday  DIVINELY ALIGNED Evan Morgan Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!  Romans 11:33 Romans 11:33–36 2 Samuel 19–20; Luke 18:1–23 I was deeply troubled and woke in the night to pace the floor and pray. Frankly, my attitude was not one of prayerful submission to God, but one of questioning and anger. Finding no release, I sat and stared out a large window at the night sky. I was unexpectedly drawn to focus on Orion’s Belt—those three perfectly arranged stars often visible on clear nights. I knew just enough about astronomy to understand that those three stars were hundreds of light years apart. I realized the closer I could be to those stars, the less they would appear to be aligned. Yet from my distant perspective, they looked carefully configured in the heavens. At that moment, I realized I was too close to my life to see what God sees. In His big picture,...

OUR DAILY BREAD April 23, Thursday THE SADDEST GOOSE Adam R. Holz Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.  Ecclesiastes 4:12 Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 2 Samuel 16–18; Luke 17:20–37 Why is there a football in the parking lot?  I wondered. But as I got closer, I realized the greyish lump wasn’t a football: it was a  goose —the saddest Canada goose I’d ever seen. Geese often congregate on the lawn near my workplace in the spring and fall. But today there was only one, its neck arced back and its head tucked beneath a wing.  Where are your buddies?  I thought. Poor thing was all alone. It looked so lonely, I wanted to give it a hug. (Note: don’t try this.) I’ve rarely seen a goose completely alone like my lonesome feathered friend. Geese are notably communal, flying in a V-formation to deflect the wind. They’re made to be together. As human beings, we were created for community too (see Genesis 2:18). And in...

OUR DAILY BREAD April 22, Wednesday A WORLD OF PROVISION Patricia Raybon There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number.  Psalm 104:25 Psalm 104:10–18, 24–26 2 Samuel 14–15; Luke 17:1–19 It’s 2 a.m. when Nadia, a farmer of sea cucumbers, walks into a roped-off pen in the ocean shallows near her Madagascar village to harvest her “crop.” The early hour doesn’t bother her. “Life was very hard before I started farming,” she says. “I didn’t have any source of income.” Now, as a member of a marine-protection program called Velondriake, meaning “to live with the sea,” Nadia sees her income growing and stabilizing. “We thank God that this project appeared,” she adds. It appeared in large part because God’s creation provided what their project needs—a natural supply of sea life. In praise of our providing God, the psalmist wrote, “He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate” (Psalm 104:14). As well, “there is the sea . . . teeming with c...

OUR DAILY BREAD April 21, TUESDAY FRIENDS AGAIN  Sheridan Voysey How much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  Romans 5:10 Romans 5:6–11 2 Samuel 12–13; Luke 16 A mother and her young daughter are sitting in church one day. During the service, opportunity is given for people to publicly receive God’s forgiveness. Every time someone walks forward to do so, the little girl begins to clap. “I’m so sorry,” the mother later tells the church leader. “I explained to my daughter that repentance makes us friends with God again, and she just wanted to cheer for everyone.” Simplified for a child’s mind, the mother’s words were a good explanation of the gospel. Once God’s enemies, we have been reconciled to Him through Christ’s death and resurrection (Romans 5:9–10). Now we’re indeed God’s friends. Since we were the ones to break the friendship (v. 8), repentance is our part in completing the restoration process. And the little girl’s response couldn’t h...

OUR DAILY BREAD April 20, Monday THE SINGING REVOLUTION Bill Crowder Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.  Psalm 42:5 Psalm 42:1–5 2 Samuel 9–11; Luke 15:11–32 What does it take to ignite a revolution? Guns? Bombs? Guerrilla warfare? In late-1980s Estonia, it took songs. After the people had lived under the burden of Soviet occupation for decades, a movement began with the singing of a series of patriotic songs. These songs birthed the “Singing Revolution,” which played a key role in restoring Estonian independence in 1991. “This was a non-violent revolution that overthrew a very violent occupation,” says a website describing the movement. “But singing had always been a major unifying force for Estonians while they endured fifty years of Soviet rule.” Music can also play a significant part in helping us through our own hard times. I wonder if that’s why we so readily identify with the psal...